By Andy Tillman

December 6, 2017

The G7 BC of the ELD-X bullet is very close to what is advertised.

I shot twenty of the precision hunter ammo at the Central Oregon Shooters Association 1,000 yard gong range at horse ridge and got reliable data points for come ups at 500, 600 and 800 yards. I ran out of ammo before I could get on at 1000 but this is what I found.

Average for 15 shots 2669 fps at 75-80 degrees F. 69 fps faster than ammo box said. And 120 fps faster than what on line reloading data says from Hornady. Curious. I pulled one bullet to measure it and factory ammo had 42.5 grains of what looked a lot like Varget. Tthat was Hornadys max load in their on line data. I reseated bullet (without resizing neck) over 42.5 Varget and got 2620 fps at 2.68 OCL.

Come ups as follows. Elevation above sea level, 4250 feet.

• 500 yd 10.5 MOA
• 600 yd 14.25 MOA
• 800 yd 22.5 MOA

1000 (probably) 32.5 predicted by JBM software. I tried a six o’clock hold with 34 moa and still shot over and to right of 24 inch gong. So sounds possible. I currently run Barnes Match Burners at 35 MOA so that is truly a flat shooting bullet if it does as well as predicted.

The Barnes Match burners appear to have a G7 of about .255 which is similar to the Berger 175 VLD and the SMK at .243 (as I recall). JBM shows the 178 ELD-X at .267 G7 and the come ups are within 1/4-1/2 moa of what I recorded.

Part Two.

The ELD-X does appear to be as streamlined as Hornady claims. Using a value of .268 G7 ballistic coefficient combined with the actual temperature, chronographed velocity, and altitude above sea level, the MOA elevation required at each range was closely correlated to that predicted by JBM ballistic software.

The ambient temperature and velocity were less than my first range session. About 64 degrees and I corrected the elevation above sea level to Horse Ridge to 4320 asl. I obtained useful data points out to 800 yards on my first range session, and this time I confirmed or refined my point of impact at 600, 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. 14.5, 23.0, 28.0 and 33.25 MOA adjustments got me on target with well centered groups.

Precise groups were possible compared to my first range session due to a fairly benign and consistent wind and mirage. Still, at 1,000 yards, I was shooting about five feet right of the target without adjusting for windage. The ELD-X requires 2-4 MOA less elevation adjustment at 1,000 yards than the Sierra Match King or Barnes Match Burners I had been using. Competitive shooters may want to try the Hornady BTHP Match which normally reliable sources have told me have a verified G7 of .265. You can purchase these in bulk for $70 per 250 or $438 per 1,600.

I tested some hand loads of the ELD-X bullet using once fired Hornady Pro Hunter cases, Federal 210M primers, Varget powder, and an OCL of 2.865 which was as long as I can load them in my Accuracy International magazine. This put the bullets ogive about 0.050 off the lands which is farther than ideal for a secant ogive. 42.0 grains produced 2,700 fps from my 20 inch stainless Remington 40X barrel and was a maximum or close to it loaded with these components. 42.5 grains averaged 2,730 fps and flat primers. Between 41.0 and 41.5 grains is likely to duplicate factory velocity.

Do you need an EDL-X for competitive shooting? Probably not, but considering how time consuming and expensive it is to verify precise long range DOPE, there is much to be said for standardizing on a single reload for each rifle. Hunting, long range plinking, High Power, F-class. Maybe even 600 yard benchrest. The ELD-X does it all.