I have been shooting deer with 150gr corelok (factory) out of a Rem. 7400 280 for some time. I have had great results with no complaints. The other day I was at Gander Mountain and ran across 165gr corelok. Believing that one can never have too much ammo I bought two boxes. At the time I thought that the heavier bullets would have more "thump", now that I've given it a little more thought I am wondering if these are for larger game ie. moose, elk and may not expand proper on a northeastern whitetail. I guess my question is a remington corelok a corelok regardless of weight and will it expand the same? Should I have stuck with what was working? (shots are usually close between 50 and 150yrds). And just for the record I try to handload for all my guns but loading for the 7400 has been a pain in the ass so far. Any thoughts on the corelok bullet construction would be appreciated.
Thanks
Huntingstoneboy.

I think that they are great bullets. I hunt white tails and mulies with 165 gr bullets in 30-06. I don't know why a 165 would be much different in a 280 Rem.

The .280 is one of my favorite rounds and either bullet should work just fine. I reload for the .280 and have mostly used Hornady 139 or 154 grain bullets. Take care...
Joe

Thanks guys, I'm going to give these 165's a try next fall.

I reload for all of my guns, except for my .348 Model 71 Winchester.
I have always used the 200gr Remington Core-Locts in this fine gun for deer. A .348 Core-Loct bullet is not offered for reloading, and I still have a couple of Remington factory box remaining.
So my experience go's back forty years with the Core-Loct.
I also reload 200gr Core-Locts for my Model 81 BLR.

Don't worry about anything for deer with these bullets.
As far as I am concerned, the Core-Loct is the finest bullet ever for shooting deer.

You are "dead on" using any weight of them.

Eric

Hi huntingstoneboy

What you may find is that you will have to start again and work a load up.

When the heavier bullet enters the barrel with the same charge, the pressure behind it will go up. This doesn't always result in a higher velocity though as you also need to know the burn rate of the powder that you are using. Primer goes bang, powder ignites and a pressure curve starts. Pressure goes up whilst bullet is losing inertia - starting to move. When the bullet goes into the barrel it will start to stretch length ways (you can't compress it) because the barrel starts to constrict. There are stories of recovered bullets with lead missing out of the back but anyway. This is sort of important because the copper jacket gets stressed, the lead starts to move, the pressure goes up and you will probably get more recoil - not that you will notice it - and the bullet hasn't even left the barrel!

When it gets to the deer, you want a bullet that is where you want it to be and in good condition - still able to expand and do it's job.

I would say that if you are taking your deer with the 150 grain and it is reasonably accurate, I wouldn't change. You may get more energy at the point of the kill but there's no deader than dead!

Keep well

Devon