Has any one reloaded the Leverevolution bullets?
 

Has any one loaded the Leverevolution bullets?
And how do they compare to the factory loads ?

Thank You

jrbsr

I've loaded some 265 grainers into 44 mag cases and shot them in a Ruger Redhawk. The overall length was too long to fit into a Super Blackhawk by about a 1/16". They shoot ok, need to play with powder and charges to fine tune the load.

I have been meaning to try them in 30-30 and 44 Magnum but haven't had the chance yet. I am not sure that you will see a real big difference beings we don't have access to the powder that Hornady is loading these rounds with.

I read all the hype on these bullets and took the bait. I went and got a box and also bought a new seating plug for my 45-70 die (for the pointed tips). Loaded some up starting with the same load I used for my 300 gr Hornady HPs then moving up and down the powder scale. I just could not get them to shoot as well as the flat point bullets out of both my Marlin Guide Gun nor my Browning 78.

i have reloaded some 200gr. for my 35rem. velocity is lower than factory. 2011 they are coming out with a powder just for FTX bullets.

how are u realoding 44mag. 265gr.s with a flat die setup without pressing in the tip?
i have been contemplating on this for awhile. btw i am using a rcbs with carbid dies

Hodgdon recently announced they would be releasing to the general public the powder that Hornady uses in the leverevolution & Superperformance ammo. May be a good idea to wait until that actually happens in January 2011 before developing any loads.

http://www.hodgdon.com/new_prod.html

I use the bullet in my M94 pre 64 30-30 Winchester but would be curious to see how this powder will work. Hopefully better!

This would be really cool. It will be interesting to see what kind of improvements we see with just standard old bullets as well. It would be nice to see an extra 150-200fps from the old 30-30 without having to spend $30 or more on a box of shells for it.

Just used the round nose seater, it did smoosh the polly tip a bit but they bounced back to normal shape. I spose you could use a seater for oh say a rifle. It wouldn't be perfect but if your gentle with it should do fine.

i did see that the 30-30win has a GMX 150gr. b.t. coming out for the ftx series. that would be a interesting bullet for the 30-30win. but i guess they are doing some R&D on the bullet now.

goatbrother. thanx for the info

I have reloaded them for my 450 marlin with good results so far

Wow, that's awesome. Thanks for posting it as I'd not heard of it before now. I will be sure to keep my eyes out for it.

Some new reloading ahead I see
 

Used Hodgdon and Hornady in reloading for years, so I'm a prime candidate for their leverevolution reloading. Like the idea of upping the velocity of the old .35 Rem. caliber. For my situation, I see it costing some $60 in reloading, versus spending some $600 for a new rifle.
The old .35 Rem. was the best for 100 yard shots in the east. Now I like the idea of covering some fields I've seen.

I load them in my Marlin336 30-30. 160 grain FTX bullet moves 2195 FPS with 34grains of BLC-2 powder. Chronod the factory loads at 2245

FYI the 34 grains od BLCS is .7 ocer max recomended load...be safe

I am reloading them in my 1985 Cowboy Marlin, in .45-70. The biggest problem is I had to trim down my brass quite a bit. More then .010". That was a pain in the a$$. The end results are amazing and well worth the extra work though.

I will be taking my Marlin to the woods in the am and hope to have plenty to talk about afterwards.

That's awesome. I wonder if I will have to do some of the same thing with the 44 Mag?

I am using the 325 gr. leverevolution bullet in my Marlin 1895 CB .45-70 Gov. and getting great results. I did have to trim down the cases as much as .010". But it was worth it. I am getting three shot clover leaf groups at 50 yds and under one inch at 100 yds.

Now as to the .30-30 160 gr. bullet, I don't see any advantage over what I am shooting now. But I will tell you that a friend has loaded the new Lever powder and there was a difference in overall velocity. You do get a faster velocity using this powder. I think the company data said the bullet would travel at around 2350 fps from a 24" barrel and we ran his rounds across my Chrony. We were getting at or over this speed. He was satisfied and me to with my old bullets and powder.

I have reloaded about 150 rds of .308 Marlin Express. Like meationed above the factory cases were all longer than the factory maxium. And required alot of case trimming. I worked up a load for my .308MX. At 100 yards my 5 shot group was .675". Compaired to the factory ammo with a 1.45" group. What worked for me was CCI LR primers, of course Hornady cases full length sized, 160 gr. FTX .308 Hornady bullets, 37.6 grs. of H4895, with a OAL of 2.600". Also to comment about the new powders that have came out for the Superformance line of Hornady ammo. This powder is extreamly dirty and if you shoot it I promise you'll be spending a couple of days on cleanning your barrel. I had a very good reloading friend of mine that loaded some for is .243 Win. and only after shooting 10 rounds noticed that his groups began to grow concerterbly. Upon inspection the problem was with the fouled barrel.

They work fantastic in my Marlin 336. Never had much luck with factory 150's, my gun always liked 170's, so I was concerned with the 160 FTXs. Man, was I happy I tried them. They are very accurate for me, both Factory and reloads using the LeveRevolution powder.
Out of my 20" 336, factory loads hum along at 2346-2392 fps.

I've work up loads using the published data in Hornady #8 manual. Worked up from 33-36.0gr in .5gr increments and settled on 36.0gr LeveRevolution for 2319 fps (5 shot avg). This load was one jagged hole at 60 yards (most shots are less than 75 yards in the GA woods).

NOTES: Work up any load carefully in your own rifle, what is safe in mine, may not be safe in yours. 36.0gr is 0.5 gr over Hodgdon's data, but 1.0gr less than Hornady's published max. USE WITH CAUTION. I did note from 34.5gr's and up, primers were backing out slightly (about .005 - .008"), but extraction was smooth, and other than primers backing out slightly, they weren't flattened. Others have noted the same.