Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded?

In the past i've always liked the core-lokts for deer. I didn't have enough faith for elk though, and used NP's.

I was wondering about the bonded core-lokts? Do they have some sort of problem? I see them for sale at regular core-lokt prices. They should sell for twice the price. (if they were any good)

What's up?

wrong thinking.
the core-lock bullet, even the original is still one of the best bullets for all deer species in NA. in particular the 220 round nose loading in 30-06.

http://stevespages.com/jpg/bestbullet.jpg

consider the velocity window on the 180.

i shot 1 deer w/ them in 180gr '06. it was a piss poor shot on a 160lb 5 pt. straight through the guts. he dropped dead. then i had a long drag to think about what a piss poor shot i made and was made fun of by my dad for such piss poor shot placement. figured it was the bullets fault so ide say yea, something wrong w/ them

Ringworm,

How am I thinking wrong? I'm not saying the bonded core-lokt is good or bad. I just can't figure out why they're selling so cheap.

i usually shoot all my deer (in a given year) with some form of factory bullet. here on the farm i get doe tags due to crop damage, so i can usually kill up to 25 deer. about 4 years ago i shot the core-lokt ultras. they worked just fine. 9 deer, all one shot kills. i will say the deer ran a bit farther after the shot, but found em' all dead within 50 yards. never found a bullet either, but all shots were broadside at usually no farther than 50-75 yards. i wouldn't hesitate to shoot them for elk, but i prefer partitions, so use them exclusively for elk. i don't see the ultras much anymore, but if i found them for 15.95 a box i'd certainly buy a stack of em'. ymmv.

We think the same about Partitions. I have all the faith in the world for them.

Mauser,

I've used 180 "Core-lokt" for the past 25 years on Colorado. They kill elk just fine. This year in my camp, 3 hunters all of us used 30/06 with 180 grain "core-lokts". 3 dead elk. 3--1 shot kills. Ranges 250 yards, 200 yards & 125 yards.

Plain jane "Core-lokts" work just fine on elk. But if you have more faith in partitions thats OK use them.

A cow and spike elk. 160gr 7mm at 200 or so yards.

The Core-Lokt Ultras are bonded Core-Lokts. They have the same jacket thickness, and in general the jacket is more important than bonding in any bullet--despite what many people think about the "magic" of bonded cores.

My wife and I have shot 12-15 big game animals with CLU's and they work very well, but they aren't Nosler Partitions.

The CLU is selling for about $20 per 50 at Natchez that's about twice what reg CLs sell for.

MD did you find them to be as accurate as reg CLs?

sample of 1.
I don't normally use factory ammo but, as you say, I picked up 5 boxes of corelockt ultra 160 gr. 7mag ammo for $24.95 a box.
They grouped very well sighting in so I took them elk hunting.

1 shot @375 yds tight behind the front leg.
Blew through the cow - she moved all of 20 paces after the shot.

Like I said, sample of 1, performance was excellent, it was the price that was suprising.

I've generally found them to be more accurate than regular CL's, but it's also been a limited sample.

I forgot to mention i'm shooting a .270. I love the caliber, and it takes elk just fine. However, I was always worried about using a core-lokt in such a light bullet. The NP seems to make up for that. I was also considering the Accubond, but I never tried one.

Not to change the topic, but how do you guys like the Accubond compared to the Partition?

Should I grow some hair, and try the CL with a .270?

no.
they are drab thier lethality.
Boring in thier accuracy.
You would be considered cheap and uneducated for using a factory bullet.
You should use a barnes ttsxsxxts(or whatever). That way you will have more things to discuss here like...

"barnes... have you seen my deer?"
"TTSX expansion when used wetpack toilet paper from a chinese restraunt."
"Tripleshock, I swear i hit em good."

With the corelokt you wont have any cool phot's of sexy flower petaled recovered bullets to post.
No endless debated about the difference in 3 grains of bullet weight.
No pointless discussions about if the new tipped should be loaded .00002 or .00004 off the lands.

Price? I know that means nothing around here since everyone is independently wealthy and all...

Barnes Tipped Triple-Shock X Bullets 30 Caliber (308 Diameter) 150 Grain Box of 50
Product #: 414465
$28.79

Remington Core-Lokt Bullets 30 Caliber (308 Diameter) 150 Grain Box of 100
#: 1601168026
$24.99
thats only half of the most expensive part of reloading a round. just half price, thats all.
No the corelokt is a bust. probably wont make it another year now that real bullets are avail.


The only other comment I can make is that the 180 and 220 Speer bullets outpenetrate it, but there are few situations where greater penetration than the Remington bullet offers is needed. For most uses I think it is the best bullet that can be used, and to top it off it is the cheapest of the 35 Remington game bullets. You cannot complain when excellent performance and low cost are combined in one projectile.
Research article by John Albert "35remington"

YAWN...


Paul Beeler of Plano, TX
5.00 starsDate Posted: 11/18/2004I shot a deer opening weekend at about 120 yds with my reload, using H335 and my NEF .30.30 Singleshot. The bullet went in one side with a 50 cent size hole and out the other, with a silver dollar size hole. I was very shocked at the opening and stopping power of this bullet. The bullet also went through rib bone going in and out...no meat damage. Just an amazing product, and so reasonably priced.

Ed Kee of Montgomery, Tx
5.00 starsDate Posted: 4/23/2008Bullets have been within .5 grains of each other. Very good over others that I used.

Chris C of Beckville, Tx
5.00 starsDate Posted: 1/16/2010Great bullet for shooting hogs. Sure you can pay more for a "premium" bonded core bullet, but they don�t work any better than these. Do yourself a favor, and save some money, try the original. Works great out of my Remington .308 Win VTR. over a healthy dose of AA2520. Complete pass thru's are common.

James Illidge of Alexandria, VA
5.00 starsDate Posted: 6/26/2003In my humble opinion the Remington 165sp core locks are great all around bullet for hunting or target shooting. I've had great results in my 30.06 bolt gun and military rifles, you just can't go wrong.....

doug brannen of perley, mn
5.00 starsDate Posted: 10/15/2003With 48 grains of wc852 and winchester primers, rem 788, 22inch barrel, rem nickel brass. Scoped it in at 100 yards first time around I got down to about 1" group, 3 shot. I think thats pretty good for the price you pay for them.

John Anderson of Diamond Bar, CA
5.00 starsDate Posted: 7/16/2004I was able to achieve consistent sub-minute of angle accuracy with my handloads in my Remington 700 BDL using these bullets. I needed to load these at the maximum powder charge with IMR 4064 to get the best accuracy; the groups widened up quite a bit as the charge dropped to more than half a grain below the maximum. The rifle still has the awful factory trigger pull, and the action has NOT been bedded. The only modification I have made to my rifle is to run David Tubbs Final Finish bullets through it to polish the bore. In my opinion these Remington bullets are an outstanding value on the basis of accuracy, as good or better than Hornady at half the price. I will definitely by more of these, and can't wait to try them out on wild hogs.

Paul J of Tuscaloosa, AL
5.00 starsDate Posted: 1/11/2005Finally used this bullet on a deer 2 days ago from a 30-06. On a severe quartering shot I had complete penetration and a 1.5-2" exit wound through the ribs. Due to the angle of the shot, the bullet penetrated nearly 24" of chest cavity, doing MASSIVE destruction. Average muzzle velocity of my load from my 24" barrel is 2696fps across a chronograph. Not a "premium" bullet, but a VERY effective one. I also use the 140gr in my 7x57 with similarly outstanding results. Remington used to use the slogan, "The deadliest mushroom in the woods" and I tend to agree

Dave Barnett of Georgetown, TX
5.00 starsDate Posted: 6/2/2005I cannot speak for the hunting/expansion qualities of this bullet, only the accuracy. I have shot over 1500 rounds in my M1 Garand as I target shoot every week. The Remington 165 gr. Core Lokt bullet is an extremely accurate and consistent round. Over Varget I get 2" or less groups with a set of 64 year old eyes. For just fun target shooting you can't beat these for accuracy/price/value compared to Hornady, Sierra, Winchester etc. as I have shot them all.

Jason Remmerde of Johnstown, CO
5.00 starsDate Posted: 11/12/2007Sure, it's not the prettiest bullet, but it sure is effective! I shot two antelope at 400+ yards out of a 26" barrel 308. Velocity was chronied at the range at 2900 FPS. The bullet is very accurate with consistent performance. Both antelope had small entrance wounds and quarter sized exit wounds. For tactical shooters, this bullet will give you a 300 yard point blank range sighting in 3.5" high at 100 yards. Using a mil dot scope, point of aim at 400 yards will be the 1st dot, 500 yards 2nd dot, 600 yards 3rd dot, and 700 yards 4th dot. Watch your energy levels, but this bullet at 2900-2950 FPS provides fast point of aim for all distance ranges. I really like this bullet for small to medium sized game, and will continue to use it as my bullet of preference. I will try this bullet out on elk in an upcoming trip. It's hard to go wrong with a Core Lokt!

Bob J of Centerville, UT
5.00 starsDate Posted: 9/20/2002This bullet gave .75" groups at 100 yards behind 53.0grs H380 with CCI 250 magnum primers from a M-70 30-06. 30 of my 35 shots were in the "X" ring.

Chad Weddington of Havelock, NC
5.00 starsDate Posted: 3/5/2003Very accurate bullet out of my .30-06. Outstanding performer on large deer at woods ranges out of 308/30-06 chamberings. Gives nickel-sized exit wounds.

allen hendrix of worland, wy
5.00 starsDate Posted: 9/4/2004This is my standard 30/06 load at 2700 fps. gives 1 to 1.5 inch groups at 100 yards in both my scope sighted rifles. Taken many elk , deer and antelope out to 300 yards. Is not destructive yet opens well for quick kills, usually exiting even on lung shot elk. Have read in these reviews Remington bulk bullets are not as perfectly made as some others in regards to consistent weights, nose shape, cannelure placement etc. This is true in my experience as well, but if you want to shoot game rather than look at bullets, this one will get it done for you as well as the costly ones as I have used them as well.

James Kuplinski of Taylor, PA
5.00 starsDate Posted: 9/6/2004I bought an old Rem BDL IN 30/06 with the intent to have a custom .340 Weatherby made out of it. I thought I would see how the rifle shot so I picked these Rem. bullets because of the price and their reputation as a hunting bullet. Boy was I surprised! Loaded with 760 and seated .002 from the lands this gun had every shot touching! Not bad for ten bucks per hundred. As for the rifle, I cleaned it up nice and put it away till deer season. Guess I'll have to find a different gun to rebuild. Thinking of trying all my deer guns with Core-Lokt now.

Paul Bee of Plano, tx
5.00 starsDate Posted: 10/3/2004This bullet is very accurate, proving that you don't have to spend a lot of money on a bullet, to find one that does the job. While it may not be as "pretty" as the Hornady or Speer, don't let that fool you. I load this for my NEF .30.30 singleshot, using H335....and I get 1" to 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards. After trying many, many other brand of bullets for my .30.30's, I seem to always come back to the Remington CoreLokts for my .30.30's, .30.06, .280, and .243 reloads. They're accurate, make quick kills, and are very reasonably priced. The only flaw that I see, is that they are not polished, and don't have the best exterior finish, but if your goal is to have an accurate, low cost bullet, that will put meat on the table...well, this is it! At least, that's my opinion.

Randall Myers of Blooming glen, PA
5.00 starsDate Posted: 6/27/2005A much better bullet than its price reflects. I'll definetly buy these again!

Howard Constable of Lee's Summit, MO
5.00 starsDate Posted: 5/1/2006Loaded up a batch of these bullets for the 7.5x55 Swiss and fired them through a 1948 Swiss K-31 with 40 year old Tasco scope. I really just wanted some ammo to zero the scope. After I got it dialed in, I fired 5 rounds at a fresh target. The group can be completely covered with a dime. Near bench rest accuracy with an economy bullet. Won't change this recipe for this rifle, EVER.

Rob N of Madison, MS
5.00 starsDate Posted: 1/17/2007Over the years I've used just about every brand and weight of bullets for my 30-06 and 308. This 165gr. Core-Lokt is "as good as it gets" for whitetails. They are not pretty, fancy or expensive but they work time after time after time. In Dec 2006 I shot a large 8 pt. at about 90 yards with my .308 Handi Rifle--through the lower shoulder, with complete penetration and the deer went about 25 yards. My hunting buddy used the same handload in his .308 Encore and took a nice 7pt. at about 50 yards---similar result. Bottom line: they work and are so affordable you can practice a lot in the off season and hunt with the same bullet during hunting season. I should probably purchase a batch of 1,000. This bullet has my vote.

Terry Lohf of Reedsport, OR
5.00 starsDate Posted: 8/12/2007I use this bullet in 8mm and 7mm as well as my 30-06/.308. Fantastic bullet not only because of its price and bulk option but it works! Say what you will about all the premium bullets but this one functions in all my rifles (bolt action/lever action BLR and semi auto FN-FAL). It shoots accurately (1" groups in bolt action) and holds together well. This is my all the time bullet because it works! Simple as that.

Russ B of Yelm, WA
5.00 starsDate Posted: 5/28/2008I separate these bullets by weight and end up with three lots in .3 gr increments. After that I am able to shoot � MOA out to 600 yards with my Savage 10fp and a stout load of reloader 15. The bullet is not only as accurate as match bullets but performs very well on game. I have had reliable expansion at 450 yds and they hold together at 40 yds. It's the only bullet that I need, just wish they made it for my 204.

Joel Haas of Turlock, CA
5.00 starsDate Posted: 12/7/2008Never used this on game yet, but IMR 4064 and full-length resized Remington brass (CCI primers), this bullet printed several three shot groups around a half inch out of my Howa/Hogue .30-06. One group actually keyholed... Velocity was right at 2800 fps and recoil was manageable.

Ed M of St. Paul, MN
5.00 starsDate Posted: 4/9/2010Bullet weights varied between 163 grains and 167 grains. I segregated them into 2 groups. Those heavier than 165 grains and those lighter than 165 grains. I then shot them out of 3 different rifles, a semi-auto and 2 bolt actions. They performed well for the particular accuracy potential of each rifle with 3 shot groups ranging from sub minute of angle to 1.3 minutes of angle. I noticed some slight blemishes on the jackets , but I would recommend these bullets for anyone wanting a worthy bullet for target work. I have not yet used them for hunting and I think they will work fine for most big game applications. I would purchase these again.

Art M of Clayton, NC
5.00 starsDate Posted: 4/9/2010Great value! I've killed dozens of deer with this bullet. Generally get a clean pass through with a 3/4" wound channel and minimal damage to surrounding tissue. I have had problems with the bullet failing to expand beyond 300 yards in my 30-06. Groups about 1/2 MOA more than premium bullets in my rifle, but performs fine for deer hunting.

Thomas Crocker of Prattville, AL
5.00 starsDate Posted: 5/11/2010I used these bullets to take two wild hogs, and one nice buck. All were one shot kills. One of the hogs was shot in heavy brush the round hit a little high but the impact was great it went in and up off of a rib it opened it up like a zipper. They were shot with a Winchester model 70 in 30-06. I also use these in a Remington 700 SPS in 308 they shoot in to a 1/2" groups.

Grady Gillis of Sumter, SC
5.00 starsDate Posted: 8/16/2010Excellent bullet for accuracy. Sub-MOA groups in a new 308 Savage 10FP and in a 30+ year old 30-06 Savage 110E. My best results in 308 were with Varget, and in 30-06 with IMR 4064. 30-06 load had taken deer and coyote. Haven't had the 308 in the field as of yet.

Grayden Gillis of SUMTER, SC
5.00 starsDate Posted: 10/6/2010Excellent bullet. I've killed deer and coyote with this in 30-06. My Savage 10FP in 308 put three of these into 0.080" at 25 yards while sighting in a scope. Results were almost as good out of a 40+ year old Savage 110E in 30-06. Good price. Good quality. Definitely a repeat buy.

Matt Reynolds of Provo, UT
5.00 starsDate Posted: 1/3/2011These are the BEST bullets I�ve ever shot. I've killed deer elk and moose with these. When I shot my moose the bullet left a big enough hole in the shoulder blade to fit my fist though. These with IMR 4350 and ya can�t go wrong!

Craig Shelton of Flower Mound, TX
5.00 starsDate Posted: 6/22/2011They may not look as sexy as some of the other brands of bullets that you will find for sale here at Midway USA, but they always get the job done. I have had excellent lot to lot uniformity in both weight and external dimensions with these bullets. They are such good all-around .30 caliber players, that I use them as the primary hunting bullet for both .308 Win. (AR-10) and .30-06 Sprg. (Model 700). Always accurate and dependable performers. I cannot recommend these bullets enough.

jeff beekman of boise, id
4.00 starsDate Posted: 7/18/2003Good quality, holds in groups, expands well.

Tony V of Pittsburgh, PA
4.00 starsDate Posted: 6/26/2003Good hunting bullet for the money.

john kostelecky of bismarck, nd
4.00 starsDate Posted: 11/25/2003I have used this bullet in both a Remington model 700 30-06 and a Browning A-bolt 300 Win. Both rifles killed deer with it, and both were one shot kills. 1/2 moa or better accuracy in both rifles. It could be a bit prettier bullet, but it gets the job done.

Jeff Richards of Middleton, MA
4.00 starsDate Posted: 9/9/2006In 7.5x55mm Swiss from a K31, at 100 yds,(44gr/Reloader15,2445fps) a benched five shot group. Four touching, a fifth 1.5 inches away. Need I say more?

Dan S. of Pickerington, OH
3.00 starsDate Posted: 7/4/2008Got these to use for practice loads in 30-06 and was pleased with quality and performance for the cost. They are not quite as good as Hornady and Sierra in the accuracy department but do deliver better accuracy than the average deer hunt requires (easy to get sub 2" groups at 100 yards). However a current cost comparison does not yield the same savings and it may be worthwhile to upgrade.

Tom Hsu of Tallahassee, FL
3.00 starsDate Posted: 3/31/2010I have loaded this bullet with several types of powder and its accuracy leaves a lot to be desired, giving me 3 shot groups of 5"+ at 100 yards for a M1A and over 4" for two scoped, bolt action rifles. Maybe I got some of these bullets from a bad batch. The 150 grain version of this bullet is very accurate from my rifles and I have settled on that weight Remington bullet for my general purpose .308 load using Winchester 748 powder.

Robert Pedersen of Riverton, UT
3.00 starsDate Posted: 8/30/2010The Remington Core-Lokt has been one of my favorite bullets for decades. I use, or have used it in 6mm, .277", .308", 8mm, and .358" calibers. For an "old" cup-and-core design, it performs amazingly well, and the price can't be beat. However, all of my recent orders have been extremely dissatisfying. The quality of these bullets has plummeted. What I have received this year (multiple orders from different lots) resembles factory seconds that fell out of a truck at highway speed. The current Core-Lokt is not the bullet I used to know. Until the quality improves, I will NOT recommend this bullet to anyone.

Ryan Hunt of Joseph city, AZ
2.00 starsDate Posted: 1/14/2009Poor quality bullets! I have ordered these in the past and was very satisfied, but these were in pretty sad shape. Points were flattened and there were gouges all over, plus there were only 94 in the box!

Gary Mason of Whitehall, MI
2.00 starsDate Posted: 10/18/2010Purchased a second box of 165's. I checked their weight and they where 165 +/-.01 or so. Better. The bullets had scratches and dent though and they where missing the final polish step. It looked like they where set up bullets from a old worn die. As before I believe they are factory seconds from Remington, why

Gary Mason of Whitehall, MI
1.00 starsDate Posted: 9/17/2010I received a box of these bullets today. I started by weighing all 100 pieces and found that they varied 2.8 gr extreme spread. I then took out a box of another brand and found they only vary +/-.5 gr. so I pull another brand and they varied +/-.2 gr. Long and short, these are factory seconds. Don�t waste your money.

paul J of Naples, ME
1.00 starsDate Posted: 10/12/2010These things stink on ice. I used them on Bear and Moose and never expanded. Just went straight though. Only load Barnes or Sierra, or Nosler from now on. never again will I use Remington Core lokts

Dude, WTF is wrong with you?

Ringworm...........WTF dude?

I've been hunting since 1950, and have used CL for about 50 of those for deer. Mostly 30-30 and 30-06. You don't need to explain the bullet to me.

What I haven't done is use one in .270 for elk. I've always used a NP for elk. Not sure you answered that question, but I fell asleep half way through your post.

Actually, my original question is why are the bonded CL's selling for $20 a box? When they came out, they were $40. There's always a reason a bullets price is cut in half. I was curious what it was.

btw..Nice Google job.

Speculation here, but it's probably because nobody wants to spend that kind of money on a CL (the word "Ultra" at the end probably goes un-noticed by many) when they can buy a premium brand like Nosler, Hornady, or Barnes for about the same price. If the demand just isn't there, then you have to lower the price if you want to sell product.

I have to admit that I've never purchased the CL Ultra because every time I look at them I think "man, the AB, IB, etc are about the same price. Why would I buy a bonded CL for that kind of money?" They are about equal to the Fusion in my mind, which is a good bullet but it's no AB. If the price was half the cost of a box of AB's, I'd be VERY tempted to give them a try instead of the more reputable bonded bullets.

I believe MD reports that they expand fairly easily and fairly widely, much like a Fusion, so I'd probably not use them on elk (even though I'm sure they'd kill elk just fine most of the time).

Why mess with a good thing? The AB, PT, TTSX, etc work great on elk, and let's be honest- if you use something like the CL or IL for practice, and then switch to a bullet like the PT or TTSX for hunting, the marginal cost over using the CL's for hunting is pretty minimal. I think I fired 4 bullets at game animals this month, and had 4 dead animals. If a guy can't afford 4, or even 10 TTSX bullets per season, or PT's or AB's or whatever, then I think he's got other financial problems, and bullets are the least of his concerns. The marginal cost over using CL's on game would be like, what, $0.30 per shot fired at game? This month I spent an extra $1.20 by shooting TTSX bullets at game instead of CL's...

I'd just keep using the PT on elk if they've worked well for you and give you confidence in your setup.

Yeah, pretty much my thinking too.

I should just reload PT's, and use them for everything. Even coyotes. I really hate to sight in a gun for different ammo. I like to get one load that works, and stay with it.

I clean out coyotes for ranchers, and they let me hunt their property. I have no interest in pelts, so blowing them up with PT's is fine with me. It keeps me sharp for elk and deer hunting. Best practice in the world. Way better than killing paper.

I seem to get lucky quite often (grin), in that most of my rifles shoot multiple loads to the same POI, negating the need to re-zero the rifle when switching between loads. Works for me.