Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers .348 LeverEvolution ammo

I picked up one box of Hornady 200 grain ammunition when I was in Vermont yesterday.

Has anyone used this?

Thought I would give it a try. $44.99 per box

It is very accurate Iin my Model 71, that said, since it's an iron sighted rifle, I won't shoot beyond 200 (and that's a stretch), I opt for the 250gr. stuff.

I’ll try it out in a few weeks.

Works well, shoots well in both my M71s. Noticeably more accurate than the standard 200 grain Winchester Silvertip ammo.

When will they realize we need 250 grain bullets? I don't shoot at anything much beyond 50 yards, I don't need a 300 yard cartridge. If I did, I'd use something else.

This stuff is as accurate as anything I reload and the bullet expands very well out to past 250 yards for caribou or deer use. It's great stuff. The 250 grain bullets are better for big stuff but lose enough speed to be iffy expanders past 150. I use the Lever revolution for caribou and load up some 200 grain A-Frames that hit to the same point of impact for Bison. The Hornady brass is also very good and the price of the ammo is not much more than empty brass.

I’ll try it out sooner than later and if it groups well, I will buy a few more boxes

Also add that the 200 Flextip is surprisingly tough. In a pinch usable for moose but not bison or big bears.

North, I believe the Hornady brass is a bit shorter than either the original RP or Star Line brass..

They shorten the brass in 45-70 and 450ME. Not sure of 348 WIn.

Length Hornady Brass once fired: 2.250
Length Winchester Brass once fired 2.248

Max Case Length 2.255 (Hornady Handbook)

I will keep a peep sight on my Winchester but I have always wanted to get a Browning Carbine and have a Ruger 1/4 rib mounted on the barrel at the front of the receiver and mount a scout scope on it and have a 300 yard gun with the Leverevolution ammo. Too many projects going on to do it now

My Mod. 71 Ack Imp Mirkoru project is still in the shop. The rifle will never wear a scope, it will be either a Lyman or XS receiver sight, I have both for it. Eventually I will get around to resizing the 220 grain Speer FP to .348 and if they shoot ok, I will test them in some kind of medium.

I also have some 250 grain Woodleigh and Alaska Bullet Works bonded bullets to test. I doubt I will drop down in bullet weight unless Barnes decides to make another run of 220 grain X bullets, I doubt they will. Every place in Alaska I hunt has bears, many of them are the big brown/grizzly bears and a buddy texted me a picture today of a good sized brown bear that visited his bait site. As I stared at the picture of the powerfully built beast I thought, dang, what a big bruiser and I would rather face him with my 45-70 and some 350 or 400 grain Kodiak bullets then my .348 Win. and a 250 grain bullet.

I know other lighter bullets will kill big bears, but maybe, the bigger tougher bullets just kill them deader and quicker, right? I think any good bison or moose bullet should work on a bear.

I really enjoy bullet talk and hearing about how bullets work on game, thanks for sharing your info guys!

The original Hornady 200 gr FP were well-constructed and tough enough for deer -elk and moose. Repeat shots might be called for with elk.
The 230 gr North Forks, Swift and Alaska Bullet Works-Woodleigh-Hawk are premium bullets and acceptable for most species of North American bear.
For an angry grizzly or Kodiak Brown bear, I would prefer a 450 Alaskan or a 45-90 in an 1886 or original early M-71. My 1936 Model 71 in 450 Fuller-400 gr Hawk/AK Bullet Works 400 gr FP--is for the alders brown bear that rise up around the corner.

My pre-war Deluxe Model 71s prefer the North Fork, Hawk and Alaska bullets . Barnes X and TSX are not the answer, IMHO. They blow up and cannot be trusted to penetrate
like bonded core premium bullets. Same with LeverEv construction. Good for coyotes. You get what you pay for.

A 1950s later M-71 in 348 ACK Imp flattened a huge Alaska moose in 2007 with a 270 gr Hawk FP bullet. That combination
might work OK with a bear at the gut pile for a large black, but its touch and go with a grizzly. You have to try and break them down
at the shoulder/heart lungs quickly with really good bullets.

My experiences with the Hornady LVR 348 ammo is similar to others here, accurate from my single shot rifle and the bullets penetrate deeply and hold together. Coyote bullets they are not...

Thanks, Dinny

After 55 years of hunting in Alaska, I know and have talked to many people who have shot big bears. In almost all of the big grizzly/brown bear shooting, the first shot was taken at well under 200 yards with a variety of calibers and bullets. The bullets used were the old and discontinued Remington Core-Lokts that were a tough bullet, the proven Nosler Partition and the Barnes X of some flavor and in the last 10 yeas the Nosler Accubond showed up with those .35 Whelen shooters I know. Most of the guys I know use the old .270 Win. and 150 grain Partitions or 140 Barnes X bullets, the 30-06, the .300 WSM and the .300 is usually a 200 grain partition or 180 grain Barnes X and the .338 Win. is a 225 TTSX. A couple of them have a .375 H&H that is saved for the brown bears on Kodiak or the Alaska Peninsula, so are rarely used and one friend uses a .458 Win.

What ever rifle they use is their "bear rifle" since that is what they hunt moose and caribou with. I'm not knocking big bores for big bears, I'm just saying most don't kill critters with them and the other calibers I mentioned have a history of reliably killing big bears. We live in the age of the "super bullets" and it all pretty much stated with the Nosler Partition and then the Barnes X bullets and bonded bullets and like Glock style triggers, others jumped in with their variation.

I personally like a deep penetrating, high weight retaining expanding bullet that maintains a long shank and does not roll back like a pumpkin ball and limiting penetration and give me and exit hole also. I'm not saying other bullets won't kill, or that a pass through is the only thing that kills, I'm just stating mine and most others I know preference on bullets for Alaskan critters. Another thing is, I don't think I know any one that loads up different bullet weights and types for their rifle, I know I don't, each rifle gets one load for hunting from me.

All of my critter killing has been done with a 30-06 and a .338 Winny. Like many other Alaskans I have a Marlin 45-70 stuffed with a heavy jacketed 350 or 400 grain bonded bullet from Alaska Bullet Works. One of those big slugs at around 1,800-2,000 fps mv will reliably kill any thing in North America. We usually don't hunt with them, but they are an easy carrying comfort for many of our out door activities, fishing salmon streams and hiking, camping, ATV riding, etc. Marlin hit a home run with that 1895 in 45-70.

When the gunsmith is done turning my Mirkoru Mod. 71 Winchester into the Ackley Improved version I am hoping to toss 250 grain bonded Kodiak Bullets at around 2,500 fps mv. If shots are no further then 200 yards I should have similar results to the ones my .338 Winny has given me for over 30 years and my friends .35 Whelen results. History has shown what a 250 grain medium bore slug at moderate velocity can do to big critters.

There is nothing I will be able to do with the .348 Ackley Improved I can't do with my old Marlin 45-70 and the Kodiak bullets. The 450 Alaskan, 45-90 and 50-110 are good examples of a real big bear "stopping" lever action rifle, hell, what cant they stop?

Good points and I tend to agree on deep penetrating quality bullets like the Nosler, Hawk, Swift and Alaska -Kodiak Works in Juneau.
Also valid is the older Alaska saying that the rifle that you are carrying at the time-will be your "bear rifle".

Surprisingly, my biggest moose and largest deer were brought down with the .348 WCF in early Model 71s. You
will find the 348 Ackley Imp quite a cartridge. In fact, it was one of PO Ackley's favorites as it lived up to its potential.
I have owned two of them and they will increase velocity 175 fps or greater over standard 348 velocities in most bullet weights.
The 348 Ack is close to the 35 Whelen ballistically and that is good company with the premium bullets in the 250 gr range.

The Hawk and Kodiak bullets work well in any of the 348 chambers, and I use both 400 gr FP versions in my 450 Alaskan
when fishing or cruising the timber checking cabin sites. Its hard to beat roundin the corners in bear country.

Both a guide and a US Forest Service Law Enf were killed near Glacier and Yellowstone in the Lower 48.
Grizzlies were responsible in both cases, with the guide not carrying a real backup gun when bow hunting
with client. Both of these folks left families, so its serious in grizzly country.

I have an early Marlin 1895 with no extra safety and full 22 inch barrel. But usually I prefer the Alaskan or 450 Fuller
in deep woods with bears creepin around.