Has anyone ever had a Core Lokt truly "fail"

[Dr Ray]

As I think about it, I recall gutting an elk that a friend shot. the elk had a healed-over wound in the skin below its stomach. From appearances it was a round nose CoreLokt 180 gr .30 bullet. It was just barely flared at the nose. Our guess was that someone had shot at the broadside elk from a considerable distance. The bullet had hit just at the lowest portion of the elks stomach, travelled a few inches just inside the skin and ran out of steam. Around the bullet it was a little bloody but no infection. Had the shooter had a pointed bullet he may have hit the elk a little higher but it was a little back so likely would have missed the lungs, so just as well that he had that bullet.

Very interesting. I shot a Rusa deer with a Core Lokt 130 grain bullet in 270 caliber.
When I went to retrieve my deer I could see another bullet hole right near my shot.
It appeared to be something like a 243 bullet hole that was obviously a few days old.

 

[CoElkHunter]

oh the delights of long range so called hunting.
bruce.

YES! The further one shoots at game, the more exponentially likely bullet failure will occur. Especially with the WRONG type bullet! True story: A number of years ago, my father in law rode back to our elk camp on his horse and exclaimed, “I’m out of bullets!” “I went through a box and a half of bullets!” I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. He had banged away at a cow elk herd on a hillside some 600-800 yards away with his Remington 700 .338WM and 225 gr. Nosler Partitions. When he quit shooting, he had shot THIRTY rounds and never hit any of the elk! Unbelievable, but sadly true! I had shot my elk the day before at 50yds with my Browning.338.

 

[Dr Ray]

Not surprised at 800 yards. Mighty long way especially fir a hunting rifle.

 

[bruce moulds]

maybe he did hit some, but the partitions were not up to the job.
no one will ever know.
bruce.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Not surprised at 800 yards. Mighty long way especially fir a hunting rifle.

Yes! Unbelievable! And who carries thirty rounds for big game? I know, HE does! But then again, he has a horse to carry it on! He also has a custom Lapua .338 he had his gunsmithing buddy build for him two years ago and hasn’t even shot it yet!

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Why was he carrying 30 rounds for an elk?

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Haha we must have post at the same time.

 

[CoElkHunter]

maybe he did hit some, but the partitions were not up to the job.
no one will ever know.
bruce.

You know, that was/is my thought? But my son, who was 14 at the time was with him, and he said he didn’t get an elk. I have a pronghorn hunting story with him in Wyoming, but it’s too long and mostly unbelievable, but true, so for another time.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Why was he carrying 30 rounds for an elk?

I guess cause he could? Who knows? If you can picture a “Mountain Man” from the American West in the early 19th Century, that is him!

 

[bruce moulds]

c e h
I recall killing a mob of donkeys once.
some of them had relatively fresh looking wounds around the edges, not too old but not fresh.
someone had not lived up to their responsibility in the not too distant past.
bruce.

 

[CoElkHunter]

c e h
I recall killing a mob of donkeys once.
some of them had relatively fresh looking wounds around the edges, not too old but not fresh.
someone had not lived up to their responsibility in the not too distant past.
bruce.

I’m just not comfortable shooting past 300 yards on big game? If one wants to that’s fine, but they have a responsibility to make sure of their shots and follow up to make sure they didn’t wound any unintended animals. But I’ve seen many dead spike bull elk which weren’t legal , left lay because hunters’ mistook them for cow elk at distance.

 

[Ray B]

Forty years ago I was hunting elk in Wa Blue Mtns. They consist of rolling hills that are mostly open and looking across to the other side of the valley distances can be easily 1,000 yards. A fellow that I met was just coming back from an argument that he had with another hunter. This was his story: He looked across the valley, saw a legal elk at least 800 yards. He and the fellow that he was with started shooting at the elk. the partner emptied his gun and exclaimed that the elk was too far away. the fellow, shooting a pre-war M70 30-06 said he was going to shoot until either the elk dropped or he ran out of bullets. shortly after either the 27 or 28 shot the elk dropped. So they started across which entailed going down the hill, crossing the creek then up the other side. About a 20-30 minute walk. During that time no additional shots were heard. On getting to the elk, another hunter had tagged it and was about done gutting it. The argument ensued. Finally the fellow gave up and left the hunter to the elk. What do I think happened? I think the other hunter heard the shots, looked across the valley, saw the hunters shooting and looked to see where they were shooting. On doing so, saw the elk at possibly 200 yards- shot it at which time it fell down; coincidental to the first fellow shooting. So the one that shot the elk actually got it. The first guy should have been a little more practiced at 800-1000 yard shots if he were going to try them in actual use.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Forty years ago I was hunting elk in Wa Blue Mtns. They consist of rolling hills that are mostly open and looking across to the other side of the valley distances can be easily 1,000 yards. A fellow that I met was just coming back from an argument that he had with another hunter. This was his story: He looked across the valley, saw a legal elk at least 800 yards. He and the fellow that he was with started shooting at the elk. the partner emptied his gun and exclaimed that the elk was too far away. the fellow, shooting a pre-war M70 30-06 said he was going to shoot until either the elk dropped or he ran out of bullets. shortly after either the 27 or 28 shot the elk dropped. So they started across which entailed going down the hill, crossing the creek then up the other side. About a 20-30 minute walk. During that time no additional shots were heard. On getting to the elk, another hunter had tagged it and was about done gutting it. The argument ensued. Finally the fellow gave up and left the hunter to the elk. What do I think happened? I think the other hunter heard the shots, looked across the valley, saw the hunters shooting and looked to see where they were shooting. On doing so, saw the elk at possibly 200 yards- shot it at which time it fell down; coincidental to the first fellow shooting. So the one that shot the elk actually got it. The first guy should have been a little more practiced at 800-1000 yard shots if he were going to try them in actual use.

I would venture to guess that is exactly what happened! The joys of public land hunting, which is where I hunt! You just can’t make this stuff up! Ha! Ha!

 

[CoElkHunter]

These recent posts (including mine) to this thread are way off topic, so maybe a “Public Land” adventure/fiasco/believe it or not, thread might be appropriate? Ha! Ha!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

oh the delights of long range so called hunting.
bruce.

Bruce moulds
That's why I stalk closer and shoot straighter.

 

[MS 9x56]

I have had core locks blow up. I have had jacket lead separation. But to their credit they have killed everything I shot them with. I have stopped using them since I started loading my own. I now use Partitions, accubonds and barnes TSX and TTsx. For 30-30 and 35 rem I use cor-bons.

 

[Velo Dog]

Hello fellow hunters, rifle enthusiasts and freedom loving souls,

For several decades the Remington factory loaded .30-06, in both 180 grain and 220 grain Core-Lokt, was a common moose and bear getter here in Alaska, (as was the Nosler Partition).
I’ve shot more than one or two caribou with the 150 grain, 180 grain and 220 grain .30-06, Core-Lokt factory load.
They all, including the short for caliber 150 grainers almost always exited, leaving about a golf ball size hole on the way out.

Many years ago, near the middle fork of the Salmon River, central Idaho, after a bit of crawling on my belly like a reptile, I shot a mule deer buck, weighing about 180 pounds, with a factory loaded 7mm Remington Magnum, 150 grain Core-Lokt bullet.
The range was only perhaps 30-35 paces.
He was broadside, quietly grazing and my bullet struck him in “the armpit”, exiting the opposite “armpit”.

He spun and launched as if in the Kentucky Derby.
So, I ran my bolt from the shoulder, “Sgt York Style” and shot him pretty much in the exhaust pipe, at perhaps 50 to 75 paces.
He tumbled and tumbled down a coulee, in a cloud of dust, stone dead.
My first shot left an exit hole, again about golf ball size.
My second shot exited his chest, low down, bottom of the brisket, between his front legs, leaving an oblong small hole as well.

The last deer I shot in Alaska (Sitka Blacktail) was on Prince of Wales Island, with a .35 Remington.
You guessed it, with a factory loaded Core-Lokt bullet, 200 grain round nose.
He was quartering to me and only about 20 to 30 paces away, in coastal, very thick boreal rainforest.
It was pretty much jungle conditions of tangled alders, birch saplings and huge ferns.
Surprisingly, he bolted at the shot but only made it a few yards/meters, before tumbling snout over tea kettle, down a steep bank, at the bottom.
Again the exit hole was smallish and very little meat damage.

Today, we have the luxury of much tougher bullets, such as the superb Swift A-Frame.
However, the tried and true Remington Core-Lokt bullet, is a very good one nonetheless.
My personal observations of erratic performance from hollow pointed bullets, including the latest trend in mono-metal ones, such as Barnes brand, has kept me using old time and much dreaded “cup and core” bullets, with enough soft lead showing at the tip.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[Lee M]

Never had a failure. They have worked well for me over the years. I have shot quite a few premium brands as well but still shoot core lokt often. Maybe as i tend to buy 4-5 boxes at a time when on sale at midway. I took an elk this past year at 175 yards with a 140 grain 7 mm mag. He ran about 40 yards and game over. I usually shoot 160’s for elk, but these shot so well out of my tikka for local whitetail hunting i didn’t change.

 

[Panther Shooter]

I have been using 175 grain Remington Core Lokt soft nose factory loaded cartridges in my 7 millimeter Remington Magnum , ever since 1976 .

I am not doubting anyone who has had Remington Core Lokt soft nose bullets fail to provide satisfactory performance in the field . However , I can merely speak for myself and say that I have been blessed never to have encountered a failure of any sort.
If I did , then I would probably get mangled to death , either in 1980 or in 1983 .
I also would probably end up losing all of the Chital Deer and Bengal Bush Boars which I shoot throughout the year , with my 7 millimeter Remington Magnum .

 

[colorado]

CoreLokts are good bullets, old technology bug still good bullets. You need to keep them in their impact range. A 170g CoreLokt out of a 30-30 will kill a lot of deer, black beer and elk inside of 200 yards. For higher velocity rounds like the 270, 7mm and 300 Magnums I'd be afraid of them breaking up on a close shot (15 yards or so). The Partition was built to both penetrate at close range and open up at long range. For long range Western hunting where shots can be either 15 yards or 500 it still is my bullet of choice. I shoot 150g partitions out of my 270 at 3000 fps and have never had an elk or deer go more than 30 yards. For brown bear and other more fearsome creatures I shoot either 300g A-Frames out of our 375 Weatherby on 570g TSX out of my 500 Jeffery.