Hornady ELD-Ms in 223

[quigley257]

Has anyone used the new ELD-Ms from Hornady in their 223 yet? I have a stock 26" 1/9 model 12 barrel and am curious if it will stabilize the 73 or 75 grain bullets. The BCs on these new bullets are excellent. I sent an email to Hornady and they replied that the 1/9 should stabilize the 73 grain bullets. They also informed me that they can be loaded to magazine length for use in MSRs. Just wondering if anybody has any bolt gun data on them as of yet. My uses will be long range target and varmint shooting. Thanks!!

[darkker]

http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi

I don't know the lengths, but the 75gr Amax is long enough that it has always struggled to stabilize from a 9-twist at 223 velocities. As always, your barrel's actual twist, smoothness, and atmosphere will depend.

[hardnosestreetcop]

I concur with Darkker with a 1-9 twist rate the upper weight is about the 69 Grainers, once you get up into the 75's & up it's a crap shoot. My Savage model 12 with a 26 inch barrel has performed outstanding with 50,52,55 and 69's. From what I've learned the 1-7 twist is ideal for the 75 grainers and up weights.

[darkker]

Just remember it's about length, not weight.
A good example:
The 77gr SMK is noticeably shorter than the 75gr VMAX, and typically stable in the 9-twist.

[quigley257]

Yes, I wish more bullet manufacturers would list lengths for their bullets. There are a number of good ballistics programs available that require the bullet length for proper calculations. My last AR build is a 1/7 twist and shoots 75 grainers at mag length with ridiculous accuracy. It also shoots the 80gr AMAXs very well, but they are a single load proposition due to length. I'm hoping the 1/9 twist bolt gun that I'm building will do okay with heavier bullets until I decide to change the barrel for a faster twist down the road.

[Texas10]

In my model 12 BVSS in 223 with 26", 9 twist, 650 ft field elevation: The 73 grain Bergers would stabilize, the 75 grain of any make would not. Not in my hand loads, not with Hornaday 75 grain off the shelf ammo, not with Hornaday Superformance 75 BTHP, UNLESS temps were over a 100 F at the range. So if you're shooting at 5000 ft elevation or above in warm conditions, they probably will stabilize.

[quigley257]

We're at 3200 feet here so I get a little altitude bump. The only sure way will be to pick up a box and give them a try. I'm thinking a 1/8 would be sufficient for sure but we'll see how the 1/9 does. The Berger Twist Rate Stability Calculator shows a 73gr bullet at 2900fps with an SG of 1.64 which is plenty good enough. Does anyone have a 73 or 75gr ELD-M that they could measure for me? Thanks!

[woodsrunner]

At 50 yards my Axis 1:9 tumbled them into the target.

[Texas10]

At 3200 ft and 95 degrees your density altitude would be about 6000 ft, so you'll be getting a good altitude bump. The 75 SMK will probably work. Personally, I would not waste my money on the ELD. IF you want to throw a bullet long range in your 9 twist 223, I suggest you try the Sierra 69 grain Tipped Match King. Excellent BC. It stabilizes well in a 9 twist and will group excellent at 300 yds. using Varget or 8208. At least it does in my 223.