Bullet performance data base

[Messor]

Thanks

You going smaller and smaller, in 5 years time we’ll be seeing posts of you hunting with your 204

[TStone]

Thanks

You going smaller and smaller, in 5 years time we’ll be seeing posts of you hunting with your 204

I needed a flat shooting rifle for predator control and culling springbok at night, I looked at the .22-250 and various 6mm's and chose the 6CM, because it came (in a factory rifle) with a fast barrel twist for stabilising heavy'ish mono bullets, so that I can use it for general hunting. It works really well as a springbok and blesbuck rifle, so it is a dual-purpose rifle. Exactly what the .243 win and 6mm Remington was envisioned to be.

A .204? I don't think so, it is a little too specialised for me.

[Pirate]

Thanks

You going smaller and smaller, in 5 years time we’ll be seeing posts of you hunting with your 204

In fairness, he already went bigger, started with 9.3, then 375, then 416, so let the man collect toys at the smaller end of the spectrum too unlike most of us, all his rifles are regularly exercised...

[TStone]

85gr SBC 6mm bullet, recovered from a blesbuck ram, shot at ±250m. Blesbuck was quartering away, bullet entered far back, behind rib cage and was recovered in opposite shoulder. Muzzle velocity: ±3200fps.

Recovered weight: 81.9gr (96.4%)
Expanded diameter: 11.8mm (1,9x)

Big performance from a little bullet.

[Dinat]

Very impressive bullet! Thanks for sharing TStone


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[TStone]

143gr Hornady ELD-x recovered from a blesbuck ram, shot at ±350m.
MV ±2500fps, from 6.5 Creedmoor.
Ram was quartering on, bullet broke shoulder joint and was recovered under skin, behind opposite shoulder.
I have been using these bullets quite a lot lately for hunting springbok and blesbuck. It works really well for these antelope on the open plains, where shots typically are >200m and impact velocities are low. It is, however, a rather specialised bullet and it does not do well at high impact velocities, especially if bone is encountered.

[ListerG]

143gr Hornady ELD-x recovered from a blesbuck ram, shot at ±350m.
MV ±2500fps, from 6.5 Creedmoor.
Ram was quartering on, bullet broke shoulder joint and was recovered under skin, behind opposite shoulder.
I have been using these bullets quite a lot lately for hunting springbok and blesbuck. It works really well for these antelope on the open plains, where shots typically are >200m and impact velocities are low. It is, however, a rather specialised bullet and it does not do well at high impact velocities, especially if bone is encountered.

Great post thanks TStone. I have the same experience exactly from a 6.5x55. Anything over 200m was super effective but closer up the blood trails were poor even if the shot was ultimately successful.

[Heath Robinson]

So impact velocity somewhere between 1900 and 2100ft/s?
No wonder they say don't hunt with the even softer ELD-M!

[MyLani]

I have zero experience with ELDX bullets, and I am not recommending it, but....
A friend who PH's, uses his 6.5x55 extensively with Clients, using it up to Eland. In his experience, the ELDX explodes and gives bad blood spoors. He uses ELDM's which he claims works better on game than the ELDX's. His Outfitter experiences the same with his 30-06.

Regarding Blood Spoor, I had an Outfitter who loved the Berger VLD Hunting bullets. I struggled with them as you never got a single drop of blood out the Entrance wound and hardly got an exit wound.
On the Other hand, bullet design such as the SBC throws a solid blood spoor as the Entrance hole doesn't close up, even better with an expanded bullet size exit hole.

[TStone]

One of the problems with the high bc bullets is that they leave a tiny entrance hole, sometimes so small that it is invisible until the skin is removed. I can live with this for plains hunting, especially for the smaller antelope, where they mostly exit, causing large exit wounds. In thick bush, especially on large animals, the lack of blood trails is a major problem.

I have also been told that the ELD-m is a better bullet for hunting, because it is not as fragile as the ELD-x, but I do not have any practical experience to back this up. I do know that the old A-max, which was replaced by the ELD-m, was a pretty decent hunting bullet. I killed a lot of game using the 140gr A-max in a 6.5x55.