6.5 PRC Elk bullet

[mzurovec]

I'd like to thank everybody for the responses here. I wanted to update this thread as I had a unique set of circumstances play out to be able to try out both the ELDX and LRX. After all of my research, I ended up taking both bullets to the mountains because I felt they both had strong points that would make either valid depending on the shot. I worried about jacket and penetration issues with the ELDX on a short shot where I felt the LRX would shine, and I worried I wouldn't get enough expansion to cause a strong wound channel on a long shot with the LRX. Overthinking it a bit? Probably.

I was able to harvest the bull below from 486 yards across a canyon. I was expecting a much closer shot based on what they guide had told us prior to the hunt, and that was the only ELDX I brought with me that morning just in case something longer presented itself. The ELDX entered right in front of his guts and buried itself in the far shoulder. The internal damage was catastrophic. On the follow up shot, I put an LRX just behind his shoulder and through both lungs. It poked a small hole and was just under the skin on the far side. The bull made it about 40 yards from the initial point of impact.

I was on cloud 9! It was an incredible experience and I wasn't even thinking about bullet performance, but I was glad to have found that Barnes. The bullet weighed 107.7 gr (85% weight retention), but the hole it made and the expansion left much to be desired. That being said, I will use the rest of what I've got on whitetails and hogs, and on future hunts I definitely have confidence in the ELDX. Here are some pictures from the hunt:

 

[JakeSCH]

Congratulations on the bull! Do you have photos of the internals? Did you recover the eldx? Would love to see photos of those.

how do you know what caused damage to internals if both double lunged it? Just curious. It also appears that the LRX shed its petals by the delta weight (which is very good IMO and why i shoot hammer bullets).

 

[wyosam]

I put a 147 through a bulls shoulder at 80 yards. It blew right through it. I have zero issue with the shoulder shot or straight on shot. Where I don’t like the the little 6.5 bullets is if something goes wrong and it’s a gut shot.

View attachment 207325
This is the bull at 80 yards. My wife broke both shoulder on a bull at 715 yards. It’s on YouTube if you want to see it.



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I don’t think caliber matters all that much when you poke them through the guts.


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[mzurovec]

Congratulations on the bull! Do you have photos of the internals? Did you recover the eldx? Would love to see photos of those.

how do you know what caused damage to internals if both double lunged it? Just curious. It also appears that the LRX shed its petals by the delta weight (which is very good IMO and why i shoot hammer bullets).

Point taken on determining what bullet did what, and I wish I'd have taken some better pictures. I did not recover the ELDX as it appeared to be in some bone. Attached is all I took, which is of one of the lungs where I deemed the Barnes did the damage. You can see some "soup" in the bottom right picture. His cavity was full of it, and as a whitetail hunter it was an unbelievable amount of internal hemorrhaging. I believe that was primarily from the Hornady, but I guess it's impossible to say. What I will say is the bull's back legs were giving out whenever I shot that Barnes (IE the Hornady did the job from what I can tell). I just wanted to be sure he was down; stranger things have happened than a hunter thinking an animal is done only to jump up a few seconds later and be gone.

 

[JakeSCH]

Point taken on determining what bullet did what, and I wish I'd have taken some better pictures. I did not recover the ELDX as it appeared to be in some bone. Attached is all I took, which is of one of the lungs where I deemed the Barnes did the damage. You can see some "soup" in the bottom right picture. His cavity was full of it, and as a whitetail hunter it was an unbelievable amount of internal hemorrhaging. I believe that was primarily from the Hornady, but I guess it's impossible to say. What I will say is the bull's back legs were giving out whenever I shot that Barnes (IE the Hornady did the job from what I can tell). I just wanted to be sure he was down; stranger things have happened than a hunter thinking an animal is done only to jump up a few seconds later and be gone.

Well the big summary is what you did worked! I always will shoot an elk until its down, they are just plane tough. From what you explained so fair I would tend to agree that the ELDX performed well. I believe the ELDX really steps into its design point at that distance and should outperform the LRX at 500y.

BTW what LRX ammo did you end up going with?

 

[WTFJohn]

Nice work on the bull! The ELDX and LRX shoot very similar out of my Bergara as well, and will both be used on deer/antelope/cow elk going forward.

We killed a few more elk this weekend with the 6.5's, my brother and I doubled on a pair of cows at 160 yds with the Unknown-loaded 127 LRX. My shot was slightly quartering to & below us, bullet entered the left shoulder and exited behind the right, she dropped within a step or two. My brothers shot was similar, slightly more down angle but same placement, results were about a 5 yd downhill sprint before she balled up dead.

 

[DisplacedHusky]

I'd like to thank everybody for the responses here. I wanted to update this thread as I had a unique set of circumstances play out to be able to try out both the ELDX and LRX. After all of my research, I ended up taking both bullets to the mountains because I felt they both had strong points that would make either valid depending on the shot. I worried about jacket and penetration issues with the ELDX on a short shot where I felt the LRX would shine, and I worried I wouldn't get enough expansion to cause a strong wound channel on a long shot with the LRX. Overthinking it a bit? Probably.

I was able to harvest the bull below from 486 yards across a canyon. I was expecting a much closer shot based on what they guide had told us prior to the hunt, and that was the only ELDX I brought with me that morning just in case something longer presented itself. The ELDX entered right in front of his guts and buried itself in the far shoulder. The internal damage was catastrophic. On the follow up shot, I put an LRX just behind his shoulder and through both lungs. It poked a small hole and was just under the skin on the far side. The bull made it about 40 yards from the initial point of impact.

I was on cloud 9! It was an incredible experience and I wasn't even thinking about bullet performance, but I was glad to have found that Barnes. The bullet weighed 107.7 gr (85% weight retention), but the hole it made and the expansion left much to be desired. That being said, I will use the rest of what I've got on whitetails and hogs, and on future hunts I definitely have confidence in the ELDX. Here are some pictures from the hunt:

Thanks for the update. Did you ever calculate the impact velocity for the LRX?

 

[hicountry1]

139 Scenars are bone crushers.