Rem Core Lokts

[7mmstalker]

Had an interesting experience with a Black Bear, 7mm Rem mag, and 175gr corelokt ammo.
From an estimated 175yds, laying prone in a skiff drifting in a breeze, I pulled my first shot and the bullet went into the spine - but not through! That was a good sized bear, 6ft 2in nose to tail. The spine was nearly the size of a baseball bat where the slug hit.
Second shot, taken quickly as he was trying to get up n go without rear legs, went through the chest, destroyed the heart and off side front leg just below the shoulder. Found that slug under the hide.
Completely amazed at the strength of bone, seemed to have the toughness of a hickory axe handle yet absorbed the impact like a truck tire!
For the record, I am a dedicated reloader, that was the only big game animal ever to be taken with factory ammo.
Sierra Gameking boat-tails was the most often used, but also had good results with Barnes original X bullets, Nosler Ballistic Tip.
Like some others, my experience has been that some rifles / loads work better with different bullets.

 

[41 Mag]

I will be the first to admit I shoot the CL's in a variety of calibers and flavors. I will also freely admit they do not always produce the tip top accuracy I can get from those particular rifles. That said I do have a couple where they will equal or exceed my best loads with other premium brand named bullets.

What I use them for is the general shooting of hogs mostly, and if a good buck steps up to the plate, I am not afraid to use them. The loads I shoot will all keep within 2" or less out to 200yds, so threading the needle in the woods isn't a big deal, as for the most part it will be under a 200yds shot.

I have more Nosler's on my shelf than just about anything but possibly Hornady, but I load them for tip top accuracy and I use them when needed or when I am going to a specific place which will have a longer shot. When I purchased my CL's in bulk I did so with the thought of loading a general load which I could use at the range or in the woods at a moments notice, and one that would duplicate factory ballistics just on the rare instance I needed to pick up a box while out of town. This isn't the case usually but has happened more than once. It's nice to know that all that is required is a quick sight check and your back in business, verses having to hope a particular bullet in what ever you can find will work.

With the CL's I load, they will usually hit within an inch of any factory Rem loads I have shot. I have tested them over and over for years. Neither the bullets nor the loads have changed enough to sweat things, not to mention the prices are usually cheaper and availability of the CL in a particular popular weight or caliber is usually easily found.

That said, if I used a Sierra or Speer, I cannot expect to find either in the particular combined load and weight I might be shooting nor can I guarantee that the one I find will even shoot in my rifle. Not to mention at a decent price if I do. I don't like buying factory rounds in the first place, much less paying premium prices if I have to.

It's not about the worship of a CL nor the fanboy attitude of a 30-06, it is simply about what works and overall what works well. That said, if you combine them both, you would still be hard pressed to find something that would do the job much better across the board. but that is what makes this a great country, the freedom to CHOOSE what works best for you. Some folks can only afford one rifle, and might have to use it to hunt everything. Hard to say that putting either of these together won't get the job done, it's just been proven too many times. I will add that my pop used the 150gr Sierra flat based spitzer for 99% of his hunting, and it was extremely rare to hear him shoot more than once. He however also used them in an O3A3 with milsurp rounds where we simply pulled the ball bullet neck sized the case and loaded the Sierra right back in it. Accuracy at 200yds was within 3", but I can say he never missed anything he sent them after.

 

[Todd1700]

I typically shoot which ever factory load a rifle groups the best. But if that happens to be a core-lokt then I have no reservations using them. Never had one fail to kill an animal if I did my job. I killed a dump truck load of deer with an old Remington model 7400 and 150 grain core-lokts when I was a young man. Never had a problem with them. I still have a 7mm-08 that groups them very well and I use 140 grain core-lokts in it.

For deer sized animals people needlessly worry too much about bullet construction. At standard rifle velocities you really can't beat standard cup and core lead tipped bullets from zero out to about 300 yards IMHO.

 

[AKElroy]

I am amazed at the consistency and accuracy of Remy cor-lokd in my rifles. My .308 and .30-30's prefer it, and the 130 gr. .270 loads from a mid-60's vintage model 70 group one ragged hole. I have the cheap remmy ammo on back order on several websites. I'm a fan.

 

[22-rimfire]

It is very simple. The bullet design does the job very well. It doesn't matter if the bullet is 40 years old and there are all these boutique bullets available. It works. Why change?

But if if doesn't do at least 2" groups at 100 yds (preferably 1" groups), I'd be looking for something different. I mentioned 4" groups earlier in the thread, but I would like to see a bit tighter spreads on paper.

 

[mdauben]

Personally, I think the classic Core Lokt bullets are still excellent choices for hunting most game.

I think the main areas where they fall short of the current premium bonded/partitioned/monolithic bullets is when (a) you are using hot magnums where old-style cup and core bullets can come apart too quickly or (b) you are pushing the capacities of a cartridge (ex. using .243 for elk) where you need maximum penetration for effect. IMO its in these cases the premium bullets really start to shine.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Or if you're using a light bullet approaching light speed at point blank range.

 

[yzguy87]

I had a DPMS LR-308 and shot core-lokts through it and it shot about 1.5" @ 100 yds. I used both 150 and 180 gr. bullets. Both shot similarly but one did shoot slightly better but I forget which because it was about 4 years ago.

I can't speak about its effects on living critters because in Ohio we can't deer hunt with rifles. Even chambered in pistol calibers:banghead:

Sorry about the mini rant I just hate the fact that I can't use them here

 

[41 Mag]

Personally, I think the classic Core Lokt bullets are still excellent choices for hunting most game.

I think the main areas where they fall short of the current premium bonded/partitioned/monolithic bullets is when (a) you are using hot magnums where old-style cup and core bullets can come apart too quickly or (b) you are pushing the capacities of a cartridge (ex. using .243 for elk) where you need maximum penetration for effect. IMO its in these cases the premium bullets really start to shine.

I agree with you on most of this. However if using the heavier for caliber CL's for example a 120gr in .257, 180gr in .308, and such, they can and do still do a great job. In my 25-06 AI, I can very easily hit the mid 3300fps range with the 28" barrel. I use the 120CL almost exclusively in it for two reasons. One they shoot around 1.5" at 300yds which is about as good as I can ask for, the other is they have proven to be simply outstanding on shots as close as 20yds out to past 500 on various sized critters.

In the link below are some pictures of one such example. I caught a roughly 280'ish pound boar hog out where he shouldn't have been. I got the trigger to break just as he was hitting the thick stuff, and the CL took him down so fast I actually thought I missed him.

Hunting 2010

If you look at the pics you can see that he was sporting a fairly decent shield, and I recovered the bullet on the offside just under the hide. The range was only 110yds at most best as I could figure, and even with hitting the shield, and the muddy hide it still helps up great.

What has been even more impressive to me, was when I caught about a dozen or so in the 35'ish pound range up under a tree top. I managed 5 hogs out of six shots. None of them was messed up any worse had I shot them with a cast solid from my revolver. The entry was caliber sized and the exits were about nickle sized, everything in between was normal.

This all said, I do believe there are better bullets out there, but you end up paying for that little bit extra, plus a LOT of advertising along with it. If I need extreme performance I simply look to the Partition. If simply looking to put food on the table, I'm not concerned with the added cost of the premiums. I know what the bullets I use do, and I know where they go when I pull the trigger, and I also know "WHEN" and "WHEN NOT" to pull the trigger. I have let plenty of deer walk that a LOT folks would have paid BIG bucks to have a chance at. It doesn't bother me in the least. I know I did the right thing, and they will still be there spreading their genes a little longer.

I read more and more of people saying use North Fork or Barnes so when you shoot you know you going to get from A-hole to appetite penetration on that once in a lifetime critter. I have more respect for the things I hunt than to shoot on in the rear hoping it is going down, no matter what the case might be. The ONLY time I would choose a shot like that would be on a follow up of an already wounded animal where there was no other choice and it needed to be stopped. Even in that case however, a standard C&C bullet will break one down rather quickly and efficiently.

There again the argument is always "well elk don't just drop on the spot, I've seen them go for miles". I believe that, but elk, nor anything else, will go for miles, if the initial shot was put where it should have been in the first place. I also don't go in for the, "I only have three days to put meat on the ground, and I want a bullet that will get the job done from any angle", either. It isn't an excuse to shoot an animal in the flank, hoping to get through to the vitals, nor does it suffice for a lack of practice, accuracy, or respect for the game.

In my albums there are some VERY fine free range river bottom bucks, and plenty of hogs I have taken. None of the ammo was of a "PREMIUM" nature, other than a possibly being hand loaded. In fact my biggest hogs over 400 pounds, and my best buck to date a 21" inside spread 8 point, which dressed out at 178# were taken with factory 150gr CL's out of a 16.5" barreled .308. The buck, nor any of the hogs went more than 30yds after the shot. Hard to argue with that sort of performance time and time again.

 

[3212]

I have taken deer from 20 to 270 yards with 170 grain 30-30 and 100 grain .243 core-lokts.Very consistent results.150 yard kill with the 30-30 and 270 yard kill with the .243.Both dropped on the spot.

 

[heathkiks]

It is hard to beat an accurate bullet, no matter what the manufacturer. That said, I have only seen one bullet fail on large game(primarily elk) consistently... It was Core Lokt

 

[303tom]

Because I live in Missouri I use Sierra bullets almost exclusively, but when I don`t, I use Core-Lokt !...............

 

[El Viejo]

Core Lokt is all I use in my 308. I have never had any issues or problems with them & have taken numerous deer and hogs with this ammo.

 

[geo57]

This buck fell to a factory loaded .30-06 165 gr. Core-Lokt last November. What you see is the entrance side. The bullet went through some light brush /weeds unknown to me at the time of firing and obviously opened up or yawed some before it reached him. The buck went about 50 yards and crashed into the trunk of a cedar. The bullet was not found and did not exit the far hide but tissue damage was found on the inside chest cavity on the far side. I feel for what it had to overcome the bullet did it's job.

Previously, this same 165 gr.Core-Lokt load has cleanly taken 9 other white tails for my wife and I over the years , all with pass throughs . Tracking distances were from 5-100 yards.

 

[Carmmond]

"There again the argument is always "well elk don't just drop on the spot, I've seen them go for miles". I believe that, but elk, nor anything else, will go for miles, if the initial shot was put where it should have been in the first place. I also don't go in for the, "I only have three days to put meat on the ground, and I want a bullet that will get the job done from any angle", either. It isn't an excuse to shoot an animal in the flank, hoping to get through to the vitals, nor does it suffice for a lack of practice, accuracy, or respect for the game."

Great post 41..... I don't know how many times I hear that and just shake my head. Knock on wood I've lost track of the number of deer I've shot with my bow in the last 30 years and have yet for one to go more than 40 yards after the shot.
Will one go farther one day, maybe but if it's not a good clean kill shot I just wont take it. Only way I could ever see me taking a shot like that is a SHTF and my family is starving.

 

[ldlfh7]

I have had good success with core lokts as well as federal power shok and winchester super-x in my 308. They all shoot about the same for me. I reload now but would feel comfortable with any of the 3 in 150 or 180 gr.

 

[Texan Scott]

I'm a huge fan of the Core-Lokt 30-30. They're cheap, and they WORK.

 

[ErieLurker]

I'd keep a box of Core-Lokts handy whether they're my first choice for rifle ammo or not. Right now a box of Core-Lokts are keeping a box of loaded Nosler Partitions here company; the NP's might find themselves bumped by Barnes TTSX's sooner or later, but the Core-Lokts will still be here.

 

[tahoe2]

150 grn 7mm core lokt

Is the most accurate bullet in my 1980 Remington 7400 in 7mm Express (280 Remington). I can routinely put 4 shots (1 magazine) into 7/8" @ 100 yds. My handloads with core lokt 150's have dumped two Pronghorns and a Blacktail deer, all with 1 bullet each. Can't wait to try them in my 8mm Mauser (185's).
Both Antelopes were clean pass thru's on broadside shots @ 130 and 175 yards, the Blacktail was about 60-65 yards head on, starting at the base of the neck on one side and exiting in front of the opposite hip( dropped in his tracks).
I have other guns, so the 280 doesn't always get the nod.

 

[BigBore44]

It's nice to see so many supporters of "The Deadliest Mushroom in the Woods". For a hunting round I don't see how you can argue with it's performance. It's not a Berger, Barnes, Game King, or Accubond. It's not supposed to be. It is a round that when chambered, aimed, and fired, will CONSISTENTLY hit its mark, PERFORM as it was designed, and dispatch the animal in a timely manner. As for me, I would and do trust that bullet. In fact, I think I'll go buy me a box tonight. My local WM has plenty in stock. Good thread

 

[AKElroy]

I swear, between the Core Lokt fanatics and the .30-06 fanatics on this board, I'm beginning to wonder why they don't just outlaw production of any center fire rifle ammo, but 165 grain Core Lokt .30-06? I mean, everyone here, but me would have ammo, it seems. ROFL

I have 4 .30-30's, and they all shoot the corloks best. Ditto my .243, .308 & .270. The only gun I have that does not eat them best is a model 70 7mm RM. it likes federal premium 165 sierra game kings best. That sucks for me @ $2.30 each.

 

[BigBore44]

Not a fanatic. But it's pretty hard to argue with the performance of the Core Lokt or the 30'06. They have put MANY animals on the ground for many decades. And they do it very well.

 

[TwoWheelFiend]

Core Lokts have probably accounted for more game animals in North america than just about any other bullet. I think people tend to put too much thought into bullet, they think expensive is better. Its not hard to kill a whitetail buck.

 

[geo57]

I am a fan and long time user of Core Lokt bullets. However, I have doubts it has taken more game in North America than other types over the last 300 + years .

 

[wyohome]

...or 3 thousand years, those stone points were the S**t