Corelokt? Seriously?

[Sledhead406]

My grandpa, dad and 5 uncles all shot corelokt factory rounds at elk.. and only corelokt. We're talking hundreds of elk over the decades. This was in higher velocity magnums though. To me they perform very similar to Nosler Partitions, not really a long range bullet but you cant argue with the results.

Of course Im the family weirdo that shoots the "trendy" bullets with my "big stupid scopes."

Question for those more knowledgeable: isnt the 308 designed for a bit of freebore? I believe the jump to lands helps in building velocity? My bolt 308 ended up shooting beautifully .020" under mag length, which is about .120" off the lands, and faster than my tests loaded long.

 

[Allen Kitts]

I had a 300 Weatherby Mark 5 once that would shoot 5 180 Grain Corelokt bullets into a dime size group at 100 all day long. Never found a reload that would shoot even close. I think sometimes guns are jut finicky and they shoot what they want

 

[Havard]

Why reload? If I find a factory load that shoots close to .5 moa, consistently, I stop loading for it.

I reload because it's my passion; mainly because I love the challenge and sometimes, good end results. I don't own a gun that won't shoot some factory load acceptable for me to fill a freezer with deer steaks and sausage. Kind of like woodworking; I do that also because I love it and can buy all I would ever want at your furniture store. If I HAD to reload I probably, wouldn't do it at all

 

[Havard]

My grandpa, dad and 5 uncles all shot corelokt factory rounds at elk.. and only corelokt. We're talking hundreds of elk over the decades. This was in higher velocity magnums though. To me they perform very similar to Nosler Partitions, not really a long range bullet but you cant argue with the results.

Of course Im the family weirdo that shoots the "trendy" bullets with my "big stupid scopes."

Question for those more knowledgeable: isnt the 308 designed for a bit of freebore? I believe the jump to lands helps in building velocity? My bolt 308 ended up shooting beautifully .020" under mag length, which is about .120" off the lands, and faster than my tests loaded long.

I was hoping someone was going to tell me Nosler Partitions would be a sure thing; I'm glad you mentioned it. I will fool with it more since season has gone out, just to try and see if I can get close to the factory load I mentioned. But if not, I'll make a big order of Corelokts for him to shoot. Thanks!

 

[440coronet]

Have (3) 5R mil-specs in our family
started with 43.7 gr R15 CCI BR2 primer and Sierra 168 matchking set at 2.80 and all shoot .25 moa at 100 yrds off the bench *( I did replace all the junk triggers with Timney 510s)
for deer hunting all the same except load the Nosler 168gr BT's groups maybe go to 1/2" but certainly acceptable

 

[JASmith]

shoot what works ..

What he said . . .

Just go with them -- the Corelokts seem to work well at the terminal end, which gives triple bradding rights for frugality, accuracy, and performance!

 

[Catahoula]

I don't shoot much factory ammo but when I do it's Corelokt's.

 

[FatOldMIHunter]

I'm glad someone else mentioned Nosler Partitions, because that is the one bullet that I've seen outperform CoreLokts in my old military 6.5X55 Swede. CoreLokts do okay, but the tips always seem to be messed up on them and they don't hold together like the NPs.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

How it goes sometimes. That said, you learned your gun is sub moa capable.

My 7mm loved the Swift A-Frames loaded by Remington.

The Higher B.C stuff it didn't care for but it shot those 160gr A-Frames into sub moa groups and they hit harder than anything else i had tried in conventional hunting distances!

 

[nocannons]

Most hunters ( meat eaters looking to fill the freezer) would be more than satisfied with your rifle and the core-lokt bullets. these bullets have been used and did very well for more years than a lot of bullet makers have been in business. Buy a good supply and shoot and hunt with confidence because you know they work.

 

[westTXcrd]

How's the song go, "you can't always get what ya want"?
my oldest son's model 700, Gen 2 / 5R in .308 has been more challenging that I care to admit. Round count is still less than or right at 100, so I am hoping it will hit a tight spot somewhere in the future.
I worked up a load with Varget & 150gr TSX using 210m primers and Lapua brass. Minus .020" off the lands gave me a decent 3/4 MOA group so I proceeded to load 25 rounds for whitetail season. Long story short they wouldn't magazine feed (my mistake) so I seated deeper and the group opened up. The sucker has a tremendous amount of gap between COAL magazine lengths and ogive / lands so I thought we would try some factory rounds and see if it liked anything off the shelf to possibly avoid more load development during said season. We have tried Hornady 150gr SST, Federal loads with 150gr Partitions, Whitetail Deer Season, 168gr Federal GMM, and a couple more that I have forgotten. He has some of his high school buddy's that talked him into trying Remington Corelokts and against my better judgement, we got a box. 4 shot group, cold bore included, produces a .669" group at 100yds. Now can someone please explain this one? And what should I try to load going forward?At this point I refuse to accept that I can't work up a load equal to or better than a $22 dollar box of Corelokts

How's the song go, "you can't always get what ya want"?
my oldest son's model 700, Gen 2 / 5R in .308 has been more challenging that I care to admit. Round count is still less than or right at 100, so I am hoping it will hit a tight spot somewhere in the future.
I worked up a load with Varget & 150gr TSX using 210m primers and Lapua brass. Minus .020" off the lands gave me a decent 3/4 MOA group so I proceeded to load 25 rounds for whitetail season. Long story short they wouldn't magazine feed (my mistake) so I seated deeper and the group opened up. The sucker has a tremendous amount of gap between COAL magazine lengths and ogive / lands so I thought we would try some factory rounds and see if it liked anything off the shelf to possibly avoid more load development during said season. We have tried Hornady 150gr SST, Federal loads with 150gr Partitions, Whitetail Deer Season, 168gr Federal GMM, and a couple more that I have forgotten. He has some of his high school buddy's that talked him into trying Remington Corelokts and against my better judgement, we got a box. 4 shot group, cold bore included, produces a .669" group at 100yds. Now can someone please explain this one? And what should I try to load going forward?At this point I refuse to accept that I can't work up a load equal to or better than a $22 dollar box of Corelokts

I have found many times over that for no reasons I can identify, core lokts shoot very well out of most of my rifles. In a pinch, thats what I go for until I get loads worked up for a new rifle.
I

 

[freddiej]

I can not add too much to this discussion. My heart goes out to having all the frustration with that 308 ***, sorry PSS R-5 gun. Sometimes I swear that Remington arms has a special reamer for their chambers that works only with their ammo. if the gun likes the Remington ammo, then use it. if you want better performance (accuracy) sell the gun or have it rebarreled and start over. I know that my old 270 Win, pre-1986 Savage 110 only loved hollow point boat tail slugs (100 through 140 grain) and Accurate Arms 3100 powder. since AA 3100 is not longer made (insert lots of cussing here) that rifle had to be sold for my new 270 Win (Tikka 695) which shoots just about anything you care to put in it except.. wait for it.. Remington Cor-lokt ammo.. it hates that ammo. what it loves is pretty much anything from Winchester, Federal, Lapua, Norma, Seirra, and Speer. Oh, forgot.. anything that is in the upper regions of the reloading spectrum at 0.015" to 0.017" off the lands, Barnes has to be 0.045" off the lands.

 

[nicholasjohn]

Why reload? If I find a factory load that shoots close to .5 moa, consistently, I stop loading for it.

I did this decades ago, when I found that the old "red box" Federals shot half-inch 110-yard groups in my old Browning 308. It was the 150-grain Hi-Shok bullet, and it shot equally well in my buddy's Savage 99. He and I split a CASE of this ammo, which had just been re-named Federal Classic ( in a blue & silver box.) They were doing a promotion at the time, and there were 24 rounds in a box. Our price was around $6/box at the time, and we both shot a ton of deer with these cartridges. This was the best purchase I have ever made. My worst mistake was not doing the same thing with the 30-06 load that shot tiny little groups in my rifle. The load was a 180-grain Nosler Partition, in the Federal Premium "High-Energy" line. It chronographed exactly what they advertised for muzzle velocity - 2880 fps, and the extreme spread or three 3-shot groups was 8 fps !!! All three groups were small enough to cover with a dime. I bought three boxes right away, but I should have bought a whole case. They don't make this load anymore.

The moral of the story is clear - feed the rifle what it likes, and don't try to get too fancy. If it like Remington Core-Lokt's, get bunch of them and live happily ever after. That's a very good deer bullet, and you will be all set for a long time if you stock up. You can still try all the other suggestions in these posts about loading something that works as well, but you will have a solid back-up plan if those efforts don't bear fruit. I tried EVERYTHING to get an accurate load for that old 308, and completely struck out. The case of garden-variety Federals saved the day.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Might be a blessing in disguise. Nothing wrong with the Core-lokt bullets for deer in .308. Not having to worry about getting the right primer/powder/bullet when you need to reload, you can buy .308 Core-lokt at ANY gun store/gas station/Walmart (for now) in the East, West, North, and South.. Buy a bunch and stock them away in ammo cans with a silica gel desicant pack.