ELD-VT vs VMAX

[bmicek]

After some google searching, I couldn’t find a definitive answer. Is the new ELD-VT any “tougher” of a bullet than the Vmax? I know it’s still touted as “explosive”. But I was hoping it was a little tougher than the Vmax lineup. Has anyone seen any cut open and compared to a Vmax side by side?

 

[ZA206]

@Ledzep to the courtesy phone!!!

 

[Ledzep]

Jackets on the VT's will generally be thicker than Vmax of the same caliber. The Vmaxs are usually shot in stuff that's like 1:10-1:14" twist barrels. The VT's are more like 1:7-1:10 and at 3000+fps the risk of blowing up warranted it.

That said, in most circumstances you're going to get very similar terminal performance to Vmaxs. In ballistic gel you're looking at about the same result-- Immediate rapid exansion/fragmentation, not many large pieces, and a temporary cavity that's 4-8" wide and usually no more than 8" deep (give or take). With the 6.5's and .30 cals occasionally you'll get the base of the jacket to hold together and penetrate deeper, especially on the lower end of the velocity threshold. 1900-2000fps impact velocity for reliable terminal performance. Some may dip a little lower than that depending on what they hit.

 

[bmicek]

Jackets on the VT's will generally be thicker than Vmax of the same caliber. The Vmaxs are usually shot in stuff that's like 1:10-1:14" twist barrels. The VT's are more like 1:7-1:10 and at 3000+fps the risk of blowing up warranted it.

That said, in most circumstances you're going to get very similar terminal performance to Vmaxs. In ballistic gel you're looking at about the same result-- Immediate rapid exansion/fragmentation, not many large pieces, and a temporary cavity that's 4-8" wide and usually no more than 8" deep (give or take). With the 6.5's and .30 cals occasionally you'll get the base of the jacket to hold together and penetrate deeper, especially on the lower end of the velocity threshold. 1900-2000fps impact velocity for reliable terminal performance. Some may dip a little lower than that depending on what they hit.

Great info, appreciate the help

 

[JBrown]

@Ledzep the jacket thickness is a step in the right direction IMO. In the coyote contest world the vmax has been considered by many an inferior bullet choice because it has a tendency to splash when pushed really hard out of a lot of rifles, especially anything with a faster twist.

Most guys I know that really travel to hunt contests went to the 70/80 noslers because the bullet was super reliable when it comes to energy transfer but NEVER splashing. The downside to the noslers was availability and the BC sucks.

This bullet may just be the one we have all been waiting for when it comes to shooting coyotes at all ranges out of a variety of guns. Going to test some soon and post up some videos of the results if I can. Thanks for the new product!

 

[Prison Mike]

Anymore updates on these bullets? I have both of these sitting at home right now and want to work up some loads, but not sure which to go with first. I tried some 140 Berger Elite Hunters on a coyote this weekend, but was a complete pass through. I was planning on just going back to the vmax but came across the ELD-VT's.