Sorry if anyone has posted this before, but I can’t find any examples of the Core Lokt 308 round Dr Roberts recommends out of a semi-auto like a SCAR or AR based 308. All I can find on the internet are bolt action accuracy numbers, but those seem to be pretty good.
Does anyone have experience with this barrier blind round out of a semi-auto 308 rifle? I know it probably won’t be all that much worse, and since it is only 150 grains the twist rates that are different depending on the rifle shouldn’t matter too much.
I ask because the idea of a round that isn’t all that expensive compared to other 308 rounds suitable for defensive purposes and/or highly accurate, along with being barrier blind is very appealing for a go to round.
Sample of one… and this is from a FAL, for which rarely is a given specimen more than battle rifle accurate (3 MOA), but I have been very satisfied with Rem Cor-Lokt.
I regularly buy this ammo and keep it in some of my “go to” magazines.
Thank you for the responses, and sorry for the delay. I have had extremely limited online access since posting this. My follow up question, Doc, is how did the groupings compare with what you may have shot with the 155 grain hornady amax? The reason I ask is I have several hundred of those rounds based on your previous recommendations, and know that they are extremely accurate.
I guess it comes down to a more accurate round in the amax that is not as good at barrier situations compared to a less accurate round that is good at all situations including barriers, right? I also recently switched from the TAP T2 rounds to the Black Hills TSX 50 grain rounds for the 556 based on your recommendation, so I very closely follow your advice. From the posts I have read of yours, you seem to favor less accuracy for general use if it does well in barrier situations. And as you have posted before, people tend to hide behind things when rounds start coming out, so even a 308 needs to be barrier blind. Please correct me if I am wrong because I want to make sure I am understanding your views correctly.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your knowledge with us, Doc!
I was only hunting for .308 deer ammo and not long range stuff or whatever, but trying the 180gr Corelocked bonded stuff I was getting 3-4" range from my regular old Savage rifle, tried it in my heavy barrel to see if it was a gun issues and it shot about the same sized groups.
From the regular gun standard 150gr Federal SP runs 1 1/2" from a sandbag rest for five three shot groups. Federal GMM 168gr runs 3/4" five rounds groups all day long from my heavy barrel gun.
The Hornady ammo, be it TAP or AMAX, has always run much more accurately than what I saw from my limited samples of the Remington bonded ammo.
FWIW, the .308 Gold Dot seems to be a very accurate bonded load from all reports.
I would ask, what’s your mission? We know mission drives the gear train.
Being a .308 means that barrier performance and wound ballistics is greater than the 5.56 no matter what bullet is chosen (within reason).
Example; I was running the standard Wal Mart 150gr Federal from my Savage last year just because I had access to piles of it and it shot great from my gun. Hit a 200+lb doe from 175 yards roughly (pace count). I got the bullet high as she stepped on a hillside. Hit her just behind the left shoulder raking the shot through her spine at an angle towards her right rear leg. That non-bonded plain vanilla bullet left an exit hole about three inches across, and removed four inches of the spinal column from her body, she obviously dropped in her tracks.
I’ve been hunting for years, but reading the internets made me worry about using non-bonded ammo for hunting. Looking at that hole made me wonder why I was worrried.
Same type of ammo will shoot though old bridge girder I beams, telephone pole sections, good sized trees, etc.
Deer and other soft targets do not need bonded loads…
The 150 gr CLUB tends to run 2-3"; from the same rifle, the 155 gr AMAX is going around 0.8". For most LE use, I’d rather go with the CLUB; however, if I was shooting at 600, I would far prefer the accuracy of the AMAX.
Are bonded rounds as necessary for .308 in regards to barrier penetration (ie. shooting through a windshield) as they are for 5.56?
And just in case my question is a little too vague, I know that with 5.56 it is pretty much necessary to use a bonded round for adequate/acceptable barrier penetration and performance, but I was wondering if the extra mass of the .308 round would negate the “NEED” of having a bonded round for use around barriers? Could you “get by” with a non-bonded round for barrier use in a .308?
If you need a barrier blind projectile to accomplish your mission requirements, then that is what is necessary–whether it is bonded or not-bonded is irrelevant. What matters is how the bullet performs after first defeating a barrier…
I suppose this is really just like any other choice, the opportunity cost exists with whichever option is selected and the pros and cons have to be weighed.
Doc, is the better barrier performance for the core lokt type rounds due to predictability after going through barriers, or actual penetration depth, or both? I read your summary that the 155 amax are better at penetration than typical 168 SMK, so I was also wondering how well they do through physical barriers like automobiles, glass windshields, walls, etc. I guess I am wondering exactly how poorly the amax rounds do through barriers relative to the barrier blind loads.
I suppose like you and others said, it comes down to what the intended use is – long range shots would certainly favor the amax, while up close work that involved barriers would favor the barrier blind. Even two to three inch groups, while not approaching bolt gun accuracy like the amax, are still easily good enough for 500 to 600 yards for a decent shooter and rifle in my view. Hopefully one day technology will improve bullet performance where there isn’t a big trade off in accuracy for barrier blind loads as it appears to be right now.