Used the Hornady Spire Point for years and years in .308, 7mm, .277, .25 calibers and never had a problem with all the elk, deer, moose and black bear I’ve shot. But used the eld-x in 7-08 once and never used it again.
THEN ADD IN THE NOSLER PARTITION AND COMPARE THAT TO THE HORNADY... HUNTERS OWE IT TO THE SPORT TO GIVE IT THEIR BEST USING HORNADY INSTEAD OF BARNES X OR NOSLER PARTITION IS LESS THAN THE BEST....imo
@@MdniteRider Not a good comparison unless you want to compare lead /copper to each other. Otherwise from Barnes to GMX Hornady is copper to copper. The partition still works for many , but it is very outdated and many far better bullets developed over the years. I stopped using the partitions 30 years ago, had then separate, but not as bad as most cup and core bullets. That is why I specifically said GMX as it is all copper like the barnes, But I never was a fan of fragments or lead through out my food, use what makes you happy,
Exactly. This is an apples and oranges test. Not at all representative. It's not a true comparison test. One is a monolithic one is a cup and core and they're not even the same weight. This guy doesn't know how this works. Waste of time.
Both are great bullets IMO. Say what you want about the separation of the Hornady. It is dumping a massive amount of terminal energy into the target. That's why the Barnes went through 3 jugs. It did not dump energy as well as the Hornady in a nominal penetration distance for hydrostatic testing. The Hornady rounds I personally loaded, I've shot with my .Tikka T3 Lite Stainless 270, have dropped every single deer I've shot in their tracks except for one. I shot a 195;b buck on a trot at 196 yards. the shot entered right in front of his left rear hindquarter and barely poked through right behind his right front leg in the rib cage. He went about 30 feet and fell between two small trees like he squatted down. I hung him up and when I opened him up to gut him, everything inside including the lungs and heart were mush. The most bullet energy damage I've seen transferred inside a deer like that.
Stick with Barnes You will never be disappointed. Unleaded and unbeatable. I use barnes TSX. Super deadly. I stopped messing around with lead core hunting bullets 25 years ago.
Great video thank you I’m new to reloading and I have a box of TTSX’s but haven’t tried them yet in a field test. After watching this I’m more than convinced that I made the right choice for a bullet over 200 yds should be the Barnes for sure. Thanks again from a deer Hunter from Maine
In my experience Hornady ELDX usually shoots well, but just dosen't hold together. It is a premium cup and core bullet and that's it. Now for light and medium game it is fine. However moving up to bull elk, moose, or bear I would hesitate to reach for ELDX. There's other options better suited. For example Accubond LR, Terminal Ascent, Scirocco II, and Barnes LRX all have a reputation for holding together at all ranges.
I went out for a hunt this morning with the Hornady 178 grain ELDX after a black bear 🐻, bloody things didn’t work too well for me once found the bear but think it had more to do with the zoo keeper spotting and chasing me here in New Zealand at the Auckland Zoo, spoiled an enjoyable morning hunt he did the rotten bugga! 🤠
I hunted in Montana in 2019 with a combo mule deer/elk tag. I was using a 7mm Rem Magnum. and the 162 grain ELDX. Let me share my experience with the worst hunting bullet I have ever shot. I shot a beautiful mule deer at 271 years and hit him perfect behind the shoulder in the rib cavity. The deer slowly walked away but I knew was hit very good. After 1 minute he fell over. As I was walking up the the deer he tried to get up about 4 minutes later but died. Upon cleaning the deer I found the bullet just came apart. It did not even make it to the opposite rib cage. No exit wound! I only found fragments and the jacket in the chest of the deer. I did not want to change ammo for the elk hunting because my rifle was sighted in, so I went elk hunting next. One morning a nice 5x5 bull was running up a mountain and I ranged him at 375 yards. I laid in the snow and opened my bipod and put the scope on him broadside. I hit the elk in the front should and he just kept walking away. I chambered another and shot, hitting him about 12 inched back from the front shoulder. I thought perfect but the elk kept walking. Next shot I missed and reloaded. My fourth shot hit the front shoulder again at about 400 yards and hi kept walking. Now the elk is walking straight away at 419 yards and I shoot again and hit the back hip and he goes down. FINALLY! So I begin to walk to the elk but is a long way. I arrived at the elk 10 minutes later and to my surprise the elk is trying to get up again. I am SHOCKED! I have one cartridge left and shoot the elk at 3 steps perfect behind the front shoulder. At 3 steps the shot did not even pass thru the elk. I wait 5 minutes before the poor elk finally dies. We took the elk to the processor and found not one shot passed thru the elk. The butcher found 80 fragments of lead and copper in the meat. This bullet in the ELDX is just junk. I will never shoot them again for hunting. I was very fortunate to not have lost that elk. If I was in timber he would have been gone after the first shot. I give them a F grade for large game. Use them for rabbits and maybe you will get a pass thru.
I shot my first bull elk last year using 212gr ELD-X out of a 300prc. It was only a 40yd shot! He was quartered to me, not preferable but it's all I had before he was gonna bolt. Shot entered in front of his right should and recovered in rib cage just behind left shoulder. He only ran about 40yds but I was definitely shocked it didn't pass through considering it never hit heavy bone.
@@jeremied4370 sounds like the bullet worked perfect in your situation. You said you did not hit any heavy bones (which would have increased the chances of dropping the animal right there) the bullet held together (even close to your maximum muzzle/impact velocity) and was recovered on the far side of the hide out of your dead bull (who only ran about 40 yards). Think of impact velocity in this way. If you have ever jumped off of a high diving board or off a cliff into water you know that the higher you are the harder the surface tension of water the becomes. To the point where you can be high enough (reach a high enough impact velocity) that it can be fatal. Bullets experience the same thing. The higher the impact velocity the harder the surface tension/resistance of the target. More resistance equals more bullet deformation. More bullet deformation equals more expended energy and shallower wound channel. No surprises that your bullet did not exit. It is a common myth that higher velocity projectiles at close range penetrate deeper. Also keep in mind that the ELD-X is designed to expand at very low velocities that are experienced at long ranges. It has to work at 2860 FPS (muzzle) as well as 1860 FPS (930 yards). That’s a nearly 700 mile per hour difference in impact velocity. We ask a lot of a hunting bullet and there is truly no “perfect bullet” for all styles of hunting game. They all have pros and cons and in the end all we as hunters can do is know the strengths and weaknesses of the bullet we are using. You need a much more solidly constructed bullet if you are shooting game at very close range with magnums at very hard quartering angles. Also a much overlooked side of the equation is the difference in impact medium the bullet can experience in just a few inches difference in impact location. A good example of this drastic difference is the bullets path through : Hide Rib meat Vitals Rib meat Hide Vs. Hide shoulder meat Shoulder bone Rib bone Vitals Rib bone Shoulder bone Shoulder meat Hide Both these possibilities can happen just a few inches away from each other. Both are drastically different mediums. It’s very difficult to find a bullet that can perform the same way through both mediums. Too solid a bullet would likely not receive enough resistance to properly expand and pencil through the rib shot, and the soft a bullet would likely expend all its energy in the first 6”-8” and not exit on the shoulder shot. Every bullet out there has a hero story and a horror story. I believe it’s because most hunters do not do enough research on the above points of terminal ballistics. Happy hunting!
Interesting review, Thanks. Being 2 different styles of bullets will usually give you different results. I shot a bull moose a couple years back with a Barnes T Tsx at about 120 yards. The entrance and exit wounds were identical and subsequently both lungs had the same small holes. Little to no blood trail. It was like a lazor had been shot through it. This year I saw a bull elk shot at about 75 yards with a eld-x. There was no exit hole and little to no blood as well. The difference was when we opened the chest cavity. It looked like a bomb had gone off, both lungs and the heart took heavy trauma. Both were fatal. I realize these 2 incidents were not long distance shots but still gives us a look at the 2 completely different styles
I shoot whitetails with the 139 sst 7 mag. I don't get exit wounds but haven't had any run over 30 yrds either. They usually drop right where they stood.
I use 120 SST in 6.8 SPC/ 100 yds. or less. Nothing has taken a step after the shot. In one hog I shot in the left ear went thru the neck, down the left leg and found the jacket in the lower part of the leg. Don't know where the core ended up. Great bullet for shorter distances. I have 180 SST I would like to test in 30-06 but, powders are hard to come by these days. Last season I use the Traditions ML all season long. Looks like I will have the same game plan next coming season.
Definitely prefer the Barnes, all around. Converted all of my hunting loads to Barnes bullets for two obvious reasons: 1) better performance and 2) zero lead contamination. Done with ingesting lead particles in my venison, period! Thanks for the video.
Great video, Hi from New Zealand. I have been using 162 ELDX doing 2890fps. I have found the same on a Red Stag and a Bull Tahr, 200 yard shots, no penetration and no blood trail. The Stag ran a good 150 yards. Right through the boiler room. Both found on skin on the other side.
I've been using the 162gr eldx in my 7mm rem mag and have always been a little disappointed by terminal performance on big game. Switched to 150gr GMX this year
No penetration, yet the bullets were found under the skin on the off side? I guess your definition of penetration is somewhat different from mine. Having said that, in my experience nothing kills quite as effectively as a Barnes bullet. I have seen a broadside gut shot kill a stag where it stood, with the lungs looking like red oatmeal, apparently from the hydrostatic shock of the bullet hitting the animal.
Though I admire the long range test . most don't have the skill or balls to put this on video. But after going through several jugs and lead separating and you see that as a negative . you are buying into a hype about separation. Those to bullets are apples and oranges . no comparison. Dead elk is dead , Its how far you may have to track one after putting a pencil hole into and possibly not through it that will matter. you may not shoot through an elk with the cup and core style but I doubt you will have to track anything .Not so much with the solid copper. I've done these tests on live elk and cup and core animals never go more that 5o yards before crashing . Solids I've had them travel several hundred yards. Just an Observation . Hats off to you for this video Thank you.
Thank you for watching! And thank you for the input. I took have had extensive experience with using both bullets on elk. (In 10 years I have been a part of witnessing over 50 elk being shot) Both kill them no doubt. I have personally seen elk go over 100 yards after being shot in the boiler room with a 212 eld-x out of a 300 win mag at less than 50 yards. Ive had elk go over 50 yards after being hit with Barnes bullets as well in a 300 mag. I also saw an elk shot with a 50bmg and a 750 grain amax that ran over 80 yards. What I have come to realize, is that elk are incredibly tough animals, and in my personal experience, the Barnes seem to impress them more. I also like the added assurance that there is much deeper penetration with the Barnes. In the unfortunate event that I make a bad shot. And hit heavy bone or the animal is angled more than I expected, I personally would take the Barnes over the cup and core any day of the week. Deer sized game are a different story. A heavy for caliber eld-x is hard to beat. Happy hunting to you!
I took Hornady SST's and Barnes TTSX handloads for my 264 Win Mag to Africa. Although the Hornadys were more accurate at the range, they didn't perform as I expected. They literally blew apart on impact with little penetration on gemsbok and other light game. The Barnes performed flawlessly on everything from giant eland, kudu, and zebra. Also, I know I used SST's and not the ELDx, but they are pretty much the same other than the interlock design. All that being said, the test in the video isn't a fair one. Testing two non-bonded bullets of same weights and different brand would be more acceptable, or two monolithic bullets like the GMX & TTSX against one another. The outcome was inevitable to most of us who are shooters.
In a hunting context the lost mass of the ELDx is still within the animal (not to mention potential bone fragments) . Each fragment creating additional wound/damage paths. And if a projectile failed to exit then 100% energy transference occurred. BC, velocity, FPE wasn't disclosed to assist in making a self determination as to the superiority of the examples presented. Copper/lead construction vs. solid monolithic is like comparing apples to oranges in regards to weight retention. Penetration IMO is subjective especially if a pass-through shot is experienced since energy is not deposited but rather carried through. I would've used Hornady's GMX for an apple to apple comparison. Just my two cents.......
Milk jug comparisons are fun. I did one with a 200 grain Accubond and I really like my Accubonds. I shot through 5 milk jugs. Regular 1 gallon jugs full of water. I never found my bullets. I shot straight through a Whitetail and a Muley buck and never recovered either bullet. Fortunately neither went very far but now I'm going to try 196 grain Hornady Interlock. I think the Accubond is designed to expand at higher fps and my loads are only going 2500. The interlocks should expand much better at that speed.
Good test and some surprising results. I don’t believe that weight retention is everything-some people grow up in a Chevy house, others Ford, I grew up in a Nosler house. My old man killed as many elk in the 90’s as anyone I could name, with a 140 grain Nosler Partition in his old Sako “7 em em.” As good as the Partition has proven to be, at its best it only has about 60% weight retention. I shot an elk in 2007 with a .25-06 and Speer Hot-Cor bullets. I shot 5 bullets in that elks boiler, each one would have killed him, but he never dropped, so I kept shooting. Every bullet zipped right through him and buried in the hillside. To be fair, kind of a small round for elk, but it was a 120 grain bullet with 3050 muzzle velocity at 225 yards, on paper it should have had enough energy to do the job, but I think with a better expanding bullet it would have performed much better. Lately I’ve been wrecking muleys with the old Hornady Interlock BTSP, haven’t had the time to hunt elk, never recovered any bullets but muleys have been dropping, 1 shot. I’ve never used Barnes. I know some guys like them, but I’ve heard bad stories about them (a friend took the original X-Bullet caribou hunting 20 years ago and it didn’t go well) so I never had much interest in them. They certainly have proven to be a tough bullet, and as long as the Freedom Group doesn’t run them into the ground, when I can get back to elk hunting I might try them out.
Loved your response! I agree with everything you said. Weight retention is not everything. You need a good balance of penetration and hydrostatic energy transfer. I made the video with elk hunting in mind. I have shot several elk with a variety of bullets, and I'll have to say they are quite tough. I used the eldx last year on a cow at just over 100 yards taking everyone's word that I was the bees knees as a large game hunting bullet, and I was disappointed. While she didn't go far (80yards with a 300 win mag) the bullet never exited, and I never found any trace of bullet in the body cavity. The bullet had basically acted like a large varmint bullet. If I happened to be using a lesser caliber such as a 25-06 with that bullet I would question whether or not I would have recovered the animal. I love the nolser partition, it's a very proven bullet for game of all size. The accubond is an Excellent choice as well. I've also shot elk with the Barnes X. And have been very impressed with how hard it hits them, I've always gotten passthroughs as well. I just believe if you're gonna be shooting big tough game. A big tough bullet is your best bet for having a successful hunt.
Interesting about your experience with the speed hot core, I was with my old man this year and watched him shoot a bull moose at 60 yards with a 180 grain 300 win mag, he shot it once behind the front shoulder and it took 3 steps and went down hard.. I'm a little bummed to here the bad news about the Hornady eld's, I just loaded up 50 of them for my 7mm rem mag 🙁
I shoot a 257 wby mag. Barnes 100gr TTSX sold me for sure. Take shoulder shots and you will be amazed at what your 257 will do. You sacrifice meat but your animal is DRT ! I put away all my hard kicking calibers in favor of the 257 wby. Kills like lightning!
I have been reloading for years and usually stay with Hornady, but only if I cannot get Remington Corlokt bullets for that caliber. The only problem I ever had with Hornady was with their .250 bullets opening up at closer ranges if you hit a soft(Lungs) part of a deer. You have to match bullet to caliber. The old gun writer nonsense about how a 30-30 would be a long range deer gun "If only you could shoot pointed bullets". There were lever guns and bolt guns around back then, but nobody made a pointed bullet that would expand at 30-30 velocities. The point is, you have to match your bullet to the cartridge.
I myself did my test between nobler partition and barnes x bullet against or on a 10 inch tree at 250 yards. A pentration test, the barnes made a complete pass thru after that I never shot any other bullet. Later, I upgraded to tip triple shock x bullet.
ELD-X is lead surrounded by copper, TTSX is a solid copper, the performance shouldnt even be compared, TTSX will out perform every day of the week in any circumstance.
I believe this is a very relevant test...precisely because these days every second hunter swears that ELDX is the best bullet ever made (only looking at its B.C.)..they then go hunting with them and because they shoot flat, they take on animals at 400-500 yards and ends up wounding many.... This test shows clearly that ELD-X should be used over shorter distances when hunting...i say max 300 yards to be ethical and safe... Otherwise, stick to bench rest and the range, there the very good B.C.'s of ELDX shows their advantage.... or hunting less than 300 yards distances...
Barnes TTSX for me. 180 grain in 300WM. ELDX just blows up like the sst. Federal fusion is another good one. Nosler Accubond LR is good also. Took a few mule deer with the Federal fusion 7mm mag 150 grain.
Unscientific, but to me, the energy dump was visibly higher with the ELD-X. Penetration might have been further with the Barnes, but I'm guessing (that's all any of this is, since it's just jugs of water and not an animal) an animal would have fallen faster with the ELD-X. If nothing else, this test shows us that we must choose the right bullet for the task at hand. I'd probably take the Barnes bullet if I was shooting a 300 Win Mag at 450 yards and I absolutely would use the ELD-X in a 308 Winchester at 350-400 yards. Inconclusive, but Interesting none the less. Cheers BTW, Hornady advertises 85% weight rendition past 400 yards in animal tissue, not water.
I have been thinking of loading some ELD-X but after this test I think I will pass on them, both ELD-X's had core jacket separation. And this test was at 450 yards. At closer distances where most shots would be the bullet is moving faster which would mean worse separation. I am really disappointed in those Hornady bullets.
This is very simple. If a bullet isn't solid or bonded, it's a cup and core designed to fragment. Yes, there are some specialized bullets out there, but these are not mainstream.....yet. For those who don't mind ingesting lead, by all means, just keep using those jacketed bullets. Personally, I'll eat my lead free venison and on that rare occasion, track one 40 yards....good trade off for me. On a side note, I wonder if these guys who say that Barnes bullets don't drop them in their tracks bow hunt? If they do, I wonder if they aim for the spine with their bow's? You know.....so they don't have to track.
@@maknbacon7367 just a quick thought for the algorithm. I'm 74 and I remember when you only had lead shot and lead core bullets. I've crunched many a lead pellet out of birds and small game and and as of this moment I'm still here
A pony video very informative I found it to be one-sided I'm not trying to be prejudiced but you very clearly showed to be one-sided defeat Barnes to be against one of these but it was very informative thank you very much
I was a bit one sided on this video. The Eld-x definitely has its place in the hunting world. In my opinion, not a great elk bullet. I've seen many taken with both the Eld and the Barnes, and for big tough animals it seems the Barnes does better. Although for deer sized game I would probably use the Eld instead
I constantly see the ELD-X fail in my tests and on RUclips vids. How sad, to set up a long range shot on a game animal only to have a bullet failure. I would love to see Hornady bond this bullet.
Perhaps their GMX line is their hunting bullet while the ELDx a glorified target bullet and I need to bring myself into this century and forget about ELDx entirely. If there are better hunting bullets, and better target bullets (ELDx) then what purpose do they serve? And how often have we developed a long range hunting load only to stumble across Bambi at powder burn range? More often than not for me so my load MUST perform at both extremes.
I've been loading Barnes since the 80's and have been very impressed with their produces and performance. I've tried Hornady but have had problems with some of their factory loads cycling in my AR's, I know I can ajust buffer tube etc, but when my AR's cycle everything else why should I
Very nice video But i think differently They both do the job And act perfectly as they design for I think ttsx is good for high speed and close range in tough animals And Eldx is better for long range in lower velocities in lean animals
The accuracy of the Barnes for me not being a reloader,,,,(yet). Has been a major difference in my groups. Honestly i dont think I could make it any better even if I did reload. With states going non lead ammo it's only a matter of time before were forced to use copper or hardball alternatives. This is my first year using Barnes ttsx blue tip, but from what I've seen on videos they are a quality bullet and should have no problem taking any game down that I will be hunting with confidence. Now I just need to find out how that black bear eluded me today. Will try again hopefully on Tuesday.
Dont waste your money on hyped up junk. Barnes is the only way to go. Place your shot in the shoulder and its DRT ! You'll sacrifice some burger meat, but, that animal is DRT. I shoot a 257 wby mag and have never lost anything. Elk, deer, bear etc !
Barnes all the way here too. Once you understand how these bullets perform and the eldx separates and is way to soft to penetrate a shoulder, you will only ever use barnes or other solids.. anyway, you will be shocked at how much better your groups are once you reload. I have reloaded for many different rifles and turned every one into a 1/2 moa gun at in the worst case senario. One case i have a 280ai hunting rifle that shoots 0.12moa! With my hand loads. Barnes ttsx factory shot about 1.25moa, handload ttsx 0.12 moa
I've hit animals with both. Animals seem to die faster, usually instantly with a quick expanding/fragmenting bullet. Some animals I hit with the Barnes took multiple shots to the lungs before going down.
A low shoulder hit with a Barnes bullet kills like lightning. You'll sacrifice some meat, but you won't chase them far if at all. Barnes were designed to penetrate bone and deliver maximum energy.
Same experience. Much better luck with other bullets. X bullets kill, but usually result in a run off animal and a tracking job compared to the same shot with a partition
@@dslade353 TTSX Barnes bullets are designed to open quickly, transfer energy inside the animal and exit the other side at up to 2x original diameter. I have never lost anything using Barnes bullets. And, they hold together like nothing else. With all due respect, I dont like the thought of lead in my burger meat. In the end we all use what works for us.
@Meh I agree, the old Hornady interlock is a classic that will be around for ever. I've shot a lot of game with with interlocks and like the Barnes, never lost anything.
I'm wondering about your concern with bullet weight after they've been fired into a target. Do you intend to reuse them? Both bullets penetrated at least into the third jug, and the Hornady appeared to have the greater expanded diameter, likely greater hydrostatic shock, and as a result greater tissue damage. Additionally, water is a more dense medium than live tissue for typical shots on game (lung tissue, etc.).
I totally agree. It's not important how the bullet ends up, it's what it does along the way. Water jugs are not a match for animal tissue, ballistic gel is the closes match.
@@drthuntclub4153 even ballistic gel isn’t ideal; there’s no bone. Does the bullet hit bone early in the target? Or late? Or not at all? I’ve had rib fragments on a buck do almost as much damage on lung tissue than the bullet itself, making for a quick kill. I didn’t care what the bullet looked like. I’ve recovered a .308” Hornady 220 grain Interlock round nose in a moose’s far hide that must have mushroomed in the lungs, rolled over, smacked a major bone in the far shoulder sideways, and ended up with the base knocked out of round and skidded off into the hide. That must have delivered serious energy on target to knock a bullet’s base into an oval! Was my observation of the bullet important? Interesting, yes, but not anywhere near as important as the fact it was a one-shot kill with the moose only making it a couple dozen yards. Over penetration is another issue as well; why waste that energy on an exit wound? You’re certainly paying for it in recoil energy, why not let it pay off in the animal? Jugs and gel are what we have, I suppose, but shot placement on an animal, doing the damage where it counts and where we put it, is the test of a bullet. Scrutinizing recovered bullets on test media may be a start, but it remains an imperfect technique to judge bullets on game. The best test is bullets on game the way you shoot them.
So Hornady did its job and expanded fully and dumped all its energy on impact.......like it should. The Barnes also dumped its energy on impact but barely expanded at all. In my mind these 2 bullets are not a fair comparison not in tech in the bullet and not in composistion
I like a bullet that expands faster and dumps energy quicker the biggest problem I've had long range is if you don't hit any bone then you don't get good expansion
The hornady would still lose, because this one was a 220gr, compared to the Barnes 200gr, and the Barnes still had majority of the bullet, while the hornady pretty much depleted. So I think if they were the same gr bullets it’ll be worst than this.
@@Rome_504 on dear you only have a couple of inches before you need that bullet fully expanded and it's six in your in the heart and lungs on dear you don't have to worry about weight retention unless you're shooting them up the ass
I would hardly call the Barnes beautiful expansion. It hardly came open. That hornady is going to do massive internal damage. The eld x is designed for long range. 450 isn't really long range. You should test out the federal terminal ascent.
I would take the hornady all day long for that range of hunting! It is expansion an energy transfer with that impact will do more damage and anchor a elk faster then if you punch a tight little hole with a barnes. I will take the hornady big expansion over pin holes of the barnes bullet. I personally watched a elk get hit with a barnes bullet like you just showed but out of a 28 nosler, hit in the boiler room an she never slowed down and never was recovered. If she would have been hit with a hornady or any other non all copper bullet she would have dropped in her tracks or had a short bloody recovery
If you like lead in your meat and you like bullets blowing up on bone and lost animals just keep on shooting 2 part bulletsI have killed over 25 elk with barnes over the last 28 years never lost one and they anchor them if you make a good shot .
Ok let's take a honest look at what you said ,you said she was hit in the boiler room and never slowed down and was lost, ok that is impossible medically impossible..if hit in the boiler room as you said then the animal is dead within a minute all of her blood will fill her lungs and she will die more likely is it was a bad shot just the truth.........
@@magwamagwa45110 say for a moment the bullet really did not expand (not unreasonable as there are videos of barnes bullets leaving very small wound tracks on recovered big game animals here on RUclips, and it’s been reported independently all over the world by many different hunters on many different game animals and species) .284” or smaller in and .284” or smaller out with a matching permanent wound track on a moving animal could easily be sealed by the hide, membranes, and tissues under the skin (delaying or stopping the collapse of the lungs from air rushing in) and cause a very slow bleeding wound. While this would still very likely be fatal to the animal (as you suggest) it’s not impossible for the animal to cover a significant distance in rough country with no blood trail. Without fresh snow and in a game rich area that would be an incredibly hard track to follow. I believe you are to quick to harshly judge a fellow hunter and discredit many other peoples first hand accounts of poor performance by this bullet.
As a hunting guide, I see people using multiple types of ammo. In the last several years, myself and clients have killed elk and bear with eldx bullets from 25-440 yds, in 6.5 creedmore, .308, and 300 win mag. All clean kills, and little to no tracking time. There’s a reason a lot of hunters, including myself, are using it.
I agree. If using Barnes bullets at longer ranges you'd better hit some bone. Even eldm's penetrate bone at distance, and still are devastating if you miss bone.
Try using some denim or hide in front of the water jugs at 450 yards might see some different results. Much better video then last keep making these types of videos. Even do some accubonds with Barnes and hornady
Do not use target bullets for big game! Berger, Hornady cup and core (bonded and GMX ok), Federal Hi-shok, these are just examples. Good for paper and varmints but nothing bigger than wolves I'd say. I started hunting in 1980 and I've seen good and bad wounds, and all those explosive bullets were all we had back then. Embrace the new technology of TSX, TTSX, GMX, E-TIP etc and old tech like PARTITIONS, A-FRAME, and BONDED CORE bullets. The animal deserves a quick and humane death and your family doesn't need to ingest lead like the old days.
Great job showing the penetration of both bullets, but if you want to compare bullets you need to use a similar type, the Barns is a monolithic copper bullet then you need to use a Hornady GMX and not the ELD-X, compare apples with apples, or say I would rather use this type because I want weight retention and penetration., just my 5cents worth
These eldx and eldm rip whitetails up. Never seen a bullet kill deer like these and I've tried em all. Elk probly not a great choice. But whitetails are dead meat in there tracks 99 the time
Thank you for testing at hunting distances. Ive always felt testing at 100 yds and then 300-400 yds, depending on the cartridge, made much more sense. Then you know what it does at closer and longer ranges. How often do you shoot an elk at 10 yds? Pouring out the jug right in the middle of where you are working and dumping the bullet into the mud seemed odd though. If you had a piece of plywood off to the side to poor it out on might be better, and numbering the jugs and showing the amount of damage to each jug would be interesting too, to indicate possible damage to the game. At least the comparison. Overall though, i think it was quite good and i hope you keep it up.
Thank you for taking the time to do this long range followup test! Greetings from Sweden :-) I have been thinking about a suitable bullet for my 300 Weatherby. First loaded ELD-X 178 to 3200 fps but I got the feeling it would give varmint bullet performance inside 600 yards so I changed my mind. Now I’m thinking TTSX 150 to get a flat shooting round, but I guess the petals will shear off at any distance? So what could possibly hold together and still give flat trajectory? I am thinking A-Frame 165. Or Scirocco 180, if they can group given their secant office and the generous freebore of the Mark V.
I have a feeling that the Barnes in that test may have hit the ground and wound back up in the jugs. Looking at it, it appeared that the side the petals sheared off of hit the ground or something. I can't prove it though. I honestly believe the petals under 3000 fps will stay in tact. The Swift a frame is a bullet I'd love to test. Ive heard great things about them!
I have done some testing with the sciroccos. They are a great bullet, I've tested them out of my 6.5 Grendel. From my experience, the barnes hold weight slightly better and penetrate a little further. It is similar to a thicker jacketed accubond.
I have reload ELD X 178G for my 30 06. 2600 at the muzzle. I have shot 4 White tail and 2 bull Elk. The white tail were between 30 and 110 yards. One Elk was 40 yards and the other was at 270 yards. Every shot was a complete pass through except 1. A neck spine shot on a big whitetail buck. The bullet was stopped by the hide on the far side. I kept that bullet for a while and it was still mostly in tact. Looked like perfect mushrooming to me. Anyway, all were DRT. As far as I’m concerned its perfect performance.
Hmmm, I have had lead separation with the Hornady Interlocked on a Big horn sheep at 300 yards. The lead, being heavier than copper continues forward while the jacket stayed behind. Not great bullet performance in my opinion. I wouldn't call the Barnes example good expansion. Pretty small diameter compared to a bonded bullet such as Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, that will have similar weight retention but much larger expansion diameter. The expansion diameter makes a bigger wound channel and displaces more energy.
One thing to consider you do not need a large expanded bullet to kill game efficiently think of a broad head on a hunting arrow 3/4 of a inch spinning and cutting ,then think of the barnes the pedals are like a broad head and they drive all the way through massive blood loss and that is traumatic shock and quick kills, I have had more 1 shot drop in their tracks kills with Barnes they work...
@@finallyfamous9628 how many kills over that distance do you base that on? I have killed over 30 elk with barnes bullets every where from 30 yards to 600 in fast guns and slow never been disappointed and no lead in my meat!
I'm not saying you won't get kills at longer distances elk are also smaller then moose which is what I usually hunt but its the weight retention at the closer ranges for example at 100 yards I shot a young bull moose while running lung shot broke both ribs complete pass-through and dropped dead from the energy shock all of the weight retention the bullet fully expanded perfect mushroom just feel its better to get closer for the maximum effect
Personally I wouldn’t count 2 pieces together as “weight retention”. To me it has to be all 1 piece. I’m a little shocked that that bullet came apart at that distance.
Shoot some Hornady SST'S!! I shot my bull elk with hornady 140 SST's at 150 yards. The shot entered his lower right lung and stopped just under the skin a couple inches from his spine and half way down his back!! He made it about 100'.The bullet mushroomed out to the size of a dime and was 100 % in tact with no fragments! It was impressive to see!!
I can't say much about Barnes but my father's 7mm rem mag has dropped moose at to 800 yards and the Hornaday sst that are 162 grs work perfectly and the massive expansion helps drop moose really fast where the federal bullets and Remington bullets went through and through with little expansion personally I like Copper penatration and I want to like Barnes as I'm looking for a good 50 gr bullet for both coyote hunting and wolf hunting and northern caribou
Looks like there’s a clear winner here in short and long range. First of all I’m not a big Hornady fan, I think the bullets shoot good but they are fit for purpose. They hit hard and do damage but no pass through means no blood trail. No blood trail means no animal sometimes! I have worked in the hunting industry for yrs and for practicality purposes I want a blood trail to follow. In south Texas brush country you are dead in water with no blood! I have seen Barnes Triple shock bullets go almost completely through a Bison shot in the head and bullet was under the skin in the hind quarter. You can shoot a mature whitetail buck in the shoulder with Barnes and it will break bones and pass through. Wish I could show y’all pictures of blood trails that are 2 ft wide! Now, if you are gonna neck or head shoot these animals it doesn’t matter, you could use a total metal jacket out of any gun. If you are hunting inside of 100 yards all the time I would say shoot whatever kind of bullets you want, if your trophy hunting or big game hunting I would say use Barnes! I even use Barnes in my smaller calibers and they work great! Not trying to stir y’all up, this is my opinions of course.... Y’all have a good day! ✌️
The federal fusion in my opinion is one of the best all around hunting bullets on the market. Speer gold dot rifle bullets are pretty much the same thing and they are excellent as well.
I like 165gr Federal Fusion so much I pull the bullets from factory loads & reload them with Tac powder. Gives me 2750 fps from my 308win mod70 20"barrel. In my jug test bullets expand to .80 cal & great weight retention. Very accurate also. Best hunting bullets IMHO
Nope Hornady sucks, I will take a Barnes every day of the week. The polymer tip drives the TSX and TTSX open for reliable expansion and Barnes is going to retain its weight and drive deep into the animal. Another characteristic benefit is the Barnes will be a little lighter weight as copper is lighter than lead and have a longer projectile for increased BC and SD. Plus who wants to be ingesting lead flakes in their game meat, hell nah
So what this test tells me is that the bullet with lead would have caused more damage to the animal even if it was a bad shot vs a bullet that will go straight through the animal with little to know blood trail. So the lead bullet is a better option or Am I missing something?
Eld m is one of the best hunting bullets . Solid copper requires so much velocity and the gel has so much impact resistant that it looks like it preforms well. Lead core all the way .
Penetration is the single most important factor in a hunting bullet. In order to penetrate, the bullets need to hold together. A solid copper bullet will penetrate deeper than any lead bullet. You’re also not poisoning yourself with copper. Contrary to this entire comment thread, copper bullets can leave large exit holes.
@@echofoxtrotwhiskey1595 penetration means poor energy transfer. They are usually lighter weight so they can be pushed at higher speeds so they can expand a little better but means they have a pretty bad ballistic coefficient.
Dear Sir, would you mind sharing the elevation and temperature at which this test took place? 450 yards in Colorado can be very different from 450 yards in California (air density).
@@highcountryadventures9606 Thank you! I guess you recorded the shooting in the afternoon, in which case the temperature was probably around 77°F (+/-9°). With these numbers I estimate your LRX's impact velocity to be right around 2400 fps. That is plenty of speed!
How is a 220gr Hornady clearing 3000fps unless you have a very long barrel and nuclear hot handloads? Load book shows 2800, with only RL26 (unobtainable) showing 2900.
I started using the load data alliant has on their website which is 2826 fps and a 220 grain bullet. I have a 26 inch barrel not a 24 inch which gives me an average velocity gain of 60fps. That puts me at around 2900 fps. I was able to go slightly above maximum load reccomendation because I was showing no pressure signs, and I still have no pressure signs. I'm not saying that everyone should go over the max load. They should know their rifles and work up slowly. I just don't happen to have any issues in my gun.
I shot a mule deer at 750 yards and it went between the ribs on the way in and between the ribs on the way out and there was almost zero expansion the whole was just barely bigger than the bullet luckily I shoot 338 Lapua there was enough over pressure to rip the liver
This video was not a knock on Hornady elds. Although they didn't perform quite as advertised, they are hammers for deer rounds. I've shot deer with them and they hit deer with authority. However, when it comes to elk. I feel they lack in structural integrity. And I would prefer a tougher bullet.
@@highcountryadventures9606 As a whitetail hunter, I'll take the Barnes over ANYONE'S lead cup and core OR bonded bullet. I eat what I kill and I stopped biting lead bits in '98 and never looked back. What people need to understand is how the Barnes bullets work. I've heard so many stories of how people think they didn't expand just because the exit wound wouldn't fit a softball. The exit wounds are typically about double the actual bullet diameter, but the internal organs are completely destroyed. The energy dump inside an animal is quite amazing while cutting down on blood shot meat as well....given hit rib's and not shoulders. Barnes bullets are the real deal, 100% copper, not the "harder" gilding metal crap.
You are comparing apples and oranges here... monolithic bullet vs a cup and core.. doesn’t make sense to me that you would compare these to each other.
Shooting water jugs isn't the same as shooting a deer or elk. Go to states that don't require a solid copper bullet and see what hunters are buying. If Hornady Precision Hunter ammo wasn't working, it wouldn't be selling. Personally, I don't know anyone that uses barnes TTSX bullets.
Blaze Smith MRX stands for multi range bullets , and I have shot them at all ranges from 300 yards and in and those bullets work great but ,, I don’t know if you have ever shot a deer with a 338 win mag or not , but 4000 energy ft pounds is a lot and they don’t cross the property line when you use that.
For me personally monolithics have been very accurate. but there are also some great bonded bullet choices. Nosler accubond and any of the Swift lineup. And others. My goal was just to compare those two bullets. They both have their pros and cons. But in an elk situation I think it's best to stay with the barnes
Used the Hornady Spire Point for years and years in .308, 7mm, .277, .25 calibers and never had a problem with all the elk, deer, moose and black bear I’ve shot. But used the eld-x in 7-08 once and never used it again.
The Hornady GMX would have been the proper comparison test
That's what I thought too. Apple to Apple. Lead core and copper don't have the same characteristic.
THEN ADD IN THE NOSLER PARTITION AND COMPARE THAT TO THE HORNADY...
HUNTERS OWE IT TO THE SPORT TO GIVE IT THEIR BEST
USING HORNADY INSTEAD OF BARNES X OR NOSLER PARTITION
IS LESS THAN THE BEST....imo
@@MdniteRider Not a good comparison unless you want to compare lead /copper to each other. Otherwise from Barnes to GMX Hornady is copper to copper. The partition still works for many , but it is very outdated and many far better bullets developed over the years. I stopped using the partitions 30 years ago, had then separate, but not as bad as most cup and core bullets. That is why I specifically said GMX as it is all copper like the barnes, But I never was a fan of fragments or lead through out my food, use what makes you happy,
Exactly. This is an apples and oranges test. Not at all representative. It's not a true comparison test. One is a monolithic one is a cup and core and they're not even the same weight. This guy doesn't know how this works. Waste of time.
Both are great bullets IMO. Say what you want about the separation of the Hornady. It is dumping a massive amount of terminal energy into the target. That's why the Barnes went through 3 jugs. It did not dump energy as well as the Hornady in a nominal penetration distance for hydrostatic testing. The Hornady rounds I personally loaded, I've shot with my .Tikka T3 Lite Stainless 270, have dropped every single deer I've shot in their tracks except for one. I shot a 195;b buck on a trot at 196 yards. the shot entered right in front of his left rear hindquarter and barely poked through right behind his right front leg in the rib cage. He went about 30 feet and fell between two small trees like he squatted down. I hung him up and when I opened him up to gut him, everything inside including the lungs and heart were mush. The most bullet energy damage I've seen transferred inside a deer like that.
Great to see bullet comparison instead of caliber!! Thanks
Stick with Barnes You will never be disappointed. Unleaded and unbeatable. I use barnes TSX. Super deadly. I stopped messing around with lead core hunting bullets 25 years ago.
I mean it’s easy to beat at lower velocities.
Great video thank you I’m new to reloading and I have a box of TTSX’s but haven’t tried them yet in a field test. After watching this I’m more than convinced that I made the right choice for a bullet over 200 yds should be the Barnes for sure.
Thanks again from a deer Hunter from Maine
In my experience Hornady ELDX usually shoots well, but just dosen't hold together. It is a premium cup and core bullet and that's it. Now for light and medium game it is fine. However moving up to bull elk, moose, or bear I would hesitate to reach for ELDX. There's other options better suited. For example Accubond LR, Terminal Ascent, Scirocco II, and Barnes LRX all have a reputation for holding together at all ranges.
Agree 💯 thanks for watching!
I went out for a hunt this morning with the Hornady 178 grain ELDX after a black bear 🐻, bloody things didn’t work too well for me once found the bear but think it had more to do with the zoo keeper spotting and chasing me here in New Zealand at the Auckland Zoo, spoiled an enjoyable morning hunt he did the rotten bugga! 🤠
I hunted in Montana in 2019 with a combo mule deer/elk tag. I was using a 7mm Rem Magnum. and the 162 grain ELDX. Let me share my experience with the worst hunting bullet I have ever shot.
I shot a beautiful mule deer at 271 years and hit him perfect behind the shoulder in the rib cavity. The deer slowly walked away but I knew was hit very good. After 1 minute he fell over. As I was walking up the the deer he tried to get up about 4 minutes later but died. Upon cleaning the deer I found the bullet just came apart. It did not even make it to the opposite rib cage. No exit wound! I only found fragments and the jacket in the chest of the deer.
I did not want to change ammo for the elk hunting because my rifle was sighted in, so I went elk hunting next. One morning a nice 5x5 bull was running up a mountain and I ranged him at 375 yards. I laid in the snow and opened my bipod and put the scope on him broadside. I hit the elk in the front should and he just kept walking away. I chambered another and shot, hitting him about 12 inched back from the front shoulder. I thought perfect but the elk kept walking. Next shot I missed and reloaded. My fourth shot hit the front shoulder again at about 400 yards and hi kept walking. Now the elk is walking straight away at 419 yards and I shoot again and hit the back hip and he goes down. FINALLY! So I begin to walk to the elk but is a long way. I arrived at the elk 10 minutes later and to my surprise the elk is trying to get up again. I am SHOCKED! I have one cartridge left and shoot the elk at 3 steps perfect behind the front shoulder. At 3 steps the shot did not even pass thru the elk. I wait 5 minutes before the poor elk finally dies.
We took the elk to the processor and found not one shot passed thru the elk. The butcher found 80 fragments of lead and copper in the meat. This bullet in the ELDX is just junk. I will never shoot them again for hunting. I was very fortunate to not have lost that elk. If I was in timber he would have been gone after the first shot. I give them a F grade for large game. Use them for rabbits and maybe you will get a pass thru.
I shot my first bull elk last year using 212gr ELD-X out of a 300prc. It was only a 40yd shot! He was quartered to me, not preferable but it's all I had before he was gonna bolt. Shot entered in front of his right should and recovered in rib cage just behind left shoulder. He only ran about 40yds but I was definitely shocked it didn't pass through considering it never hit heavy bone.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. My experience with this bullet has not been far off from yours
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. My experience with this bullet has not been far off from yours
@@jeremied4370 sounds like the bullet worked perfect in your situation. You said you did not hit any heavy bones (which would have increased the chances of dropping the animal right there) the bullet held together (even close to your maximum muzzle/impact velocity) and was recovered on the far side of the hide out of your dead bull (who only ran about 40 yards).
Think of impact velocity in this way. If you have ever jumped off of a high diving board or off a cliff into water you know that the higher you are the harder the surface tension of water the becomes. To the point where you can be high enough (reach a high enough impact velocity) that it can be fatal.
Bullets experience the same thing. The higher the impact velocity the harder the surface tension/resistance of the target. More resistance equals more bullet deformation. More bullet deformation equals more expended energy and shallower wound channel. No surprises that your bullet did not exit.
It is a common myth that higher velocity projectiles at close range penetrate deeper.
Also keep in mind that the ELD-X is designed to expand at very low velocities that are experienced at long ranges. It has to work at 2860 FPS (muzzle) as well as 1860 FPS (930 yards). That’s a nearly 700 mile per hour difference in impact velocity. We ask a lot of a hunting bullet and there is truly no “perfect bullet” for all styles of hunting game. They all have pros and cons and in the end all we as hunters can do is know the strengths and weaknesses of the bullet we are using. You need a much more solidly constructed bullet if you are shooting game at very close range with magnums at very hard quartering angles.
Also a much overlooked side of the equation is the difference in impact medium the bullet can experience in just a few inches difference in impact location.
A good example of this drastic difference is the bullets path through :
Hide
Rib meat
Vitals
Rib meat
Hide
Vs.
Hide
shoulder meat
Shoulder bone
Rib bone
Vitals
Rib bone
Shoulder bone
Shoulder meat
Hide
Both these possibilities can happen just a few inches away from each other. Both are drastically different mediums. It’s very difficult to find a bullet that can perform the same way through both mediums. Too solid a bullet would likely not receive enough resistance to properly expand and pencil through the rib shot, and the soft a bullet would likely expend all its energy in the first 6”-8” and not exit on the shoulder shot.
Every bullet out there has a hero story and a horror story. I believe it’s because most hunters do not do enough research on the above points of terminal ballistics.
Happy hunting!
This is the best way I've found to use def jugs!
Interesting review, Thanks. Being 2 different styles of bullets will usually give you different results. I shot a bull moose a couple years back with a Barnes T Tsx at about 120 yards. The entrance and exit wounds were identical and subsequently both lungs had the same small holes. Little to no blood trail. It was like a lazor had been shot through it. This year I saw a bull elk shot at about 75 yards with a eld-x. There was no exit hole and little to no blood as well. The difference was when we opened the chest cavity. It looked like a bomb had gone off, both lungs and the heart took heavy trauma. Both were fatal. I realize these 2 incidents were not long distance shots but still gives us a look at the 2 completely different styles
Yeah barnes bullets or mono bullets all together are not ideal.
I shoot whitetails with the 139 sst 7 mag. I don't get exit wounds but haven't had any run over 30 yrds either. They usually drop right where they stood.
I use 120 SST in 6.8 SPC/ 100 yds. or less. Nothing has taken a step after the shot. In one hog I shot in the left ear went thru the neck, down the left leg and found the jacket in the lower part of the leg. Don't know where the core ended up. Great bullet for shorter distances. I have 180 SST I would like to test in 30-06 but, powders are hard to come by these days. Last season I use the Traditions ML all season long. Looks like I will have the same game plan next coming season.
I shot a buck with my 6.5cm 129g sst at 200 yards it didn't go 20
Definitely prefer the Barnes, all around. Converted all of my hunting loads to Barnes bullets for two obvious reasons: 1) better performance and 2) zero lead contamination. Done with ingesting lead particles in my venison, period! Thanks for the video.
looks like scale is set for 189.6 at 7:23 no flame just thought it looked that way great video and long range testing Thank you for the effort
You're right! I didn't catch that! Thanks!
Great video, Hi from New Zealand. I have been using 162 ELDX doing 2890fps. I have found the same on a Red Stag and a Bull Tahr, 200 yard shots, no penetration and no blood trail. The Stag ran a good 150 yards. Right through the boiler room. Both found on skin on the other side.
I've been using the 162gr eldx in my 7mm rem mag and have always been a little disappointed by terminal performance on big game. Switched to 150gr GMX this year
I have shot a few deer with a rem mag 162 eld x. Everything died with out ever taking a step. Sure no blood but who cares if it dies where it stands?
No penetration, yet the bullets were found under the skin on the off side? I guess your definition of penetration is somewhat different from mine.
Having said that, in my experience nothing kills quite as effectively as a Barnes bullet. I have seen a broadside gut shot kill a stag where it stood, with the lungs looking like red oatmeal, apparently from the hydrostatic shock of the bullet hitting the animal.
Though I admire the long range test . most don't have the skill or balls to put this on video. But after going through several jugs and lead separating and you see that as a negative . you are buying into a hype about separation. Those to bullets are apples and oranges . no comparison. Dead elk is dead , Its how far you may have to track one after putting a pencil hole into and possibly not through it that will matter. you may not shoot through an elk with the cup and core style but I doubt you will have to track anything .Not so much with the solid copper. I've done these tests on live elk and cup and core animals never go more that 5o yards before crashing . Solids I've had them travel several hundred yards. Just an Observation . Hats off to you for this video Thank you.
Thank you for watching! And thank you for the input. I took have had extensive experience with using both bullets on elk. (In 10 years I have been a part of witnessing over 50 elk being shot) Both kill them no doubt. I have personally seen elk go over 100 yards after being shot in the boiler room with a 212 eld-x out of a 300 win mag at less than 50 yards. Ive had elk go over 50 yards after being hit with Barnes bullets as well in a 300 mag. I also saw an elk shot with a 50bmg and a 750 grain amax that ran over 80 yards. What I have come to realize, is that elk are incredibly tough animals, and in my personal experience, the Barnes seem to impress them more. I also like the added assurance that there is much deeper penetration with the Barnes. In the unfortunate event that I make a bad shot. And hit heavy bone or the animal is angled more than I expected, I personally would take the Barnes over the cup and core any day of the week. Deer sized game are a different story. A heavy for caliber eld-x is hard to beat. Happy hunting to you!
I took Hornady SST's and Barnes TTSX handloads for my 264 Win Mag to Africa. Although the Hornadys were more accurate at the range, they didn't perform as I expected. They literally blew apart on impact with little penetration on gemsbok and other light game. The Barnes performed flawlessly on everything from giant eland, kudu, and zebra.
Also, I know I used SST's and not the ELDx, but they are pretty much the same other than the interlock design.
All that being said, the test in the video isn't a fair one. Testing two non-bonded bullets of same weights and different brand would be more acceptable, or two monolithic bullets like the GMX & TTSX against one another. The outcome was inevitable to most of us who are shooters.
In a hunting context the lost mass of the ELDx is still within the animal (not to mention potential bone fragments) . Each fragment creating additional wound/damage paths. And if a projectile failed to exit then 100% energy transference occurred. BC, velocity, FPE wasn't disclosed to assist in making a self determination as to the superiority of the examples presented.
Copper/lead construction vs. solid monolithic is like comparing apples to oranges in regards to weight retention. Penetration IMO is subjective especially if a pass-through shot is experienced since energy is not deposited but rather carried through.
I would've used Hornady's GMX for an apple to apple comparison.
Just my two cents.......
Milk jug comparisons are fun. I did one with a 200 grain Accubond and I really like my Accubonds. I shot through 5 milk jugs. Regular 1 gallon jugs full of water. I never found my bullets. I shot straight through a Whitetail and a Muley buck and never recovered either bullet. Fortunately neither went very far but now I'm going to try 196 grain Hornady Interlock. I think the Accubond is designed to expand at higher fps and my loads are only going 2500. The interlocks should expand much better at that speed.
Good test and some surprising results. I don’t believe that weight retention is everything-some people grow up in a Chevy house, others Ford, I grew up in a Nosler house. My old man killed as many elk in the 90’s as anyone I could name, with a 140 grain Nosler Partition in his old Sako “7 em em.” As good as the Partition has proven to be, at its best it only has about 60% weight retention.
I shot an elk in 2007 with a .25-06 and Speer Hot-Cor bullets. I shot 5 bullets in that elks boiler, each one would have killed him, but he never dropped, so I kept shooting. Every bullet zipped right through him and buried in the hillside. To be fair, kind of a small round for elk, but it was a 120 grain bullet with 3050 muzzle velocity at 225 yards, on paper it should have had enough energy to do the job, but I think with a better expanding bullet it would have performed much better.
Lately I’ve been wrecking muleys with the old Hornady Interlock BTSP, haven’t had the time to hunt elk, never recovered any bullets but muleys have been dropping, 1 shot.
I’ve never used Barnes. I know some guys like them, but I’ve heard bad stories about them (a friend took the original X-Bullet caribou hunting 20 years ago and it didn’t go well) so I never had much interest in them. They certainly have proven to be a tough bullet, and as long as the Freedom Group doesn’t run them into the ground, when I can get back to elk hunting I might try them out.
Loved your response! I agree with everything you said. Weight retention is not everything. You need a good balance of penetration and hydrostatic energy transfer. I made the video with elk hunting in mind. I have shot several elk with a variety of bullets, and I'll have to say they are quite tough. I used the eldx last year on a cow at just over 100 yards taking everyone's word that I was the bees knees as a large game hunting bullet, and I was disappointed. While she didn't go far (80yards with a 300 win mag) the bullet never exited, and I never found any trace of bullet in the body cavity. The bullet had basically acted like a large varmint bullet. If I happened to be using a lesser caliber such as a 25-06 with that bullet I would question whether or not I would have recovered the animal. I love the nolser partition, it's a very proven bullet for game of all size. The accubond is an Excellent choice as well. I've also shot elk with the Barnes X. And have been very impressed with how hard it hits them, I've always gotten passthroughs as well. I just believe if you're gonna be shooting big tough game. A big tough bullet is your best bet for having a successful hunt.
Interesting about your experience with the speed hot core, I was with my old man this year and watched him shoot a bull moose at 60 yards with a 180 grain 300 win mag, he shot it once behind the front shoulder and it took 3 steps and went down hard.. I'm a little bummed to here the bad news about the Hornady eld's, I just loaded up 50 of them for my 7mm rem mag 🙁
I shoot a 257 wby mag. Barnes 100gr TTSX sold me for sure. Take shoulder shots and you will be amazed at what your 257 will do. You sacrifice meat but your animal is DRT ! I put away all my hard kicking calibers in favor of the 257 wby. Kills like lightning!
The Hornady ELD-X is a Cup and Core Bullet ,so results are not surprising ! Still,a good actual experience,test!😁
I have been reloading for years and usually stay with Hornady, but only if I cannot get Remington Corlokt bullets for that caliber. The only problem I ever had with Hornady was with their .250 bullets opening up at closer ranges if you hit a soft(Lungs) part of a deer. You have to match bullet to caliber. The old gun writer nonsense about how a 30-30 would be a long range deer gun "If only you could shoot pointed bullets". There were lever guns and bolt guns around back then, but nobody made a pointed bullet that would expand at 30-30 velocities. The point is, you have to match your bullet to the cartridge.
I myself did my test between nobler partition and barnes x bullet against or on a 10 inch tree at 250 yards.
A pentration test, the barnes made a complete pass thru after that I never shot any other bullet. Later, I upgraded to tip triple shock x bullet.
ELD-X is lead surrounded by copper, TTSX is a solid copper, the performance shouldnt even be compared, TTSX will out perform every day of the week in any circumstance.
Right... if u want to compare ttsx, compare it to gmx .
I believe this is a very relevant test...precisely because these days every second hunter swears that ELDX is the best bullet ever made (only looking at its B.C.)..they then go hunting with them and because they shoot flat, they take on animals at 400-500 yards and ends up wounding many.... This test shows clearly that ELD-X should be used over shorter distances when hunting...i say max 300 yards to be ethical and safe... Otherwise, stick to bench rest and the range, there the very good B.C.'s of ELDX shows their advantage.... or hunting less than 300 yards distances...
Barnes TTSX for me. 180 grain in 300WM. ELDX just blows up like the sst. Federal fusion is another good one. Nosler Accubond LR is good also. Took a few mule deer with the Federal fusion 7mm mag 150 grain.
Unscientific, but to me, the energy dump was visibly higher with the ELD-X. Penetration might have been further with the Barnes, but I'm guessing (that's all any of this is, since it's just jugs of water and not an animal) an animal would have fallen faster with the ELD-X. If nothing else, this test shows us that we must choose the right bullet for the task at hand. I'd probably take the Barnes bullet if I was shooting a 300 Win Mag at 450 yards and I absolutely would use the ELD-X in a 308 Winchester at 350-400 yards. Inconclusive, but Interesting none the less. Cheers
BTW, Hornady advertises 85% weight rendition past 400 yards in animal tissue, not water.
I have been thinking of loading some ELD-X but after this test I think I will pass on them, both ELD-X's had core jacket separation. And this test was at 450 yards. At closer distances where most shots would be the bullet is moving faster which would mean worse separation. I am really disappointed in those Hornady bullets.
I was too. Unfortunately they acted like an ultra heavy varmint bullet.
This is very simple. If a bullet isn't solid or bonded, it's a cup and core designed to fragment. Yes, there are some specialized bullets out there, but these are not mainstream.....yet. For those who don't mind ingesting lead, by all means, just keep using those jacketed bullets. Personally, I'll eat my lead free venison and on that rare occasion, track one 40 yards....good trade off for me.
On a side note, I wonder if these guys who say that Barnes bullets don't drop them in their tracks bow hunt? If they do, I wonder if they aim for the spine with their bow's? You know.....so they don't have to track.
@@maknbacon7367 just a quick thought for the algorithm. I'm 74 and I remember when you only had lead shot and lead core bullets. I've crunched many a lead pellet out of birds and small game and and as of this moment I'm still here
Typical ELDX core separation I tryed them. Will never shoot them again.
In the 2506 7mm I had bad experience with them .
I thought I was going to be looking at a GMX vs. TSX...
A pony video very informative I found it to be one-sided I'm not trying to be prejudiced but you very clearly showed to be one-sided defeat Barnes to be against one of these but it was very informative thank you very much
I was a bit one sided on this video. The Eld-x definitely has its place in the hunting world. In my opinion, not a great elk bullet. I've seen many taken with both the Eld and the Barnes, and for big tough animals it seems the Barnes does better. Although for deer sized game I would probably use the Eld instead
I constantly see the ELD-X fail in my tests and on RUclips vids. How sad, to set up a long range shot on a game animal only to have a bullet failure. I would love to see Hornady bond this bullet.
Don Thursby it’s a glorified target bullet
The jacket is too thin. Breaks apart no penetration.
Perhaps their GMX line is their hunting bullet while the ELDx a glorified target bullet and I need to bring myself into this century and forget about ELDx entirely. If there are better hunting bullets, and better target bullets (ELDx) then what purpose do they serve?
And how often have we developed a long range hunting load only to stumble across Bambi at powder burn range? More often than not for me so my load MUST perform at both extremes.
I've been loading Barnes since the 80's and have been very impressed with their produces and performance. I've tried Hornady but have had problems with some of their factory loads cycling in my AR's, I know I can ajust buffer tube etc, but when my AR's cycle everything else why should I
I use hornady in 223, 6.5 grendel, 308, 6.5 CM. They all shoot just fine in multiple AR's.
@@TexanUSMC8089 My issue is with their sub sonic ammunition
@@ernie9819
Iv had the same issue.
Very nice video
But i think differently
They both do the job
And act perfectly as they design for
I think ttsx is good for high speed and close range in tough animals
And Eldx is better for long range in lower velocities in lean animals
The accuracy of the Barnes for me not being a reloader,,,,(yet). Has been a major difference in my groups. Honestly i dont think I could make it any better even if I did reload. With states going non lead ammo it's only a matter of time before were forced to use copper or hardball alternatives. This is my first year using Barnes ttsx blue tip, but from what I've seen on videos they are a quality bullet and should have no problem taking any game down that I will be hunting with confidence. Now I just need to find out how that black bear eluded me today. Will try again hopefully on Tuesday.
Dont waste your money on hyped up junk. Barnes is the only way to go. Place your shot in the shoulder and its DRT ! You'll sacrifice some burger meat, but, that animal is DRT. I shoot a 257 wby mag and have never lost anything. Elk, deer, bear etc !
Barnes all the way here too. Once you understand how these bullets perform and the eldx separates and is way to soft to penetrate a shoulder, you will only ever use barnes or other solids.. anyway, you will be shocked at how much better your groups are once you reload. I have reloaded for many different rifles and turned every one into a 1/2 moa gun at in the worst case senario. One case i have a 280ai hunting rifle that shoots 0.12moa! With my hand loads. Barnes ttsx factory shot about 1.25moa, handload ttsx 0.12 moa
@@ez7977 Someday ill get there. The prices and available parts need tomcome back into play.
@@Drivapete I will pass on garbage mono barnes bullets.
I've hit animals with both. Animals seem to die faster, usually instantly with a quick expanding/fragmenting bullet. Some animals I hit with the Barnes took multiple shots to the lungs before going down.
A low shoulder hit with a Barnes bullet kills like lightning. You'll sacrifice some meat, but you won't chase them far if at all. Barnes were designed to penetrate bone and deliver maximum energy.
Same experience. Much better luck with other bullets. X bullets kill, but usually result in a run off animal and a tracking job compared to the same shot with a partition
@@dslade353 TTSX Barnes bullets are designed to open quickly, transfer energy inside the animal and exit the other side at up to 2x original diameter. I have never lost anything using Barnes bullets. And, they hold together like nothing else. With all due respect, I dont like the thought of lead in my burger meat. In the end we all use what works for us.
@Meh I agree, the old Hornady interlock is a classic that will be around for ever. I've shot a lot of game with with interlocks and like the Barnes, never lost anything.
I'm wondering about your concern with bullet weight after they've been fired into a target. Do you intend to reuse them? Both bullets penetrated at least into the third jug, and the Hornady appeared to have the greater expanded diameter, likely greater hydrostatic shock, and as a result greater tissue damage. Additionally, water is a more dense medium than live tissue for typical shots on game (lung tissue, etc.).
I totally agree. It's not important how the bullet ends up, it's what it does along the way. Water jugs are not a match for animal tissue, ballistic gel is the closes match.
@@drthuntclub4153 even ballistic gel isn’t ideal; there’s no bone. Does the bullet hit bone early in the target? Or late? Or not at all? I’ve had rib fragments on a buck do almost as much damage on lung tissue than the bullet itself, making for a quick kill. I didn’t care what the bullet looked like. I’ve recovered a .308” Hornady 220 grain Interlock round nose in a moose’s far hide that must have mushroomed in the lungs, rolled over, smacked a major bone in the far shoulder sideways, and ended up with the base knocked out of round and skidded off into the hide. That must have delivered serious energy on target to knock a bullet’s base into an oval! Was my observation of the bullet important? Interesting, yes, but not anywhere near as important as the fact it was a one-shot kill with the moose only making it a couple dozen yards. Over penetration is another issue as well; why waste that energy on an exit wound? You’re certainly paying for it in recoil energy, why not let it pay off in the animal? Jugs and gel are what we have, I suppose, but shot placement on an animal, doing the damage where it counts and where we put it, is the test of a bullet. Scrutinizing recovered bullets on test media may be a start, but it remains an imperfect technique to judge bullets on game. The best test is bullets on game the way you shoot them.
Good point. I was thinking the same thing.😊
Copper vs Copper would be a much more comparative test. A solid copper vs a cup and core....
So Hornady did its job and expanded fully and dumped all its energy on impact.......like it should. The Barnes also dumped its energy on impact but barely expanded at all. In my mind these 2 bullets are not a fair comparison not in tech in the bullet and not in composistion
I Use purple food coloring when I shoot water jugs. If its cold out side add dish soap in the water keeps it from freezing
Copper or lead bullets that are bonded to the jacket are the only serious expanded bullets.
I like a bullet that expands faster and dumps energy quicker the biggest problem I've had long range is if you don't hit any bone then you don't get good expansion
The hornady would still lose, because this one was a 220gr, compared to the Barnes 200gr, and the Barnes still had majority of the bullet, while the hornady pretty much depleted. So I think if they were the same gr bullets it’ll be worst than this.
@@Rome_504 on dear you only have a couple of inches before you need that bullet fully expanded and it's six in your in the heart and lungs on dear you don't have to worry about weight retention unless you're shooting them up the ass
@@marksexsmith8076 Bro I love Hornady Eldx. Cause that’s what I use for my rifle, but I’m about to change over to the Barnes LRX
@@Rome_504 brother get the eld m . Trust me
I would hardly call the Barnes beautiful expansion. It hardly came open. That hornady is going to do massive internal damage. The eld x is designed for long range. 450 isn't really long range. You should test out the federal terminal ascent.
I would take the hornady all day long for that range of hunting! It is expansion an energy transfer with that impact will do more damage and anchor a elk faster then if you punch a tight little hole with a barnes. I will take the hornady big expansion over pin holes of the barnes bullet.
I personally watched a elk get hit with a barnes bullet like you just showed but out of a 28 nosler, hit in the boiler room an she never slowed down and never was recovered.
If she would have been hit with a hornady or any other non all copper bullet she would have dropped in her tracks or had a short bloody recovery
If you like lead in your meat and you like bullets blowing up on bone and lost animals just keep on shooting 2 part bulletsI have killed over 25 elk with barnes over the last 28 years never lost one and they anchor them if you make a good shot .
Kevin Kingsto
Shot a few elk with the eld-x, not to impressed. Poor penetration.
Ok let's take a honest look at what you said ,you said she was hit in the boiler room and never slowed down and was lost, ok that is impossible medically impossible..if hit in the boiler room as you said then the animal is dead within a minute all of her blood will fill her lungs and she will die more likely is it was a bad shot just the truth.........
@@magwamagwa45110 say for a moment the bullet really did not expand (not unreasonable as there are videos of barnes bullets leaving very small wound tracks on recovered big game animals here on RUclips, and it’s been reported independently all over the world by many different hunters on many different game animals and species)
.284” or smaller in and .284” or smaller out with a matching permanent wound track on a moving animal could easily be sealed by the hide, membranes, and tissues under the skin (delaying or stopping the collapse of the lungs from air rushing in) and cause a very slow bleeding wound. While this would still very likely be fatal to the animal (as you suggest) it’s not impossible for the animal to cover a significant distance in rough country with no blood trail. Without fresh snow and in a game rich area that would be an incredibly hard track to follow.
I believe you are to quick to harshly judge a fellow hunter and discredit many other peoples first hand accounts of poor performance by this bullet.
As a hunting guide, I see people using multiple types of ammo. In the last several years, myself and clients have killed elk and bear with eldx bullets from 25-440 yds, in 6.5 creedmore, .308, and 300 win mag. All clean kills, and little to no tracking time. There’s a reason a lot of hunters, including myself, are using it.
I agree. If using Barnes bullets at longer ranges you'd better hit some bone. Even eldm's penetrate bone at distance, and still are devastating if you miss bone.
@@theowenssailingdiary5239 Jump to 3:30 and see expansion test of Barnes ttsx. Not many bones in a tomato. ruclips.net/video/nk5m3NAQ_R0/видео.html
Try using some denim or hide in front of the water jugs at 450 yards might see some different results. Much better video then last keep making these types of videos. Even do some accubonds with Barnes and hornady
Barnes kills cleanly, with no lead residue in your game!
Great video, got some 165 interlock 300wby, gonna try this season. Should be good for 180 lb wt and 200-300 lb black bear
Test the Hornady GMX side by side with the Barnes MRX. Good vid! 🇨🇦🤠
FYI Barnes replaced the MRX with the LRX about 2012
Do not use target bullets for big game! Berger, Hornady cup and core (bonded and GMX ok), Federal Hi-shok, these are just examples. Good for paper and varmints but nothing bigger than wolves I'd say. I started hunting in 1980 and I've seen good and bad wounds, and all those explosive bullets were all we had back then. Embrace the new technology of TSX, TTSX, GMX, E-TIP etc and old tech like PARTITIONS, A-FRAME, and BONDED CORE bullets. The animal deserves a quick and humane death and your family doesn't need to ingest lead like the old days.
Great job showing the penetration of both bullets, but if you want to compare bullets you need to use a similar type, the Barns is a monolithic copper bullet then you need to use a Hornady GMX and not the ELD-X, compare apples with apples, or say I would rather use this type because I want weight retention and penetration., just my 5cents worth
These eldx and eldm rip whitetails up. Never seen a bullet kill deer like these and I've tried em all. Elk probly not a great choice. But whitetails are dead meat in there tracks 99 the time
I 100% agree
Jacket separation on ELDX bullets is the norm.
Thank you for testing at hunting distances. Ive always felt testing at 100 yds and then 300-400 yds, depending on the cartridge, made much more sense. Then you know what it does at closer and longer ranges. How often do you shoot an elk at 10 yds? Pouring out the jug right in the middle of where you are working and dumping the bullet into the mud seemed odd though. If you had a piece of plywood off to the side to poor it out on might be better, and numbering the jugs and showing the amount of damage to each jug would be interesting too, to indicate possible damage to the game. At least the comparison. Overall though, i think it was quite good and i hope you keep it up.
Thank you for taking the time to do this long range followup test! Greetings from Sweden :-) I have been thinking about a suitable bullet for my 300 Weatherby. First loaded ELD-X 178 to 3200 fps but I got the feeling it would give varmint bullet performance inside 600 yards so I changed my mind. Now I’m thinking TTSX 150 to get a flat shooting round, but I guess the petals will shear off at any distance? So what could possibly hold together and still give flat trajectory? I am thinking A-Frame 165. Or Scirocco 180, if they can group given their secant office and the generous freebore of the Mark V.
I have a feeling that the Barnes in that test may have hit the ground and wound back up in the jugs. Looking at it, it appeared that the side the petals sheared off of hit the ground or something. I can't prove it though. I honestly believe the petals under 3000 fps will stay in tact. The Swift a frame is a bullet I'd love to test. Ive heard great things about them!
I have done some testing with the sciroccos. They are a great bullet, I've tested them out of my 6.5 Grendel. From my experience, the barnes hold weight slightly better and penetrate a little further. It is similar to a thicker jacketed accubond.
300 wby mag ? 200gr Barnes TTSX, KILLS LIKE LIGHTNING! Oops, I meant the 200gr Barnes lrx 😎
Berger bullets are a damn good long range bullet as well. They will not retain bullet weight though but do devastating damage to whatever they hit! ✌️
Try Federal Terminal Ascent, and Nosler Accubond. Both are better than any mono bullet.
Great video... Thanks for posting
I have reload ELD X 178G for my 30 06. 2600 at the muzzle. I have shot 4 White tail and 2 bull Elk. The white tail were between 30 and 110 yards. One Elk was 40 yards and the other was at 270 yards. Every shot was a complete pass through except 1. A neck spine shot on a big whitetail buck. The bullet was stopped by the hide on the far side. I kept that bullet for a while and it was still mostly in tact. Looked like perfect mushrooming to me. Anyway, all were DRT. As far as I’m concerned its perfect performance.
Why didn't you load the same bullet weight and then the same muzzle velocity? This isn't a fair test.
Good to see you didn't shoot them off the hood of your neighbor's car.
That'll be in the 1000 yard video
Hmmm, I have had lead separation with the Hornady Interlocked on a Big horn sheep at 300 yards. The lead, being heavier than copper continues forward while the jacket stayed behind. Not great bullet performance in my opinion. I wouldn't call the Barnes example good expansion. Pretty small diameter compared to a bonded bullet such as Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, that will have similar weight retention but much larger expansion diameter. The expansion diameter makes a bigger wound channel and displaces more energy.
Well said.
One thing to consider you do not need a large expanded bullet to kill game efficiently think of a broad head on a hunting arrow 3/4 of a inch spinning and cutting ,then think of the barnes the pedals are like a broad head and they drive all the way through massive blood loss and that is traumatic shock and quick kills, I have had more 1 shot drop in their tracks kills with Barnes they work...
350 yards max with Barnes in my opinion and that’s being generous closer the better they perform
@@finallyfamous9628 how many kills over that distance do you base that on? I have killed over 30 elk with barnes bullets every where from 30 yards to 600 in fast guns and slow never been disappointed and no lead in my meat!
I'm not saying you won't get kills at longer distances elk are also smaller then moose which is what I usually hunt but its the weight retention at the closer ranges for example at 100 yards I shot a young bull moose while running lung shot broke both ribs complete pass-through and dropped dead from the energy shock all of the weight retention the bullet fully expanded perfect mushroom just feel its better to get closer for the maximum effect
Personally I wouldn’t count 2 pieces together as “weight retention”. To me it has to be all 1 piece. I’m a little shocked that that bullet came apart at that distance.
I'm going to use a barnes when I go for wolfs in my 243 maybe 109gr
Why do people use the Hornady ELDX bullets? They all too often just don't hold together. Now if they were bonded .....
Well, they already make that: the Interbond. Lol. The eldx does seem to suck tho. I mean, at 450yds and separation? Na. Pass
@@John_Redcorn_ The Interbond is not remotely similar to the ELDX
Good video. Thanks!
I killed a huge buck with 308 178gr ELD-X at 490 yards
Penetrated 20 inches deep
90 percent weight retention
Shoot some Hornady SST'S!! I shot my bull elk with hornady 140 SST's at 150 yards. The shot entered his lower right lung and stopped just under the skin a couple inches from his spine and half way down his back!! He made it about 100'.The bullet mushroomed out to the size of a dime and was 100 % in tact with no fragments! It was impressive to see!!
I can't say much about Barnes but my father's 7mm rem mag has dropped moose at to 800 yards and the Hornaday sst that are 162 grs work perfectly and the massive expansion helps drop moose really fast where the federal bullets and Remington bullets went through and through with little expansion personally I like Copper penatration and I want to like Barnes as I'm looking for a good 50 gr bullet for both coyote hunting and wolf hunting and northern caribou
Looks like there’s a clear winner here in short and long range. First of all I’m not a big Hornady fan, I think the bullets shoot good but they are fit for purpose. They hit hard and do damage but no pass through means no blood trail. No blood trail means no animal sometimes! I have worked in the hunting industry for yrs and for practicality purposes I want a blood trail to follow. In south Texas brush country you are dead in water with no blood! I have seen Barnes Triple shock bullets go almost completely through a Bison shot in the head and bullet was under the skin in the hind quarter. You can shoot a mature whitetail buck in the shoulder with Barnes and it will break bones and pass through. Wish I could show y’all pictures of blood trails that are 2 ft wide! Now, if you are gonna neck or head shoot these animals it doesn’t matter, you could use a total metal jacket out of any gun. If you are hunting inside of 100 yards all the time I would say shoot whatever kind of bullets you want, if your trophy hunting or big game hunting I would say use Barnes! I even use Barnes in my smaller calibers and they work great! Not trying to stir y’all up, this is my opinions of course.... Y’all have a good day! ✌️
It’s the GMX bullet that is saposed to keep 90% of its weight you shoot the SST the GMX is a copper alloy the same as the Barnes
I DONT DO ..ANYTHING HORNADY
FOR DEER...
FEDERAL FUSION 308 165 gr
(they nicknamed them death blossoms)
DONT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT
DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK
The federal fusion in my opinion is one of the best all around hunting bullets on the market. Speer gold dot rifle bullets are pretty much the same thing and they are excellent as well.
I like 165gr Federal Fusion so much I pull the bullets from factory loads & reload them with Tac powder. Gives me 2750 fps from my 308win mod70 20"barrel. In my jug test bullets expand to .80 cal & great weight retention. Very accurate also. Best hunting bullets IMHO
The Barnes is an allcopper bullet the ELDX is lead core. Not a good comparison.
Nope Hornady sucks, I will take a Barnes every day of the week. The polymer tip drives the TSX and TTSX open for reliable expansion and Barnes is going to retain its weight and drive deep into the animal. Another characteristic benefit is the Barnes will be a little lighter weight as copper is lighter than lead and have a longer projectile for increased BC and SD. Plus who wants to be ingesting lead flakes in their game meat, hell nah
So what this test tells me is that the bullet with lead would have caused more damage to the animal even if it was a bad shot vs a bullet that will go straight through the animal with little to know blood trail. So the lead bullet is a better option or Am I missing something?
Eld m is one of the best hunting bullets . Solid copper requires so much velocity and the gel has so much impact resistant that it looks like it preforms well. Lead core all the way .
Penetration is the single most important factor in a hunting bullet. In order to penetrate, the bullets need to hold together. A solid copper bullet will penetrate deeper than any lead bullet. You’re also not poisoning yourself with copper. Contrary to this entire comment thread, copper bullets can leave large exit holes.
@@echofoxtrotwhiskey1595 I've not used all copper bullets before so I'm just a bit sceptical about them. I'll test some this season hopefully.
@@echofoxtrotwhiskey1595 penetration means poor energy transfer. They are usually lighter weight so they can be pushed at higher speeds so they can expand a little better but means they have a pretty bad ballistic coefficient.
@@Dcm193 And? I’d rather a bullet make it through the bones of an animal rather than disintegrate on impact.
Good vid. Would love to see a accubond Lr test
Great video
I don't think Hornady develops their projectiles for expansion in water. Water jug tests seem to create more separation thank live animal bodies.
Bet they miss you at NASA.... cause you definitely a rocket scientist!
Gmx against the lrx would be a better comparison or GMX against the ttsx. Lrx is basically the same just has better BC.
Why not do this test with the CX . That is Hornedy long range copper bullet.
After grabbing the Hornady bullet in your hands, the rest of the bullet was in the mud.. You just didn't see it...
Hornady is good for paper not animals period.
Dear Sir, would you mind sharing the elevation and temperature at which this test took place? 450 yards in Colorado can be very different from 450 yards in California (air density).
I do not recall the temperature on that day but the elevation is 5800 feet
@@highcountryadventures9606 Thank you! I guess you recorded the shooting in the afternoon, in which case the temperature was probably around 77°F (+/-9°). With these numbers I estimate your LRX's impact velocity to be right around 2400 fps. That is plenty of speed!
How is a 220gr Hornady clearing 3000fps unless you have a very long barrel and nuclear hot handloads? Load book shows 2800, with only RL26 (unobtainable) showing 2900.
I started using the load data alliant has on their website which is 2826 fps and a 220 grain bullet. I have a 26 inch barrel not a 24 inch which gives me an average velocity gain of 60fps. That puts me at around 2900 fps. I was able to go slightly above maximum load reccomendation because I was showing no pressure signs, and I still have no pressure signs. I'm not saying that everyone should go over the max load. They should know their rifles and work up slowly. I just don't happen to have any issues in my gun.
I shot a mule deer at 750 yards and it went between the ribs on the way in and between the ribs on the way out and there was almost zero expansion the whole was just barely bigger than the bullet luckily I shoot 338 Lapua there was enough over pressure to rip the liver
Apples to oranges
Sorry I love my hornady cup core design and I only hunt deer never seen m
This video was not a knock on Hornady elds. Although they didn't perform quite as advertised, they are hammers for deer rounds. I've shot deer with them and they hit deer with authority. However, when it comes to elk. I feel they lack in structural integrity. And I would prefer a tougher bullet.
@@highcountryadventures9606 As a whitetail hunter, I'll take the Barnes over ANYONE'S lead cup and core OR bonded bullet. I eat what I kill and I stopped biting lead bits in '98 and never looked back. What people need to understand is how the Barnes bullets work. I've heard so many stories of how people think they didn't expand just because the exit wound wouldn't fit a softball. The exit wounds are typically about double the actual bullet diameter, but the internal organs are completely destroyed. The energy dump inside an animal is quite amazing while cutting down on blood shot meat as well....given hit rib's and not shoulders. Barnes bullets are the real deal, 100% copper, not the "harder" gilding metal crap.
Get you the sst then. But when you go large game. Do Barnes LRX
Apple's to oranges. Not even close to a fair comparison
Why not
Who cares? Both are very popular bullets. So why not put them head to head??
I'll take a Nosler Accubond, or Partition for closer shots.
Why would you not use the GMX bullet as a fair comparison?
What cartridge?
Apples vs oranges. You need to test both copper bullets or both bonded. Your test falls short.
that guy literally did his test in a pond of cow shit
Why u add all that water to just make mud
You are comparing apples and oranges here... monolithic bullet vs a cup and core.. doesn’t make sense to me that you would compare these to each other.
Shooting water jugs isn't the same as shooting a deer or elk. Go to states that don't require a solid copper bullet and see what hunters are buying. If Hornady Precision Hunter ammo wasn't working, it wouldn't be selling. Personally, I don't know anyone that uses barnes TTSX bullets.
What part of the elk didn't die
Inside 100 yards those ELDX kill Elk just fine but barnes get the job done at longer ranges
You have that completely in reverse ..
I’ve been using the Barnes MRX for many years, it kills em dead , and there is no lead in my meat , what more could you ask for.
bobby green how far are you shooting them ? Cheers
Blaze Smith MRX stands for multi range bullets , and I have shot them at all ranges from 300 yards and in and those bullets work great but ,, I don’t know if you have ever shot a deer with a 338 win mag or not , but 4000 energy ft pounds is a lot and they don’t cross the property line when you use that.
Would really like to see this retested with both 150gr (still 308) and let's say 300 yards.
Compare like bullets! Compare Barnes TTSX and Hornady GMX.
Based on the expansion, I'd rather shoot the hornady.
I just can't make monolithic bullits perform in my handloads good test I only shoot deer and hogs in mississippi.long racing is 100 yards
For me personally monolithics have been very accurate. but there are also some great bonded bullet choices. Nosler accubond and any of the Swift lineup. And others. My goal was just to compare those two bullets. They both have their pros and cons. But in an elk situation I think it's best to stay with the barnes