New Hornady 230gr ELDX 338
- Thread starter Juggerxxx
- Start date
Awesome, Glad to hear it worked out for you also, the 230eld-x is truly an awesome bullet. I did hear the eld-x like to be near the lands or have a 1/4 mile jump start. My gun likes it almost kissing the lands while yours likes a huge jump
I wound up putting this guy down this year with my .338 RUM. 230 grain eldx, just under 300 yards. Found that if you have them going 3200+ fps, and nail a white tail in the crease of the shoulder and neck. You do not get an exit wound, did not care to take pictures of it, but will tell you that both lungs and 3/4 of the heart were jelly.
I did not find the slug, nor could I find any sign of it ever hitting anything on the opposite side of the body cavity. Just a nice .338 hole going in, and complete obliteration on the inside.
A bigger animal would have to be farther away for me to take a shot, probably atleast 450 to 500 yards. May switch over to a bonded bullet if I ever decide to elk hunt with it.
Dave.
I did not find the slug, nor could I find any sign of it ever hitting anything on the opposite side of the body cavity. Just a nice .338 hole going in, and complete obliteration on the inside.
A bigger animal would have to be farther away for me to take a shot, probably atleast 450 to 500 yards. May switch over to a bonded bullet if I ever decide to elk hunt with it.
Dave.
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The reason being is I did not have a complete pass through. I would worry that if shot in close range that it may expend energy to soon and have a slower kill. If the animal runs, and the bullet does not have an exit hole, good luck with a blood trail.
In a .338 win mag, where the velocity is significantly less, there is less chance of overexpansion to this extent.
If the elk or said animal was guaronteed to be more than 400 yards out, where this bullet could get down to around 2600 fps with this rifle, then I would be more comfortable.
Not enough expansion = bad, too much expansion also = bad.
Dave
In a .338 win mag, where the velocity is significantly less, there is less chance of overexpansion to this extent.
If the elk or said animal was guaronteed to be more than 400 yards out, where this bullet could get down to around 2600 fps with this rifle, then I would be more comfortable.
Not enough expansion = bad, too much expansion also = bad.
Dave
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I bet a bullet of this weight and SD would kill an elk in the same manner or nearly as your deer at 100-200 yards . 3200 fps is definitely way fast for it though lol
It probably would, but I don't want to shoot an elk that close with that much gun. I have a 300 win mag for that close.
This is basically a fun mess around shooting gun, that is entirely too heavy for a serious hunting weapon. It sure shoots good and smooth though, like a big overgrown 22-250.
XLR chassis very nice! I have one of their carbon chassis that i put a Tikka 223 into. Very comfortable chassis and definitely not light.
Yes, this rifle was my first one to put into a chassis. I have put a few more into a couple since. They are all better off the bench to me than a traditional stock.
Been watching this topic and finally got an opportunity to try the 230’s in my Win Mag. Reloder 19 starting at 73.0 in .5 grain increments until I got to 74.5. Not close to pressure yet but the Sd’s were 5 for 73.0 and 74.5 grain loads. I plan to keep going up in charge weights next trip to the range. Was in the low 2800’s when I had to leave to complete a honey do list. Rifle/components: M-70; 24” Barrel; virgin R & P brass; Win 8 1/2 - 120 primers (none left). Anxious to try the 230’s with H-4350 which also sounds interesting.
On another note, my brake is really tough on my Magnetospeed.
On another note, my brake is really tough on my Magnetospeed.
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