Hornady ELD-X Bullets Don’t Perform on Hunts?
Let’s get the negative comments that were the catalyst for my revisiting this product out in the open. I heard the following message from two sources: “Hornady ELD-X bullets aren’t trustworthy in performance on game. They break up and don’t penetrate, especially on tough game at short distances where the velocity is still high.” One source of this message was an African outfitter on a hunting website; the other was from a close friend who quoted someone else’s experience. I believed that both sources could be dependable and needed serious consideration.
As a research scientist since 1975, and a professor overseeing a laboratory since 1989, I always want data for drawing conclusions. I know that makes me, in many folks’ eyes, an egghead, geek, nerd, etc. I’m ok with those descriptors because I love collecting and analyzing data. I’ve done that at the range and across multiple hunting trips and species using Hornady’s ELD-X bullet. I’ve used an MG-Arms Ultralight rifle in 7mm Remington Magnum and a Blaser Ultimate Leather R-8 rifle with Recoil Suppression chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum. In the former, the cartridges were my handloads using a 162-grain Hornady ELD-X bullet; for the .300 Winchester Magnum, I used Hornady’s Precision Hunter ammunition topped with 200-grain Hornady ELD-X projectiles.
Hornady ELD-X Performance
A 2020 review provided information on my first hunting trip using the Hornady ELD-X bullet. Mainly a pursuit for a Leopard in Namibia with Jamy Traut Hunting Safaris, the 7mm cartridge from the MG-Arms rifle accounted for not only a 145-pound leopard at 65 yards but a Springbok at 80 yards, a Mountain zebra at 342 yards and Blue Wildebeest, Hartebeest, and Oryx at distances of 250 – 350 yards. This species list includes some animals considered the toughest of the tough (e.g., Blue Wildebeest and Mountain Zebra) while others, like a leopard, fall into the ‘soft’ category of most experienced African hunters. Except for an Oryx, which I messed up and held too low on my initial shot, every animal, including the leopard, succumbed within 0-50 yards after receiving a single Hornady ELD-X. To say I was impressed with this new (to me, at least) bullet is being coy. Amazed is a better descriptor.
The accompanying photographs from the previous review show the Mountain Zebra and the bullet recovered from the stallion; it traveled in a straight line after striking ribs, destroying the top of the heart, and finally coming to rest lodged against the inside of the off-shoulder. The animal ran approximately 50 yards before collapsing.
Recovery of most bullets on the Namibian safari was not possible because they passed through the animals. Likewise, on a second safari in Mozambique in Zambeze Delta Safaris’ Coutada 11 concession, the only Hornady ELD-X bullet from the same 7mm MG-Arms rifle recovered was from a Sable bull. This 162-grain bullet broke the Sable’s onside shoulder and smashed the spine, coming to rest inside the skin of the off-shoulder. The Sable Bull weighed around 500 pounds with massive shoulders and spine. Like on other individuals of ‘tough’ species, the bullet held its course through terrific resistance consisting of bone and muscle. And the trophy expired quickly, the main goal for any ethical hunter. Ditto for a 250-pound Nyala bull at 150 yards, a 500-pound Waterbuck bull at 80 yards, and four whitetail-size Common Reedbuck bulls taken at around 100 yards for meat for camp and the local Sena Chief.
Hornady ELD-X Performance Stateside
Lest you think I only hunt African locales, a February 2023 adventure in Oklahoma provided another opportunity for testing the 162-grain 7mm Hornady ELD-X on game. On this hunt, I spent time pursuing both predators, especially coyotes and feral hogs. My guide, Eric Selph (Owner of Legacy Outdoor Hunts), called a 40+ pound dog coyote into our set and put me on a stand where a 100+ pound sow hog appeared. In both cases, the coyote at 75 yards and the feral hog at the same distance dropped to a single 162-grain Hornady ELD-X bullet. The coyote is a soft-skinned and relatively thin-boned animal, but the wild hog is anything but. Yet, the performance of the bullet – in penetration and destruction of shoulder and heart/lungs – on both animals was the same. It is worth noting that if the bullet was going to blow up on the exterior of an animal, the hog gave the perfect opportunity being relatively close and massive in bone structure and muscle.
African Performance
Returning to Africa, my most recent safari, taken to both the Eastern Cape and the Kalahari Desert of South Africa, again proved the Hornady ELD-X design to be a ‘premium bullet.’ For this set of hunts, the US-based Blaser Group via their public relations agent, Shannon Jackson, provided their new R8 Ultimate Leather rifle with Recoil Suppression. When approached, Seth Swerczek, Hornady’s Marketing Communications Manager, provided Precision Hunter cartridges for range work and the safaris. I was pleased that the 200-grain Hornady ELD-X bullets topped the cartridges.
On the two safaris, I would again be in pursuit of small to medium species, ranging from Steenbok to Springbok. I also would need excellent performance from the rifle and cartridges for one of the toughest African species, the Black Wildebeest, and the largest of the African antelope species, an ~2000-pound Eland bull. Shot distances would likely range from 100-300 yards, with atmospheric conditions varying from calm, cold Kalahari Desert mornings to extremely windy, Wyoming-esque landscapes in the Eastern Cape. I think the best means of illustrating the performance of the 30-caliber, 200-grain Hornady ELD-X bullet is with the following summary points from my field notes. The arrangement of the trophy list is from smallest to largest animal:
- Steenbok (25 pounds) – 126 yards – dropped to the shot.
- Kalahari Springbok (90 pounds) – 143 yards – went ~165 yards before expiring.
- Black Springbok (90 pounds) – 318 yards in 50 mph gusting wind – dropped to the shot.
- Black Wildebeest (400 pounds) – 250 yards, jogged 100 yards, shot again at 350 yards, went down, both bullets extracted from inside off-shoulder, nearly touching one another. First recovered bullet = 6.5 grams = 100 grains = 50% weight retention. Second, recovered bullet = 5.7 grams = 88 grains = 44% weight retention.
- Eland (2000 pounds) – 323 yards, went ~15 yards after shot.
Of all the animals taken on this last safari, there was only one complaint, and that from the outfitter when he looked at the skin from the tiny Steenbok. His exclamation, “It looks like it swallowed a grenade!” was accurate. The bullet’s exit left a large hole. I expected that result given the speed of the .300 Winchester Magnum projectile; it did not reflect an issue from a specific bullet. In fact, that is why I held well back from the shoulder. All the bits of skin were still there, so the taxidermist should be able to repair the exit wound.
Hornady ELD-X Accuracy
I’ve focused on addressing the negative reports for ELD-X bullets from the two sources I encountered over the past few years. My experience is now reasonably comprehensive regarding the performance of 7mm (in the 7mm Remington Magnum) and 30-caliber (in the .300 Winchester Magnum) Hornady ELD-X bullets. Since the complaints heard involved the viewpoint that the Hornady ELD-X design is too soft for firing from fast calibers, at tough game, and at short distances, the 7mm Remington Magnum and .300 Winchester Magnum data should provide a fair test of this hypothesis. I did not have any examples where either the 162-grain or 200-grain bullet failed in this manner. I suspect that, like any human-made object, failure will occur occasionally, but I have not experienced any such malfunctions.
Since this review focuses on the performance on game animals of the Hornady ELD-X, one aspect not mentioned yet is the accuracy of the bullets in the two rifles. I’ve discussed this facet in two previous reviews. The photograph of the 300-yard group using the MG Arms 7mm Remington Magnum from the Ultimate Leather shooting sticks from 4StableSticks, and the two graphs first appeared in the reviews of the MG Arms and Blaser R8 rifles.
The take-home message from the range analyses is that the Hornady ELD-X bullets in the MG Arms and Blaser rifles were very accurate. From both bench and standing fieldrests (4StableSticks Ultimate Leather and Ultimate Carbon models), group sizes out to 400 yards were all sub-MOA with many sub-0.5 MOA. Those results gave me the confidence to take shots at game out to 400 yards; these attempts were, bar the one oryx mentioned earlier, successful in bringing the game down with a single, or at most two, 162-grain or 200-grain Hornady ELD-Xs.
My findings from a series of hunts with two calibers, during which I took individuals of 10 species weighing from 25 – 2000 pounds, including representatives from species considered as some of the toughest to bring down, were consistent. There were no failures, between 70-400 yards, on so-called soft or tough animals. Also, the accuracy of both the 7mm and 30-caliber bullets was excellent, allowing ethical shots on game out to 400 yards. Simply put, the Hornady ELD-X design provides an extremely dependable projectile for hunting.
Mike Arnold has been a life-long hunter. The Hunter’s Horn blew very early for him. From the age of five, Mike has spent months each year pursuing game animals – from quail and rabbits behind his parents’ house, to kudu and leopard in Africa, and Brocket deer in Mexico. Mike’s articles include feature pieces in Sports Afield, Hunter’s Horn, Safari Magazine, and African Hunting Gazette. Mike also produced two TEDx presentations on the topic of conservation-through-trophy-hunting. You can find links to many of his articles and his Blog here.
Mike is also a Professor and the Head of the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia. He works in conservation biology and is the author of the 2022 book, BRINGING BACK THE LIONS: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique. Mike’s book is available for purchase at bringingbackthelions.com, Amazon and local bookstores.