Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Tubular magazines

Just purchase a Henry Big Boy .357/.38 Special lever gun. What ammo can I run through it. Obviously flat nose semi-jacketed or lead is okay, but I have a number of different hollow point rounds that concern me. The inner edge of the hollow point in the hollow point rounds contacts the outer edge of the primer of the round loaded on top. Is this an issue or do I just need to watch out for round nose or pointed bullets? I have a Henry in 45-70 but the rounds are so big the relatively small primers have never been an issue. Any help would be appreciated.

This might be one of those "Let us know how it does?" questions.

Sorry, I can't really help.
I asked a similar question on another forum recently and got varying responses.

Wow, and I thought this would be a pretty simple question.

The real question is what can I stack on top of each other in the tubular magazine without them setting each other off. "Let us know how it does" doesn't sound very safe.

The .357 doesn't kick much, and should be plenty safe particularly with .38 SPL. roundnosed bullets. Darned few .357 loads were ever roundnosed.

None of the hollowpoints or flatnosed bullets will be a problem (at least they weren't in my .44 Magnum, which kicked a LOT more than a .357.)

I can't imagine any pointed bullets that would feed thru a levergun anyway, without hanging up during the feeding process.

They make the Hornady leverRevolution sst polymer tipped rounds in a 30 30 and the 45-70 that say they are for grandpa's lever actions

I have some for my 30 30 and my 44mag. but I am a little apprehensive in loading them up

I use LeverRevolutions all the time. That's what they were designed for - higher accuracy and better performance in tube-fed levers.

Should not have a problem with any factory loaded ammo.

Unless the owner's manual specifically forbids certain bullet types, I wouldn't worry about it. I shoot any bullet type in my Winchester M94 Trapper 45 Colt, and I suspect it snaps quite a bit harder with the 300 XTPs throttled up than with anything a 357 will produce.

Thanks all for your help. Will give my JHP, SJFP, and SWC all a try.

There are some impressive photos out on the net somewhere. Mostly the ones I have seen over the years were related to pointed bullets. (Maybe all of them were, I don't recall all of them.)

I wasn't trying to suggest you do anything improperly, it's just that your question doesn't seem to have an absolute answer.

As I said earlier, I've asked the question but received varying responses. The reason I asked is that some .457 bullets I've seen seem to have a small flat meplat. I'd just as soon I didn't blow up a tubular magazine also.

Also, at least one blown up tube magazine I recall was not related to a pointed bullet, but had flat point bullets and a protruding primer. (as seen on some other reloads).

I have the exact same rifle, was talking to a friend about it yesterday. With 38special, it's like shooting a .22lr
I always double check for protruding primers prior to loading a tube magasine, and check visually how they line up nose to primer. I am not wanting anything sharp to impact the primer.
I have fired a bunch of round nose 38special without issue to this point.
i have fired round nose lead bullets out of a 30.30 winchester without incident too.

I was asking my GS and he told me there is no record of a bullet blowing up a tubular magazines from a bullet due to recoil and he has been around for years . not that I would tell someone to try doing some thing I don't know for fact

I searched and found a couple of "I saw this..." reports of magazine rounds going off in magazine.

There are a number of reports of tests of firings and they basically said, "really rare" but you can make it happen if you have a firing pin. And the round doesn't blow up, it just expands the neck and blows gas.
The real blowups with photos are from the barrel.

Certainly the photos I remembered could have been false memories--but they would have been from "The Rifleman" from back in the 50's and 60's anyway -- if they even existed and weren't from some author's speculation.

I'm leery of the idea enough to not plan on any spitzers in a mag tube.


And, one other thing mentioned is that the primers back pre1950 or so were reported by one poster to have thinner metal so he speculated that that might have contributed to any reported problems.

Here is a link with reference to some magazine tube firings:

http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/g...tuff/10518-truth-about-slam-fires-2.html

Another link:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-15792.html

Hunt up a copy of the September 1968 issue of Guns and Ammo for a picture of a Model 71 in .450 Alaska which suffered a magazine tube detonation and injured the shooter.
The load was 60.0 grains of IMR 3031 behind a 500-grain cast bullet. Three cartridges went off in the magazine.

I would speculate that the danger of shooting any 357 ammo which would even come close to that in recoil would be magnitudes of probability greater that the barrel would be blown up from excess pressure. IOW, a moot point as relates to this thread query.

The only reason I mentioned is because of the certainty of magazine tube detonations never haven taken place. They have and they have injured shooters.
Those who remember the old Marlin Talk board will remember two instances of Buffalo Bore ammunition being involved in magazine tube detonations - I do not remember injuries with either of these.
There were enough examples that many who load high pressure ammunition for the 1895 Marlin vent their magazine tubes.

And, yesterday I mentioned this to a gunsmith friend and asked if he had ever seen it. He said that he had and that it had been caused by a spitzer bullet loaded in a 30-30.
He had held it and examined it. And it didn't just vent but blew the tube apart.

A lot of useful advice. Will watch my primers and make sure to keep seating them deep and stay away from pointed bullets. Thanks all for your help.