Range Report!
So I picked up some 212 ELD-X at my local Sportsmans warehouse to try in my 300wm. I then called the folks at Hornady who gave me some great info. They told me that they did their load development with a 25" barrel and a coal of 3.5". They said that they are not meant to be loaded at the short saami spec coal of the 200s and 220s. They did however state that the best powders for the WM and the 212 were H1000 and R22. They said that a max charge of both were moving in the 2800s. This is only 50fps slower than the 200s, due to the 212 having a shorter bearing surface and longer nose/ogive. The max load they told me for H1000 was 77.6 grs.
So anyway, I was pretty excited and went home and began loading. The 212 touched the lands in my barrel at 3.55" My mag allows for 3.515" so I loaded them to that and gave them a 40 thousandths jump. The Hornady rep told me that they don't mind a little jump and aren't nearly as sensitive to seating depth as the Bergers.
I loaded 5 rounds a piece of:
74,75,76,77 and 77.5.
They all shot well, but the hotter I went the tighter they got!
I finished off the day with a 5 shot .612" group at 100 yards with 77.5 gr of H1000 and ZERO pressure signs and no hard bolt lift. And out of my 27" barrel I figured they are probably going in the low-mid 2900 fps range, but I have no chronograph. This was all with new Hornady brass that had not been fire formed.
Needless to say I'm pretty excited about this new bullet, and can't wait to get out to the range again and do more fine tuning. I know I can tighten the groups up even more. But not bad for a first outing!