Antelope/Deer Bullet recommendations

[Hoss50]

My thoughts would be TTSX, Accubond, Berger, ELD-M or X. 

I have grown fond of Berger. I have personally seen 4 animals shot with them and none went far. They may not exit, but they get the job done. 

115gr HVLD .257 weatherby vs cow elk @ 260 yards. It went 40 yards. 

168gr HVLD 300 Win mag vs cow elk @ 350 yards. It didn't get far.

135gr Classic Hunter 6.5x55 vs mule deer @ 250 yards. It went 30 yards.

135gr Classic Hunter 6.5x55 vs mule deer @ 40 yards. DRT.

[recurveman]

Well I recently bought a kimber subalpine in .308.   I'm going to load the 178 ELD X bullet and see what happens.   I've recently shot the 140 grain ELD M bullet out of my 6.5 X 284 with mixed results in regards to terminal performance on game (really accurate).     I shot one deer at 450 yards and the jacket and the lead seperated upon impact.     The complete copper jacket was just below the skin on the entrance side of the hide.   Wasn't impressed.    Shot another deer at 964 yards and it went bang flop.   Was really impressed.   The accuracy of the ELD M is in the same league as the berger bullets out to 1000 yards per my testing in regards to accuracy.   I was getting well under sub MOA groups with the ELD M bullets.      

Had a buddy shoot a deer with .270 and the ELD X bullet.   It performed great.   Stayed together really good and nice expansion.    It acted a lot like a nosler BT bullet with a better BC.   

Bergers are best used to shoot targets.    They are super accurate but I've had crappy results on game multiple times.   Not impressed but others love them.  I will not shoot them at game again.  

Shot another deer this year with a Nosler long range accubond.   It performed great.   Nice sized exit hole and was a bang flop experience at about 125 yards.    Wasn't impressed with the bullet from an accuracy perspective.    I had a bunch of elevation issues (past 500 yards) with that bullet and never could figure it out.    Probably ran 200 rounds down my barrel and finally gave up.  The ELD X and M bullets had a perfect water line.    

The bullet I'll be shooting out of my 6.5 X 284 will be the 143 grain ELD X.   I have also shot these bullets out to 1000 yards and they performed great on paper.    The bearing surface is a bit longer than the ELD M so I wasn't able to get the velocity out of this bullet like the ELD M bullet.   From a trajectory and energy perspective the ELD M was better but the ELD X was on its tail and I think the difference just won't matter on game when it is all said and done. 

Watched a buddy shoot a deer with a 90 nosler ballistictip bullet and it dropped like a rock.  

Had another buddy shoot a deer this year with a hornady SST bullet out of his .270 and it was bang flop.   

Good year for deer hunting......bad year to be a deer........         

[firstcoueswas80]

The 180 Berger Hybrid has been awesome in my 28 Nosler.

[CatfishKev]

19 hours ago, rkv09 said:

I have used the eldx in 143 gr on a mule deer, one shot at 220 yards pass through and he dropped in his tracks. I also just used the 145 gr on a javelina at 265 yards and that went through both lungs. The pig ran about 20-30 yards and piled over. Great bullet for thin skinned game but I dont have any experience with them at a long range. 

Saw a 143 eldx on a cow elk at 400 yards (6.5cm) i was pretty amazed. She jumped, kicked and rolled and that was it.   

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but the SST are the same as the eldx with the exception of the polymer tip. The SST will start to melt and deform over long range and deform, vs the eldx is meant to withstand the heat and not melt.  Meaning if you are not shooting long range the sst are just as good?

[AZAV8ER]

56 minutes ago, CatfishKev said:

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but the SST are the same as the eldx with the exception of the polymer tip. The SST will start to melt and deform over long range and deform, vs the eldx is meant to withstand the heat and not melt.  Meaning if you are not shooting long range the sst are just as good?

You are correct about the tip. On the Hornady site SST tip is not advertised as the heat resistant type but after that the bullets are not the same. Hornady has an awesome video on the ELD-X and what they describe is exactly what my experience been. Very accurate and solid terminal performance.

[muledeerarea33?]

I’ve neen partial to the Lapua scenars for a few years now. Either the bullets are good or the gunsmith gods Have been good to me. They’ve killed what I aim at and hit where I aim.

[Born2hunt]

Thanks everyone for your input, especially with elk results taking attention today!  Found out my bro drew the late rifle bull tag in 22. I’ll be living through him this fall...

Sounds like I’m generally hearing Accubond, TTSX, Berger and ELD X.  I think I’ll pick up some of each and see how the loads develop.  Sounds like terminal performance for each should be pretty good for smaller game. I shot a cow elk once from 28 yards with a Sierra Game King and it did the job, but it didn’t hold together too well and left no blood - I found her by walking tight circles until I almost stepped on her (thick country).  I know that’s a lot to ask of a bullet but if I ever draw another elk tag I’ll be sure to load partitions or something solid. 

Thanks everyone and happy hunting