Hornady LEVERevolution ammo

[One-Time]

specifically the FTX Ammo, is it all that? How superior is it to any other type of 30-30 ammo? Its available @ 160, 170 and IIRC 180gr

I need a round for both hunting(Fla dogs, AKA Deer) and Self Defense as a truck rifle.

I cant decide between all the ammo types and this caught my attention as well as the Hornady Round Nose type ammo, Im new to 30-30s so spare me as im ignorant with the sheer amount of options, BTW its a Marlin 336

 

[Girodin]

It's supposed to give you the ability to shoot bullets with better BC by giving you a pointed round that will still feed reliably through a lever type action. As a result you can get more range out of your shots than with the round nose bullets designed to work with the old lever design.

More than feeding reliably I think the thing lever evolution is aimed at solving is having pointed rounds (for a better BC) that wont set of the primer of the round in front it while in the mag tube.

 

[rogertc1]

I like how they look in a revolver from the front...little red tipped missiles.

 

[Abel]

I cant decide between all the ammo types and this caught my attention as well as the Hornady Round Nose type ammo

You have an easy problem to fix. Let your rifle make the decision. It will favor one type of factory ammo over other types. 30-30 ammo typically comes in either 150 gr or 170 gr. Hornady comes in 140, 150, 160, and 170. http://www.hornady.com/store/30-30-Win/

In my opinion, the Hornady stuff is overpriced. The regular old 30-30 offerings from Federal, Winchester, and Remmington have been killing deer just fine out to 150-175 yards for decades. The Hornady flex-tip style bullet has the potential to stretch that to 200 yards, but there is no guarantee that your rifle will even group it well.

I have three Marlin 336's in 30-30. All three prefer 170 grain bullets. My brother has my dad's old 336 30-30 & it prefers 170 grain also. There are some Marlins that like the 150's better, but they seem to be outnumbered. Take a few minutes at the range and see what your 336 likes.

 

[PT1911]

locally, the hornady offerings are significantly cheaper than others and just about the same as, slightly cheaper than, core lockt.

 

[Hunterdad]

My 336 won't group the Hornady's or Winchester's at all. The Remington core-loks are deadly though. It all depends on what your rifle likes.

 

[Tirod]

At the Academy here in Joplin, MO, the Leverevolution is priced higher than 6.8 Remington. Having both and comparing the ballistics, Lever is a help, but they simply didn't go far enough. Another 50 yard increase in point blank range compared to the increased cost is low return on the dollar. The 6.8 delivers a lot more, even in the anemic Remington loads.

What probably happened is someone decided to dial back the powder charge because of all the old guns still out there. In a Browing BLR, I would expect full power "tactical" loads could do a lot more, but guns dating back to the 1894 Winchester are still out there. Not going to happen. Reloaders will just have to pull bullets and play with loads (using Superperformance powder) to get any substantial results.

From a bullet drop and effective range view, I'll keep some on hand for hunting, but Leverevolution really is more a small step for mankind, and other calibers will do a lot more with extended power and flatter range. If the stuff was $15, not $25, it would dominate the market, but never completely overcome the blooper trajectory all intermediate .30's suffer.

 

[2GunsWest]

My 336 shoots the leverevolution rounds rather well. I get it for $20 a box which is about $6 higher than most other .30-30 rounds where I am.

After seeing what the bullets do inside hogs and deer, I would be fine with using to stop a bad guy or zombie.

Try them for yourself and see if it's worth it to you.

 

[336A]

You are going to have to find what ammo your particular rifle likes best just like any other rifle. Some rifles thrive on the LeverEvolution and others don't like it at all. My 336A actually shoots it quite well averaging about 1.30" 3shot groups at 100 yards. I used it when it became available for one hunting season just to see how well it worked. I can tell you that it is a devastatingly effective round for deer. I couldn't tell the difference in the damage it created from the deer that I took a few years prior with my 7mm Mag. The 160gr LE bullet behaves a lot like their SST bullets loaded in faster stepping cartridges.

I haven't used it since as regular ammo works just fine at the ranges that I most commonly take deer at which is under 150 yards. This ammo does however turn the venerable old 30-30 into a honest 250-300 yard deer cartridge, provided the individual is up to the task. The other benefit of the Hornady LE ammo is that it operates at normal pressures so it is safe in any properly working firearm. In case you weren't aware Hornady is able to achieve the higher velocities at normal chamber pressures through their proprietery powder.

 

[troutfisherman1200]

I have hear the 30-30 leverlution is nasty on deer The story says that it opened a doe up like a chainsaw

 

[FSJeeper]

Its my round of choice in my 92 45 LC Lever action rifle. Functions perfectly, very accurate, and will drop hogs dead in their tracks. Couldn't ask for more.

 

[NCsmitty]

Hornady Lvrev ammo does give you a slight ballistic advantage, but you need to determine if it shoots well in your rifle.
There's nothing wrong in shooting the 150gr or 170gr FP loads, if they work in your rifle. They will also put the thump on anything that slinks around in FL.



NCsmitty

 

[Cajun]

Hornady LEVERevolution ammo
specifically the FTX Ammo, is it all that? How superior is it to any other type of 30-30 ammo? Its available @ 160, 170 and IIRC 180gr

I need a round for both hunting(Fla dogs, AKA Deer) and Self Defense as a truck rifle.

I cant decide between all the ammo types and this caught my attention as well as the Hornady Round Nose type ammo, Im new to 30-30s so spare me as im ignorant with the sheer amount of options, BTW its a Marlin 336
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I know I wouldn't want to be shot with them

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

It's a pretty good system for hunting but I hear people say it isn't much of a man stopper so I wouldn't go as far as to say it's good for a truck gun.

He's asking about a .30-30... I think it's pretty safe to say that it's a man stopper.

LeverEvolution does it's job... that is, make a flatter shooting and more accurate lever gun. If your 336 is an older rifle though, it might not be the best solution. Marlin changed the rate of twist quite a bit ago, so older rifles won't really like ammunition designed for the new rate of twist.

 

[TexAg]

Hornady offers the LeverEvolution round in 160 grain, but they also just added a Monoflex bullet that has the flex tip on a gilded metal monolithic bullet. The monoflex is 140 grain and is very new, so I doubt you'll get much feedback on it. Hornady is the only manufacturer with flex tip bullets that offer superior ballistic coefficient yet are still able to load in a tubular magazine. All other rounds are 150 or 170 for the most part with flat nose or round nose. In MY gun, my 336ss the LeverEvolution would group well with a scope and I killed a couple of pigs with it. However, I took the scope off because I wanted a lighter, quicker handling gun and put a Burris Fastfire II on it. 150 and 170 Federal group well with 150s printing an inch higher at 50 yards than the 170s. The LeverEvolution rounds grouped larger and lower with this sight set up at 50 yards. I'm pretty much going with the Federal Pow r shok for now because it is cheap, groups well and will kill just as well. Even when I had mine scoped and sighted in @ 100 for LE, all other rounds impacted in significantly different places, making switching between ammo impossible. So like it's been said, see what your gun will do.

 

[788Ham]

How can they say "Its not much of a man-stopper"? How many of those know it alls have shot someone with a 30-30 to know this fact? Have you ever seen an animal thats been shot by a 30-30, taken the time to look at the innards and shock value inside that the bullet leaves? Shooting anyone with a rifle like the 30-30, its not like a Red Ryder BB gun, its gonna tear the living snot out of the human body, not much of a man stopper, you'd better quit watching so much TV and get with the real world! Those that say its not a man stopper, they don't know what they are talking about!

 

[PapaG]

Try 'em all and let your gun decide. I have three thutty-thutties, on a 94, one a 336, and one a 10" Contender. The 94 likes the Leverevolutions and seems to hate most everything else but Lyman 311316 gc loads. The Marlin loves (2") Remington 170s, and the Contender is a total pain in the butt (and resembles a flashbang grenade going off in front of your hands).
I've been playing with Leverolution bullets in the 30-30, bought a couple hundred from Midway, and have not found the load yet that beats the accuracy of the Rem 170s that are very cheap at our local Farm and Fleet.

 

[BrocLuno]

Ditto - my Marlin is OK with LE, my Win94 was not. the gun will tell you.

 

[Wild Country]

leverevolution 30 30 ammo sucks, will not hold a pattern, will barely hit the paper at 100 yds, mine likes federal and win 170 grn