07-26-2020, 04:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-27-2020, 03:40 PM by Double Naught Spy.)
I have been using this, this go around for a couple of weeks and shot a few hogs. Because I am not doing (have a lot of trouble being able to do) anything beyond superficial extraction and analysis at this time the information here is more descriptive than explanatory. The factory ELD-M 123 gr. rounds I am shooting are getting a muzzle velocity of 2485 fps. Impact velocities go down from there based upon distance. Penetration varies. I have been getting as little as about 9" of penetration (recovered bullet) to one shot recovered with 14" of penetration (recovered bullet) to shots that overpenetrate (all the rest being well under 14", but having left the body). When I check the overpenetrated carcasses with the metal detector, nothing is showing up on most, so that basically means no significant fragments are within a couple of inches of the surface of the skin...which is where a lot of fragments tend to be recovered. For example, when shooting Hornady SST 123 gr. ammo, while the core may exit the body, the cup or jacket often remains behind, just under the skin or shield. That leads me to believe that the ELD-M bullet hasn't fragmented or fragmented much if detectable pieces aren't being left behind (though bullet may be losing weight [tiny pieces] due to erosion through the carcass). I would tend to believe that the cup and core are exiting together. I have recovered 3 or 4 bullets that have simply mushroomed, cup and core together, but significantly lighter than the original bullet.
In other cases, such as below, the bullets are fragmentary. This is often mentioned as a concern for match ammunition is that it will fragment and not do the damage necessary to kill the animal. I think this is an overplayed concern, but that is another discussion. I would guess they are breaking up from hitting bone, particularly heavy bone. However, this fragmentation not appear to be the death knell for using this ammo. It seems to be working relatively well.
So here is I shot a hog at 100 yards. It was not my intended target. It pulled the secret service routine and got shot in the process. The performance of the ELD-M was rather interesting. It hit and shattered the humerus on the entry side, went through the upper chest and broke ribs or costal cartilage (ascertained by finger probing wound channel) on BOTH sides, possibly clipping the top of the lungs, and then shattered the humerus on the opposite side. Part of the bullet may have exited. There was a wound on the exit side. However, there was two wounds on the entry side and I can't say for certain if the exit wound was from the bullet or bone fragment as I suspect the secondary wound on the entry side is from the fragmented bone. Either way, the ELD-M went through and handled a lot of bone quite well.
I want to point out that I am using ELD-M ammunition not because I think it is absolutely the best ammo to use on hogs. I used it a couple of years ago and wasn't totally impressed with it. I am using it because I figured it would be functional enough to get the job done and because it shot so freaking well out of this LSA rifle (1/2" group at 100 yards). Well, it is certainly getting the job done. By and large, hogs that I thought should have gone down have gone down. Shots that were less that great have yielded less than great results. It is getting the job done. I would like to work out the reasons for the disparity of penetration and confirm that fragmentation is more of a result of hitting bone, particularly heavy bone and not just a product of being a weak bullet. I suspect the former.
Anyway, those are the impressions I have so far.
[video=youtube_share;WnNFGtQSXag]https://youtu.be/WnNFGtQSXag[/video]
In other cases, such as below, the bullets are fragmentary. This is often mentioned as a concern for match ammunition is that it will fragment and not do the damage necessary to kill the animal. I think this is an overplayed concern, but that is another discussion. I would guess they are breaking up from hitting bone, particularly heavy bone. However, this fragmentation not appear to be the death knell for using this ammo. It seems to be working relatively well.
So here is I shot a hog at 100 yards. It was not my intended target. It pulled the secret service routine and got shot in the process. The performance of the ELD-M was rather interesting. It hit and shattered the humerus on the entry side, went through the upper chest and broke ribs or costal cartilage (ascertained by finger probing wound channel) on BOTH sides, possibly clipping the top of the lungs, and then shattered the humerus on the opposite side. Part of the bullet may have exited. There was a wound on the exit side. However, there was two wounds on the entry side and I can't say for certain if the exit wound was from the bullet or bone fragment as I suspect the secondary wound on the entry side is from the fragmented bone. Either way, the ELD-M went through and handled a lot of bone quite well.
I want to point out that I am using ELD-M ammunition not because I think it is absolutely the best ammo to use on hogs. I used it a couple of years ago and wasn't totally impressed with it. I am using it because I figured it would be functional enough to get the job done and because it shot so freaking well out of this LSA rifle (1/2" group at 100 yards). Well, it is certainly getting the job done. By and large, hogs that I thought should have gone down have gone down. Shots that were less that great have yielded less than great results. It is getting the job done. I would like to work out the reasons for the disparity of penetration and confirm that fragmentation is more of a result of hitting bone, particularly heavy bone and not just a product of being a weak bullet. I suspect the former.
Anyway, those are the impressions I have so far.
[video=youtube_share;WnNFGtQSXag]https://youtu.be/WnNFGtQSXag[/video]
Kill a hog. Save the planet.
My videos - https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange
My videos - https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange
