Hornady 134 eldm issues

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

So I bought 3 boxes of 134 eldm bullets last Nov and as I was loading discovered that 3-5 per box were missing tips, some were in the box while others were missing entirely.

I contacted Hornady and they sent 3 replacement boxes, I noticed one box had three tips in the bottom but all the bullets were intact???
The remaining 2 boxes appear normal but WTF is going on?

These bullets shoot one ragged hole but occasionally (like 1 in 10) will just do its own thing and randomly impact an inch or more out of the group..
It gets even weirder at longer ranges, I'll be right on target at 700-800 yards then get an unexplained random directional 2' miss.
My theory is that some tips are compromised in some way and coming off in flight.

I'm getting damn frustrated and considering giving up on Hornady bullets, anyone else have a similar experience with any eldms?

 

[RegionRat]

Your photos certainly beg some questions and you pose a good theory for the possible cause of your random flyer issue.

I have not run that particular bullet myself but several club mates have run a lot of it. They blame themselves when they get a flyer as there are some canyon side-slot formations at the club that are effectively blind channels for wind that you may not sense. So, they assumed their random flyers were due to unseen cross winds.

I'll point out your thread and ask them if they had any fractured tips in the package like the ones you show.

The only other comment I will add, is the detail of the break isn't at the root of the spud diameter but is well above that facet. A close examination of the fractures in a good lab would give them some good clues to the root cause.

We are all familiar with the story of the material changes they made to eliminate the melting-tip problem and were very happy they solved that issue. Maybe this is just a brittle failure from handling shock, or maybe it is something more complex in the process.

I really hope they can find the cause and eliminate it because these do otherwise perform very well for my friends. This series of bullets is affordable and I hope they can keep it this way. If they have to add a lot of cost, it would defeat the purpose. @Ledzep

 

[Ledzep]

It happens occasionally unfortunately. Can be from several reasons (press setup, handling, material). I don't have any specific info on that lot or that bullet but if you continue to see issues feel free to call tech support again.

In my experience this won't cause fliers in random directions. That's usually something else. Typical experience with broken or no tip is that a round goes 1-3 mils low at 600-1000yd. At close range, again from what I've seen, they stack in there with the rest of them. The increase in drag definitely puts them low at longer distance.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

It happens occasionally unfortunately. Can be from several reasons (press setup, handling, material). I don't have any specific info on that lot or that bullet but if you continue to see issues feel free to call tech support again.

In my experience this won't cause fliers in random directions. That's usually something else. Typical experience with broken or no tip is that a round goes 1-3 mils low at 600-1000yd. At close range, again from what I've seen, they stack in there with the rest of them. The increase in drag definitely puts them low at longer distance.

Thanks for the input
I'd like to know what else might cause flyers if not the tip issues?
I've been shooting 135 lrhts in my exact setup lately and have yet to experience anything close to what these bullets are doing.

The main reason why I believe it's related to the tips is that I had the exact same thing happening in my AR 10 last year with 147 eldms.
I finally realized the tips were occasionally being torn off during chambering when one got stuck in the bolt head.
I chalked it up to the more violent cycling of a gas gun.

 

[BJensen]

I have seen seating depth cause a random 1 in 10 shot flyer. My 7LRM with 180 hybrids when seated .010"-.015" off would shoot very well, except 1 or 2 out of 10 shots would open a .25 moa group to like 1 moa or something... When seated to (if I remember correctly) .038" off it hammered and the random flyers went away.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

I have seen seating depth cause a random 1 in 10 shot flyer. My 7LRM with 180 hybrids when seated .010"-.015" off would shoot very well, except 1 or 2 out of 10 shots would open a .25 moa group to like 1 moa or something... When seated to (if I remember correctly) .038" off it hammered and the random flyers went away.

Funny you mentioned this, I've started on a new box and went from .020 to .030 jump and so far the flyers seem to have diminished.
I'll need to put that load through the paces and shoot several more boxes before I'm satisfied though.