Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .30-06 Rem Core-Lokt 165 gr Performance?

I've shot a few different rounds in my .30-06 and it seems to like Remington Core-Lokt in 165 grains. For those of you that have killed deer with this same bullet, how well did it perform on the deer? Any issues? I've also shot the 150 grain Core-lokt & it did well also. Would the 150 grains be a better bullet for whitetails if the performance out of my gun is similar to that of the 165's ?

This one died from a 30-06, 165 Core-Lokt last fall. 163 yards - give or take.



Entered behind the shoulder, took out top of the heart and some of the lung, out the other side. Deer did a 360 and fell down dead. 0 tracking yards. Didn't touch bone or anything and chugged on through. No idea of it's current condition.

I'm not fretting the 165 Core-Lokt in an -06

They perform well I would say there have been a bunch of deer die to core lokt's they been around a long time

I agree, but I'm wanting to know specifically about the 165 gr .30-06 rounds. Just wondering if the 150 grain is a better bullet for deer.

Between the 2 - I'd simply go with the one that shoots better in your rifle.

I can't imagine how the 150 would have performed better in my situation than the 165. Complete pass thru with total destruction of the heart/ventricles and lungs. Dead deer with no tracking.

Shot placement is still key.

Before I started hand-loading I shot more deer with the 165 Corelokt in an 06 than with anything else. Probably 20+ deer. Ranges were anywhere from about 15 yards to 120 or so. Never recovered a bullet and other than one I hit a little too far back never had one run more than about 30 yards. I've only shot one with a 150 grainer from an 06, but to be honest I'm not sure now if it was a Corelockt or a Winchester bullet ( borrowed gun and ammo) . I did shoot a couple of deer with a 308 and 150 Corelokts and couldn't really tell any difference in them and ones shot with 165's from the 06.

Don't hit bone and there doesn't seem to be too much bloodshot meat. The vitals were always pretty well shredded.

Hope this helps some.
Dave.

I've shot more deer with the 165gr Corelokt than any other bullet. I always had good performance. The muzzle velocity was around 2700 fps (my load). The ranges were usually under 100 yards. The performance was about the same as the 180gr Corelokt.

I tried just about all of the slick, shiney 165gr bullets on the market and couldn't find one that would out perform the clunky 165gr core lokt. I have a load using IMR4350 and the 165gr core lokt bullets that I try with any new 30-06. If it won't shoot that load well, I just sell the rifle.

Hell yeah. Sell her if she won't take a load.

I have shot one deer with the 165 corelok ammo purchased from Wally. It was about an 80 yard shot thru brush. The deer was facing and turned around, kicked the sky, and fell about 5 feet forward. I didn't find his heart. I think they work just fine.

i've killed several whitetails using the 165gr core-lokts. mine were hand loads using imr4350. this past season i shot a doe at around 325 yards, complete pass thru. imo, the 165 core-lokt is an excellent bullet for whitetails. ymmv.

What about elk? Are they sufficient?

are they sufficient for elk? probably so.

however, i would not use them for elk if i could find a reasonably accurate load using a 180 gr partition, tbbc, win xp3, etc. of course, ymmv.

I've been shooting 165 CL's for a while because I got hooked up with a pile of them at 1/2 price from a friend who worked at Kmart because they did not sell well a few years ago. It seems like the perfect compromise between the errecoil 150's and the 180's I used to shoot and the deer didnt seem to notice the difference.

I recently read a article saying the improvements in bullets make the 165 the "new 180" that elk hunter preferred. I would grab 165's if you gun likes them because I like the heavier bullts that don't destroy meat like smaller weight bullets.

Thanks for all the input guys. Keep it coming!

The must perform well. I've not ever recovered one I shot into a deer. All of the deer I've shot with a 30-06 in the last 12-15 years has been with a 165gr Rem Core-lokt.

re: elk, my example of one is a cow elk and a .280 and a 150gr core lokt bullet. the elk was well hit. it ran maybe 10-15yards and stopped. I was about to give it another when it blew blood and collapsed.

I've used them for deer and moose. Worked very well for both.