ELDX Performance on elk

my 6.5CM shoots 143 ELD-X in the 0.2's" @ 2795fps. Love the accuracy. First deer I shot with the load dropped immediately (not saying much, it was a neck shot at ~90yds). Second deer with the load was on a business development trip (south Texas) so trying to be a "gentleman" I did the text book shot placement at ~75yds on an older 8pt at last light. Deer jumped and kicked and ran. I was in disbelief when I found no blood. Not a single drop anywhere. Ended up finding him about 100yds away down a sendera dead. Pencil in between ribs, pierced both lungs and top 1/3 of heart was gone with a pencil out exit between two ribs. Only left enough blood where he was lying to maybe cover with a quarter... freak deal. Made me question the bullet somewhat because if he had jumped into south Texas brush and not stuck to a path I would have lost him for sure. There's my sample size of 2 feedback (wish I had more)
 
I have the 7mm Rem Mag. I thought the same as well, 1400-1700. I have seen a lot of great things about it, but then I've read some reviews that were pretty poor as well. Sometimes you only have 1 shot on an elk, and I want to be on the money and have confidence with the 7mm as I do with the 30.06 but at greater distances if needed.
 
Bull elk broadside at 60 yards with a 230 gr eldx @ 2950 fps didn't even bruise the offside ribs, but made a large mess of the vitals
Compare that to a bull at 80 yards with a 260 gr accubond @2950 fps out of my 375 ruger .
shot in the crease went through both lungs had a 1 inch hole through the heart and exited just behind the off side shoulder just missing the bone with enough energy to break the shoulder and exit with a 1 inch hole. Couldn't tell I hit the bull, he just kept trucking up the ridge. So I dropped him with another shot through the neck... maybe not enough gun lol
 
I shot a large bull moose broadside on the point of his shoulder with a 250 Accubond from a 338RUM. At the shot the big bull flipped over backwards and never even twitched again. The bullet was recovered in the offside hide. It weight 140gr. I've always been impressed with the Accubonds terminal performance.
 
I shot a large bull moose broadside on the point of his shoulder with a 250 Accubond from a 338RUM. At the shot the big bull flipped over backwards and never even twitched again. The bullet was recovered in the offside hide. It weight 140gr. I've always been impressed with the Accubonds terminal performance.
Yeah I thats what I was hoping for with my .375 260 accubond with a touch over 5000 ftlbs , but I'm wondering if they build the .375 version a little tougher for thick skinned African game? I'm guessing that if I would have made the same shot with something constructed like the eldx ( which they don't make in .375) that bull would have been DRT.
 
Yeah I thats what I was hoping for with my .375 260 accubond with a touch over 5000 ftlbs , but I'm wondering if they build the .375 version a little tougher for thick skinned African game? I'm guessing that if I would have made the same shot with something constructed like the eldx ( which they don't make in .375) that bull would have been DRT.
Its really hard to predict terminal performance with any sense of certainty. I shot a buffalo with a 260 Partition from a 375 Ruger twice from 125yds. The first bullet hit him in the crease about 1/3 way up. The buffalo stood there like he wasn't hit and eventually turned around 180 degrees. I took the second shot at the opposite side and placed another bullet right behind his shoulder. The bull just stood there for a minute and then fell over when he was good & ready.

Both of the bullets were recovered from the opposite sides of the impact. They were perfectly mushroomed just like Nosler advertises. Animals just don't always react as expected.
 
My most recent buck antelope took a 200gr ELDX like a champ. Impact velocity around 2600fps, 2-3" exit right in the crease, ran 40 yards, turned and stared me down for a few seconds before tipping over.
 
just had to add this...

in the last 60 years or so, I have played with dang near all the bullets available at one time or another.....
the ones that ALWAYS worked the best on Game had Nosler wrote all over them...
the ones that worked the best on Game *AND* at LONG range on Game had Nosler Accubond LR wrote on them....

there are other bullets that are GOOD, but the ABLRs are the very best IMHO
 
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I know that this forum is about LRH, but please bear with me on this. I'm hoping to get some firsthand or observed reports on the performance of the ELDX on elk at close range. My elk hunting is mostly in timber and shots will most likely be 100 yards and less. Hornady seems very optimistic on this but there's nothing like "been there, done that".
I have had most of experience hunting with Nosler bullets both Partitions, Accubonds and even Ballistic tips on deer and antelope and one elk. 250 Nosler Partitions have been my go to bullet for elk and moose and 1 Brown bear and have even used Ballistic Tips for deer and anelope and one elk. I used to shoot a 150 grain Hornady round none bullet out of my 270 Win. which was a great meat load for deer, the only Hornady I use at the moment for big game ( actually feral hogs and coyotes is a 103 gr ELDX out of my 6XC and preforms fine there. I also use Barnes TTSX in my 243 AI and my 250 AI with good results on smaller big game, I have shot antelope and feral hogs with Berger VLD hunting bullets and they are usually DRT because the come apart so quickly, so limit to smaller animals. Bottom line if I am going after large big game it will say Nosler on the bullet box I am reloading from.
 
Oops, thought I had done that. 270 and 145 gr. But keep em all coming.

My main concern is holding together up close.
I was with My hunting partner when he shot his sheep a few years back with a 270wsm and 145eldx. Shot was 115yds right in the boiler room and sheep took a short flight, then hit again about 1" from first shot. Both hit ribs and it looked like a murder scene when we were gutting it. He also shot a bull elk in Idaho the same year at 300yds and practically no meat loss and a clean one shot kill. I shot a cow elk in Idaho 2 years ago at 390yds with my 270 win and same bullet. First shot staggered her backwards a few steps and she turned around so I hit her again. Both entered high behind shoulder (opposite sides) and steep downhill- exited low. Again almost 0 meat loss. I shot my mule deer in Utah last year at about 90 yds with the same load in my 270 win and it was back to the murder scene again. Short shot performance with these bullets are something to be desired IMHO but out beyond 200yds or so, I have been super impressed with them.
 
Yeah I thats what I was hoping for with my .375 260 accubond with a touch over 5000 ftlbs , but I'm wondering if they build the .375 version a little tougher for thick skinned African game? I'm guessing that if I would have made the same shot with something constructed like the eldx ( which they don't make in .375) that bull would have been DRT.
I shot a wild Bull (Bovine) with a 300gr Sierra game king from my 375 Ruger African. 150yd quartering away shot hit him through the lungs and into the offside shoulder. I was expecting him to drop at the shot because the load had over 5000 ftlbs like your load had. I had to put a finisher in the spine as he was hobbling away so he wouldn't drop down a large hill. I recovered the bullet from the offside shoulder and it had retained 80% of it's weight. When I spoke with the guys from Sierra they told my I should be loading the 250gr bullet for the 375 Ruger because the 300gr was designed for the 378 Weatherby.

I know several people who swear by the 250gr Barnes TTSX for Elk and Moose and the 270gr for everything larger.
 
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