LeverEvolution in .41 Mag BBS Carbine

[GunnyGene]

Decided to try out this 190gr FTX offering from Hornady. Searched the forum for any pros or cons on this round in .41 mag, but no joy. I'll run a few rounds later this week, but would like to hear from anyone who has used it in this caliber. Did it perform well? Any complaints?

[ESquared]

Wish I could help you, but will definitely follow this thread, as there doesn't seem to be much love for the LeverEvolution here, and I'm not sure why. Seems like I've read where some guys have had decent groupings (can't remember the caliber, sorry) and others not so much. Could very well be the old trial and error of different ammo in any given rifle to see what works best, doing what you can to take the other variables out of any kind of "testing" you might do, which is often the hard part.
Please keep us posted!

[Mags]

Sorry, I know 'not a bit about it' either.

[Mistered]

A portion of a post I made in another thread about LE ammo. Caliber is different but the effect is the same:

My opinion of the LeverEvolution ammo is it is an answer to a problem that does not exist. It was designed for hunting and while it might show some advantages for this I do not believe there are enough to overcome the additional cost and potential poor accuracy in a particular rifle.
The the 30-30 has 'built in' limitations by virtue of the design of the rifle it was ORIGINALLY made for and most understand this and work within those parameters instead of trying to eek out a little more distance with questionable ammo.
Pick (or reload) a round that shoots well in your rifle and practice at the distance you plan to use it for and you will be ahead in both money and satisfaction.

[BigAl52]

I used some of it in my 45-70 and it shot very well. I load 45-70 and while I havent pursed it because of time factor at the time of testing loads I used it for hunting one year. As I recall also it wasnt that much more price wise than any of the other 45-70 ammo I looked at.

[GunnyGene]

Thanks for the feedback, y'all. It seems nobody has tried the ammo out in the .41, so I reckon I'm the guinea pig. Went out this morning, and was very pleased with the ammo (50yds). Cycled well, and more accurate than I am these days. Had to make a couple small scope adjustments from using the Underwood 210gr XTP, which I expected, but after that, here is the result of 14 rounds (what remained in the box) on a separate target. The 3 fliers outside the 2" bull were me. I'll be going back right 1 click for the next session. Really need to cut back on the caffeine.

[Mags]

Nice! Really wiped out the center of that one. Curious, how hard is it to find .41 ammo? My LGS doesn't carry it.

[GunnyGene]

Nice! Really wiped out the center of that one. Curious, how hard is it to find .41 ammo? My LGS doesn't carry it.

My regular LGS usually has it on the shelf since there are quite few folks who shoot .41 mag around here, either revolver or rifle. It's popular with the hog hunters especially. Don't think they sell on-line, but you could call and ask I reckon. I pay about $18/20rds. I don't reload tho, so please don't bother to recommend that.

https://www.facebook.com/Garys.Pawn.and.Gun.Columbus

I have seen the caliber on various on-line sellers sometimes, but I don't buy ammo on line.

[Mags]

.
That's a decent price for a caliber I perceive from here as scarce. Common centerfire here runs around $16-$25 for a box of 20. So for .41 not a bad price at all. I don't buy online either. Not ready to trust online ammo dealers with my CC or address or anything else. I don't reload earlier. Too much investment to get started and takes too much time and devotion for it that I don't have. I also learned my lesson from another topic not to offer suggestions.

Nice! Really wiped out the center of that one. Curious, how hard is it to find .41 ammo? My LGS doesn't carry it.

... I pay about $18/20rds. I don't reload tho, so please don't bother to recommend that.
I have seen the caliber on various on-line sellers sometimes, but I don't buy ammo on line.

[Shakey Jake]

Thanks for the feedback, y'all. It seems nobody has tried the ammo out in the .41, so I reckon I'm the guinea pig. Went out this morning, and was very pleased with the ammo (50yds). Cycled well, and more accurate than I am these days. Had to make a couple small scope adjustments from using the Underwood 210gr XTP, which I expected, but after that, here is the result of 14 rounds (what remained in the box) on a separate target. The 3 fliers outside the 2" bull were me. I'll be going back right 1 click for the next session. Really need to cut back on the caffeine.

I use the FTX bullets in my Marlin 1894 .44 mag and really like them. I loaded up some .357 FTX 140 gr over 13 gr Accurate No. 9 and some with 7.8 gr True Blue to see which one my new Winchester 1892 likes better. I haven't used the factory loads but find the FTX to be a good choice for my Marlin. I wonder if Hornady will come up with a .312 FTX bullet for those of us with .327 Federal Mag Henry's.

[BigAl52]

As I mentioned I have heard nothing but good about the accuracy of that ammo. I reload but time is a factor plus I have many calibers to load for. Sometimes I don't get enough time to develop a load and these loads are a great backup for me.

[Vaquero]

Thanks for the feedback, y'all. It seems nobody has tried the ammo out in the .41, so I reckon I'm the guinea pig. Went out this morning, and was very pleased with the ammo (50yds). Cycled well, and more accurate than I am these days. Had to make a couple small scope adjustments from using the Underwood 210gr XTP, which I expected, but after that, here is the result of 14 rounds (what remained in the box) on a separate target. The 3 fliers outside the 2" bull were me. I'll be going back right 1 click for the next session. Really need to cut back on the caffeine.

Nice shootin.
Like the 41 Mag., have a Henry and a Ruger BH.
The only Leverevolution I have ever tried were in my first 444.
Took one doe with it at 135 yds.
It did the job but in my opinion there was an excessive amount of damaged meat.
I like my cast loads much better.. Heck I still have over half of that box of ammo, and that's been 5, or 6 years ago.
Couple years ago I bought 100 rounds of the 35 Rem. LEVERevolution, still in the safe. If I ever need the brass to reload, then I'll shot 'em.

Currently, I'm working on a 280 gr cast load for the Henry 41.
Then a month back I bought a 268 gr mold so I will work that up shortly.

RP

[Vaquero]

A portion of a post I made in another thread about LE ammo. Caliber is different but the effect is the same:

My opinion of the LeverEvolution ammo is it is an answer to a problem that does not exist. It was designed for hunting and while it might show some advantages for this I do not believe there are enough to overcome the additional cost and potential poor accuracy in a particular rifle.
The the 30-30 has 'built in' limitations by virtue of the design of the rifle it was ORIGINALLY made for and most understand this and work within those parameters instead of trying to eek out a little more distance with questionable ammo.
Pick (or reload) a round that shoots well in your rifle and practice at the distance you plan to use it for and you will be ahead in both money and satisfaction.

This

RP

[Redthies]

Took one doe with it at 135 yds.
It did the job but in my opinion there was an excessive amount of damaged meat.
I like my cast loads much better.. Heck I still have over half of that box of ammo, and that's been 5, or 6 years ago.
Couple years ago I bought 100 rounds of the 35 Rem. LEVERevolution, still in the safe. If I ever need the brass to reload, then I'll shot 'em.

Currently, I'm working on a 280 gr cast load for the Henry 41.
Then a month back I bought a 268 gr mold so I will work that up shortly.

RP

So it seems like you might be a guy to ask about cast bullets. I have AE 158 gr snfp, Leverevolution 140 gr, and some HSM cast flat point 180 gr in the ammo can for my new .357. What would you use as a deer round? I’ve heard the cast bullets (these are hot bear loads) could be too much of a straight through with no expansion deal. Thoughts?

[Vaquero]

Took one doe with it at 135 yds.
It did the job but in my opinion there was an excessive amount of damaged meat.
I like my cast loads much better.. Heck I still have over half of that box of ammo, and that's been 5, or 6 years ago.
Couple years ago I bought 100 rounds of the 35 Rem. LEVERevolution, still in the safe. If I ever need the brass to reload, then I'll shot 'em.

Currently, I'm working on a 280 gr cast load for the Henry 41.
Then a month back I bought a 268 gr mold so I will work that up shortly.

RP

So it seems like you might be a guy to ask about cast bullets. I have AE 158 gr snfp, Leverevolution 140 gr, and some HSM cast flat point 180 gr in the ammo can for my new .357. What would you use as a deer round? I’ve heard the cast bullets (these are hot bear loads) could be too much of a straight through with no expansion deal. Thoughts?

Thanks, I'm by no means an expert, but
in the past few years I have gained a lot of respect for the ole lead bullets.
just in the past couple years, 41 mag, 44 mag, 35 Rem, & Marlin 444
As a matter of fact the only rifle that I really shoot jacketed stuff in is my Marlin 308 MX.
But with the 357 and the larger sized game up there as opposed to down here,
you may want something that expands some.
I think any will do the job as long as you do yours, Good luck with your hunt.
I have a good load for a 180 gr cast that shoots very well out of my Rossi. But
I killed a nice 8 point with it the first year I had it with just a 158 gr swc.

RP

[Redthies]

Gracias Vaquero. I have 158 gr jsp and Leverevolution 140 gr. I’ll see which the rifle likes better!

[Vaquero]

Gracias Vaquero. I have 158 gr jsp and Leverevolution 140 gr. I’ll see which the rifle likes better!

Good luck sir, and let us know which it prefers.
What model 357 do you own?

RP

[Redthies]

Gracias Vaquero. I have 158 gr jsp and Leverevolution 140 gr. I’ll see which the rifle likes better!

Good luck sir, and let us know which it prefers.
What model 357 do you own?

RP

BBS Carbine. Same as this threads title but with easier to find ammo. I shot the AE 158s and the HSM 180 grain bear loads today. Just a few rounds of each to see if I could get it in a 4-5” circle at 60 yards free handed. I put 4 out of 5 of the 158s inside a 4” circle and 3 of the 180s. That’s without really trying at all, and shooting as fast as I could cycle it. Which wasn’t very fast as the first round out of the tube would not feed with either ammo. 5 rounds loaded in the mag each time. I wasn’t thrilled with that I must say, and will investigate further...

[Slugnut]

Last year, I wrote about my experience with factory loaded 190g. FTX in my Henry BBS and Ruger, SBHH (both scoped). Pistol at 25 yds. and rifle at 50 yds. Both shot patterns not groups. I reloaded with the same 190g. FTX bullets with Lil Gun powder. What a difference, the pistol- 7/8" ( 6 shots) and rifle- 1 ragged hole (3 shots). Both were shot off a bench / bags. The 41 mag is a heck of a lot of fun to shoot, especially out of a Henry.

[Mistered]

Reality is in a pistol caliber rifle a hard cast bullet may not give up much to a jacketed bullet do to the fact of unreliable expansion. The jacketed bullet can of course be loaded to a higher velocity than cast but pistol bullets loose velocity rapidly and expansion may not be consistent, if at all even with a jacketed bullet. Some of the new hard cast mfgs. are now guaranteeing no leading at velocities previously unheard of with soft cast bullets and plated bullets can be loaded to nearly maximum velocities. With deer size game, at reasonable range and good bullet placement a hard cast or plated bullet will most likely be nearly as (or as) effective as a jacketed bullet.