Corelokt? Seriously?

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 think the stars have aligned themselves!
 
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 seen a few like this what I would try is the sierra 165 hpbt gameking not a high b.C. bullets but normally shoot with matchking accuracy to 300-400 yards
 
Take a case head to ogive measurement from the corelokt ammo and duplicate it with whatever bullet that you are using. From that point vary the seating depth in both directions incrementally until you get what you like.
 
The Corelokts seem to hold together well enough... I've popped a few deer with them in my 300win and the pills go through decently. You don't need a super high bc pill to take deer to 600-800 yards. My furthest kill is with a 7rum tossing a 140 Sierra Pro Hunter pill at a half mile offhand from sitting. Just this past year I killed my mule deer doe with a 165 Hornady flat base from my 300win at 641 yards from sitting. They poop out a bit more at range than a pointy boat tail pill, and they drop a bit more, but if they shoot well you can get good hits way the heck out there with a plain old cup and core flat base pill too...
 
I have that same rifle, shot corelokts very similar. Try a 168eldm at saami length, around 44gr of varget.
Goodluck
 
100 grain Core lockets shoot cloverleafs with and old tang safety ruger 243. I bought 20 boxes (a lifetime supply) and called it a day.
I had the same kind of results, and did the same thing with my 22-250 Savage Predator using 55gr Coreloks. I believe they were about $7.50/20ctgs!
 
BTDT If you need to reload buy corelocks for this one and buy another gun to play with. Heck I'm behind a few guns if your bored and want some reloading ;-)
My 30-06 Tikka was about to go back becuse there is no way my reloads where getting it to moa. Heck even corelocks and federal classics wouldnt do it! Finaly threw a hail marry load of imr 4831 and 168 A maxes at it........Bingo.
Try different bullets and powders combination and be quick to abandon anything that doesnt want to work. Partitions and sirra spbt have been my go to bullets and if they will shoot a eld or vld I'm golden
You may want to have it recrowned, a common problem with a barrel that prefers a non boataiil
 
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I have found with a few rifles I've had over the years that when nothing seems to produce the desired level of accuracy, a plain-vanilla FLAT-BASED jacketed bullet sometimes does the trick. The reason why Core-Lokt's shoot well in your rifle may be because it isn't a boat-tail. Before going out and buying the exact same bullet that's in the factory loads that shoot well, try something with a flat base that you already have on the shelf.
 
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