Anyone using .30-30 Leverevolution ammo?

[woof]

Hornady's own ballistics charts show little difference between the Leverevolution and roundnose until way beyond 100 yds. And most .30-30 work is 100 yds and less. I love lever action rifles but not sure I like what seems like an attempt to make them into something they're not. If you want .308 power at 300 yds get a bolt action .308, right? What I would like to see since I'm on my soapbox is a traditional lever carbine in .25 or 6.5. The Winchester Trail's End in .25-35 is fine but I really don't want to pay three times what a Marlin 336 costs new. Seems to me right now the most likely company to do that would be Henry.

 

[SSN Vet]

why not a BLR in .308?

and shoot spitzers all day long to boot!

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Personally, I'd love to shoot Lerverolution bullets.... but in my own loads. Then the bullet could be loaded up to it's true potential.

Hornady is holding out for the big bucks their apparently making on their overpriced factory loaded ammo.

 

[jordan1948]

I've used it in my .30-30 and my .44 mag lever action, I don't have a chronograph but the velocity is definantly higher at, when comparing to traditional load the leverevolution ammo shoots a bit high at 100yds which isn't a prob with the .30-30 because it has a scope so I can just adjust it but the .44mag is iron sites so I have to "guess" where to aim

 

[absolute0]

why not a BLR in .308?

I'm a big fan of the BLR too, but the LeverRevolution ammo really allows the 30-30 to stretch out and makes it an even more useful round than it already is.

That way at least you COULD save the 6 bills on the BLR if you wanted to

 

[Omnivore]

I don't know-- maybe the new Hornady ammo has some sooper secret high efficiency powder, but if the only selling point is that you can use a spitzer bullet, you can do that any time. Handload any bullet you want. One round in the chamber and one in the mag.

 

[Z_Infidel]

I haven't hunted with them yet, but I have good accuracy with the LeverEvolution ammo in my 336XLR.

 

[Kleanbore]

From woof:

If you want .308 power at 300 yds get a bolt action .308, right?

If that's your preference. However, a lot of people preferred Savage 99 rifles; Winchester came out with the Model 1895 when you could by a Mauser; there were the Winchester Model 88 and the Sako Finnbear; and the Browning BLR remains a hot proposition. A lot of people just prefer lever action rifles.

I know people who still prefer clutch pedals in their cars. I don't understand that, but it's not for me to judge.

Seems to me that the Leverrevolution concept breathes new life into the .30-30, .32 Special, and .35 Remington, and with the .308 and .338 Express, really adds to the capability of the Model 336.

Is a Model 700 "better?" Does that matter?

By the way, it will depend upon where you live, but I don't think you can say that "most" .30-30 work is at 100 yards and less.

 

[woof]

The vast majority of deer are shot at under 100 yds so it is no stretch to say most .30-30 work is under 100 yds. Truth be told, I would bet most of it is under 50 yds.

If some people want lever action rifles that are the size and weight of bolt actions then I guess they will like the new Marlins. To me, the whole idea of the lever action deer rifle is that it is compact, light and easily handling for short range work.

 

[moooose102]

i shot a few, last week, after sighting in my rifle with conventional rounds. they shot 6" high @ 150 yards, so i decided not to use them right now. i have a different rifle i will be using, and my wife (this is her gun) will not be hunting this year. it is certain that the scope will have to be sighted in for these rounds, and then only shoot these rounds.

 

[Shawnee]

"What I would like to see since I'm on my soapbox is a traditional lever carbine in .25 or 6.5."

I think the number of people who would realize how incredibly sweet such a rifle would be is relatively miniscule. Unfortunately, there is the widespread assumption that a rifle without a scope is just a doorstop and nothing spoils the handling of a 94 or 336 like adding a scope.

My guess is that the most likely caliber candidate would be the .250 Savage or possibly the .257 Roberts. Savage made "featherweight" model 99s in the .250 Savage at one time but they still outweighed the Winchester 94 by at least a half-lb. or more and they were also at least 3" or 4" longer. Marlin, at one time, made a modern-looking lever-action in the .256 Winchester magnum but neither the rifle nor the cartridge ever took off.

I have no idea if the Win. 94 receiver could deal with the pressures of the .250 Savage but there is still the "pointy bullets/tube magazine" legal boogeyman and not so many people today swoon over round nose bullets in small calibers.

I'm going to experiment with some pointy-bullet handloads in my 94 and 336 next Spring but not with the idea of making them 400-yd. rifles but rather to see if I can flatten the trajectory over 200-250yds. by a goodly margin.