10.24.2023 | By Remington Contributor
If you’ve hunted bucks, bears, or bulls in the last 80 years, odds are you’ve put Remington’s Core-Lokt ammo to the test. And if you’ve been hunting deer the last few years, you might have heard about the new and improved version of Core-Lokt, Core-Lokt Tipped.
Read on for a deep dive into classic Core-Lokt, new long-range Core-Lokt Tipped and the future of the Deadliest Mushroom in the Woods.
(Pictured: Core-Lokt Tipped on a Blacktail Deer Hunt in Alaska)
The original controlled expansion hunting bullet, Remington’s “Deadliest Mushroom in the Woods” Core-Lokt hunting ammo has arguably taken more big game animals on more continents than any other line of ammunition.
Before Core-Lokt’s introduction in 1939, hunting bullets were prone to jacket and core separation. On impact, the two parts of the lesser bullets split apart, reducing energy transfer, weight retention and penetration. This meant wounded or lost game.
To solve this problem, Core-Lokt was born. By mechanically “locking” or manufacturing the lead core and copper jacket together, the bullet’s jacket and core were less likely to separate. Plus, Core-Lokt’s tapered jacket is thinner at the bullet’s nose and thicker at the heel. This helps Core-Lokt expand in a controlled way, transferring energy on impact yet maintaining weight and penetration.
Still made today in Remington’s historic factory in Lonoke, Arkansas, Core-Lokt is available in different bullet styles like soft point, pointed soft point, and round noses, in a wide lineup of cartridges.
Remington makes Core-Lokt in deer season classic cartridges like 7mm Remington Magnum, 308 Winchester, 300 Winchester Magnum, 270 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield and 6.5 Creedmoor, as well as less popular, but equally the deadly 35 Remington, 30-40 Krag and 30 Carbine.
In recent years, Remington has also introduced Core-Lokt in new cartridges like Core-Lokt Tipped and 450 Bushmaster.
Introduced in 2021 Remington Core-Lokt Tipped is an improved, more accurate version of the original Deadliest Mushroom in the Woods© Core-Lokt.
CLT gains accuracy and long-range hunting potential with a higher ballistic coefficient than the original Core-Lokt, via modifications to the bullet’s profile. Core-Lokt Tipped uses a more aerodynamic, sleeker tapered profile, along with a boat-tail and polymer tip. These features, commonly found on modern projectiles, give CLT a flatter trajectory, improved accuracy and consistency vs it’s cousin Core-Lokt.
Still a cup and core bullet, Core-Lokt Tipped retains the terminal performance of the OG Core-Lokt. CLT is designed to dump energy, avoid jacket and core separation and down deer, elk, bear, hogs and other big game the same way Core-Lokt has for decades.
Available in 243 Winchester all the way up through 300 Winchester Short Mag, Core-Lokt Tipped is available to buy on Remington.com or at your local dealer today.
With similar terminal performance, the major difference between Core-Lokt and Core-Lokt Tipped is trajectory and ballistics, and at the end of the day, your accuracy at longer ranges.
Here’s a comparison of Core-Lokt and Core-Lokt Tipped in 270 Win.
At shorter hunting yardages, the two types of ammo perform similarly. Further out, Core-Lokt Tipped breaks away from Core-Lokt. CLT’s more aerodynamic shape gives this bullet a higher BC hence less drop the further out you take your shot.
Assuming a whitetail deer’s vital zone is 10”, a 6.3” difference in drop at 500 yards is the difference between a filled tag and a long walk home.
Whitetail hunters in Pennsylvania or New York sitting in a tree stand eyeballing a 100-yard shot across a clearing have different needs in their ammo than the Texas mulie hunter getting ready to shoot at 500 yards+ across the prairie.
Both Core-Lokt and Core-Lokt Tipped will get the job done for you this hunting season. If you want a more accurate bullet for longer ranges, the modern Core-Lokt Tipped stretches the legs of the Deadliest Mushroom in the Woods when called upon.
Core-Lokt
Core-Lokt Tipped
Core-Lokt Copper