Thread: 90gr ELDX in my old 243

Been using my 40 yr old Ruger m77 243 in a few 100yd 4p range shoots using fed blue box ammo, but was thinking of reloading for it and wondering if the 90gr ELDX will work ok in my old ruger. So interested in anyone's experiences with this projectile. Will be used to smack the odd deer as well. Cheers

Best check the rifling twist requirements of the projectile and your barrel twist. I suspect they may not be stable.
GPM.

The M77 .243 Win is a 1:9”.

So the 90gr ELDX will stabilise fine (>1.8 Miller value).

They can be a little fussy for optimal accuracy - you’ll need to fiddle around with seating depth to find the right jump.

Greetings,
My Speer No 9 manual lists the Ruger 77 .243 twist at 1 in 10" which it may be in a 40 year old rifle. Barrel twists have tightened over the years with some now as fast as 1 in 8" so might be worth measuring yours to be sure. A second factor is that some early Ruger barrels were pretty average so a flat base projectile may be a better bet. From my experience some older rifles can be fussy about boat tails.
GPM.

This is how Hornady ELD-X 90 gn shoots in my Ruger American.
Only shot Hares, Rabbits and the odd Goat with this bullet. Would work on Deer I'm sure but on Goats, sometimes, I've found it lacks killing "punch". Generally for medium to larger game I shoot larger calibre, heavier bullets.

My ruger 77mk2 243win is 1:10twist. So better check yours. Remingtons were usually 1:9.

Your rifle should be a 1/10t and it should stabilize the 90gr ELDX just fine. According to my calculations at 1.1" in length and running a 2800 to 3000fps at the muzzle, your rifle will comfortably stabilize these pills.

Really appreciate the replies fellas, just been looking at what is available and it seems there's a few to choose from ATM. The 90gr Speer hotcore might be a safer option for my old 243 , not as sexy as the eldx but a lot cheaper and i'm sure will be just fine for my intended purposes.
Thinking back to when this rifle had a lot more use i remember it grouped a bit better with the lighter pills like 87gr hornady and 85 gr Sierra etc . Cheers

I was just going to suggest that the ELD-X's may be a bit stout for goats unless the velocities are up and the range is short.
Different story if you were taking on a pig or a good red deer.
Z