Nomercy448

I don't think it's necessarily fair just to compare the core lokt and SST bullets without considering the factory ammo in which they're loaded. The core lokt is a killer bullet, nice medium game bullet, even though it doesn't typically tout a very respectable BC. But, it's cross to bear is the low end factory loading that carries it. The Hornady SST is typically found in factory ammo with much higher degree of quality control.

If you luck out and your rifle likes the Remington fodder, the core lokt will deliver. Won't have the best ballistics, and you'll likely see stringing from a pretty high ES (in my experience), but it will flatten deer.

The Hornady 'premium' ammo will usually be more accurate in a broader spectrum of rifles, just for the level of quality you are buying. Reloaders that neck turn will quickly see the difference in brass quality, and anyone with a chrony can see the difference in load regularity (ES).

I personally prefer the design of the SST, as I generally see better uniformity in performance across a wide velocity spectrum at impact. At 100yrds or 600yrds, it's going to deliver a killing expansion. I have had only one rifle that I shot core lots past 400yrds, and getting expansion at low impact velocities seemed to be a challenge.

Some guys are satisfied that a 3" group at 100yrds will kill a deer, some aren't. Some guys want to maximize their mpbr, some only hunt to 200yrds anyway. To each their own.

fritz1

SST's are good bullets that perform well on deer sized animals and they shoot very good but just because they are a interlock bullet dont be suprised to see core jacket seperation. In the last two deer I shot with SST's in my 280 using 154gr. SST's I have had core jacket seperation. The wound channel was very impressive and the jacket mushroomed perfectly but there was no core to be found, they did there job but if I was to shoot anything bigger than a deer I woold choose the Hornady Interbond.

emtrescue6

hahaha....that's awesome!

emtrescue6

I never really shot enough of them to have an opinion and don't believe I ever hunted with one...but one of my brothers had similar experiences with coreloct's...180g from an -06 a couple of times on elk/deer. He quickly gave up on them. I have friend who also had a bad experience with them on a Pronghorn hunt from a 7mm mag. That being said, I do have another friend who swears by them (but not sure he's ever actually killed anything....ever...LOL).

JMoody85

The biggest difference you're going to see is in the grouping size. Hornady's accuracy standard for their SSTs is three-quarters of an inch at 100 yards. As a press operator for Hornady, our bullets have to meet this standard before we can start the run on any new shop order. We then have to reshoot them every 100,000 rounds to ensure they are still meeting this standard. Remington's Core-lokts have a required grouping of 1.5 inches at 100 yards if I remember correctly. So while shooting inside of 100 yds there isn't much difference, the longer range shots will start showing a noticeable difference in accuracy. As far as expansion, the SSTs are a little more consistent from bullet to bullet, but for the most part, bullet expansion is pretty similar between Remington, Hornady, and Winchester. If you really want a noticeable difference in performance across every metric, I would have to suggest looking into Hornady's ELD-X line. They're shot for match-grade accuracy, have a far more consistent expansion and penetration, and you will experience far less carbon fouling.

Gm54-120

Quoting a 12yr old post from a member that has not been around in 10years probably wont get him the message.

hardcastonly

just a few observations.
the bullet does all the lethal damage, and it must penetrate deeply and expand consistently to give good results.
the vast majority of all big game is killed at under 250-yard ranges.
after watching a couple of dozen guys hunt deer and elk successfully in our hunting club,
for over 5 decades and helping dress out a great many of those deer, and elk.
I have to point out that the majority of hunters are NOT great at precise shot placement.
they might be able to shoot 1" 100 yard groups off a bench rest at 100 yards but in the field, not so much.
it takes experience and practice to know and accept your personal limitations.
Ive also noticed a that the guys using the rifles with the bullets with about a .240 or greater sectional density
and velocities under about 3000 fps seem to have better and more consistent results
and caliber is not the deciding factor, its shot placement and a bullet designed to penetrate and expand consistently.
most bullet manufacturers produce decent quality bullets but the medium heavy for caliber to heavy for caliber designs,
tend to give more consistent results, from what Ive seen dressing out dozens of deer and elk.
example
one old geezer has used a 257 roberts with 115grain noslers and 120 grain speer grand slams, he's had 5 one shot kills on elk
one of my best friends uses a 358 win and 250 grain speers exclusively, hes had over 12 elk down with a single well placed shot in the last 40 years,
another guy I regularly hunt with has a 308 win BLR, loaded with 180grain hornady interlock bullets hes hunted successfully with that combo for 40 years plus

https://www.vcalc.com/wiki/MichaelBa...tional+Density

just from observing what works consistently,
Id suggest using a fairly heavy for caliber projectile, and not be all that concerned with max velocity.
the guys I see have the problems are generally not great field shots and many seem obsessed with high velocity and extreme range,
most of them could not consistently hit a coke can at 200 yards even once shooting from a field position if given 3 tries

CalHunter

Ditto. On the other hand, I had very good luck with Core-Lokts until CA outlawed lead.