Hornady 168 gr ELD-M from 308 Win

[BoomFlop]

I would like to hear from those of you that have used this bullet on game. I read that the 178 gr is "splashy", but I know all bullets even in same caliber perform the same way. I will be hunting Wisconsin whitetails with a 10 twist Remington Police LTR Win 20" barrel chambered in 308 Winchester. I will also be shooting factory ammo. I plan to get a couple different variations (Superformance and Black) to see what the gun likes better. I would assume impact velocity from a 20" 308 Win won't be a major deal between these offerings?

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[BoomFlop]

Anyone? I know some of you shoot this bullet. How would it perform with impact velocity at 2400-2700 on deer? Shoulder shot okay or rib shots only?

Thanks
Steve

 

[Jud96]

I just saw this post. A few years back we did a lot of testing and hunting with a couple .308s shooting 168gr AMAXs. The ELD was later tested and we found it to perform nearly identical to the AMAX. I no longer have any of the photos from the game we took with them, but we never had an issue and loved the performance of that bullet.

Both rifles shot the 168 @ 2700fps. We killed a deer and a bunch of ground hogs with them from 200-600 yards. It performed great, went in, expanded rapidly, and always left a golf ball to baseball sized exit wound. The more bone hit, the more damage they caused. For shots under 200, I would shoot them in the ribs. For shots beyond that, I'd shoot for the shoulder. I think it's one of the best all around bullets for a .308 Winchester.

 

[BoomFlop]

Thanks Jud96. That's what I was hoping to hear. Do you think I'd have issues with a shoulder at 50-100 yards? Being a bow hunter I tend to automatically aim behind shoulder, however, I still try to be tight to the shoulder.

 

[Jud96]

Thanks Jud96. That's what I was hoping to hear. Do you think I'd have issues with a shoulder at 50-100 yards? Being a bow hunter I tend to automatically aim behind shoulder, however, I still try to be tight to the shoulder.

The only close range hit I've seen from a 168 AMAX, was from a .30-06 @ 2900 FPS. My Dad shot a big bodied buck at 15 yards, square in the chest with it looking at him. It died before it hit the ground. The bullet completely disintegrated inside the chest cavity. I shot a little buck a few years ago that had a decent body at 50 yards with a .300 Win Mag pushing a 208 AMAX at 2900fps. He was slightly quartered away and I hit him about 3 ribs back behind the shoulder. He instantly dropped dead in his tracks. The bullet passed through a rib, turned the lungs into jelly, and lodged in the offside shoulder. I know this is a bigger and faster moving load, but it gives you an idea how rapidly the AMAX/ELDs dump energy and expand.

If you're going to be doing a lot of hunting within 100 yards, I would really try for behind the shoulder shots or go with a tougher bullet. The AMAX/ELDs work great beyond 200 yards, but they are deer grenades up close. I have heard cheap Hornady American Whitetail loaded with their Interlocks shoots pretty good. If you are in a spot where your shots are limited to 100 yards, it might be worth getting a box of that and see how it does. Even if it shoots 1-1.5" groups at 100 yards, that's plenty for deer inside 100 yards. Then save the ELD Match ammo for extended range shots or for target work.

 

[Canhunter35]

You will have no problem with a shoulder shot at close range, but you will have no shoulder left lol, but the deer will certainly die and quickly. Through the ribs is optimal.
Best bullet for deer hunting in a 308 imo.
There's superformance match and regular match. The superformance really has some zip to it. My gun never liked the superformance but shot the regular match very well. You will have to try and see what shoots best in ur rifle

 

[hpmag308]

125 gr BT or Sierra pushing 3000fps. What is at the other end is always dead an no meat blowed up.Never could understand why people would want a heavy bullet on deer.Friend of mine always used 180 round nose in his 308. Then tells me all we need is a 22-250 for white tails. I told him he just blew that 180gr theory in the water.If you want meat screwed up heavy bullets

 

[Johnslam]

I've had the 155 amax blow up on ribs. Some have dropped right there and others have ran 20 yards or so.

This was out of 20" barrel.
Hornady TAP loads

 

[Wandering Wayne]

I used to shoot a 30-30 with Winchester Silver Tips. When I got out of the army I bought a 308 and kept using the Silvertips. I killed a deer that year and blood shot a lot of meat.

Then I shot an elk in the lung area at about 100 yards in the brush and lost it. No blood trail that I could follow.

The next year I shot my deer in the head, then another elk in the lungs. The elk stood there until I got more into the clear and took a rest and shot it in the neck to put it down.

The entry wound was small and no exit wound. If it had ran off I would probably have lost that one too.

I started reading and got into reloading. I shot a tough, almost non expanding 138 grain Hornady for deer at about 2900 fps. It worked well on deer and didn't ruin any meat.

I used a 180 grain Nossler Partition for elk at about 2700 fps. It was deadly. Large entry and exit holes, lots of blood, mostly quick kills. I killed 12 elk with that load and it was great.

The two loads shot in the same place. Groups were about 2".

The barrel ended up with a rough bore. Maybe from the ash from Mt. St. Helens. The groups went to about 8". I had it re-barreled and made stocks for it out of curly maple. It never shot a good group and I traded it.

It was a 760 Remington Pump and I wish I had it back.

 

[MOOSE39465]

I loaded 168 grain A-Max's for my sons rifle. Very accurate, and he killed 4 deer with them. All animals died but the bullet fragmented inside animal and it was difficult to recover because bullet never exited. Never left a blood trail and deer always went 60 yards or more.