stephentri
Well-Known Member
Hi has any of you tried the ELD-X on deer ,do they perform like sst .
ELD-X vs SST
- Thread starter stephentri
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Sorry, have not tried the elds. I have just changed from GMX to SST. It,s early days but Ive shot about 30-40 sika, roe and red with the sst's now and can say they drop deer on the spot better than GMX, only two ran about 20 metres. I have been using GMX for about 6 years and will intend to use the sst's from now on. It's a 270w that I use
I use SST ‘s in my 243 and 270 with good results, but I’ve never used the ELD-X so can’t compare.
Stephentri.
Used both in 243 and 308. No problems. The SST's are less expensive and easier to obtain. If as been suggested the ELD-X will ultimately replaced A-Max the cost of reloaded ammunition will have increased considerably. SST's here retail for £40ish a box whereas the ELD-X are £65. That is if you can find a RFD with any stock.
Spiker.
Used both in 243 and 308. No problems. The SST's are less expensive and easier to obtain. If as been suggested the ELD-X will ultimately replaced A-Max the cost of reloaded ammunition will have increased considerably. SST's here retail for £40ish a box whereas the ELD-X are £65. That is if you can find a RFD with any stock.
Spiker.
stephentri
Well-Known Member
I have only loaded and shot the ELD-X 178-gr in .30-06, out of curiosity, on paper targets. Not many hunters will have much use for it, as it only gives an edge on other hunting bullets at ranges beyond 40 yards, in any cartridge. I want to shoot it at 400 to 1,000 yards to see the actual drops. But the real tale is how it performs on various game at 300 and 400 yards.
We’ve used the ELD-X in 6.5 Creedmoor Howa Varmint (143gr) and .308 Tikka T3 Stainless Laminate (178gr) for mid-range shooting of red deer spikers, 400-600m. The ballistic calculations were setup using Hornady’s Mach 2.0 BC values, which were then checked in the field at 200-600m in 100m intervals. We found the drops to be spot on. At 500m, the 6.5CM was delivering more oommff than the .308 Win and the relative drop was a real eye opener.
Aimpoint was the midline shoulder on feeding deer, in the head up, side on position, giving an effective 9” radius target kill zone. Of the eight deer shot in three sessions from this position, four jumped and staggered about for 10-20 yards before collapsing, three were instant collapses, but one bolted about 60-70 yds before going round in circles then collapsing. The deer were hit at between 1,500ft-lbs and 1,150ft-lbs and the bullets expanded as expected, punching a nice wide wound channel right through the chest cavity and exiting with a 2-3” hole.
The exception was the runner, it was shot with the .308 Win; it was hit just behind the shoulder, in the perfect H&L position but went between the ribs, generating a very narrow wound channel and 1” exit hole, suggesting the pill hadn’t expanded fully. The shot was at 550m / 1,760fps, which lends some credence to the 1,800fps limit on bankable expansion theory when solid resistance is not met.
To answer the question, how does this compare to the SST... my view is that there is negligible difference between the two in terms of terminal performance, its the range at which the ELD-X can deliver the performance that’s the difference. The much higher BC makes the ELD-X a very solid performer at mid-range in a non-magnum cartridge and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. You are able to deliver more energy at longer ranges with the ELD-X than the SST. The only caveat to that is the one shot we had with the .308 that made us think twice about 600m as the maximum effective range for that cartridge, its probably safer to pull that back to 500m. I reckon the ELD-M would be a better killer past 500m in .30 cal, due to the lighter jacket and greater frangibility.
stephentri
Well-Known Member
Hi thanks for the info, must give them a go in my 6.5x55
If it's factory ammo you are talking about, I use the SST in my 308 and 6.5x55. Awesome. They have transformed the Swede..
It's a different story in my 243 though, very accurate and devastating on Roe but, too much meat damage.
cjs
People get hung up on high BC bullets only being suitable for long range hunting, of which we do little or none in the UK. They are designed for this, but they have another two major benefits which are of use to us.
1. Higher retained energy down range - Compared with something like a GameKing the ELX-X/ABLR will retain significantly more energy at 300 yds. In my 6.5 it's the difference between 1400 ftLbs and 1600 ftLbs, almost 15%. It makes a 6.5 behave more like a 270 in terminal energy delivered and punches with way above it's weight.
2. Wind drift - we know wind is the enemy, the ELD-X/ABLR reduce wind drift by 1/3 over the GK making your windage allowance less critical to get spot on (which rarely happens in real life).
So more energy and more accuracy. What's not to like?
Personally I prefer the ABLR for my end use. Nosler do lie about their BC's (see Brian Litz testing) and they are not quite as slippery in real life as the ELD-X, but for UK stalking ranges they don't explode like an SST/ELD-X and in my opinion are better suited to shots from 50m to 300m if you want acceptable levels of carcass damage.
1. Higher retained energy down range - Compared with something like a GameKing the ELX-X/ABLR will retain significantly more energy at 300 yds. In my 6.5 it's the difference between 1400 ftLbs and 1600 ftLbs, almost 15%. It makes a 6.5 behave more like a 270 in terminal energy delivered and punches with way above it's weight.
2. Wind drift - we know wind is the enemy, the ELD-X/ABLR reduce wind drift by 1/3 over the GK making your windage allowance less critical to get spot on (which rarely happens in real life).
So more energy and more accuracy. What's not to like?
Personally I prefer the ABLR for my end use. Nosler do lie about their BC's (see Brian Litz testing) and they are not quite as slippery in real life as the ELD-X, but for UK stalking ranges they don't explode like an SST/ELD-X and in my opinion are better suited to shots from 50m to 300m if you want acceptable levels of carcass damage.
Probably agree that if carcass damage is a issue then sst,s might be of a concern. However I dont get penalised for deer shot through shoulders etc, so that is my prefered shot placement and now, with sst's. Its usually an advantage to me to have deer drop on the spot, they are easier to find and extract. If I want to prevent meat loss then I shoot them in the head or neck
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