Remington Core Lokt?

[Dwight Beagle]

Nothing special about either bullet for big game and really no reason to use either one for big game.

Except you are wrong. Core-Lokt bullets are excellent on whitetail and axis. They aren’t suitable for everything by any stretch of the imagination but on some animals they are excellent.

 

[BigSteve57]

I've used the factory CoreLokt cartridge on whitetails for decades. The bullet is great for that I just wish that the loads were more consistent. For example I Chronographed Remington CORE-LOKT 300 WM 180 GR R300W2 as follows:
Average 2958.97 fps
Highest 2990.1 fps
Lowest 2934.06 fps
Ext. Spread 56.04 fps
Std. Dev 23.31 fps

I've done the same for 30-06 & .243 with similar results.

By contrast Federal Premium 375 H&H 300 GR TBBC
Average 2405.35 fps
Highest 2412.46 fps
Lowest 2390.06 fps
Ext. Spread 22.4 fps
Std. Dev 9.09 fps

I could/should do a more apples to apples comparison for Remington Core Lokt using other brands of of the same caliber but the point is that Remington Core Lokt could be better.

Taking the cost of Core Lokt into account (It's cheaper) it is really very OK and good value IMHO.

 

[rookhawk]

Core-Lokt is oldschool. They have a good reputation and work well like old rusty Chevy pickup trucks and good old Milwaukee brewed beer.

For how cheap they are, they work pretty well with a proven track record. When they fail, and they do fail, they have created much trouble for hunters. This is quite similar to the Nosler Partition in that they work well until they don't.

For better results, you want a modern, bonded bullet or a pure copper bullet.

If I was shooting a .308" bullet, a .338" bullet, or a .375" bullet regardless of caliber, I would replace Core-Lokt with Swift A-Frame 100% of the time as a modern improved version. 98% weight retention. I've never recovered a bullet that didn't look as good as the marketing photos regarding proper mushrooming and no fragmentation. They make a big hole and dump all their energy with minimal deflection.

 

[OxfordTheCat]

They're about the "standard" by which a hunting bullet is measured, as far as I'm concerned, and more than adequate.

You can do worse, and you can do better.

I generally buy CoreLokt where I can, and Norma where I have to.

Premium bullets certainly exist and may have their uses and staunch advocates, but the CoreLokt is a well constructed bullet that has had no issues with large game for nigh on a century at this point.

And while much prose has been written and much mystique seems to pop out of the woodwork when it comes to mentioning African game and ideas of "toughness", simple anatomy basically clears the air on all of that.

The idea that a bullet like the CoreLokt (or particular calibre of cartridge, for that matter) that has a well established pedigree of taking 800-1200 lb Moose in NA and Scandinavia is going to suddenly balk at its duties when it is transported to the continent of Africa and become ineffective on game there is, with appropriate respect and deference to the lore and those who are fond of it, complete nonsense in this man's opinion.

 

[rookhawk]

They're about the "standard" by which a hunting bullet is measured, as far as I'm concerned, and more than adequate.

You can do worse, and you can do better.

I generally buy CoreLokt where I can, and Norma where I have to.

Premium bullets certainly exist and may have their uses and staunch advocates, but the CoreLokt is a well constructed bullet that has had no issues with large game for nigh on a century at this point.

And while much prose has been written and much mystique seems to pop out of the woodwork when it comes to mentioning African game and ideas of "toughness", simple anatomy basically clears the air on all of that.

The idea that a bullet like the CoreLokt (or particular calibre of cartridge, for that matter) that has a well established pedigree of taking 800-1200 lb Moose in NA and Scandinavia is going to suddenly balk at its duties when it is transported to the continent of Africa and become ineffective on game there is, with appropriate respect and deference to the lore and those who are fond of it, complete nonsense in this man's opinion.

To play devil's advocate, Moose die really easy and Wildebeest at 1/8th the weight die really hard. Same for Oryx. The mystique removed, the biology of African animals is tough whereas a Moose drowns in its own blood very quickly when shot. Their bodies are not built with the reserve oxygen and resilience of many of the African species.

 

[colorado]

The monometal bullets are great if they expand. That's a big if, particularly at longer range where the velocity drops off markedly. My go to bullet for elk is the 150g Partition out of my 270 Win at 3000 fps. It still expands at 500 yards (my personal limit) and penetrates and kills well at 15 yards (even though the front disintegrates as it is designed to) . I also like the A-Frames in my 375 Weatherby, and the 570g TSX in my 500 Jeffery. The 570g TSX is designed to still expand at 1600 fps (i spoke to Barnes) which is far lower than the velocity at 200 yards from my 500 Jeffery, my max distance more or less for that cartridge.

 

[rookhawk]

The monometal bullets are great if they expand. That's a big if, particularly at longer range where the velocity drops off markedly. My go to bullet for elk is the 150g Partition out of my 270 Win at 3000 fps. It still expands at 500 yards (my personal limit) and penetrates and kills well at 15 yards (even though the front disintegrates as it is designed to) . I also like the A-Frames in my 375 Weatherby, and the 570g TSX in my 500 Jeffery. The 570g TSX is designed to still expand at 1600 fps (i spoke to Barnes) which is far lower than the velocity at 200 yards from my 500 Jeffery, my max distance more or less for that cartridge.

My sensibilities and @colorado are the exact same. I just have been shaken by the frangible nature of partitions and how they tend to open unevenly leading the bullet to go places (around vitals) that you clearly hit. But in principle, yes.

And in principle, yes, that's when you use an A-frame.

And in principle, exactly when you use a TSX in a dangerous game rifle.

 

[Boyd Brooks]

Not my choice of projectile, but I would hazard a guess that more North American game has fallen to a Core-lokt than any other single brand.

 

[VonJager]

Holy gravedigger! We digging up stuff that died 9 years ago now?

I dislike corelokts. My dad was cheap and this is what we used growing up in the 90’s. I killed deer, with them 130gr, .270 win, but every deer bolted like lightning, and I had to drag them out of cactus and mesquite sometimes hundreds of yards to a road. When I went to college I started researching bullets and bought 140gr Swift a-frames for my .270 win. I went on a streak of dead in their tracks white tails and never looked back. I now use a-frames, sciroccos, Norma oryx, nosler partitions, nosler ballistic tips, and nosler accubonds.

Just my .02

 

[Areaonereal]

My experience with the Barnes...on three occasions they penciled through and lost two of three. Numerous times they have shed all their petals on recovered bullets and then I have also recovered perfect mushrooms...all were 168 gr from a 30 06...over 60 African plains game...these were TTSX and yes I would use and recommend them, just keep them on the fast side to give them the velocity to expand or within reasonable range. Sciroccos, Accubond, and Nosler partitions have all performed as they should, never used the A frames....if I were shooting a magnum then the A frames would be my first choice. After a total of more than 120 African Plains game with an ‘06 I prefer the Accubond at 2750 FPS, 65 to 80 per cent weight retention on those that were recovered, longest being 380 yds. Can not get my rifle to group Core Lokts less than 2 in at 100 yds.

 

[fourfive8]

Shot an impala at 90 yards with a 416 Rem Mag using North Fork Cup Point Solid. Made a 3/4" diameter pass through hole at back edge of both shoulders like the impala wasn't there. Impala ran like any heart- lung shot animal tends to do. Easy blood trail to follow. About 50 yards- dead impala. Same outcome with same caliber/bullet and about same range on a waterbuck. These are "pencil throughs" as some would say in the vernacular I guess. Shot a few wildebeest with 375 HH using TBBCs pretty much similar results with IIRC all bullets passing through. Short track on a couple of them and no issues. Shot a few PG with a 338 TTX out of a mildly loaded 338-06- zero issues. One an oryx at 280 yds where I'm sure the velocity had bled off quite a bit to maybe 2000 fps. Fairly even wound channel just behind shoulders and about 1" diameter max. Oryx turned and ran straight away. No blood for about 20 yards then plenty to track to dead oryx about 100 yards from where hit. Another pencil through with the TSX I guess. None of these anecdotes prove a thing other than no failures and no explosive, "oh wow look at the size of that hole" results. In the end, hunter's choice, with or without research or informed knowledge.

Attached pics of various sectioned bullet designs. Ignore the names or brands... Just study the design for a minute and forget if bonded or not. It really is not very difficult to compare probable results including the potential for some worst case scenarios for bullet placement and tough/hard/ hard to penetrate tissue like bone and rumen. (BTW, the RSA Rhino expanding bullet and the 'MIA' North Fork expanding bullets are very similar to the yellow tipped TBBC pictured). Not every shot in the field will be perfect, especially so for follow up shots.

 

[colorado]

300g A-Frame out of my Rem XCR II in 375 Weatherby. Hit the bear at the rear of his right front shoulder at 13 yards. So close I could see blood spurt from the entrance would in my 2-7x Firedot scope. Bullet was recovered in the hide of his left thigh. The bullet penetrated through about 4 feet of bear. I find it difficult to fault A-Frames any place an expanding bullet is called for.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

What was your muzzle velocity @colorado ?

 

[BeeMaa]

AH has a Bullet Performance Database thread.
In 24 pages, not one picture of a Core-Lokt.
I think that says enough.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Grew up shooting Core Lokt in my 30-30 and then a 30-06. Many friends did the same. Killed a lot of deer. Used them in two different 338 WM and were very accurate and killed a few deer, elk and Nilgai.

Have switched to Swift A-Frames for most of my rifles, but will continue to use CL in the 30-30. I just bought 5 boxes of CL on GB for my 6.5 Swede, as I couldn't find any Hornady SST for it.

 

[colorado]

The 170g 30-30 CoreLokt Remington ammunitions is awesome as is the 220g 30-06 ammo.

 

[Ray B]

I use the Core Lokt 120 gr 257 bullets in several cartridges. My experience is that they perform well on game when impact is within the bullets design however I have found their accuracy to be only so so- 2" groups at 100 yards. Since I can only shoot one bullet at a time and I have been on more hunts than I have left I opt for other bullets when hunting.

 

[R.M.C.]

I really like the core lokt in 30.06 (150 grain @ 2900 fps) for 100-150 pound deer but do not like the performance on wild boar and black bear even with the heavier 180 grain core lokts. Where I live you can run into a bear or boar during deer season and legally kill it so I have switched permanently to premium bullets. I really like federal 180 grain trophy bonded tips. I haven't been to Africa yet but will be using premium bullets there in 2022. In my opinion today's premium bullets take my 30.06 (and your .270) to a whole new level in terms of penetration and expansion without the bullet coming apart even at high velocity

 

[Dr Ray]

I’ve used Remington Core Lokt in 270 and 22/250 and have had absolutely no issues.

 

[1dirthawker]

Re: The core long ultra, are used some in a 338 WinMag. I was shooting a plains bison, I shot the beastie behind the ear, but I went through it had stopped under the hide on the far side perfect expansion and hung together well. Those ultra bullets I would have no worries about shooting anything with them If they made them and 375 caliber, I would hand load them in my 375 Ruger. But in 30 not six, I think it would make a fine bullet and 165 or 180 grain