Hornady's unique line of ammunition improves the ballistic performance of traditional lever-action cartridges while ensuring they remain safe to use in tubular magazines.
Some of the most popular lever-action rifles, like the Marlin 336, use tubular magazines where the bullets are stacked one in front of the other. For that reason, the major ammunition manufacturers have traditionally loaded popular lever-action cartridges with round- or flat-tipped bullets to prevent recoil from causing the tip of one cartridge from detonating the primer of the cartridge in front of it.
While those bullets are indeed safe to use in tubular magazines, they have a low ballistic coefficient. As a result, they typically have poor downrange performance. Fortunately, the engineers at Hornady designed the LEVERevolution line of ammunition to solve that problem.
This line of ammo originally incorporated a ground-breaking pointed bullet with an elastomer tip they've dubbed the Flex Tip Expanding (FTX). The FTX tip is flexible enough to protect the primer of the bullet ahead of it (so it's safe to use in a tubular magazine). However, it also has a much higher ballistic coefficient than traditional flat- or round-nose bullets.
At the same time, Hornady LEVERevolution ammunition uses a proprietary new powder that results in a higher muzzle velocity they claim produces no corresponding increase in pressure. Since these loads shoot a bullet with a higher ballistic coefficient at a faster velocity than traditional flat-point loads, the Hornady LEVERevolution loads have a dramatically flatter trajectory than just about any other lever-action factory load.
Don't forget that cartridges commonly used in lever guns are intended for use at short range (about 200 yards). While Hornady LEVERevolution ammo does indeed flatten their trajectory and extend their effective range somewhat, it won't turn cartridges like the .30-30 Winchester or the .45-70 Government into flat-shooting, long-range cartridges.
If you want that sort of performance, use a cartridge like the .300 Win Mag or .338 Lapua instead.
Hornady also designed this rifle ammunition for excellent downrange terminal performance. Similar in concept to what Hornady did with their Precision Hunter ammo, Hornady built this ammunition to combine controlled expansion, maximum weight retention, and deep penetration at close range.
On the other hand, the elastomer tip helps initiate expansion at the lower velocities encountered at longer range.
Hornady currently produces LEVERevolution factory-loaded ammunition with FTX bullets for the following centerfire rifle calibers: .25-35 Winchester, 7-30 Waters, .30-30 Winchester, .307 Winchester, .308 Marlin Express, .32 Winchester Special, .338 Marlin Express, .348 Winchester, .35 Remington, .444 Marlin, .45-70 Government and .450 Marlin.
The company also offers handgun ammunition in .357 Magnum, .41 Remington Magnum, .44 Remington Magnum, and .45 Colt as part of the LEVERevolution line. All of those offerings also use the FTX bullet.
In addition to the FTX bullet, Hornady also offers the MonoFlex bullet as an option for certain cartridges as well. The MonoFlex still uses Hornady's patented elastomer flex-tip technology, but with a bullet constructed out of copper alloy.
So, it has the same benefits of the FTX bullet, but it's lead-free. For this reason, California residents can hunt with the MonoFlex.
Hornady currently produces LEVERevolution ammo loaded with with MonoFlex bullets in .30-30 Winchester and .45-70 Government.
So, if you want to bring grandpa's old Winchester Model 94 rifle out of retirement, this ammunition will help you get the best possible performance out of it with exceptional accuracy, a flatter trajectory, and great terminal performance at common hunting ranges.
All in all, Hornady LEVERevolution ammo is great for lever gun enthusiasts who want the best possible ammunition to hunt popular big-game species in the United States like deer, feral hogs, black bear, and moose.
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