(300 WM) Hornady 200gr ELD-X Expansion Test

In this video we test Hornady's ELD-X for expansion at 100 to 500 yards.

[@jamesmooney5348]

I really been appreciating your guys tests. This is one bullet where it would been interesting to see how it performed to 700 or 800 yrds.

[@leonardogarcia2506]

The eld-x will obviously kill, but when the comparisons between these and the bonded bullets from the other of your videos is why I stick to bonded bullets for hunting. I’d rather use mono bullets over the eld-x or any non bonded bullet. Love your guys content!

[@markcarew6724]

Definitely true statement.

[@J_Un1t]

Opposite for me, I don’t care what a bullet looks like I care what it does, and controlled bonded expansion usually results in less trauma in game for a couple inches of penetration. Luckily there are bullets for everyone! I think tests like these measure metrics that are assumed to be directly explaining killing ability, but weight retention and a pretty bullet don’t necessarily do that. I never saw boiler room destruction like I’ve seen since switching to more frangible bullets.

[@caesar5555]

Hornady answered this question. If you shoot deer at 300 yards sure. But how accurate your bullet would be at 800? (I do not care about anyone's opinion about ethical hunts - each of us has his own abilities)

[@leonardogarcia2506]

@@caesar5555 My bullet of choice does great beyond 800. I use 210 grain nosler ablr’s.

[@kamiltamiola2066]

An excellent benchmark. Thank you very much for your work.

[@tbirdracer460]

That’s so good shooting with those sustained Winds! I enjoyed the video.

[@devinb3397]

Only just found your channel, great content

[@nathanadams8207]

You guy's videos are great. Press on .....

[@CescoMaf]

I used 200gr eld-x last year. 300 win mag reloaded by myself going at 2860 fps.I taken 7 red stags. From 50 to 250yards. Behind the shoulder shots for meat preservation. 2 holes every time.Never recovered a bullet. the animals made at most 25 yards. I think that the 200gr class eld-x are made tougher than the 178 and below. But are not intended to penetrate 2 shoulders under 300 yards.

[@gabell727]

I like your tests, thank you! I'm not an ELD X fan.

[@jamesmooney5348]

Dropped 500lb cow elk at 483 yrds with one shot with 178 gr eldx in a 308. Went through both shoulders but did not exit. Only located large projectiles. Elk took 2 steps and dropped in just a few moments. Chest area was jelled out pretty hard . Had not wind. Bullet was still traveling near 2000fps, which is plenty fast. And some 1800lbs of energy which is also plenty for that size game, with that weight and caliber. Along with the eldx design, it was just right and all said was in the mid section of acceptability of that size game. I would go to 600 yards with that load, with no wind in that rifle and briadside shot with time on my side- long range hunter Savage model 10. 24" barrel and .75 groups.

[@timgodsoe5691]

I used the 200gr eldx factory hornady precesion hunter ammo this yr on a 43lb cayote @75 m and also my 8pt 180lb white tail at 350-375 m bullet delivers all its energy and massive wound channels both animals were DRT. Very pleased with this round.

[@averageaple6789]

DRT?

[@dirtyfabrication401]

Dead Right There

[@richardsmith6038]

knocked it out of park as always!!!

[@frontlinerejects8029]

Thank you!

[@patriotichunter6434]

We have had some interesting results also with this bullet in 300 wsm. Had one bullet that buried in hide of nilgai shot at 325 that the bullet expansion was over double and weight retention was like 75%. Then we shot red deer same bullet and gun from 265 found bullet with about 40 % weight retention and the petals were basically all gone so the expansion avg like less than 2 times. Both animals had massive wound channels and lungs were devastated. The animals both expired short distance being shot. But I worry on a 400 yard shot on elk that hits bone based on these and couple other animals we shot, as well as some testing we did. That precision hunter ammo is seriously accurate in any caliber we shot it in. Even a 1970s rem 700 bdl 30-06 shot moa with that ammo and I’ve found that rifle to be generally very picky with type of ammo it likes. I

[@monirep5359]

Great information.

[@guardianminifarm8005]

Good stuff. Thank you

[@English_Speaking_Fox]

Another comment is that the reason you are seeing apparent less expansion at close range is because the petals are folded right back, plus the bullet is shedding so much weight a lot of peripheral material is removed. Hence you cannot measure it.

[@Mj-CWO4]

Can you compare the GMX to the Barns

[@markcarew6724]

Excellent video, thank you. My experience with these Hornady bullets is very similar - bullet failure at most distances. Hornady has done a disservice to hunters by marketing these target bullets as hunting projectiles.

[@asdfghjk2933]

It's not bullet "failure". These will take down game more effectively than bullets that make pretty mushrooms and retain almost all weight. These are literally made to expand, so calling them target bullets makes no sense.

[@markcarew6724]

@@asdfghjk2933 Watch Ron Spomer's answer to the first question in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJe2mKeAhqd2ZsU

[@asdfghjk2933]

@@markcarew6724 Mr. Spomer's experiences differ greatly from mine and many others who have used similar bullets. I'm not saying he's wrong or that I'm some kind of authority on this topic, but I have seen the performance of Eld-X/M and traditional bonded or monolithic hunting bullets on flesh, and the former make far larger wounds and drop the animal quicker.

[@barrymantei7795]

@@asdfghjk2933 with so much bullet fragments I'm concerned about accidentally eating some lead. In gel blocks a guy used light technology to see the tiny fragments And it was pretty scary.

[@asdfghjk2933]

@@barrymantei7795 I definitely get where you're coming from on that, but I'm talking more about making an ethical kill. I totally get not wanting tiny lead fragments in your meat.

[@user-yy5fj8dn2z]

Question slightly off topic: could you use this rifle for real world hunting? Not necessarily extreme backcountry use but hiking into backcountry areas. Great video with good info for actual use!

[@JohnnyJQuest]

Any rifle can be used for real world hunting as long as you're willing to carry it. This rifle is around 10 lbs with optic, I only shoot mine prone or rested on something. Hard to get stable shots just standing because its heavy

[@bensimmons3088]

Yes I use mine here in Arkansas shooting across soybean fields. I use a bipod to rest on.

[@miketyson8933]

Are these factory rounds? I like how you do your testing, I saw your Federal Terminal Ascents 200 grain amd those were the best so far in my opinion

[@frontlinerejects8029]

Those are great bullets! No - this is all handloaded!

[@edpottinger849]

That looks like a sniper rifle setup.The ELDX 200 s I have never used.A perfect military application.But for hunting I would choose something else.

[@scottbrake9129]

Great video's, id like to see how the 180gr Sierra Gameking sbt would hold up.

[@frontlinerejects8029]

We'll add that to the list!

[@English_Speaking_Fox]

Excellent video. Exactly the kind of analysis that we need to see to sort out some of the nonsense on the Internet. We have no tag system or seasons here and need to aggressively control red deer as our farms are overrun. Softer, cup and core, non-bonded bullets kill deer much more effectively at all ranges than harder bullets designed for maximum weight retention, particularly as velocity drops below ~2,300fps. This modern fad for hard bullets for medium game is a fallacy. Hard bonded bullets are only necessary for big or dangerous game, not thin skinned, medium game like deer. The ELD-X in all its weights and calibres has been an outstanding bullet for us and taken hundreds of deer since adoption. Just a real shame that we can no longer acquire them due to the projectile shortage!

[@tedbear2478]

Exactly my oppinion, as I stated in my coment above. Shot 200 deer with this bullet already and I love em. If you need some hlep reducing deer, let me know amd I book a hunt at your property😁

[@craveman85]

I believe that the bullets don't expand less at higher velocities but instead they get to their maximum expansion and then the petals are still being pushed back actually making the bullet narrower again. So you're probably still getting effective expansion but then the jacket just curls back in more. As the velocity decreases the expansion makes it less and less down the bullets shank and doesn't get forced back in as much. Hard to prove but that's what I've always believed. I shot a bullet through a half gallon jug then there was an air space with a sheet of paper in it then more jugs after. Where the bullet passed through that paper it was about .9" but the recovered bullet was in the .6's iirc. Would be cool to see a full scientific test on this.

[@mcman47]

Can you do a test on the 143 gr ELD-X .264 cal bullets from a 6.5 CM or PRC? I would also like to see this.

[@frontlinerejects8029]

Yes! We've got a few other rounds loaded up for testing already - look out for the 143gr ELD-X's around the end of August.

[@pbisceglie1]

This video raises some concerns for me. I have 90gr eldx loaded up in 243 win. Since I move from Oregon to eastern US, the land I’m now hunting on is dense limiting me to 50 yds max shot. I’m wondering if I need to work up a different load for this area.

[@rebelwolves]

I grew up hunting in the dense forests of the Ozark Mountains. 50yd shot is about average for me back home with plenty of shots at less range. Personally, I think the ELD-X is way to fragile of a round for short ranges. I find the Interlock SP and Interlock BTSP both hold up well with high shoulder shots. (The interlocks are generally marketed as "Hornady American Whitetail") I've killed many deer with the 150gr Interlock SP (.308) I am planning on using the new CX this year. On paper it looks like the best shorter range bullet on the market. Hornady claims 95+% weight retention. Since it a mono you can expect complete pass throughs even on shoulder shots. Its biggest drawback is the higher velocity required for expansion (Hornady says 2,000fps) but you should have no issues with 243 at the ranges you are expecting to hunt. Unfortunately the CX line was just released this year so there is not much for real world hunting data on it yet. Btw it is marketed as "Hornady Outfitter" for factory loads.

[@Legitonion]

I wouldn't recomend the eldx on anything besides coyotes in 243. I run barnes 80gr ttsx's in my tikka 243 and they do great on deer out to 300 yards.

[@Alex-uz7wd]

Excellent video…I wouldn’t say a 300wm is a tough test for a bullet. Maybe 300 Weatherby or 30-378. Not an eld fan

[@07Gixxer]

I got some factory ammo with this bullet in 300 Wby. I bought some Barnes TTSX 180g that ive been reloading instead. Wouldnt mind trying the 200g Accubond though

[@frontlinerejects8029]

It's on our list!

[@islayporkers3529]

Could you possibly do this same test with the 300 win mag using the ELD M bullets ? I’d love to see if they hold together any better

[@user-eg8hb8xt3j]

Lol they don’t . You won’t find pieces bigger than a 1/4 inch . Don’t use either of these on game bigger than deer . They suck

[@islayporkers3529]

@@user-eg8hb8xt3j I definitely prefer the Interlocks to these I’ve done water tests with those and they stay together

[@f64ecc]

The ELDX works fine for me on deer. I try to avoid the high shoulder shot lest the bullet grenade.

[@nathanadams8207]

Could you try this ELDX in a 30-06. I'd like to see bullet performance with reduced velocity, just as you mentioned.

[@frontlinerejects8029]

We've got that in the pipeline - it's something we're definitely interested in as well

[@EdAb]

Brilliant, just brilliant! For me, you couldn't ask for more. Weight retention is overrated. I want expansion, penetration and maximum internal damage. I don't care about exit wounds and blood trails. I want immediate incapacitation. If the animal doesn't run, I won't need a blood trail. On the flip side, these bullets broke apart, but didn't explode into thousands of fragments. Truly the best go both worlds. Now... will you consider doing the exact same test with the 200 grain bullet out of a 308 Winchester? Cheers!

[@tedbear2478]

I shot about 200 animals woth the 162gr eldx out of my 7x64, amd a few with the rem mag, those bullets realy come into its own under 2700fps, above they kill equaly well, but a lot of mess in the boiler room. Thats wyh I setled onnthe 7x64 which boosts the same velocity as the 280rem, and I must say I never found a jacket in the animal except once, shot a redder fawn at 40m at a driven hunt, the bullet entered the back leg and exited infront of the shouler in the meck area, that was at 40m while the bullet still travled 2600 or so, and it still pemtrated more then 1m in bone flesh and so forth. As long as you keep them off the shoulder at close range all is good, if you butcher/sell the meat. If only dead matters, shot placment doesmt matter. Love these bullets.

[@bradenherle8774]

What was your velocity?

[@frontlinerejects8029]

Upper right hand corner of the graph

[@user-eg8hb8xt3j]

The eldx isn’t a reliable hunting bullet . Very accurate but blows to pieces on game . At least in my experience . I stick to partitions , accubonds , long rand accubonds or barns . The federal line of bonded bullets is also a great choice

[@jamesmooney5348]

Honestly, now finding this channel, I'd like to see how the Winchester 150 gr red tip copper bullets do. You see the nips on those bullets? -Nice...

[@johnconklin5180]

I hunt in the northeast. Only one have I ever shot a deer greater than 100 yards. I want penetration and a pass through I want a blood trail. Hornady passes this off as a hunting round. Good for the range but I’m not hunting with it.

[@mprud2579]

Thanks for your effort mate.....Watching from North Idaho cheers

[@f64ecc]

Do not use these bullets at short ranges or on bone. Otherwise the ELDX is a very fast killer in heart lung area. This observation is made based on my less than extensive experience over three deer using the 200 and 145 grain bullets at MVs of 2,900 and 3,000 respectively.

[@jamesmooney5348]

Nathan Foster likes fragmenting . But he don't care so much about ruining some meat but having it dead right there. And possibly losing the animal in a cliff. No one comes close to his knowledge, no one! But that's how I see it.

[@destinationxterra]

Very interesting video! Just got a .300 win mag B-14 HMR ! You have a new sub! I’m looking foward to discover your other videos! I invite you on my channel Cheers 🍻

[@briankelly2886]

A surprising disappointment! I used this load on a 200 lb bear at 25 yards because I hadn't started reloading .300 WM yet. It gave complete penetration and my guess is it held together well.I will stick with Barnes X Bullets ....the next bear may be a big one!

[@WayStedYou]

Interbond or partition or oryx or something sounds more oike what you want

[@laszlopozsonyi702]

disappointment....

[@adamshaw8214]

Shit ammo

[@Fisherhunt56]

70yd on a moose..terrible penetration with exact bullet..8"

[@markoeberhardt3132]

So it didn’t even get through one lung?

[@jonsainsbury8726]

Junk hunting bullet... Bonded or copper bullets are by far better...