Now that hunting seasons are for the most part over, I was wondering if anyone had any reports on terminal performance for Hornady's ELD-X bullets. From what I have read, it seems that they have a fairly soft lead core and may also be somewhat susceptible to jacket/core separation even though they are built with the Inter-Lock technology.

I picked up a box of .308 178 gr. ELD-X to try in my 308 Win (the price is right), and thought about loading some for the 300 Win Mag, but am worried that the 300 may push them too fast if we end up stumbling across elk up close and personal.

hunterjoe, I've done terminal testing with the majority of monolithic bullets in .308 caliber but only some low speed testing with the 178 ELD-X. First, the ELD-X is no where near as soft as the AccuBond Long Range which fragments more than any other bullet I have tested even at 500 yards (.277 150 ABLR lost 2/3 its weight even at 440 yards). I wasn't able to use a collet bullet puller because the ABLR bullets were so soft and just squeezed down. Hornady did not make that mistake with the ELD-X. I plan on getting some when they come out with the .270 version later this year.

Below is a recovered 178 ELD-X that impacted at 1740 fps. That actually is only one bullet but I used Photoshop to add the one on the left so show that it penetrated with some amount of yaw. I would believe the expansion tests that Hornady posts regarding the ELD-X which show it retains its core at higher impact velocities.

Found another photo of .308 bullets impacting at 1875 fps. 150 grain bullets on the top (130 TTSX on the left) and 165 grain on the bottom with 178 ELD-X on the right. You can see that the ELD-X did better than the regular AccuBond (on the left) and the SST next to it. Most of the copper bullets expanded then tumbled because they didn't expand to a large enough diameter and shorten in length at this speed - 165 TSX being the exception (middle right without the blue tip).

I just found these on Hornady's website:

www.hornady.com/store/...5-gr-ELDX/

No idea if they are available in stores yet though.

If you have time and/or the resources, I can send you some of the .308 I have for further tests.

hunterjoe, do you have any other weight .308? I have enough 178 grain for testing. Thanks for the link. I didn't realize that the .277 version is out. I'll have to get some.

I plan to pick up a box of 200 gr .308 next time I'm out.

Hornady's new book claims a MV (I know) of 2900 FPS using RL-22. With a G1 BC of .626, I'm thinking they might be a better fit in the 300 Win Mag.

I took some measurements last evening and it appears to my uneducated eye that the 178's are pretty long for the .308 Win. They seem to take up a lot of room in the case when seated to max COL. I might be able to seat them longer, but haven't had a chance to seat one and check for function in my rifle.

hunterjoe...I dont want to tell Grandma how to suck eggs....but when loading .308 winchester seating deaper in the case has merit as it allows projectile a good straight start before it engauges the rifling..... well thats the theory and it seems to work for us.

Not the same bullet... but i found I needed to seat .308 168 sierra TMK ridiculously long with an obscene amount of varget... but when i did i was rewarded with a 1/2 moa load...

Well I have a box of 100 .277 ELD-X headed my way. I had already purchased Hodgdon's new Enduron 7977 in anticipation of this bullets availability. It can send 150gr bullets out the barrel as fast as IMR4350 does a 130gr bullet.

Let the Fun Begin!!!

Ain't they purty with their little red hats and all.

Lookin' forward to the test results.

Well, you think I would learn. When the Nosler AB LongRange came out I bought 3 boxes of bullets and 2 jugs of MagPro powder. Maybe I did better this time. Only one box of ELD-X and 1 jug of Enduron 7977 (during the run-up to the election). ELD-X Bullet is long as expected and its 3.442" to the lands. Max Mag length is 3.365" so I'm not close (just like the ABLR). And I was hoping to get 61.5 grains of powder in the case. With a drop tube I can get 61.0 and that is at max mag length of 3.360" - 0.080" off the lands. Well, got a ladder from 58.5 to 61.0 loaded up. We will see what velocities, accuracy, and terminal performance I get.

60 grns is a full case with stick powders to be sure....now a ball powder however might just allow more capacity but pressure is always going to be limiting factor.
when I loaded up some 110s with 2208 sure we had room to spare..but not pressure to spare. so ended up with load that book says is no better or worse than the 2213....
superpreformance powder is supposed to be similar to 2213 according to one source


between reloader 15 and 17 from another
so it may be a good option but I cant see myself having any real gain if top pressure is already reached.

55 grains of IMR4350 is likely all I could get in this case. Enduron 7977 is a denser stick powder and the sticks are pretty small.

Was a bit surprised to see ELD-X Bullets vary from 1.372" to 1.382" (150 ABLR was 1.425" to 1.430"). Weight varies from 144.5 to 145.5 grains. Sample of 10. Not what I would call "match" grade. At least their concentricity was great - no bullet was more than 0.001" out.

Slim - use your comparator tool and check the base to ogive variation and compare it to the OAL variation in the bullets. I spoke to Dave Emary of Hornady and a Sierra rep and both indicated that controlling the drawing process in making the hollow cavity in the front of any bullet is very difficult to control. They focus on controlling the base to ogive dimension since it is the bullet jump to lands that is critical to accuracy. OAL only matters for magazine length feeding. If you are single loading not so much. Getting your seater die to contact the bullet on the profile further down the bullet toward the ogive is the real trick. Many die makers will custom grind a seater if you send them a bullet. or you can modify your own ...

I have measured HPBT match bullets from sierra nosler and hornady and found 0.010-0.015" variation in OAL is common but the base to ogive will be less than 0.002". in the end they all shot under 0.5moa in the same POI.