Remington Core-lokt not great. Other Suggestions?

[pianoman9701]

I don't reload and am not going to start anytime soon. I buy factory ammo. I'm not getting consistent results at 300 yards and over with Core-Lokt. What other ammo should I be looking at for my .280? Thanks,
PMan

[hogsniper]

I am wondering the exact same thing P-man.  I get great accuracy but not happy with how the bullets have reacted on impact.

[Curly]

You might try some Fed Premium loaded with Accubonds..........

[bobcat]

Winchester Power Points are really accurate in my 270, and they're in the same price range as the Core Lokts.

The buck in my avatar was taken with a Power Point bullet.

[pianoman9701]

Winchester Power Points are really accurate in my 270, and they're in the same price range as the Core Lokts.

The buck in my avatar was taken with a Power Point bullet.

Always liked that picture BC. I will try both the Power Points and the AccuBonds. Thanks guys.

[jrebel]

Winchester Power Points are really accurate in my 270, and they're in the same price range as the Core Lokts.

The buck in my avatar was taken with a Power Point bullet.

 

I shoot the Winchester Super X power points and out of my .270 and they are accurate, cheap and leave devestating holes.

[pianoman9701]

Winchester Power Points are really accurate in my 270, and they're in the same price range as the Core Lokts.

The buck in my avatar was taken with a Power Point bullet.

 

I shoot the Winchester Super X power points and out of my .270 and they are accurate, cheap and leave devestating holes.

Cool beans. Thanks.

[Huntbear]

Man, with a 7mm bullet, you need to be shooting Accubonds.  That bullet just screams performance.  I know it does in a .338 WM.   Those Federal premiums are not cheap, but they will give you the performance you want.  It has few equals..

[Curly]

I checked on Midway USA's website and I don't see .280 Rem ammo loaded with Accubonds.  There is a manufacturer that loads Berger VLD's though. (might be worth a try).   http://www.midwayusa.com/find?sortby=1&itemsperpage=20&newcategorydimensionid=15895&

edit:  nevermind..........I do see it there now.  Here is a link.     Link


edit #2:  oops......Status:
Discontinued by Manufacturer

[pianoman9701]

Out of stock, though

[bobcat]

There's no need for Bergers unless you plan on shooting at 1/4 mile and further on a regular basis.

[Bob33]

I'm not getting consistent results at 300 yards and over with Core-Lokt.

What does that mean? Please explain. What game. What bullet weight. What distance. What results?

[coachcw]

7mms can be finicey , accubonds rock

[Bean Counter]

Have you tried just changing grain weight? Your barrel twist might just not like the weight you're using.

Federal Power Shok, the blue box stuff, is in the same price range as Core Lokt. I find them to be superior for consistency. Major John Plaster who wrote "The Ultimate Sniper" does as well. He cited a blind test where Federal had the most consistent powder charge, grain weight, case sizing, etc than the other major brands.

I don't reload either, nor do I have any plans to start soon. But, I do save all my brass and have for years. Someday I may reload or do it with a friend, and it will be nice to have a good supply of once-fired brass on hand that is already formed to my gun.

[Huntbear]

Federal did load the .280 with Accubonds.. might check there

These guys seem to have em in stock

http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=498

[DRDANTDC]

I am wondering the exact same thing P-man.  I get great accuracy but not happy with how the bullets have reacted on impact.

Yep, I totally agree!

[PlateauNDN]

Winchester Power Points are really accurate in my 270, and they're in the same price range as the Core Lokts.

The buck in my avatar was taken with a Power Point bullet.

 

I shoot the Winchester Super X power points and out of my .270 and they are accurate, cheap and leave devestating holes.

just seen this and have to agree with the above.  I use the same bullet in my .270 and have not been disappointed.  Dropped my bull from last year with one well placed round.

[pianoman9701]

I'm not getting consistent results at 300 yards and over with Core-Lokt.

What does that mean? Please explain. What game. What bullet weight. What distance. What results?

This is on a range at 100, 200, and 300 yards. I zero in at 200 and am shooting within 2" of the bull/4" group. 100, I'm shooting 4" high /2" group. 300, It's 6" low, then 8" low, then 2" low. My rest is steady. my pull is smooth and steady. The ammo is .280 (7mm express suitable) 150 gr.

[RG]

Man, with a 7mm bullet, you need to be shooting Accubonds.  That bullet just screams performance.  I know it does in a .338 WM.   Those Federal premiums are not cheap, but they will give you the performance you want.  It has few equals..

I handload for my .280 but when I switched to Accubonds my groups shrunk in half.  It's the most accurate bullet of anything I've tried in that caliber.  I shoot the 140's.

[gadwall]

Hard to go wrong with the accubonds.

[jackelope]

I am shooting the Hornady superformance 139 grain GMX bullets out of my .280 Encore barrel with good results. If I remember correctly I thought I found some accubonds but didn't buy them for whatever reason.

[Huntbear]

I'm not getting consistent results at 300 yards and over with Core-Lokt.

What does that mean? Please explain. What game. What bullet weight. What distance. What results?

This is on a range at 100, 200, and 300 yards. I zero in at 200 and am shooting within 2" of the bull/4" group. 100, I'm shooting 4" high /2" group. 300, It's 6" low, then 8" low, then 2" low. My rest is steady. my pull is smooth and steady. The ammo is .280 (7mm express suitable) 150 gr.

PM sent.

[kentrek]

There's no need for Bergers unless you plan on shooting at 1/4 mile and further on a regular basis.

i disagree..we'v had pretty good results with the burgers at close range

also i wouldn't expect to great of results with ANY factory ammo even as close as 400 yards
box to box consistency as well as round to round consistency has never been all that well according to my crono

i have heard good things bout HSM products tho

[jrebel]

Not to get to far off topic, but I have to dissagree with the above post about factory ammo.  If you find a round that your gun likes it will continue to perform as well or better than most shooters can shoot.  I have always bought this ammo for said gun and never had variance form box to box.  If you are a bench rest shooter then obviously you will be reloading or using custom, but for most hunters...factory ammo is plenty good if your gun likes it.  I can take my savage 270 with 150 grain Winchester Super X and kill animals to 400 yards all day long. 

[Bob33]

My opinion is that every gun is an individual, with its own likes and dislikes. It is a very rare non-customized rifle that shoots all ammunitions well. Barrel harmonics are the key: when a bullet travels down the barrel, it oscillates which can cause accuracy to suffer if the pattern is not consistent.

Beware of anyone telling you "this ammo is accurate" or "this ammo is awful". That may be true for their rifles, but not necessarily for yours. You need to talk to your rifle and find out what it likes. What that means if you're not a reloader is that you must try several different ammunitions. Once you find what it likes, buy a couple boxes and you're good for 40 years.

If nothing shoots well, then it's time to look at the equipment, and possibly even the shooter.

Factory ammo these days is better than ever. I've seen countless examples of guns shooting sub MOA groups with factory ammo consistently, from lot to lot.

[Rick]

Beware of anyone telling you "this ammo is accurate" or "this ammo is awful". That may be true for their rifles, but not necessarily for yours.

Thats a fact.

Most guys love Accubonds. I've tried them in 4 of my rifles and the only one they shot well out of is my '06. The rest shot patterns with Accubonds.

[Kola16]

Beware of anyone telling you "this ammo is accurate" or "this ammo is awful". That may be true for their rifles, but not necessarily for yours.

Thats a fact.

  That is why home reloads are so effective. You can reload the bullet to fit your gun.

[kentrek]

Not to get to far off topic, but I have to dissagree with the above post about factory ammo.  If you find a round that your gun likes it will continue to perform as well or better than most shooters can shoot.  I have always bought this ammo for said gun and never had variance form box to box.  If you are a bench rest shooter then obviously you will be reloading or using custom, but for most hunters...factory ammo is plenty good if your gun likes it.  I can take my savage 270 with 150 grain Winchester Super X and kill animals to 400 yards all day long.

i was finding speed spikes of up to 150 fps (dont remember the exact number) but combine that with elevation an that could easily make ya miss an animal at 400

also this was with three diferent rifles and 2-3 different types of ammo each..i cant afford to test em all tho

[RadSav]

I'm not getting consistent results at 300 yards and over with Core-Lokt.

This is on a range at 100, 200, and 300 yards. I zero in at 200 and am shooting within 2" of the bull/4" group. 100, I'm shooting 4" high /2" group. 300, It's 6" low, then 8" low, then 2" low. My rest is steady. my pull is smooth and steady. The ammo is .280 (7mm express suitable) 150 gr.

Looks like your 300 yard grouping is consistant with your 100 and 200 yard grouping.  Perhaps even better at 300 than the closer distances.  If you are shooting 2" groups at 100 yards shouldn't you be expecting 8" groups at 300

As Bob33 has already mentioned it may have more to do with your gun not liking the load or your gun just simply shoots 2 MOA.  I have an older 7mm Browning A-Bolt that will shoot sub MOA with most 140 grain factory loads.  But that same gun shoots about 3 MOA with anything over 160 grains.  In comparison I have a 270WSM Sako that loves just about every frick'n thing that goes in the tube.

[RG]

My .280 likes the 140 grain bullets better than heavier ones.  I tried quite a few combinations which were mediocre accuracy-wise and finally found a combo that just shoots really well.

[pianoman9701]

I appreciate all of the above info. It's a big help. I'm going to try the accubonds and the Bergers to start. I'm also going to try different sized bullets - 140, 139. Once I'm able, I'm also going to take the suggestion of the free floating barrel and bedding the stock. Thanks guys. I have a lot to work on.