Has anyone tried the 103 grain Hornady ELD-X for 243? I have a Ruger American that I am wanting to try and set up for deer hunting. The rifle has a 1:9 twist. I have tried the ELD-X in 150 gr for 7 mag and Hornady provides twist recommendations for those bullets. I am not finding any twist recommendations for the .243 ELD-X bullets. Any info is appreciated.
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ELD-X for 243 ??
- Thread starter ReloadKy
- Start date
FrankenMauser
New member
Hornady recommends a 1:8" twist for their factory ammo loaded with the 103 gr ELD-X, as do other companies loading the bullet. (Velocities ranging from 2940 to 3050 fps.)
You should probably be okay with a 1:9" twist, if you can push the bullet to at least 2,900 fps.
Hornady doesn't seem to want to put people off by advertising that the bullet is only marginally stable (or 'worse') in pretty much everything but a 1:7.5" or faster twist. Berger thinks you'd be better off with a 1:6" twist. (But their calculator does tend to make people want to overcompensate.)
Play with the numbers yourself: Stability calculator
G1 BC is .512.
Bullet length is 1.260".
The rest of the numbers are obvious.
You should probably be okay with a 1:9" twist, if you can push the bullet to at least 2,900 fps.
Hornady doesn't seem to want to put people off by advertising that the bullet is only marginally stable (or 'worse') in pretty much everything but a 1:7.5" or faster twist. Berger thinks you'd be better off with a 1:6" twist. (But their calculator does tend to make people want to overcompensate.)
Play with the numbers yourself: Stability calculator
G1 BC is .512.
Bullet length is 1.260".
The rest of the numbers are obvious.
Read the info on Bergers site carefully. They show their 105 BT as marginally stable from a 9 twist @ 2800 fps. But also say,
And that the BC is off by 6% .239 instead of .253 and that 8.25:1 is optimal
I'm betting a 103 in an 9 twist does just fine. Lots of manufacturers stated BC's are off by more than 6%.
Your bullet stability is marginal. You may shoot good groups under these conditions, but the BC of the bullet will not be optimized.
And that the BC is off by 6% .239 instead of .253 and that 8.25:1 is optimal
I'm betting a 103 in an 9 twist does just fine. Lots of manufacturers stated BC's are off by more than 6%.
Stats Shooter
New member
I'm using the 108 gr ELD-M in my 6mm (.244 cal) Ackley Improved. 28" Bartlein barrel, 1:8 Twist, 3225 fps. It is in the 2's and 3's @ 300 yards and less than. 1/2 MOA at 600 yards.
I'm not sure how much longer the 108 gr is compared to the 103 gr. But I think it would be on the ragged edge of stable. The VLD and ELD bullets are long. Shorter bullets of similar weight like the 100 grain Speer or Nosler would be fine, my brother uses them in his 1:10 .243. But with the longer sleeker profile, I would try something in the 90's with a 1:9 Twist were I using a VLD or ELD.
It doesn't some like much, but with my 1:8 Twist the new sierra 110 VLD match king won't stabilize but the 108 ELD - M will.
I'm not sure how much longer the 108 gr is compared to the 103 gr. But I think it would be on the ragged edge of stable. The VLD and ELD bullets are long. Shorter bullets of similar weight like the 100 grain Speer or Nosler would be fine, my brother uses them in his 1:10 .243. But with the longer sleeker profile, I would try something in the 90's with a 1:9 Twist were I using a VLD or ELD.
It doesn't some like much, but with my 1:8 Twist the new sierra 110 VLD match king won't stabilize but the 108 ELD - M will.
Been using Speer 105 SP's out of a 1 in 9.125 for eons. The rifle(all sexed up with a Win M70A walnut stock, glass bedding and a 4 pound, I think, trigger.) shoots 2" or so minute of deer groups all day, every day. Barrels no up to better and I don't care.). 1 in 9 will do nicely.
Nearly all commercial hunting rifles chambered in .243 are rifled for deer bullets. Even the ones with heavy 'varmint' barrels. A 1:8" twist .243 is a cu$tom barrel.
Lotta really daft marketing nonsense on Hornady's site about their ELD-X line. Their the Heat Shield tip is the same thing as No$ler's BT. Synthetic bullet inserts were invented up here by CIL in the late 60's. CIL then IVI called 'em 'Sabre tips'.
Nearly all commercial hunting rifles chambered in .243 are rifled for deer bullets. Even the ones with heavy 'varmint' barrels. A 1:8" twist .243 is a cu$tom barrel.
Lotta really daft marketing nonsense on Hornady's site about their ELD-X line. Their the Heat Shield tip is the same thing as No$ler's BT. Synthetic bullet inserts were invented up here by CIL in the late 60's. CIL then IVI called 'em 'Sabre tips'.
FrankenMauser
New member
.243 Win twist rates are always a "Chevy vs Ford", ".45 vs 9mm" type of subject; with Dodge and .40 S&W (.244/6mm Rem) popping up for no justifiable reason.**
Some of us have 1:10s that shoot 100(+) gr bullets just fine.
Some of us have 1:9s that won't shoot 100s.
Some of us have a variety of twist rates that hit every variable on the board.
Outside of theory, the best option is to just see if a given bullet will work in a particular rifle. ...'Cause sometimes theory isn't worth any more than the paper it's printed on.
**(That statement is not targeted at you, Stats Shooter. It's merely a generalization of how these threads tend to progress. Your post was, in fact, helpful and applicable here, since you included pertinent information.)
If you go back to the introduction of the ELD line, there were dozens of articles (and press releases) discussing extensive long-range testing and doppler tracking during development. During testing, they discovered that the bullet tips were melting and causing problems - not only with their under-development "ELD" bullets, but with competitors' plastic-tipped bullets, as well.
So, they went looking for something more heat resistant. The quest for a new tip delayed launch of the product line by something like 18 months and required retesting every bullet in the line. So, they made a big deal of it.
I would have, too...
Some of us have 1:10s that shoot 100(+) gr bullets just fine.
Some of us have 1:9s that won't shoot 100s.
Some of us have a variety of twist rates that hit every variable on the board.
Outside of theory, the best option is to just see if a given bullet will work in a particular rifle. ...'Cause sometimes theory isn't worth any more than the paper it's printed on.
**(That statement is not targeted at you, Stats Shooter. It's merely a generalization of how these threads tend to progress. Your post was, in fact, helpful and applicable here, since you included pertinent information.)
Similar design and intent, but different material - and now Hornady owns multiple patents for using the 'heat shield tip' concept in projectiles.Lotta really daft marketing nonsense on Hornady's site about their ELD-X line. Their the Heat Shield tip is the same thing as No$ler's BT. Synthetic bullet inserts were invented up here by CIL in the late 60's. CIL then IVI called 'em 'Sabre tips'.
If you go back to the introduction of the ELD line, there were dozens of articles (and press releases) discussing extensive long-range testing and doppler tracking during development. During testing, they discovered that the bullet tips were melting and causing problems - not only with their under-development "ELD" bullets, but with competitors' plastic-tipped bullets, as well.
So, they went looking for something more heat resistant. The quest for a new tip delayed launch of the product line by something like 18 months and required retesting every bullet in the line. So, they made a big deal of it.
I would have, too...
Stats Shooter
New member
That statement is not targeted at you, Stats Shooter. It's merely a generalization of how these threads tend to progress. Your post was, in fact, helpful and applicable here, since you included pertinent information.)
No offense taken. Theory guides experiment, and the bench experiment guides practical application.
As has been said, the stated twist rate of a barrel isn't always the "exact" twist. Which is why I think some 1:9 Twist AR's do ok with 75 gr BTHP's and some won't stabilize it......because one might be 1:8.5 and the other 1:9.5. Furthermore, the poly tip of a bullet can be discounted to a degree in its overall measurement for calculating stability because the poly tip is lighter than the metal tip in a BTHP or a lead soft point.
But you wouldn't want to start with a 1:11 Twist or 1:7 so the theory gets you in the ball park, early testing at 100 or 200 yards determines if it's worth investigating. And then you shoot it out to your max intended distance and evaluate results.