Has anyone ever had a Core Lokt truly "fail"

[CoElkHunter]

I’ve taken six elk with 225gr Core Lokts in my .338WM. One shot kills but NOT at distance! The longest was 150 yards. I prefer to hunt the edges and wide openings next to heavy timber. They do seem to penetrate well and the two bullets I recovered stayed intact with good mushrooming. So whether they’ll work at 400yds, don’t know? Don’t really know why I started using them in the first place, except they used to be inexpensive, but now they cost more than the Barnes TSX! I’m leaning towards the Barnes as no meat contamination from the lead?

 

[Standard Velocity]

CoreLokt works perfectly at its intended velocities. I now use Partitions almost exclusively but used CoreLokt and Federal cup and core for years. Never had a failure.

Stay under 2,700 fps and all is well with most cup and cores. This year on the last day of deer season a doe presented a shot at nine yards. My 7mm Rem Mag has not slowed down at nine yards. A cup and core sitting on top of a FMJ (Partition) zipped right through with minimal meat damage and DRT. A traditional CoreLokt may have done the same; or it may have created a pile of hamburger at that speed.

The only failure I’ve ever had was a ballistic tip at 70-80 yards that apparently blew up in the shoulder. Never found the deer to find out what happened.

Every rifle I have gets zeroed with Partitions and I see where it hits with CoreLokts. There is usually a big difference in POI but if I am unable to find Partitions I know every sporting goods store on earth will have CoreLokts. Use them within their limits and all is well. The performance envelope for the Partition is wider so that’s what I use.

 

[CoElkHunter]

CoreLokt works perfectly at its intended velocities. I now use Partitions almost exclusively but used CoreLokt and Federal cup and core for years. Never had a failure.

Stay under 2,700 fps and all is well with most cup and cores. This year on the last day of deer season a doe presented a shot at nine yards. My 7mm Rem Mag has not slowed down at nine yards. A cup and core sitting on top of a FMJ (Partition) zipped right through with minimal meat damage and DRT. A traditional CoreLokt may have done the same; or it may have created a pile of hamburger at that speed.

The only failure I’ve ever had was a ballistic tip at 70-80 yards that apparently blew up in the shoulder. Never found the deer to find out what happened.

Every rifle I have gets zeroed with Partitions and I see where it hits with CoreLokts. There is usually a big difference in POI but if I am unable to find Partitions I know every sporting goods store on earth will have CoreLokts. Use them within their limits and all is well. The performance envelope for the Partition is wider so that’s what I use.

My son has taken two elk with 180gr Core Lokts inhis .300WM. One at 200yds, one at 75yds. One shot kills, but the bullets were pass throughs (not good!). Maybe at the Core Lokts effective maximum velocity limit? Don’t know?

 

[Alistair]

I shot for a long time using Corelokts in my .270, 130gr variants. Mostly I picked them as they were good value and always available at the little shop opposite my workplace. Must have bought a couple thousand over 3 years or so.

They're cheap bullets, loaded to very mild velocities and have fairly poor BCs.

That said, they shoot well and everything I've hit with one fell over, so...

 

[CTDolan]

The 220 grain Core-Lokt in a 30-06 is a match made in heaven. I used to buy the load by the case (and, as mentioned, for super cheap!). I shoot open sights, moderate range, and for me it was the ideal load (penetrates well, holds together, doesn't demolish lesser game). Now that I load my own I shoot 220 grain Partition bullets but I'd not hesitate to go back to the Core-Lokt.

 

[Wade J VanGinkel]

I've used the 150 in my daughter's 30-06 extensively for deer. Have never had a problem.
Same results in 243 when the kids were younger.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I shot for a long time using Corelokts in my .270, 130gr variants. Mostly I picked them as they were good value and always available at the little shop opposite my workplace. Must have bought a couple thousand over 3 years or so.

They're cheap bullets, loaded to very mild velocities and have fairly poor BCs.

That said, they shoot well and everything I've hit with one fell over, so...

I’ve been present (half a mile away) when a hunting buddy’s brother shot a small 4x5 bull elk trotting between 75-100yds with his Winchester.270 using a 150gr Core Lokt. It ran about 20yds and was dead. Good bullet placement! Funny thing is, I was using hand loaded 130gr Sierra BT in my .270 before I moved to Colorado. Then I bought a couple of boxes of 150gr Partitions for use on elk. Never shot an elk with my .270, but have taken a number of pronghorn and deer with the Partitions with no problems. Just another hunter’s PERSONAL knowledge and experience with a couple of different bullets on local big game?

 

[Alistair]

I’ve been present (half a mile away) when a hunting buddy’s brother shot a small 4x5 bull elk trotting between 75-100yds with his Winchester.270 using a 150gr Core Lokt. It ran about 20yds and was dead. Good bullet placement! Funny thing is, I was using hand loaded 130gr Sierra BT in my .270 before I moved to Colorado. Then I bought a couple of boxes of 150gr Partitions for use on elk. Never shot an elk with my .270, but have taken a number of pronghorn and deer with the Partitions with no problems. Just another hunter’s PERSONAL knowledge and experience with a couple of different bullets on local big game?

Yeah, they're good little bullets I reckon. I'd still use them if I wasn't reloading now.

I had maybe 8 deer with them. Lots of red hinds and a sika (possibly, can't remember if that was a Federal or Remington). Fairly good on meat and no runners further than 50yds or so. They work fine in my book, although the hold over and windage are significantly less with the ELD-X handloads, even within my own self imposed 300yd limit.

 

[Red Leg]

I don't use them any longer - though on thin skinned game, most SPs of any design work. Even @Velo Dog 's frozen herring. I did have a recent experience in Spain. I was using a rented .300 Win Mag and our primary game animal was Ibex. I was issued a magazine full of 150 gr standard box corelokts. I personally prefer 180 anythings in a .300, but the ibex is a small frame goat, and the 150's worked fine. HOWEVER, we also hunted wild boar with the same set-up. I shot a big boar broadside at 100 meters and the velocity and target were too much for the bullet. It knocked the pig down, but a follow-up at a few feet was necessary before he regained his feet. Upon gutting, the bullet was found to have fragmented on the shoulder, shredding the nearside lung, but doing nothing to the offside. All ended well, but it might not have. Relatively speaking (to the cost of a rifle, optics or hunt) all bullets are cheap - cheap enough not to use a cheap bullet on game.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I don't use them any longer - though on thin skinned game, most SPs of any design work. Even @Velo Dog 's frozen herring. I did have a recent experience in Spain. I was using a rented .300 Win Mag and our primary game animal was Ibex. I was issued a magazine full of 150 gr standard box corelokts. I personally prefer 180 anythings in a .300, but the ibex is a small frame goat, and the 150's worked fine. HOWEVER, we also hunted wild boar with the same set-up. I shot a big boar broadside at 100 meters and the velocity and target were too much for the bullet. It knocked the pig down, but a follow-up at a few feet was necessary before he regained his feet. Upon gutting, the bullet was found to have fragmented on the shoulder, shredding the nearside lung, but doing nothing to the offside. All ended well, but it might not have. Relatively speaking (to the cost of a rifle, optics or hunt) all bullets are cheap - cheap enough not to use a cheap bullet on game.

Your absolutely correct! My hunting fortays here in the states on mostly public land or private land/public access have cost me very little over the years. But when I make it to Africa for a PG hunt and have to sell a kidney to do it, I’m using 225gr Barnes TSX in my .338WM. From all of the expert experience here from hunters who have used them, they seem to be a more consistent choice in performance? They’re cheaper now anyway than the Core Lokts in .338 and I need the copper to fill in imperfections in the rifling of my older barrel! Ha! Ha!

 

[Shootist43]

Many years ago while hunting Whitetails in Michigan with a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington I hit two deer (in separate years) solidly. The largest one an 8 point buck was hit three times and knocked to the ground, each time but never found. the following year I took a doe at close range (15 to 20) yds. it too went down but got up several times whereupon I shot it again. She went well over half a mile. For 20 to 30 years that 35 Remington never saw the woods again. However when it did for hunting hogs I used Hornady Flex Tips to good avail. A year or so later I took a deer at 200 yds. with a 180 Gr. Corelokt. It only went about 20 yds. before piling up. When we field dressed the deer we discovered that the bullet exploded or vaporized on impact. There were flakes of lead thru ought the entire abdominal cavity. A real mess to be sure. As you can well imagine, I'm not a big fan of Corelokt bullets.

 

[Major Khan]

Wyatt, what a great forum where we can kinda disagree but still partially agree have a great conversation. This is severely lacking these days.

I will play a bit of devils advocate here and ask, is a bullet designed and manufactured to kill or to not come apart? Obviously this is a silly argument, but I feel very strongly that results are far more important than cosmetics. Since u r a core Lokt fan, I am sure u have experienced their killing power. Frankly, the postings of our most respected friends @Major Khan and @Kawshik Rahman have really made me take a second look at the 220 grain core Lokt in 30-06. This pill just seems to be far more useful than I had known. I full realize that this isn’t a dangerous game or long range cartridge vs so many great options today, but what a price! If I decided to leave the world behind and go to Alaska for a simpler existence, a few boxes of 180 and 220 core lokts might just keep me fed forever at less than $1 per round. I really do want to know if anyone can cite failures in this cheap and useful round.

The Remington Core Lokt soft point bullets were even used on man eating royal Bengal tigers and panthers during our time , Ryan ! They were dastardly effective on all soft skinned game up to and including 500 pound royal Bengal tigers . My personal view ( without disrespecting any fine gentlemen who might have a divergence of opinion with me .) is this : Just because something new and modern comes along , does not mean that the older designs of ammunition have suddenly stopped performing well on game . You cannot kill an animal deader than dead . Back in the days before internet forums existed , we old school shikarees had far more modest expectations of bullets than many modern sports men do . We were actually more concerned with whether the bullets were cleanly killing the animal , rather than what the bullet looked like after it was recovered from the corpse of a dead animal . Now , yes . If a bullet genuinely failed to kill an animal cleanly and it got distorted before properly penetrating into the animal's vital organs , then it would actually be a serious problem and a real reason to condemn the bullet .
However , if a bullet manages to successfully and cleanly kill the animal by penetrating into it's vital organs , then l see no reason to care what the bullet looks like when it is recovered from the corpse of the successfully slain animal . That is just how l personally feel about the matter.

I have only seen 2 Remington Core Lokt soft point bullets " Fail " in my career. Both of them occured , when a client attempted to inflict a double lung shot on a gaur , but accidentally ended up hitting a rib bone. 1 was a .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre 300 grain Remington Core Lokt soft point bullet . The other was a .338 Winchester magnum calibre 250 grain Remington Core Lokt soft point bullet. However , l doubt anyone would use a Remington Core Lokt soft point bullet for gaur or cape buffalo today .

I should hasten to add , however , that l speak only of the Remington Core Lokt soft point bullets of the 1960s. Whether their quality has deteriorated in recent years , l cannot say.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Many years ago while hunting Whitetails in Michigan with a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington I hit two deer (in separate years) solidly. The largest one an 8 point buck was hit three times and knocked to the ground, each time but never found. the following year I took a doe at close range (15 to 20) yds. it too went down but got up several times whereupon I shot it again. She went well over half a mile. For 20 to 30 years that 35 Remington never saw the woods again. However when it did for hunting hogs I used Hornady Flex Tips to good avail. A year or so later I took a deer at 200 yds. with a 180 Gr. Corelokt. It only went about 20 yds. before piling up. When we field dressed the deer we discovered that the bullet exploded or vaporized on impact. There were flakes of lead thru ought the entire abdominal cavity. A real mess to be sure. As you can well imagine, I'm not a big fan of Corelokt bullets.

Very interesting! The Sierra Game King bullets tend to also “blow up” AFTER penetration into the body cavity if heavier bone isn’t struck by the bullet first. My hunting buddy and his son use 165gr Sierra BT in their ‘06s and my son used to in a .308. Over the years in use on many, many deer and pronghorn, they work great! They penetrate into the boiler room and then blow up! We almost never found more than a shrapnel of bullet or jacket. All the bullet energy stayed within the animal. They completely destroy the lungs, heart and everything else. But, some of the animals were able to run some distance before succumbing. They were dead but didn’t know it! HOWEVER, not so great on elk or moose! One elk and one moose (different hunting trips) each standing at 25yds took three of my buddy’s ‘06 for the elk and four ‘06 for the moose! Both animals just stood there and were dead, but just didn’t know it. My buddy told me he wasn’t shooting any more rounds and just waited until they fell over! Now, put those animals at some distance and maybe moving when shot with those bullets and PERHAPS watch the anarchy unfold? I would have sat down and ate my lunch while watching the idiot(s) chase the elk through the woods. Instead of just using a different bullet, he
now wants to borrow my .338 OFTEN!
As a side note, I haven’t experienced the “blow up” bullet effect on the 225gr Core Lokts in the elk I’ve shot. They seem to hold together and mushroom well? Different bullet weights, jacket thickness and velocities perhaps?

 

[ryan80]

I don't use them any longer - though on thin skinned game, most SPs of any design work. Even @Velo Dog 's frozen herring. I did have a recent experience in Spain. I was using a rented .300 Win Mag and our primary game animal was Ibex. I was issued a magazine full of 150 gr standard box corelokts. I personally prefer 180 anythings in a .300, but the ibex is a small frame goat, and the 150's worked fine. HOWEVER, we also hunted wild boar with the same set-up. I shot a big boar broadside at 100 meters and the velocity and target were too much for the bullet. It knocked the pig down, but a follow-up at a few feet was necessary before he regained his feet. Upon gutting, the bullet was found to have fragmented on the shoulder, shredding the nearside lung, but doing nothing to the offside. All ended well, but it might not have. Relatively speaking (to the cost of a rifle, optics or hunt) all bullets are cheap - cheap enough not to use a cheap bullet on game.

Official specs on the factory 150 grain Core Lokts in 300 Win Mag is 3,290 FPS at muzzle. That sounds like a varmint round to me, not surprised it exploded on a good sized pig.

 

[ryan80]

Many years ago while hunting Whitetails in Michigan with a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington I hit two deer (in separate years) solidly. The largest one an 8 point buck was hit three times and knocked to the ground, each time but never found. the following year I took a doe at close range (15 to 20) yds. it too went down but got up several times whereupon I shot it again. She went well over half a mile. For 20 to 30 years that 35 Remington never saw the woods again. However when it did for hunting hogs I used Hornady Flex Tips to good avail. A year or so later I took a deer at 200 yds. with a 180 Gr. Corelokt. It only went about 20 yds. before piling up. When we field dressed the deer we discovered that the bullet exploded or vaporized on impact. There were flakes of lead thru ought the entire abdominal cavity. A real mess to be sure. As you can well imagine, I'm not a big fan of Corelokt bullets.

This is surprising to me, but thank you for your answer. A 35 Remington is a relatively slower bullet, which would make a Core Lokt an expected choice to use. A good hunting buddy of mine has taken over 50 deer with his, all with his beloved Core Lokts.

 

[Scott CWO]

I have learned the hard way that Core-lokt bullets are not meant for, lets call it, less than optimum shot angles.
Also, close range shots when they are moving fast I have had absolutely useless penetration on two Elk and a Moose.
That same bullet at a longer range, when the bullet slowed down, knocked that Moose over, literally. It penetrated the entire broadside and was found in the offside shoulder under the skin.
The first bullet had penetrated the neck only a few inches. Shot was taken under 50 yards.

Lesson learned when using the Core-lokt bullets; Don't take a shot at a less than perfect angle and certainly not while they are under 100 yards. What would you call it?; over expansion / lack of penetration/ failure.

It's the only weakness in an otherwise good bullet.
Deadly accurate, always expand.
I'll use them and keep a mind to the limitations.

Tell us more. Caliber and grains? Did you hit the spine in the neck?

I handload 225gr Swift A-Frames for my 338 Mag it if I run short, the 225gr core-lokt shoots in the same hole and I have never had a failure such as you describe.

 

[Scott CWO]

My son has taken two elk with 180gr Core Lokts inhis .300WM. One at 200yds, one at 75yds. One shot kills, but the bullets were pass throughs (not good!). Maybe at the Core Lokts effective maximum velocity limit? Don’t know?

Pass through shots at those close distances are completely normal and expected. That’s not a problem.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Pass through shots at those close distances are completely normal and expected. That’s not a problem.

Yes I know they are. I’ve only recovered two from under 100yds with my .338? But, I still would prefer the bullet and all of it’s energy to stay within the animal? But then again, I would also prefer to win the lottery!

 

[ryan80]

The Remington Core Lokt soft point bullets were even used on man eating royal Bengal tigers and panthers during our time , Ryan ! They were dastardly effective on all soft skinned game up to and including 500 pound royal Bengal tigers . My personal view ( without disrespecting any fine gentlemen who might have a divergence of opinion with me .) is this : Just because something new and modern comes along , does not mean that the older designs of ammunition have suddenly stopped performing well on game . You cannot kill an animal deader than dead . Back in the days before internet forums existed , we old school shikarees had far more modest expectations of bullets than many modern sports men do . We were actually more concerned with whether the bullets were cleanly killing the animal , rather than what the bullet looked like after it was recovered from the corpse of a dead animal . Now , yes . If a bullet genuinely failed to kill an animal cleanly and it got distorted before properly penetrating into the animal's vital organs , then it would actually be a serious problem and a real reason to condemn the bullet .
However , if a bullet manages to successfully and cleanly kill the animal by penetrating into it's vital organs , then l see no reason to care what the bullet looks like when it is recovered from the corpse of the successfully slain animal . That is just how l personally feel about the matter.

I have only seen 2 Remington Core Lokt soft point bullets " Fail " in my career. Both of them occured , when a client attempted to inflict a double lung shot on a gaur , but accidentally ended up hitting a rib bone. 1 was a .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre 300 grain Remington Core Lokt soft point bullet . The other was a .338 Winchester magnum calibre 250 grain Remington Core Lokt soft point bullet. However , l doubt anyone would use a Remington Core Lokt soft point bullet for gaur or cape buffalo today .

I should hasten to add , however , that l speak only of the Remington Core Lokt soft point bullets of the 1960s. Whether their quality has deteriorated in recent years , l cannot say.

Thank you Poton. Frankly, I don't know how EVERY bullet doesn't fail on gaurs. I knew nothing about them before reading your excellent articles on hunting them, but just a few quick searches online of pictures make it quite clear they are monsters. The big bulls look like body builders on too many steroids.

 

[Standard Velocity]

Spotty performance claims like the ones in this thread is why I just use a better bullet. I’ve never had nor witnessed a CoreLokt fail, but anything a CoreLokt will do a Partition will probably do better. If I need to use a CoreLokt for some reason I want the heaviest bullet for caliber to slow it down. The 200 grain ‘06 and 308 suggestions sound logical to me.

The 150 grain 300 Win Mag sounds like a combination that should not have been produced. Maybe fill the case with Lil Gun and get 300 Savage velocities.