Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ranking the cup and cores

Be danged, learn something new here everyday, thanks Teeder, thought I remembered reading something about 900 degrees of molten lead core poured in, maybe just a Hot-Cor with thicker jacket?

Quite a few people think the Hot-Cors and Grand Slams are bonded, apparently even some gun writers,.because one published an article in a major magazine a year or two ago, and neither he nor the editor knew they're not.

The cores are indeed formed by injecting molten lead into the empty jackets. But the jackets aren't heated, so the cores don't bond to them. You can prove this by putting a Hot-Cor or GS in a vise, nose up, and jacksawing down into the nose. The jacket can then be easily peeled off the core.

They will also lose their cores occasionally on game. I have seen this personally--the first time when the jacket stayed at the entrance hole, and the core kept going.

Those 175s are from the era when Grand Slams were at their best.

I've hunted with the 30/06 for the past 50 years. I started out with Remington Core-lokt. The 180's grouped better out of my Model 700 than the 150's. So I went with the 180. Killed everything from mule deer, elk , antelope and black bear. Found several bullets in elk----they were perfect mushrooms---just like the photos in the magazines. Then I drew a bighorn sheep tag & my reloading buddy said I needed to shoot reloads for accuracy. I tried both Hornady interlock & Nolser solid base. Interlocks were a little more accurate. FYI----I used up the 180 Nolser solid base on a couple cow elk----they worked. I used my interlock reloads on bighorn sheep, mtn goat and WY moose. They worked just fine---everything died. I never found any bullets. I decided that reloading wasn't for me and I went back to factory loads. I tested Federal, Winchester & Remington in wet phone books. The Winchester PP was a perfect mushroom & weight @ 140 grains--if I remember correctly. The Federal & Remington really didn't mushroom----they both weighed about 100 grains. So I choose to use Winchester PP & they worked great on black bear, elk and mule deer. I've never recovered a bullet from an animal. I've lost only 1 animal. A cow elk that I tried to break her spine----only shot I had & have regretted it very since. Young & dumb.

I site my rifle in 3" high @ 100 yards & go hunt. Everything is 180 grains in everything---factory or reloads.

I try to get a couple boxes every fall when there is a $5 rebate per box.

In all honesty any of the Big 3 in 180 grain will work in a 30/06 for anything in the lower 48. For AK grizzly, I would up it to 220 grain & use a Nolser partition. That's what I'm planning on using this June on my AK grizzly hunt. But many a grizz has been killed with 220 grain Core-lokt factory loads AK natives.

Colorado Bob

Grew up on a cattle ranch and used Speer .270/130gr, .30/150gr, .30/180gr on CA Blacktails & pigs almost exclusively fir years and was never seriously let down but with availability becoming increasingly erratic several years ago, I switched to Hornady IL versions in the same calibers. In comparing my results, I’d say that I get many, many more exits with the Hornady and less bloodshot meat on shoulder shots. Never went back to Speer.

I think that Hornady makes a dependable product with the IL and I’d rank them at the top of the C&C field.

Maybe the “real deal” formidolous will chime in, tell us all what a 70lb field doe needs for killin!! Haha