Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Rem Core-Lokt's

I'm just getting a few reloads going. Just as yet a nother hobby. I'm no long range bench rest fanatic looking for 1/8" groups at 500 yards.
But, always heard that reloads are more accurate than most factory rounds. So the question is: Why?

Take your generic Rem Core-Lokts in 30-06, 165 gr. What is it make it not as accurate as a handload?
- Bullet not good?
- Rem can't seem to get the same throw of powder in each cartridge?

What's the main thing?

IMHO, the biggest reason handloads are more accurate is because the bullets are better. I don't think I ever measured two Core-lokts that were alike.

A Core-Lokt bullet produced for use in the base level ammunition may not be as precisely made and well balanced as a Sierra bullet for one example.

The powder for base level ammunition could be sourced as the cheapest manufacturing lot that will meet pressure and velocity specifications, with precision taking a back seat. This is a load development issue. In contrast, well developed loads aren't affected by small powder charge weight variations nearly as much as a lot of people think they are.

Cartridge crookedness in base level ammo could be an issue. Runout often does have an effect on grouping.

In contrast, there is some really good factory ammo out there. I bought some military/police contract overrun 308 Win. ammo made by Norma. It was loaded with 168 grain Sierra Match Kings. The cartridges were very straight, low runout. Given the intended purpose of the ammunition I feel safe in assuming the powder variety and charge was selected and developed with precision in mind, cost being a smaller concern.

This ammunition shot very well, providing groups on par with my very best handloads in several accurate rifles. (Remington 40X and the like.)

That is about as succinct and as accurate as it can be stated.

What mathman said. Newer ammo does tend to shoot better than the stuff from two decades ago, though,

I'm not sure I agree with all of the above as I have loaded and shot some pretty good groups with core loct bullets of various calibers and weights. I'll stipulate that I'm not talking benchrest one hole groups but plentry in 1 " or less thru sporter weight rifles. The first thing thing I'll ask you is how well does your rifle shoot factory ammo? I have found a lot of factory ammo shoots pretty good in rifles that like it. Like wise I have shot some finicky rifles but they didn't like reloads all that much either. I think you will find that reloading gives you the better case to chamber fit if you adjust your dies to your rifle. You can find a bullet that your rifle piticularly likes ( might be c-l or something else) . You can fiddle around with your seating depth. This can make a lot of difference in certain rifles as can bullet shape , length etc. Often powder, powder charge & primer combinations make a difference . But untill you try several combinations to find what your rifle likes I'll say you won't necessarily improve on factory ammo just by shooting any reload you randomly pull out of a manual and put together regardless of the components.

Just my opinion but I believe the biggest reason handloads CAN outproduce factory ammo is because the handloader TUNES the load to the barrel. The factory doesn't have that option and must produce ammo that will work in ALL tubes. It's also my belief that most handloaders will shoot their own rounds much more carefully than the factory fodder wanting to find that MAGIC LOAD that makes their rifle a ONE HOLER ALL DAY LONG type thing.

Also, if your getting into handloading, you might as well brainwash yourself (if necessary) and learn to enjoy the load development process. Seems like a process of elimination to me! I'm eliminating everything that DOESN"T work and slowly determining what DOES work in that particular barrel. AND in the process I get to spend lots of time at the range mounted to a trigger! What better place to be!

All, true Ghetto. Only problem with all this that you wind up with 6 or so bottles of powder 3/4 full. And 10 boxes of bullets that still have 30 bullets in it. Then you find The Holy Grail for your own gun and all that extra just sits!

It is what it is!

Ain't that the truth! Maybe we need to find rifles to fit the loads! LOL Sounds like good excuse for more toys!

No worse than 12+/- partially empty boxes of 30/06 factory ammo.

I reload because I like doing it.

The biggest difference I see between handloads and factory is that I can knock a little off the MAX load and get a round that travels not quite as fast as the pubished data for the factory load, but it is much more accurate and the deer don't notice the difference. Ammo mfgs are driven by other motivations. Mostly, they're trying to sell the idea that their ammo is the ultimate biggest baddest stuff out there. It may not hit a paper plate at 50 yards consistently, but DANG! If it does hit something, watch out!

#2 son has a friend that he's bringing out to the farm to learn how to shoot. He showed up the last time with a whole bunch of 308 ammo to plink with. It was some mil-surp, but mostly it was premium stuff. Why? Because the hot premium stuff is the most accurate of course, right? I then watched him blow box after box trying to hit a 6 inch target at 100 yards from a sitting position. This is the kind of guy that those fancy ammo boxes were made for.

Our deer camp shoots mostly Core-Lokts and Hornady Interlokts at the deer. True, Remington CL's are not considered premium anymore, but at one point they were. The bulk bullets do quite nicely in hunting loads even though they have all kinds of blemishes and it's hard to find 2 bullets that weigh exactly the same. On whitetails at 100 yards, it makes no difference. I'm sure that if I tried, I could find a powder and a load where that lack of uniformity caused a bigger group. Since my end goal is quite the opposite, I can minimize the effects of the imperfections.

As already mentioned by others, it used to be that I'd find a lot of ammo that worked well in a rifle, and I'd go back to the store and buy up as much as I could of that lot, so I would not have to worry for a few years. I still have a cabinet full of odd lots of deer ammo from 30 years ago. When I started to reload, all that changed. I now have a repeatable recipe to cook up a box or two whenever I need it. Year to year, lot to lot I get small changes, but those changes are generally smaller than what I used to get buying the same ammo from different stores in the same year. I can't speak about what it is like now. I haven't shot a factory load at an animal this century.

I have seen some remarkable groups with those old crappy cor loc bullets...in my 06

Not much wrong with Core Lokt bullets for someone wanting to nail a pig or a deer, or plink beer cans.

I've killed a bunch of elk with 180 grain Core-Lokts.

I have gotten great groups with them in my first 7 mag.

I quit Remington bullets when they raised the price of bulk 8mm 185 gr to more than the price of Sierra bullets. Then they discontinued them altogether so, oh well. Nosler Partition blems and Hornady are more accurate and function as advertised.

Rem is getting quite proud of their Ol' Green box. Getting pricey. Still good stuff. But I can usually get Win Power Point or Fed "Blue Box" Hi-Shok" for cheaper. And I feel it is a touch better. My Core-Lokt fav is their 375 H&H 270 gr. FOR PLAINS GAME ONLY!!. Also love their 220gr. 30-06.

I've pointed out the following before, but will again:

Core-Lokt bullets have varied considerably over the decades. They originally had heavy jackets along the shank of the bullets, the reason they acquired a reputation for holding together pretty well during expansion. But the Point Soft-Point Core-Lokts (the spitzer model) haven't been made that was for at least 25 years. Remington changed to a thinner jacket around 1990 or so, or started loading other bullets as "Core-Lokts," especially Hornady Interlocks. I know this partly from talking to the guy who was in charge of Remington public relations back then, but partly from pulling "Core-Lokts" from ammo and sectioning the bullets. It was quite interesting to find the Hornady Interlock ring inside some.

But the round-nosed Core-Lokts have retained the heavy jacket sidewalls, probably because there's no much demand for round-nose bullets anymore so the forming dies don't wear out enough to make a real difference in accuracy--and hunters who buy round-nose Core-Lokts aren't all that concerned about pinpoint long-range accuracy anyway. This is partly why the round-nosed Core-Lokts have such a good reputation for reliable expansion and penetration, but the other reason is they're not usually loaded to high velocity anyway, which also helps them hold together. Good examples are the 180-grain .30-06 at the old standard velocity of 2700 fps, the 270-grain .375 H&H at 2690 fps, and when available (it's pretty scarce anymore) the 117-grain .257 Roberts at 2650 fps.

The main point is that "discussing" Core-Lokt bullet performance is kind of pointless because they vary considerably, and sometimes haven't been Core-Lokts at all.