My experience with the Hornady 147 ELD-M on game. *A Lot of Shot Videos and photos*

My thinking is the bullets are not deforming quickly enough. So maybe not until the far side of the smaller animals, thus not causing the kind of shock that leads to faster kills. Not sure on the left turn on the elk. Not tracking straight is usually an indication of not enough stability. I know fromour testing that we have come to the conclusion that 1.5sg calculated at sea level is a good min for hunting regardless of the altitude they are being shot at. It's about the rpm's on impact not the ballistic stability.

Just my thoughts based on your results.

Steve
I agree, normally stability would be the cause. But in this case, running stability on the JBM calculator that takes into account the plastic tip, even at 19° at sea level pressure, it still has an s.g. of over 1.8, and even not taking the tip into account and running it in the Berger calculator at sea level and 19°, stability is still 1.48, so I tend to lean away from that being the cause, though I may be wrong.
 
I completely agree with your advice on cleaning the tips on the Berger's! I tell all my clients to run a .040" bit through them. A lot of the vld's are nearly completely closed. I have found the new Elite Hunters to be much better.

Rich, do you chuck up the bit in a drill or just spin it with your fingers?
 
Cody ,
Congratulations on recovering you wife's first elk . You definitely put forth the extra effort to recover the wounded animal . You are to be commended , many hunters would have given up on the search .
Thank you for posting all of the enjoyable reading on your hunts , and the results of bullet performance .

In your post and video of your wife shooting her first elk , I have viewed the photo of the shot placement , just behind the right front leg , and below the shoulder blade , and I have viewed the video , many times in full-screen format , and the elk on the left is in a position just slightly quartering toward you , head in nearly a 4 o'clock position , and tail in nearly a 10 o'clock position , with the right front leg slightly back . With the bullet entering just behind the right front leg as shown in the photo of the elk with the entry hole circled , the straight-through path of the bullet would definitely find the bullet ending-up in the left flank of the animal , contacting the rear of a lung and forward to mid-section of the abdominal cavity . If the bullet had entered at the front edge of the right front leg , it most likely would have destroyed both lungs and heart of the cow . With the elk being 400 - 450 feet above your position , at 703 yards , that equates into approximately an angle of 11 - 12 degrees uphill angle . The bullet might have ended in a position 4" - 4.5" higher than the entry hole .

If you had been shooting archery gear at 30 yards , with the elk standing in exactly the same position and angle to you , you would likely have waited for a more broadside , or slightly quartering away angle before taking a shot at that specific aiming point .

The elk on the right , in the video was standing just slightly quartering away , right front leg forward , and if your wife had shot it , with the same point of impact , bullet entry at the back edge of right front leg , the bullet would have likely destroyed both lungs and the heart .

If the bullet mushroomed like the bullet shown , that was recovered from your bull elk , then I would presume that it was performing as it should , and it was not shot into the area of the elk's body that would cause the most damage to the animal's vital organs .

Again , thanks for posting stories , photos , videos , and results .
DMP25-06
 
Cody, have you considered trying the 140 eld-m? We've shot quite a few with the 140 amax/eld-m and it's a killer. We dont have that never expanded. I think you would like it for deer sized game.
 
Cody, have you considered trying the 140 eld-m? We've shot quite a few with the 140 amax/eld-m and it's a killer. We dont have that never expanded. I think you would like it for deer sized game.
I think the next one I'm going to try is just gonna be the 156, as elk are on the menu every year as well, but thank you for the suggestion!!
 
Cody, have you considered trying the 140 eld-m? We've shot quite a few with the 140 amax/eld-m and it's a killer. We dont have that never expanded. I think you would like it for deer sized game.
I plan on using the 140eldm in a 6.5wsm for whitetail... as soon as I can get all this brass fire formed. I'll update in a thread...TBC
 
View attachment 112020 View attachment 112020 View attachment 112016 View attachment 112016 Well, after reading Cody's thread and seeing the conflicting data, I have to admit that it got my attention! I have had great results personally and have recommended the 147 to several others who also have had great results.
A couple days ago, I shot this little buck with one at 100 yards. The mv was 3105' out of my 6.5 SS. Below are the results. The deer never even kicked. The bullet centered on the aorta on top of the heart and nearly separated the lungs. The green behind the hole is a John Deere!
IMG_20181127_101922537.jpg
IMG_20181126_170036284.jpg

Tonight, I took my son-in-law out and you used my rifle with the same load. This time the deer was 303 yards. He hit the deer within an inch or 2 of where mine was shot. Again, hit the aorta which collapsed the heart. DRT!
When we walked up to the buck I expected to see another baseball sized exit. Not even a blood spot showed so I flipped him over SAME THING. What the heck is going on? Couldn't see a hole ANYWHERE! I said " I think you scared him to death Toby"! By the time we got him back to the shed there was blood around the mouth. Once we got the hide pulled down, I could see a small spot of blood on the shoulder (exit) and could barely find the entry hole! I took pics of the exit, the entry, and an internal rib cage shot. THIS BULLET WENT THROUGH LIKE A FMJ!!
Talk about have to eat some crow! For you young guys, and some of we older guys, don't ever think you can't learn something new even when it hasn't been your experience previously. If Cody hadn't posted his results, I would have been in total disbelief tonight!!View attachment 112020
 
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