Hornady black ELD match for deer hunting?

[Steelpanther02]

Some say yea and some say nay....what say ye?

[JASmith]

Shoot into water at about 5 yards, recover the bullet.

Then decide.

Water tends to exaggerate expansion compared to bullet
performance in flesh, so it will be a solid test.

[Bigs28]

Put it through the vitals and it will kill

[grayfox]

I'll be taking some with me this fall.
They are 1 of 3 or 4 loads I'm testing and will be ready for action.

[Steelpanther02]

Agreed. Test and see I guess.

[Frontier Gear]

I've used them with good success and plan on using them again this season. This one was 230 yards if I remember correctly.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12573[/ATTACH]

[JASmith]

Looks a lot like recovered 123 gr SST bullets launched by Grendels.

[Steelpanther02]

Nice. So obviously shot placement is key but being match grade the fine print on the hornady website says they are also a hunting round. I'm just wondering if they have the same expansion as a regular hunting round?

[imaguy3]

Nice. So obviously shot placement is key but being match grade the fine print on the hornady website says they are also a hunting round. I'm just wondering if they have the same expansion as a regular hunting round?

I've never seen Hornady officially refer to the eld-m as a hunting round. The eld-x yes...

[1Shot]

Hornady stated that the A-Max bullet was suitable to be used as a think skin hunting bullet so If the ELD-M is really just the A-Max with a non melting tip then should it not also be a thin skin bullet?

[imaguy3]

Hornady stated that the A-Max bullet was suitable to be used as a think skin hunting bullet so If the ELD-M is really just the A-Max with a non melting tip then should it not also be a thin skin bullet?

The ELD isn't just "an a-max with a diff. tip".. from what I understand they made changes to the design a little, for example compare the 155gr .30cal amax and the same bullet weight and caliber in the eld-m, the same with the 168gr. They have different BC's... https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/#!/

That being said the ELD-M are supposed to be very similar in construction to the A-max

Here's a good thread about the ELD Match with some results you are looking for (in other calibers though) https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads...ax.180825/

[tracker12]

I have shot several hogs with the ELD-M with great results. I would not hesitate to use them. That being said I mostly hunt with the SST.

[Kswhitetails]

I killed two does last season, and the ELD-Ms performed admirably. Wound channels showed obvious expansion and cavitation damage, none of the bullets were recovered, 125ish and 145ish if I remember. Both expired ethically and without undue suffering. I will use them again, unless I find a better ABLR load.

[Double Naught Spy]

Put it through the vitals and it will kill

Not really a valid benchmark. You can put a fmj through the vitals and it will kill. You can do the same with .22 lr. round nose. The issue really isn't as simple as whether or not it will kill, but how effectively/quickly and as expounded upon above, how ethically.

[Frontier Gear]

I should say that I would use the SSTs if they were more accurate in my rifles. The reason that I use the ELD-M is because (so far) they are the most consistent factory rounds that I have found for my personal rifles. I'm not saying that the SSTs are bad. Heck, in a pinch, even the Wolf ammo is accurate enough in my guns for most hunting shots in this area. Since the ELD-M is more accurate, that is what I prefer to use. In the attached image I wrote "129gr ELD" which what a brain fart on my part. It was the Hornady Black 123gr ELD-M. Each little square is 1/4" and this was just over the hood of my Jeep, not a real sophisticated set up.

[ErikS]

I have ton loaded up. It shoots well out of my 16 and my son's 20. So what says the 6.5G horde? Should we use them on deer inside of 120yards?

[JASmith]

There only two reasons to limit the range:

1) One’s confidence in hitting the vital zone under current wind, light, and physical status. (are you worn out or fresh?)

and:

2) The maximun range for reliable expansion of the bullet. That was rather far out for the AMAX. The sub question is “What is the minimum velocity for reliable expansion?”

[imaguy3]

2) The maximun range for reliable expansion of the bullet. That was rather far out for the AMAX. The sub question is “What is the minimum velocity for reliable expansion?”

To which if you ask Hornady now about their ELD match bullet... they will reply "this bullet is designed for target shooting and not reliable expansion"... and they won't give you a velocity. Here in lies the problem b/c we have to rely on anecdotal evidence from the internet.

[JASmith]

To which if you ask Hornady now about their ELD match bullet... they will reply "this bullet is designed for target shooting and not reliable expansion"... and they won't give you a velocity. Here in lies the problem b/c we have to rely on anecdotal evidence from the internet.

I tested the AMAX in water a few years back. The bullet expands nicely even below 1600 fps but I would suggest 1600 as the threshold.

The ELD match is very likely similar but, until I or someone else gets the time to do tests with the ELD match, we indeed have to rely on anecdotal evidence.

BTW threshold expansion velocities in water should be a few tens of fps higher than in ballistic gelatin. That is because it is lower in density and has even less strength than gelatin.

[Popeye212]

Local LGS said they work well at least on a high shoulder shot on a 200lb pig....