It just wouldn’t be SHOT Show coverage without mention of the Hornady ELD-X (Extremely Low Drag-eXpanding). The brand new round has serious promise for hunters considering it offers highest-in-class ballistic coefficients and reliable expansion at not just a variety of distances but all distances. Hornady themselves explain it best: “At conventional range (0-400 yards), the ELD-X bullet is designed to continually expand throughout its penetration path. Upon impact the thin nose section of the bullet peels back and sheds material until it reaches the thick shank of the bullet jacket where the InterLock ring works to keep the core and jacket together. The remaining heavy shank of the bullet continues to drive forward and expand for extremely lethal results.

Upon contact at extended range (400 + yards), the Heat Shield™ tip drives backward into the carefully designed nose cavity to begin the expansion process. At these lower velocities, the ELD-X™ bullet exhibits conventional expansion characteristics with a large mushroom and high retained weight ensuring deep penetration and large wound cavities.”

The ELD-X looks like an awesome round and I’m looking forward to doing some hunting with it. Hornady manufactures more than one round known for being reliable and delivering fantastic terminal performance, and this looks to be another to add to their “win” column.