Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 3006 150 core lokt

I hear you Brad, but how many sweet broadside shot opportunities is a guy really going to get out there? Most of mine have been shot when they are unsuspecting, coming towards me (from full on frontal, to quartering toward or even angled up or down and quartering toward, that makes it even more tricky). The broadside shot opportunities I've had, is usually when they are on the move... A 308/30-06 with light weight corelokt would have worked wonderfully in those instances, but you can't always count on the perfect shot angle.

I’m just not a fan of relatively light for caliber bullets. There are so many options out there these days why not try to find a bonded 165 or 180 that shoots well?

in the old days in Arizona, the rule of thumb was 150 gr for Mule Deer, 180 gr for elk. Didn't know many reloaders and no target shooters. Outdoor Life was read at the barber shop. we survived.

I've had 150 gr corelokts from .308s fail to exit on large whitetail deer, including some that shed jackets. Stopped using them for deer, wouldn't consider them for elk.

I have shot a number of caribou and moose with the '06 caliber (different rifles) . using 150, 165, and 180 gr. C&C and Partitions. The only elk I have taken was with 140 gr. Coreloct in .260. Bang flop. Busted the hell out of her spine, just behind the ear, at about 150 yards. Most anything would have done the same, tho.

I too would recommend a 165 or 180 in C&C for elk in the 30-06. JJHack, who has seen a few animals killed in NA and Africa, thinks the 165 is the ideal bullet weight. I won't gain-say him as he is on on more kills in a year than I am in probably 10 or more.

I favor 180's myself, tho the last moose I took was with a Hornady 150 Superperfomance factory round - shot behind the ear at about 15 yards. It worked.

My prejudices lean toward mid range bullet weights in any caliber, trending upwards. In this case, 165 gr and up in C&C.

I suggest buying a box of federal premium vital shok 180gr partitions. Save the 150 cl's for deer.

A friend of mine got a lot of bang flops with a .222 on elk.. Behind the ear doesn't take much..

I think I would go with a bit heavier bullet or Accubonds...

A 150 Core Lokt is a great deer bullet in an 06 but not sure I'd feel real warm and fuzzy hunting elk with it. If I used my .270 Winchester on Elk with a cup and core bullet it will be a 150 Nosler Partition. If I used my -06 it would be with a 180 Partition. But I'm no elk hunter having never hunted them with anything. I'm just going by what I read on here.

Hunted Ellison mountain outside Meeker back around 1995 with an old Oklahoma Hi-Po Bud, he shot a 4x5 bull four times with 180gr core lokt Remington factory ammunition in a very old 700 Remington, bull was numbed up good after the first hit and probably dead on his feet, Bud said he kept firing till he fell, I cant blame him for that.

Id bump it up to a 165 gr or 180gr

The 30-06 is a “Hold my Beer” cartridge

It built its earned reputation, with the use of Cup & Core off the shelf ammo .. Power Points , Power Shoks & Core-Lokts

Its odd I have just one 30-06 in my safe at this time ..a 1917 Enfield all original... It is incredibly accurate with 165gr pills ..

I’d not hunt elk with a 150 gr Core Lokt. A 180 gr has taken many elk for sure. My ranch owner buddy who has seen hundreds of elk killed swears AT the Core Lokts saying they are the sorriest piece of crap bullet right along with Win Power Points for elk. I’m a fan of Barnes TTSX and most of our crew use them or Partitions and Accubonds. Happy Trails

A 70 year old friend who has done and still does a lot of hunting uses an old 721 Remington topped with an equally old 4x leupold uses the 30-06 with 180 grain Partition handload for everything. Elk,Moose,Black Bear, Mule and Whitetail deer, antelope and caribou. He is always buying the latest rimfires and 20 and 22 caliber centerfires with the latest scopes. Same thing with shotguns. He also has quite a collection of lever action center fires. He has never replaced that old Remington for big game hunting.

Have you tried other rounds thru the rifle? Wouldn’t be my first choice of projectile . If you shoot light for caliber go with the TTSX or GMX. Atleast for elk. Good ammunition is cheapest part of a hunt yet is critical insurance for a successful one.

I have no advice on CoreLokts but a strange experience to recall.
My brother used the 180's in a .30-06 for years and killed many elk that way. One year he shot a bull in the shoulder, bullet did not mushroom. Instead it took a hard 90 turn and followed the bone all the way down the foreleg, exited the hoof, and into the ground. Killed the bull on the subsequent shot.
In the years since he has switched to a TTSX. I don't think his change was very much due to that experience but more due to all the hype surrounding newer bullets.

For every person who says they are not the best choice, including me, there are a thousand dead elk. Shoot well and eat.

I've found the 150 corelokts at 30-06 velocity seem to penetrate about 18" worth of deer/pig. If someone was like "here's a free elk hunt but you have to use 150 corelokts" I would say yes, but if I was putting effort into the hunt I would put a little more effort into better bullet selection. The 150 corelokts also don't fly that far. In my experience, even a 180 partition is easier to hit with past 400 yards.

This is a great thread. Looking the opposite way, some of these tough bullets don't preform all that well on deer or smaller bodied game either, especially at close range. A tough bullet should be used on tough game. A thin jacketed bullet on smaller game.That's why I've always had great luck on deer with Sierra Game King or Nosler Ballistics Tips or Hornady SSTs. No way I would use one on an elk, but their performance on deer have been almost perfect for me.

Interesting!!

Moral of story, if it works dont screw with it!

Also, I too only have only 1 .30-06 hunting rifle in the safe. I do have 4 Mil Surps in that chacmbering but we're talking hunting here.

The 06 and .270 Winchester are my two all time favorite hunting cartridges but I only have one of each in hunting rifles. Why? when I have two .25 cals. and 3 7mms? I guess because I'm still trying to find perfection with those two while the 06 and .270 showed me perfection right out of the box!

You can go back through the archives on the fire...and find proponents for the .243 on elk. Sheesh. We got snipers that think nothing of shooting an elk at 500 yds with some kind of .300 mag, which is down to about 1650 ft lbs (a pisspoor measure). A man has to know his (and his load) limitations.