Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Availability of Rem Core-Lokts

I had been thinking about converting all my Hornady Interlock loads over to Remington bulk Core-Lokts over the next couple years. Why? They're cheaper and seem to do as good a job. I figured I could by 500 bulk bullets of a couple different calibers and weights and reduce the complexity and cost of my reloading.

However, when I went to replenish my supply of 200Grain .358's I found everybody was out of them. I went to Remington.com, and discovered that they don't list any .358 bullets anymore. They also didn't list the 165grain .308 anymore. That was another one I was thinking of using.

1) Is this just a seasonal thing with Remington? If I wait a while, will the bullets come back?

2) Am I hitching my wagon to a dead horse? I'd never really watched the availablilty of Remington Bulk bullets before.

I'm beginning to doubt my choice. Before I redecorate my loading bench in green and get rid of all the pretty red boxes, I could use some perspective.

I'm interested in seeing the responses to your questions.

Try www.midwayusa.com

They have both 165gr. 30 cal and 200gr. 35 cal Remington CL

I would be disappointed if they discontinued the pointed 200 gr Corelokt in .358! My rifle loves them.... I guess I would be stuck with the 225 gr Partition load, then.

I looked this AM, & if memory serves the .35s were out of stock @ Midway.

Here are the .358 200 grs. (1000) at Midsouth, in stock.
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=0005022869

Here are the .308 165 grs (2000), in stock.
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=0005023595

A lot of people have the .358 round nose. I was looking for the pointed soft-points. I usually purchased them from Midway. Mid-South would be fine if I was certain of supply.

To restate my question:

1) Is Remington dropping the .358 200 Spire points and 308 165's? They're not on their website.
2) Is this sort of thing common? Seasonal? Or is it extraordinary?

Before I re-work all my loads for Core-lokts, I'd like to know what sort of future these bullets will have. Has anyone had their ear to the ground?

shaman,

I can't help you out on whether this is a seasonal shortage or a permanent discontinuance, but Graf & Sons shows both of those bullets as being in stock.

The Remington site does show a variety of loaded ammo with those bullets, so hopefully it's just a seasonal thing on the components.

John

I bought some hoping it would be the same as the bullets found in their factory ammo. They were different even though they were the same weight and both PSPCL.

The bulk bullets did not have matching ogives compared to the factory loads. They shot like crap too. Good luck!

Big gripe of mine.... why has Remington never released the .338 bullets to the reloaders?

They even have a .338 cartridge of their own now .....

If I missed a source, someone kindly point it out.

Has anyone had experience on game with the 200g Coreloct in 35 caliber? Is it ok for deer or better for elk?

I used the .358 200 grain PSPCL out of my Remington 7600 last year.

Load Development
Hunt Details


It was this experience that convinced me that the bulk bullets were good enough for my purposes.

They're a bit ugly and unfinished, but I pulled good groups with them. Most people who try them find them quite adequate.

My plan was to buy 500 of them this year and then buy 500 165 grain PSPCL's next year to replace Hornady 308 165 Grain SP's in my 30-06, 308, and 7.62X54R loads. I'm loading for myself and my two sons now; we'll go through a 500-count bag quickly.

The .358 bullets from Graf's are RN, not spitzers. I ordered 100 of them and they came in a plastic bag and were the RN - their abbreviation of SPCL is for "softpoint Corelokt," not "spitzer Corelokt."

Look for "PSP-CL"

Believe that stands for pointed soft point.....

Shaman,

After reading your report of the buck taking 3 hits from the 35 Wheelen and still standing in the same spot it makes me think this bullet may be a little too hard for whitetail. And after taking 3 shots and going down......he got back up. Sure doesn't sound like a lot of internal trauma. Thoughts?

I've used the 200g Hornady Spire Point on deer and even it's a little too tough for my preference for a whitetail bullet. I shot one old doe while runing directly away from me and it enterd the belly just below the pelvis (her hind end was up in the air while runing directly away from me) and it exited her mouth. I'm guessing the 200g 35 bullet is made a little harder since it may be used on elk. Hey it works but a BT with a sectional density of 250 in about any caliber from 25 on up would do probably more internal damage on a broadside shot.

I honestly feel that Hubert was a unique individual. He was huge, burly, and able to get by balancing on 3 legs. Hubert didn't travel far. He just staid put and looked at me. Meanwhile, I'd manage to take out his lungs, his heart, his diaphragm and several ribs. The first shot killed him, he just refused to roll over and accept it. Punch up the data on POINTBLANK, and you'll see it was an overwhelming amount of force. The exit wounds were plenty adequate as well. If he had run, he would have left a decent blood trail.

It was a weird fluke. I plan on going back with the same round this year, and my guess is that I'll be able to make a humane kill on anything that comes my way. Hubert D. Buck looking at me as I gave him the second round and third round will always be a spooky memory.

If you look at my load data, I'm not pumping the 35 Whelen up to it's full potential. What I had was a super-hot 358 WIN load. I just didn't think I needed all that power, velocity and recoil. I usually load like that: my Savage 99 in 308 is loaded more like a 300 Savage. My 30-06 loads are about 5 % off max as well. I mostly hunt in deep woods, so shots over 150 yards are unlikely. It saves my shoulder, and my wallet.

As I was doing the amatuer necropsy, trying to figure out what had happened, several things were evident:

1) Organ destruction was as massive as I've seen with bullets like 180 grain Corelokts and 165 grain Interloks in 308. This was no pencil.

2) The #3 shot put him down. That one was a bit further back. It looked like the second shot didn't do too much, going through basically the same holes going in and out. I think I'd aired him out so much on the first shot, the #2 round had nothing to encounter. I deliberately put #3 into a different spot-- about 3 inches further back so that I could be certain I was hitting him.

3) The exit wounds were not fist sized, but commensurate with normal expansion.

4) 35 Cal makes a fairly decent hole without expansion. Even if it were FMJ, it should have done a fairly good job of airing out this beast.


All that aside: aren't the 200 grainers are light-for-caliber and meant more for 358Win? You'd think that I'd be getting decent expansion at 80 yards.

Shaman,

The 200g Rem PSPCL is the bullet used in factory 350 Rem Mag ammo. Not sure what else it is used on but I would guess 358 Win. The 350 RM drives this bullet about 2,800 fps and since it's the only factory ammo Rem makes for this cartridge, I'm guessing this bullet is built tough enough for use on elk.......possibly bear. This would be within the scope of possible uses for this round. It's possible the 200 grainer will not expand that well on whitetail.......especially at lower velocity. Will the bonded Core-Loct expand more or less?

Would sure like to hear other opinions and see how the bullet performed.......difficult to draw a conclusion from one scenario. Thanks for the feedback.

Hogwild:

I had similar doubts after harvesting Hubert; that is why I went through him so thoroughly as I was cleaning him. I figured this was just one data point, and it was going to take a few more before I formed a conclusion.

What recommendation would you make for a 358 bullet? The current load is giving me around 2560 fps MV with the 200 PSPCL Corelokt. This was a shot at 80 yards, so it was down around 2315fps with 2380 fpe when it met the deer. This would be similar to what would be happening to a factory Rem Express 35 Whelen hitting the side of an animal at roughly 125 yards.

BTW: I based my original choice on Midway's customer reviews of the bullet. It had entries for the 35REM and 358WIN as well as the 35 Whelen, all seemed to indicate good performance.

Any body else besides Mike and I have wondered why Rem. has never released any .338 bullets? powdr

I have used Remington ammo on and off in about 10 calibers for years with no problems. However, I got some really bad bulk 6.5 mm 140 gr PSPCLs. They won't shoot better than about 3" at 100 yds from a rifle that will shoot almost any other bullet into an inch or less. Some a lot less.

On the other hand, I've used a lot of bulk Winchester power points in 30 caliber and have been very pleased with them. They are way more accurate and effective than their under $10 per 100 price would suggest.