The 6.5-284, 143Eld-X, and a Bull.....other stuff as well

Awesome hunt! I actually had a Hornady 180g SST deflect off a RIB of an average sized mule deer buck on entry. No super mag either, just my 30-06. From what I gather, the ELD-X seems similarly fragile.

Switched back to the outstanding 180g Accubond and haven’t looked back.

Congratulations on a very successful and cool hunt.

Cool hunt, thanks for sharing it with us.

Congrats on the harvest! That sounds like a fun hunt.

I have heard several bad stories about the ELD-X bullets coming apart. I have had good luck with Interbond "American Whitetail" ammo with medium game and the GMX should do a very good job with the heavy critters. I used the SST for a few years but fear of a larger deer at a steep angle made me swap to the Interbond.

From what I've read bullets like the ELD-X and some of the Speer bullets suffer from a thin jacket and can have a hard time staying together under some circumstances. Not sure how true that is but it seems to go along with what alot of people are experiencing.

The Fed Fusion, Hornady Interbond and GMX, Barnes TTSX, Nosler Accubond and Partition all seem to be built to hold together as they push on through. I'm curious to try out a few other designs to see for myself.

This year I'll be trying out some 160gr Nosler Partition loaded by Double Tap out of my 270 Win that should be getting close to 2900fps from my 24" bbl. Advertises 2850fps from a 22". That should cover my whitetail and if I get to chase any mule deer I believe. I hope to test them this coming season.

Haven’t had any trouble with Interlocks/.243, but I’ve only shot tiny deer with them.

H&Hhunter said:

I can find absolutely no faults with Accubond bullets on thin skinned game.

Click to expand...

They are my current favorite as well. I first tried them in the 140gr .277" flavor out of my .270, good wounding and full penetration on antelope, muley and a cow elk, hard to find fault with that kind of consistency.

I now run 180gr ABs in my '06, and 140gr ABs in my 6.5 CM. I can't pretend I don't hear the siren call of the accuracy and BC of various ELDxs every now and then though. I might put a 178gr from a .308 through a muley this year just to give them a try, they do shoot so nice.

LoonWulf said:

Thanks guys!

My experience with Speer bullets is that besides the Grand Slams they are pretty soft. Even tho the hotcores are psuedo bonded, I've had them splatter on bones when shot at close range from my 7s, and 06s. That's actually what got me into shooting heavy for Cal bullets.

Click to expand...

The only Speer bullet I've hunted with was the 130gr btsp out of a .270 WSM. A broadside impact on a whitetail doe at 40 yds resulted in a 3" entry hole and one lung destroyed. I didn't see any damage on the far lung, and couldn't find an exit or the bullet.... Not a terribly fair test given the impact velocity, but it kind of turned me off to their bullets.