45-70 Hornady LEVERevolution -tried it yet?

[Alden]

I am considering a Marlin 45-70 Guide Gun in the next year and was reading about the LEVERevolution rounds.

Anyone here actually used this bullet on deer or bears or hogs? What did you think of it.

[Alden]

So I guess no one has.

[Rob96]

I never tried it on game, but my Guide Gun preferred the 405gr Remington JSP.

[jgcoastie]

It'll make the head of a bobcat disappear at 60yds.

It'll knock that dream whitetail on it's side for the last time, no problem. The one I shot weighed in at 218lbs, gutted.

It'll put down a charging boar without so much as a blink.


I carry LEVERevolution in my Marlin 1895STP for bear protection up here. If I ever have to use it, I'll be sure to let you fellas know how that one turns out.

[Kreyzhorse]

I've shot it but don't hunt with it. I prefer Winchester 300gr and it does a great job on deer. I've no reason to think the the Leverevolution ammo won't do the same. I doubt the deer would have noticed any difference between the two.

[ammo.crafter]

used them in my .444 Marlin and did not like them at all.

[rdmallory]

AS info :

If you reload the brass is shorter with the Lever action round. Which means if you put the lever action bullets in standard size brass they will be too long to feed in a lever action rifle.

Guess how I know this?


Doug

[slammedsi]

They will not cycle in my 1895 Cowboy. The brass is acually shorter them most cases.

[fast-eddie]

A freind shot a large rosey elk with one this last season, went though the shoulder and out with no problem. The elk fell 10 yards away after, he didn't recover a bullet to see how it stayed together though. From the wound it didn't seem to expand all that well though , but in the end it didn't matter.

They're accurate in my Handie rifle, I was hitting cans at 100 yards away with open sights. Thats plenty accurate for a hunting rifle.

[FALacy]

Tried them in my 1895. Remington CoreLokts 405 grain grouped better. The Hornady's also kicked like a freaking mule (and I am extremely recoil tolerant), the corelokts are mild in comparison. I would never waste my money on them again. No gain in performance, unpleasant to shoot, less accurate.

[natman]

Hornady
used them in my .444 Marlin and did not like them at all.

444 Marlin Leverevolution ammo is now marked "For use in 1-20 twist only". Most older 444 Marlins have a 1-38 twist. Perhaps that is the problem.

[natman]

Tried them in my 1895. Remington CoreLokts 405 grain grouped better. The Hornady's also kicked like a freaking mule (and I am extremely recoil tolerant), the corelokts are mild in comparison. I would never waste my money on them again. No gain in performance, unpleasant to shoot, less accurate.

Hornady 325 grain Leverevolution - 2050 fps MV
Remington 405 grain - 1330 MV

So I don't doubt that recoil was different. The Hornady ammo is launching it's somewhat lighter bullet 720 fps faster. That will make a definite difference in performance.

[Mallard76]

They won't feed properly in my Marlin 1895.

[BfloBill]

I have a 1895M (.450 Marlin). I know your post was about the 45-70, but if you are looking for a big bore lever gun don't rule this one out. I have taken 3 whitetail deer with my .450 with Leverevolution ammo and except for the one I gut shot (which was shooter error) it put them down quickly and they went nowhere. Accuracy was good, anything out to 175 yds is dead without adjusting point of aim, and kick was no worse than a shotgun with slugs. And the Marlin handles great in the woods.
Even the gut shot one was relatively easy to track as it left behind a couple of pieces of intestine about a foot long.

[FALacy]

That will make a definite difference in performance.

Would rather have a heavier bullet moving slower than a lighter bullet moving faster. Plus, there have been reports on the Marlin forum of the FTX bullets by Hornady not holding together at all almost immediately upon impact. On top of that, they feed poorly in a lot of people's levers, the brass is shorter and not good for reloading standard bullets. Recoil is absolutely ridiculous. Corelokts expand and hold together very nicely. On paper it may seem like a great difference, but in the field it actually performs worse in my experience. Plus, accuracy is garbage with the Hornady Leverevolution.

[natman]

Which you prefer is up to you. My point was that 720 fps will make a definite difference in performance, including more recoil despite the lighter bullet.

[Taun421]

Having an issue with this ammunition. I made a video about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aai1-oeGKmk

[Edward429451]

No exp with LeverRevolution ammo, but if you're getting a GuideGun, be advised not to shoot commercial lead boolits in it. You have been warned!

The GuideGun does like lead boolits. Fat ones. I shoot .460 with 20-1 and have nil leading and great accuracy. I tried one box of lead cowboy loads which turned out to be .457 and I think it took me a week to clean out all the lead.

[Rifleman1776]

I've been critized for not liking Marlins. The one I had wouldn't find paper at 25 yards.
Several reasons stated above about why this may be. Marlins are designed to be very fussy about what ammo they are fed. Making them wuthluss IMHO. A gun that isn't reliable all the time is wuthluss.

[hornetguy]

I've never tried the Leverevolution (or whatever it's called) ammo in my Marlin 1895 SS. To me, in the 45-70, it's an solution to a non-existent problem. The 45-70 will never be a flat-shooting "beanfield" type rifle, so I don't waste time and money trying to turn it into one. (not that you are trying to do that, at all) I CAN see some possible value in this type of bullet in the 30-30's, but I haven't tried them.
If you decide to get the GG, and I think you should, rest assured that you will be able to get excellent accuracy and power from the "standard" types of bullets, whether jacketed or cast.
I haven't found mine to be fussy at all about ammo. Most of what I've tried has EASILY done at least 3MOA, most of it quite a bit better. In fact, EVERY Marlin I've owned has always been capable of better accuracy than necessary for hunting. I'd like to see a Marlin that wouldn't hit paper at 25 yds. I think it would be on par with seeing Bigfoot...

[Deja vu]

I shoot it alot. My BFR loves it. My guide gun likes it as well. It is loaded hoter than most factory ammo. I would say on the low end of the level 2 45/70 ammo.

[SRH78]

I would hardly call Marlins worthless. My 1895G will shoot .5 moa with Remington bulk bullets. I would call that pretty decent for a lever action.

[chewie146]

My brother in law seems to be infatuated with them, but I haven't tried them yet. For me, a hard cast bullet or a traditional soft point is the right medicine for that gun.

[TXGunNut]

I trimmed down a batch of cases and played with them a bit last summer in my Guide Gun. By the time hunting season rolled around my cases were worn out, I'd run thru two boxe$ of the bullet$ and couldn't find anymore. I never found a load my rifle or my shoulder liked. I found an old box of RP 405 SP's, loaded up some warm loads and went hunting. Performed well on the range, awesome in the field.
I think they're probably great bullets but I'm not going to spend any more time or $ fixing something that ain't broke. Did I mention they're expen$ive?

[Double Naught Spy]

The first two hogs I took were with a Marlin 1895 and Leverevolution ammo. It works fine.

With that said, as best as I can tell when comparing it to ammo of comparable velocity, it is no more accurate or special. The little rubber tips are nice and supposedly help the flight characteristics, nothing within my hunting distances. I guess it might matter at 400 yards, but not at 200 or less...based on my testing with my gun.

Yes, the Leverevolution printed a bit over an inch higher at 200 yards than the other stuff I was using (some hollowpoint round that was also coming out of the barrel at almost the same velocity), but for a red dot site at that distance, the difference was inconsequential.

So I am not particular impressed with the flight characteristics as they don't appear to be anything special. HOWEVER, the ammo seems to work very well. It seems to print consistently at 100 yards for me (my zero distance) which turns out to be my zero distance at 50 yards. The best thing is that it is less expensive than other .45-70 that I have found with comparable weight and velocity. So, it is my choice of .45-70 ammo.

I shot my Marlin with a red dot Aimpoint (4 MOA). I can keep the rounds inside the dot just fine at 100 yards. I know that doesn't say much about accuracy other than they are at least as accurate as the sighting mechanism I am using.