Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 180 RNCL

Looking for on game experiences where remingtons 180 gr. rncl was used in factory loads or handloads.Cal. can be 30-06,308 300sav. or whatever.

I've shot a few deer with them, all with the .30-06, and have yet to recover one. They have all expanded nicely and put deer down pronto.

The original Core-Lokts all had very heavy "sidewalls" in the jackets, which is why they held together so well. Twenty-some years ago, however, Remington started making the jackets of the Pointed Soft-Point Core-Lokts thinner, but left the jackets of the round-noses thick, probably because they don't sell as well as the spitzers. Aa a result the bullet-forming dies don't get as much use, so last a long time.

The last time a sectioned a round-nose, however, was maybe 5 years ago. At that time they still had the thick sidewalls, but I should probably buy a box of new ammo (if I can find one!) and section one of the bullets to find out.

It would be nice to know if the true CL design was still present in the round nose version.I remember seeing a chart where 180gr. .30 cal. bullets of most makes were tested and the Rem. 180 RN held together at 2800fps yet expanded down to 16 or 1700 fps.

I killed my first two bulls using factory 180 RN bullets. They died quickly.

I tend to shoot farther these days so I went with a bullet with a better BC.




P

The 300 Savage with Rem 180 gr SPCL/RNCL has been just about the ideal whitetail combination on our club in western Adirondacks since the 50's. Have no idea how many deer taken with that combo. Main problem is that it looks like Remington has dropped the factory load and our 300 Savage users will have to switch to something else when their stashes run low.

I was using a .300 Savage with 180 grain box ammo and screwed up and hit a deer back a little far. I was standing with no tree near me and had on a heavy pack. To top it off the deer was walking. Shot was close to 100 yards. Anyway, I hit the deer in the liver and it just destroyed it. I mean the liver looked as if you ran cranberry sauce through a blender. Deer walked about 10 feet and fell over. Considering that the bullet hit nothing hard, I was impressed. I reload, but always try to use CorLokts if possible. Some of my favorites have been back ordered for 2 years now. That should tell you something about popularity of CorLokt bullets.

JOC was very high on them in an '06-Muddy

MikeL2,where are you located in the western Dacks?

one of my 308's prefers the 180 corelokts and i have taken several whitetail with them. all short range shots and none moved a step.

They worked very well on the deer I shot with them with my 30-06. They seem to expand quickly enough to put a whitetail down quickly but I think they would do fine on larger game as well. Great "woods load" for 30-06, .308, etc.

I've always thought they are one of the best factory options for average shots. Most people shoot animals pretty close and these bullets always work well.

That said, I don't think anyone would be at any measurable advantage with them over many other factory options. When we've used factory ammo for whatever reason Winchester PP or Hornady ammo has worked just as well. In fact if I didn't reload, I wouldn't feel at any disadvantage really other than cost.

I have had expansion and accuracy issues with some types and brands from various manufacturers, but not CorLokt. Usually not a whole line of bullets, but a few here and there.

RNCL are getting very hard to find. MY dad used them with his 300 Savage and never had a problem. Try finding them though.

Another case of fixing something that is not broken and new is better sales pitch.

Yep.

Yesterday I checked the four Internet sites where I do most of my ordering of shooting stuff. The only one of the four listing any 180 RNCL ammo was Midway, which lists .308 Winchester and .30-06 but no .300 Savage. Most of the CL ammo was Pointed Soft-Point, and none of the sites listed any component 180 RNCL's for handloading, though one (Midway again) listed 150 roundnoses, and the possibility of 170's (the .30-30 bullet) when Remington makes a "seasonal run."

Yeah, I just checked too. I have been out of RNCL's .30 cal 150 gr for two years. I use 7mm 150 gr PSPCL and they are also "Seasonal/unavailable".

There isn't a 180, .308 that expands as reliable at both high and low velocity.
The CLRN will open at 1600 fps.
You need to look up the shuccetti data.

The round nose design with abundant exposed lead promotes rapid expansion much like the faster 150 grain bullets. But the heavier bullet has the momentum to break heavy bones and penetrate deeply. This is my top choice for bear hunting in Pennsylvania.

Sherwood

My pick in my carbine 7600 '06. Killed my farthest deer with it about 250yds. But usually with that gun I'm hunting the thick stuff. I stock up whenever I find'em, but that gun shoots other loads well so if I run out and can't find'em I'll use another 180 like the partitions. I'm sure the current generation of eastern deer hunter considers them old school which is why they aren't popular. Maybe so but they work.

The Benoits used the .270/150 clrn and the 30-06/180 CLRN for years from powder burn range out to 250+ yards.I never heard them bad mouth them and there success with them was phenomenal!