Hornady 7mm 180 ELD-M

[BIGMAC]

any one try these in a 1:9 Twist?? Will they stabilize in a 9T barrel.
Will be shooting a 284 Winchester and a
7mmSAUM. Thanks for any info.

 

[normmatzen]

I used to use 162 A-MAX in my 284 WIN F Class gun as they shot better in my 1-9 barrel then 180 Hybrids.
When the A-MAX was replaced with the ELD-M. I continued and they seemed to shoot better than the A-MAX.
I also bought a box of 180 g ELD-M and finally loaded some new W-W cases with them. Went to the range and shot the best group that gun has ever shot at 600 yd, 2.04"!
Last week I went back at 1000 yd and shot a 3.7" 5 shot group! Again, the best 1000 yd group that gun ever shot. And, I am using a fairly light load about 2825 fps (28" barrel) and I also worry a lot less about the wind! Now I am waiting for the next F Practice match so I can win more money!

And, I am ordering more 180 ELD-M 7mm!

 

[rimfiremac]

I'm very skeptical of Hornady's advertised bc on this one. Comparing the profile to a similar Berger or even the 175 eld x, the 180 eld m has the shortest boat tail of the bunch, and that's not going to help it fly any.

 

[bsumoba]

if you plan on shooting this for F-Class, you might want to reconsider...multiple documented cases of them not reaching the target...

 

[McFred]

multiple documented cases of them not reaching the target

Can you provide links, please? I'm interested in the 180 ELD-M too but if they can't handle much velocity then I'm not interested.

 

[gilmillan1]

They shoot well. They will require much more freebore than the hybrids. They have a large bearing surface. You will need to make sure your barrel is clean and that u don't have a carbon ring. Make sure you don't have too much neck tension . Try to avoid anything that may damage the jacket. They are fragile and any damage will cause them to blow. They are also cheap and very consistent. I will shoot them once I get a. Barrel that has enough freebore. I have shot them in my current barrel. They shot well but I dont like to sear them in then doughnut area. Good luck.

 

[Titan]

any one try these in a 1:9 Twist?? Will they stabilize in a 9T barrel.
Will be shooting a 284 Winchester and a
7mmSAUM. Thanks for any info.

Shot them with a .284 Winchester 8.5 at around 2840 and they were stable, a buddy shot them with a 1-9 and they were stable at 1000. I could only get them to shoot jammed .005-.007, I didn't find them to be that consistent on target over a 20 shot string, I may revisit them I still have quite a few.

 

[RampedRaptor]

They shoot well. They will require much more freebore than the hybrids. They have a large bearing surface. You will need to make sure your barrel is clean and that u don't have a carbon ring. Make sure you don't have too much neck tension . Try to avoid anything that may damage the jacket. They are fragile and any damage will cause them to blow. They are also cheap and very consistent. I will shoot them once I get a. Barrel that has enough freebore. I have shot them in my current barrel. They shot well but I dont like to sear them in then doughnut area. Good luck.

What kind of FB are you thinking?

 

[gilmillan1]

I think 230 should work fine

 

[Laurie]

I'm very skeptical of Hornady's advertised bc on this one. Comparing the profile to a similar Berger or even the 175 eld x, the 180 eld m has the shortest boat tail of the bunch, and that's not going to help it fly any.

Bryan Litz gives them the following average values:

162 Amax ............................... 0.598 G1 BC .............. 0.936 G7 form factor ............. 0.307 G7 BC

162gn ELD-M .......................... 0.639 G1 BC .............. 0.877 G7 form factor ............. 0.327 G7 BC

180gn ELD-M .......................... 0.703 G1 BC .............. 0.886 G7 form factor ............. 0.360 G7 BC

Although I'm damned if I can see how the apparently modest dimensional changes have improved the ELD so much over the old AMax, they apparently have. Sub 0.9 form factors are very good indeed especially for a 160gn class bullet.

With a 0.491" long bearing surface, the 162 ELD is a little longer than that of the AMax and 60 odd thou' longer than the equivalent weight Sierra 160gn TMK, but significantly shorter than those of the Berger 180gn VLDs and Hybrids.

Both AMax and ELDs are true VLD types with Rt/R ratios right on the classic VLD's 0.5 as per the Berger VLD designs.

(All data from Ballistic Performance of Rifle Bullets 3rd ed by Bryan Litz.)