Factory loads for hunting, what is your favorite?

[Buckmark]

Even two rifles of the same manufacture can be totally different..If the bolt face or the lugs are not square or just different than the other rifle you can have completely different results between the two guns.

Land groove geometry and rate of twist...straightness of the action,stock contact with barrel, Ogive shape can all change things alot also...

Then there is the skill of the shooter.

It never ends...

Dont forget the Moon phase..

[WDFW-SUX]

Defects in the crown..barometric pressure, temperature....I can go all day

I may be maniacal about my rifles...

[Curly]

My father has shot them as long as I can remember and that is why I have always shot them. He also used the smaller grain, 150, for elk, deer, and everything else. I have seen him drop elk at 400 yds with 150 grain corelokt. Why do people use real heavy grain bullets?

What is an "odd 6".??  Never heard it called that before.

I think Corelokt bullets suck.  I know I'll offend a lot of people with that statement, but it is just my opinion.  Lots of people love them.  I killed my first buck with a 150 gr corelokt out of an ought 6 at about 150 yds.  The bullet hit one rib going in and then exploded.  Sure the deer was DRT but there were lead fragment all over the chest cavity and it turned the heart and lungs into goo.

Maybe it is wrong of me to judge the Corelokt by one bad experience, but I have no need to give them anohter try.

People use heavy bullets to aid in penetration.  Especially with bullets like the Corelokt, you need the extra weight so that when it loses some weight after impact, it will still have enough weight left to penetrate.

If you go to an all copper bullet like the Barnes, you will get close to 100% weight retention; so then you can get away with dropping down in weight of bullet.  A 150 gr Barnes in the ought 6 would be pretty good for elk.

[Buckmark]

Defects in the crown..barometric pressure, temperature....I can go all day

I may be maniacal about my rifles...

O.R.D.

[WDFW-SUX]

I have a man crush on the Barnes MRX...

We haven't even touched on cartridges and Optics...

Even regular vs decaf is an issue for me on days I shoot...

[Bofire]

 :)There is no way to prove it but: I bet rem corelokts have killed more game cleanly by themselves than all the Premium bullets combined in the last 50 years. And rem. corelokts aren't even very good standard bullets. My 30/30 marlin would and did punch 170 grain corelokts thru several elk until I could afford a bigger rifle, a 7mm Mag. then I shot corelokts in it.
The bullet would not make me hesitate for 1 second to drive a 30/06 180 grain corelokt thru a big bull elk from butt to brisket and it will do it just fine. An argument might be made for Brown bear, but not for anything else on North America.
Carl

[jackelope]

Defects in the crown..barometric pressure, temperature....I can go all day

I may be maniacal about my rifles...

O.R.D.

O.C.D.

[WDFW-SUX]

Oh and just because the box of bullets says they weigh 165 grains doesn't mean they do...most bullets are 3-5 grains or more different.

[WDFW-SUX]

Another thing if your buying factory stuff is try to get it all from the same case lot. That way they are more consistent.  Ammunition varies from the same manufacturer depending on what machine put it together.

[Buckmark]

Defects in the crown..barometric pressure, temperature....I can go all day

I may be maniacal about my rifles...

O.R.D.

O.C.D.

Nope, O.R.D. - Obsessive Rifle Disorder...

[bobcat]

A core-lokt might be ok at slower speeds, which is why the 180 may perform acceptably from a 30-06, especially at longer distances. When the non-premium bullets have trouble is when they are pushed faster than what they were designed for. Spending a little more on a good bullet is money well spent and is good insurance. You never know what type of shot you'll be presented with and it's nice to not have to worry about whether the bullet is up to the task. With a Barnes you can take a Texas heart shot on a bull elk if that's all you're gonna get and not have to worry about not getting enough penetration. You also don't have to worry about fragments of lead scattered throughout your meat. Bullets, even the premiums, are a relatively cheap part of hunting and I can't think of anything that's more important than having a bullet that WORKS when you need it to. There's nothing wrong with a core-lokt bullet for deer but I sure wouldn't use them on elk when there are much better options available.

[rasbo]

out of my 30-06 all I ever used was 125 grain for mulies and yotes,the remington core lokt has been an awesome round.I use the 150 .308 for bears..never had a problem..awesome groups

[rasbo]

A core-lokt might be ok at slower speeds, which is why the 180 may perform acceptably from a 30-06, especially at longer distances. When the non-premium bullets have trouble is when they are pushed faster than what they were designed for. Spending a little more on a good bullet is money well spent and is good insurance. You never know what type of shot you'll be presented with and it's nice to not have to worry about whether the bullet is up to the task. With a Barnes you can take a Texas heart shot on a bull elk if that's all you're gonna get and not have to worry about not getting enough penetration. You also don't have to worry about fragments of lead scattered throughout your meat. Bullets, even the premiums, are a relatively cheap part of hunting and I can't think of anything that's more important than having a bullet that WORKS when you need it to. There's nothing wrong with a core-lokt bullet for deer but I sure wouldn't use them on elk when there are much better options available.

the 165 grain dumps a lot of elk in the 06.. my dad dropped a moose in its tracks with a 150 in a .308 put them where they belong,meat on the table

[WDFW-SUX]

Ive seen cokts work awesome and Ive seen them completely fail...just depending on how fast they were going and what they were running into.

[bobcat]

the 165 grain dumps a lot of elk in the 06.. my dad dropped a moose in its tracks with a 150 in a .308 put them where they belong,meat on the table

I realize the core-lokts will work great most of the time but I just like a little extra insurance and don't mind spending a few more bucks on a bullet that I know is 100% reliable.