7mm 180g ELDM vs 195g EOL

[remingtonman_25_06]

I shoot the 180g ELDMs from my 28" Bartlein 9 twist 7-300 Win Mag at 3050fps. It shoots them very very well out to 1400 yards, 1/2 MOA laying prone with bipod is pretty routine. The BC however is only around .750 based on my drops/conditions/twist. Which still isnt bad. However, I just bought a box of the 195g EOLs to try. Hoping theyll shoot from my 9 twist. I doubt I'll be able to push them fast enough to give me any advantage over the 180g ELDM however. The advertised BC on the 195 EOLs is like .750 as well, but I'll be losing 100-150fps vs the 180s, and I'll probably lose some BC on them as well with the 9 twist. Debating on which bullet to use this year on spike bulls. If I cant get the 195s to shoot, then obviously I'll stick with the 180s. What's your guys thoughts on the 195s? Will they stabilize ok from the 9 twist? About how much BC will be sacrificed? Are they good elk performers at LR? What's the lowest recommended impact velocity?

 

[Kmccord]

Where is the belt on that Win Mag case?? Or is that a 300 PRC?

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

That sir is just a 223 case for size comparison of the big 7mm bullets lol

 

[Kmccord]

I guess if I would read the picture I would see that ... I do wonder if Hornady is going to come out with a 7mm PRC using the 300 PRC case

 

[Browninglover1]

Berger says right on the box that a 9 twist will stabilize the 195s.

180 ELDM is a great bullet until it decides it doesn't like your barrel and starts blowing up mid flight. Some barrels never seem to have the problem and others are plagued with it early on. I like both bullets and plan on continuing to shoot both in my 7 SAUM.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I thought the box says 8 twist, but their website says 9 twist is the minimum. Either way, just wanted to see if anyone was having luck with the 9 twist. It shoots the 180g ELDMs awesome, and they say 8 twist on the box. Guess I'll just have to load a few and see for myself...

 

[Browninglover1]

It'll run just fine in a 9 twist as I've done it and so have several others. In my experience the 195s are a little more consistent than the 180 ELDM but the 180 ELDM has given me more success in the field than any other bullet I've ever used.

 

[Michael Eichele]

but the 180 ELDM has given me more success in the field than any other bullet I've ever used.

Can you elaborate? I'm interested in running the 7mm 180 ELDM for my hunting load. Any experience is appreciated.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I just switched from the 162g AMAX to the 180g ELDM this spring out of my 7-300, never got a chance to hunt anything with them. I've previously used the 162g AMAX the last 10 years with great results out to 1100 yards on deer and elk from both the 7 RM and 7-300 Win Mag. I prefer Hornadys over Bergers myself anyway. I'll try the 180g ELDMs for a few years and see how they do. Just bought the 195s for something to tinker with really, I doubt I'll switch over to them unless the 180g ELDMs dont do well on game, which I highly kind of doubt based on my results with the 162s over the years.

 

[Browninglover1]

Can you elaborate? I'm interested in running the 7mm 180 ELDM for my hunting load. Any experience is appreciated.

First round kills on elk at 965 and 1040 and coyotes at 820 and 600. I also killed a pile of chucks over 1k yards including my personal best at 1590.

 

[Michael Eichele]

First round kills on elk at 965 and 1040 and coyotes at 820 and 600. I also killed a pile of chucks over 1k yards including my personal best at 1590.

Nice. Thank you. Did you recover any bullets from your elk?

 

[squeeeeze]

The 195 Bergers shoot great out of my buddy's 7LRM at 2,957fps shooting at 3,000'+ elevation. They shoot great out of my 1:8.66 twist with my 28 Nolser. The 180 ELD-M's didn't work in my barrel and gave up due to them blowing up before reaching the target, sometimes at less than 100 yards. Many people haven't had this issue though.

The 195's have performed well on Coues and Mule deer for us. I think you'll find the BC on the 195's to be higher than the 180's as Berger have a fairer way of publicising their B.C.'s. Basically taking an average of their Mach values Vs. Hornady using their Mach 2 and not averaging them like Berger does. Look at Hornady's website for the expanded BC values. To compare I usually just average the 3 or go on the low end and is close for LR shooting and a better comparison to Bergers BC values.

Here is the twist calculator to give you a better idea of exactly what they'll do for stabilisation wise based on many factors but most importantly the elevation.

Twist Rate Stability Calculator

Our newly updated Twist Rate Stability Calculator not only tells you what your SG is, but it also lets you know if you are reaching your optimized BC.

bergerbullets.com

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Hornady advertises the 180g ELDMs at .816 from an 7.5 twist, I've got them at around .750 from my 9 twist and actual drops figured out to 1400 yards. So even if they are both at .750, I wont gain anything from the 195s because theyll be starting about 100-150fps slower than the 180s. I had this built 7 years ago before all these new slippery 7mm bullets were built, that's why I have the 9 twist. Once I shoot this barrel out, I'll be going with an 8 twist so I can get the full value BCs.

 

[Browninglover1]

Nice. Thank you. Did you recover any bullets from your elk?

Yes my spike at 965 I recovered the bullet in the offside hide behind the shoulder and weighed 112 grains.