Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 308 win 200 grain hotcor leverevolution:

I’ve been using it in a few spots where CFE223 is listed. I wonder what the real difference is between the two cause everything I’ve seen and done so far is very close between the two.

Folks rave about CFE223 in the Whelen. Makes me wonder some.

From my 18” 308, Winchester brass, CCI200 primer and Speer 200 soft nose. OAL 2.785
44 grains of LVR 2393- 7-3
45 grains of LVR 2436-16-7
Temp was a miserable 85 and breezy. no sticky bolt lift. Accuracy was pretty good. I’m not a benchrest shooter, I shoot my rifles slung up just like I use them in the field. I may try 46 grains but I’m happy with 45.

Frank, thats plenty punchy from an 18" barrel.

My loaner rifle was a sporterized Mauser in 30-06 with 21" barrel.

I always had a half dozen boxes of federal blue box 220 grain hot cor.

It chronographed 2400 fps from the short barrel.

I left the rifle in Kotzebue with a friend and the gun with those 220 grainers has made some 300-400 yd pokes on winter caribou. Probably a half dozen caribou a year.

RL 26 will give you 2770 FPS using 160gr Nosler partitions using Win cases. That was in my Tikka with 22.4 inch barrel. SD was 9.4 Plus it was a accurate load. but it was compressed.

I have been saying this for a while. The articles tend to compare a 150 or other non optimal (in terms of BC) projectile to the very best 6.5 projectile/load. When you actually load up a heavy, high BC projectile in the .308, it is a whole other animal. While I have not run the Hot Cors, I have run other heavy projectiles and they do great.

The 6.5 CM is not a bad little cartridge, within its limitations, has very little recoil, but it is not the miracle that performs like a .300 win mag like I have heard and read about. I have popped some elk with mine and while it did the job, I did not think it was anything earth shattering.

The .308 is truly a versatile cartridge. If given the choice of just one "all around" cartridge, especially in the lower 48, I would more likely than not take it. After decades of using it and others, it is still the one I reach for the most.