A 'what the --- moment'

D

diamond hitch

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Feb 9, 2020
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751
Location
Western Montana
I have a 50 yd and a hundred yd rifle range. The cows knocked down my shooting table a few years back on the 100 and I have been too busy to fix it.
I went out today to fire some of my rifles cause I didn't feel like working. As usual all needed some minor adjustment at 50yds. I lined them out and then took my favorite rifle up to the 100yd range that I had rebuilt. The hornady 175 interlocks had one flyer but the rest grouped where they should. Them I shot the 175 gr ELD-X. What grouped at 50 was lucky to find the paper at 100yds. Sure explained why I missed the coyote on tuesday.

A little multi-range testing is certainly advisable. Sure surprised me.
 
More information , please..
Caliber?
Make/model of firearm?
Optics or open sights?
Factory ammo, who's, reloads?

Myself, while i shoot a lot of Hornady's SST, i'm not a fan of the ELD line.
 
BAR browning- old model, BAR browning - high grade, huskvarna -- all seven mag. Scopes - leupold - 3-9 vx-1 and vx-2 - 4-12. Reloads all worked up by .1 gr increments with H4350. All good groups at 50 yds but the Eld-x completely out of control at 100. Looks like they will get shot up and reloaded with interlocks. They have been good for 55 years and a lot of elk. If I outlast my stockpile then I might have to go shopping.
 
I'd give them to someone i didn't like and buy what has proven to work for you.

I know a lot of people shooting 180, 184, and 190gr bullets with 1:9 twist out of a 284 Win. And those out to 1,000 yards.

Hornady told me in no uncertain terms that their 105 match bullet wouldn't stablize out of a 1:10 twist 243 Win. Had zero issues with them to 500 yards.

So take the twist rate with a grain of salt.
 
I've never tried SST. I tried the ELD-x when Hornady discontinued the 175 gr rn that I had used for 40 years. What are the reviews on the SSTs.
 
I'm not a fan of the SSTs. I couldn't ever get anything close to consistent in the 165 grain in my Ruger American .308 and I felt like they really lacked any punch on game in the 150 grain. At least the 150 grain would shoot ok though.
 
I should have clarified, my bad.

I shoot ALOT. At least 1,500 rounds of rifle a year. Probably more.
Not counting any matches i may go to, or hunting.
When putting that many rounds a year down range, expense matters.
The SST has good ballistics at about half the price of Nosler Ballistic Tips, which i use to hunt with.
While i know people that use and like the SST for hunting, i've found slightly better accuracy with the BT. As in i can almost cut my group sizes in half at 300 yards with the BT.
So knowing how the BT performs, and better accuracy, i prefer to use these for hunting.
Not saying the SST doesn't work, just my observations.

Got some ELDX in 150gr, and 162gr to try them. Especially after all the advertizing hype. They shoot ok. But the SST is more accurate for me (out to 600 yards).
Then there started about bullet blowup. The bullet coming apart before it makes it to the target. Still can't find that video again...

I'll stick with the SST, BT, ABLR, Berger VLD-H, Sierra.
 
std7mag said:
I should have clarified, my bad.

I shoot ALOT. At least 1,500 rounds of rifle a year. Probably more.
Not counting any matches i may go to, or hunting.
When putting that many rounds a year down range, expense matters.
The SST has good ballistics at about half the price of Nosler Ballistic Tips, which i use to hunt with.
While i know people that use and like the SST for hunting, i've found slightly better accuracy with the BT. As in i can almost cut my group sizes in half at 300 yards with the BT.
So knowing how the BT performs, and better accuracy, i prefer to use these for hunting.
Not saying the SST doesn't work, just my observations.

Got some ELDX in 150gr, and 162gr to try them. Especially after all the advertizing hype. They shoot ok. But the SST is more accurate for me (out to 600 yards).
Then there started about bullet blowup. The bullet coming apart before it makes it to the target. Still can't find that video again...

I'll stick with the SST, BT, ABLR, Berger VLD-H, Sierra.
Click to expand...
I saw an article about the eld blow up. I don't remember the exact way they had messed up the bullets but it had something to do with them reloading and had cut into the copper jacket with the neck of the case.
 
std7mag said:
I should have clarified, my bad.

I shoot ALOT. At least 1,500 rounds of rifle a year. Probably more.
Not counting any matches i may go to, or hunting.
When putting that many rounds a year down range, expense matters.
The SST has good ballistics at about half the price of Nosler Ballistic Tips, which i use to hunt with.
While i know people that use and like the SST for hunting, i've found slightly better accuracy with the BT. As in i can almost cut my group sizes in half at 300 yards with the BT.
So knowing how the BT performs, and better accuracy, i prefer to use these for hunting.
Not saying the SST doesn't work, just my observations.

Got some ELDX in 150gr, and 162gr to try them. Especially after all the advertizing hype. They shoot ok. But the SST is more accurate for me (out to 600 yards).
Then there started about bullet blowup. The bullet coming apart before it makes it to the target. Still can't find that video again...

I'll stick with the SST, BT, ABLR, Berger VLD-H, Sierra.
Click to expand...

Thank you for explaining in more detail. I appreciate you sharing your experience.

I have primarily used/use Sierra, Accubond, Speer, and Iterlocks (in that order, most to least). Only for hunting and target practice. God knows I don't have the patience or brains for competition shooting. I have always had good results with these and never an issue. I have recently tried loading with the SSTs because of reading about others experience with them and we started using the factory ammo for my wife's .308. I tried Ballistic Tips years ago and had terrible results at that time. I do understand that they have improved and they are not the same bullets, but I can't wrap my brain around trying them again with other good bullets available that have good reviews and work well. I thought about giving the ELD-Xs a try for hunting as well. But after buying a box to work up loads, I'm a bit discouraged with the testimonials I have read.
 
You folks sure make me work. I got to researching on the internet about the twist rates on the rifles I listed. The Husky was made in the mid 60s (H-5000) and was reported with a twist rate 1:9. A real tack driver. My first BAR was made im 1967 and was listed with a twist rate of 1:10. Listed in the ad as it really likes 175 gr bullets and it does (30 elk). The last - a Browning BAR High Grade has a twist rate of 1:9.5. It also likes 175 gr bullets and kills elk with relish (around 20 elk). It's intriguing that there is such a driving force to fix what isn't broke ((Hornady). It's a shame that the government has such influence over business. My reference is in that every time gov. fixes something it gets worse.
 
There’s still many options of 175 gr 7mm bullets. Sierra, Speer, Partitions, A-Frames would all work well and would probably be a better choice for close range hunting than an ELD-X.
 
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