Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 35 Whelen Core-Lokt for Elk

Hey guys, I have a 200 Grain remington core-lokt going at 2825 fps. I've shot 2 deer with them and results were perfect. Does anybody have any experience with the core-lokt on elk or bear? Just curious, if it shoots well and have good reviews on heavy game, just looking for some heavy game experience with them. Thanks!

You must be handloading those Core Lokts because Remington factory 200gr. CLs are listed at 2675 fps.

I cant say about the 200 grain CLs but I use 250 gr. pointed CLs (factory) in my Whelen. I get just under 2400 in a 22 inch barrel and they are awesome on elk. The match up of velocity to bullet construction is just right. The ones Ive recovered look just like the picture and the elk go down quick.

I dont see why the 200 grainers wouldnt be great as well.

i would rater use the 250s for elk but if the 200s shoot good, go for it!

Well.. I've killed a fair number of deer with a .358 and 200-gn Hornady Interlocks (pretty similar bullet). Worked great.

I'd load a 225-gn Partition if I were you for elk though. Better in every way pretty much. Elk are not the time or place to mess with light-for-caliber cup and core bullets.

IMHO. If you do try it, let us know what happens!

-jeff

At a projected 25-2600fps,I do not think a partition is waranted.
I run 220 gr Sierra though my .06 at about 2500 and have never had one come apart,and most are pass throughs on elk,unless I hit spine or heavy bone. This is not a 1-2 elk experience either.Maybe a dozen or better.Yea,they are cheap insurance,but a fellow can get insurance poor

Heavier Cor loks will work just fine

Based on what a 200 grain Corelokt out of my 350 Mag will do on hogs,I'd use it on elk without reservations.

This bullet will go lenghtwise through 200 pound deer and still exit,I can not imagine a well hit elk going anywhere.

At the muzzle velocities were talking here premium bullets are not warranted. The Core Lokt's will be just fine. Shooting a STA I'd move up but it isn't justified in this case.

I never really shot 200 out of my 35-Whelen but I would certainly not be feeling bad shooting deer size animals with 200 grainers. However, elk are another story and the 250 grain bullet is far better suited for an animal the size of even a cow elk, which are twice the size of a whitetail buck.

If you check out the "sectional density" between those two bullet weights, (200grn.= .223***250grn=.279) you will see the big difference in penetration capabilities. As Saddlesore stated, you don't have to have warp speed velocities to kill bull elk, just a big bullet. I have used a lot of Core-Lokts over the years and they do fine until you get the velocity over 2700fps.....which you won't do with a 35-Whelen or even try I hope not.

My load for the Remington in the vault is 250 grain bullet using IMR-3031 powder at 51 grains, Velocity was 2500fps...MAX LOAD!

I've shot several with 250 grain Hornady handloads. I'd be a lot happier with the 250 grain vs the 200, if you can find them.

+1

250gr Hornady RN for me in my Whelen = several dead elk.

Hemi

Can tell you that the 200 gr will flatten a black bear.
I got beat up, a month or so ago, for suggesting that the 30/30 is poor choice for elk, at 200 yards, in todays world. It is possible that some of these 30/30 advocates might know what they are talking about, but maybe not.
At any rate, a 200 gr CL out of your Whelen is seriously more powerful than anything a 30/30 can spit out.
Tho' I prefer the 250 gr., I would happily go elk hunting if all I had were the 200 grain CL's.
A 200 gr Corlokt out of your Whelen is shockingly effective on game.

Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it. Hopefully I will get one with the bow and it will be non-issue. Thanks again

I've only taken one small bull with 200gr. CL's. A 16 yard quartering towards shot to the point of the shoulder. Bullet found under hide at the last rib, not much left of the bullet, but not much left of the lungs either. He tipped over after a 10 yard wobble.
You should be good to go. My load wasn't going quite that fast but as close as he was it was a pretty violent test. I might use them again but the rifle loves 225 partitions.

Holy smokes! Thanks for that report, I'm stickin' with my 200 grain core-lokt hanloads at 2825 fps. Thanks again guys!

225 gr. Partition.
2600 FPS, .43 BC, .250+ SD.

http://www.pcammunition.com/results.php?cartridge=.35+Whelen&Type=Rifle

I have shot 4 WT deer with the 200 gr PSPCL 35 Whelen factory load. The first two I shot back in 1988 when the 35 Whelen was first offered by Remington were neck shots. Neither bullet exited.
2 more bucks in '89 were classic broad side shots into the lungs and nice exit wounds.
In 1990, I switched to the then new Nosler 225 gr PT and shot another dozen + WT deer and a 250 lb Black Bear. I always got a nice exit. One was length wise through a buck that tried to play peek-a-boo with me in a cedar swamp.
I would go with a heavier bullet, 250 gr PSPCL factory load or better yet, Nosler PT.

JD338

From what I've seen on deer, the 200-gn bullet absolutely whacks 'em. 2630 fps. I can't imagine how an elk could survive a solid chest hit with one.

BUT... hold a component 200-gn .35 bullet in your hand and it fails the smell test for me, for elk. It doesn't look like an elk bullet. Too short and stubby. Elk bullets should be long.

A 225-gn Partition passes the smell test. I can only imagine that a 250-gn .35 bullet would really rock, but from my .358 225's are as high as I've gone.

This past season i shot a nice sized whitetail buck with a 200gr pspcl out of a 358 win. The deer was only about 35yds away when i hit him with a quartering frontal, at the shot he lunged, ran about 20yds, hit a dead tree on the ground, and then just dropped. The shot really rocked him and i expected to find a nice exit but there was none.The bullet entered the front of his chest, wasted the heart and lungs and hit the opposite rib cage, leaving a hole in the ribs but not exiting. This handload was probably going about 2,500fps the performance was great, and theres no doubt that a properly placed shot will kill even a moose, but i would want an exit on a big tough deer like an elk. Too many good bullets out there to compromise......

It comes to the old arguement, which is better, a bullet that uses all of it's energy in the animal or one that has an exit hole? I've shot 2 large deer with them and it does smack them pretty good, both were about 50 yards, they both exited with large exit wounds, they both took about 3 steps.

My take is that if it is your current load for your Whelen, you'd rather not work up another, and you're just taking it as back-up for the bow than its fine. However, I've settled in on the 225s for my whelen as an all-around bullet weight. The 200 grain 358s have SDs of 0.223; about the same as a 150 grain .308 bullet. The 225 has an SD of 0.250; about the same as a 165 grain .308. The Ballistic Coefficients are 0.23 for the 200 RN, 0.29 for the 200 pointed, and 0.43 for the 225 grain Nosler Partition. I didn't see where you stated if your 200 grain is the round-nose or the pointed bullet.

If you are getting 2800 fps with the 200, then you can get 2700 fps with the 225 grain.

With 10-inch vital area (I'd probably use 4 inches, but I'm weird that way), max point blank ranges are:

The 200 grain round-nose at 2800 fps gives us 5 in high at 150 yards, zero at about 240 yards, minus 8 inches at 300 (out of the kill zone), and at 400 yards is 35 inches low. At 300 yards, its velocity is 1500 fps (will it open?) and has 1000 foot-pounds of energy (enough for elk?) Max point blank range (MPBR) = 281 yards

The 200 grain pointed bullet at 2800 fps gives us 5 in high at 150 yards, zero at about 270 yards, minus 2.5 inches at 300 yards (still in the kill zone), and at 400 yards is 18 inches low. At 300 yards, its velocity is nearly 2000 fps (it will open), 500 fps faster than the round-nose. The pointed bullet still has 1750 foot-pounds of energy (750 f-p more than the round-nose) at 300 yards. MPBR = 321 yards

The 225 grain Nosler pointed partition bullet at 2700 fps gives us 5 in high at 150 yards (like the other two bullets), zero at about 275 yards (farthest of the three bullets), minus 2 inches at 300 yards (least drop of the three bullets), and at 400 yards is about 16 inches low (least drop of the three bullets). At 300 yards, its velocity is over 2100 fps (faster than the other two bullets), and remaining energy is nearly 2300 foot-pounds(1300 f-p more than the round-nose and 550 more than the 200 grain pointed bullet). MPBR = 328 yards (farthest of the three bullets).

In summary, the 225 grain Nosler partition shoots flatter, has more retained energy, and is going faster than the other two bullets at 300 yards and beyond.

Hope that helps.