Hornady 147g eldm in the swede

thorborg · Aug 7, 2023

I'm using 4350 and 140gr Noslers for 2675fps with 8 to 10fps max deviation average based on best accuracy in my rifle not highest speed available. (according to my doppler plus I hunt alone now so won't shoot anything over 150 yards on fairly flat ground so flight path is not important)
This hunts very well and though I no longer hunt elk would not hesitate to consider it good for them based on a lifetime of relatives and one friends success on that animal. (all but one don't reload, use factory) As for me, It has been deadly on Deer. While not a Swede, I have taken a few Elk with a 270 using a 130 gr. I started with a 150 gr but one year I was out, instead of buying factory I used my 130gr deer load, one I stumbled on dropped @ 135 yards without taking a step from a shot to the chest just tearing the top of the the heart and pureeing the lungs though the dang thing dropped in a deep hole made from a up righted fir tree making dressing out a real mess. Even with the snow I couldn't drag him out. I regress, I Kept with the 130 gr because I preferred the ballistics over the 150 though I never made a kill much over two hundred yards on elk or 300 on deer except once. So spiffy ballistics really didn't mean that much.

JRuby · Aug 7, 2023

I plan to hunt elk this fall with a 300H&H pushing 200gr partitions. My backup will be a 338-06 using Hornday GMX. My favorite deer cartridges are the swede, the 7x57, 300 savage and 270. I may be wrong and someday I might come to my senses but I dont want to question wether I have enough gun or not. My deer rifles will be a Ruger #1 in 270 with my backup being a FN mauser in 7x57. If I hunted only deer or elk I could sell off half my collection. I do love the 6.5x55 but its not ready for this year - maybe next.

whiskeybill · Aug 7, 2023

This was 4 years ago in Montana. One shot, 200 yards. That was the 160 Gr Hornady RN in a CZ 550. I have taken plenty of whitetail and Elk using 140 Gr Partitions as well. Most of that hunting was using an old sporterized M96 with iron sights, riverbottom Whitetail and black timber Elk, all pretty close in. Rarely was it more than one round fired. Two years ago I bagged a 3 point Whitetail and a cow elk in Montana, both around 200 yards, one shot kills. Again, the Hornady 160 RN.

When you look at "The Numbers", I have no idea what makes the Swede so effective on big game. I hunted for many years with a trusty old '06, and yes, it was effective, but plenty of times, the animals needed a bit more prodding to expire. One buck I took was less than 100 yards on open ground. Hit in the vitals, he stumbled away another 300 yards before tipping over on a hill top. The first Whitetail I took with the old Swede, it went down in a cloud of dust and never twitched.

The only caveat about bullet selection is be aware of European bullets. I got a deal on 4 boxes of Norma factory loads a few years ago. All had 156 Gr RN loaded. Three boxes were the "Alaskan" bullet, and one box was a "TSX" bullet. The TSX bullets would not stabilize in a 1-9" twist. I think they may have been the "H Mantle" bullet, a sort of partition from RWS. They not only went all over the paper at 100 yards, but key holed reliably. That bullet probably needed a 1-8" or 1-7" twist.