Hornady Lever Evolution 160 gr. 30-30 ammo

Has anyone ever shot the Hornady Lever Evolution ammo for 30-30? I got a box of it to try out in my Marlin 336 this deer season. Traditionally the 30-30 was considered more of a bush gun, but Hornady claims this ammo will change that. A 12.1" drop @ 300 yards seems like something you'd get from a .308 not a 30-30, but they claim this to be true. I'll let yall know how it goes and whether this ammo changes my usage of my Marlin.

I haven't shot it, personally, but I have a good friend that swears by it in his .35 Remington.

i've loaded some of the bullets and get groups of 1" at 100 yards with my marlin 336.

ckdeaton wrote:Has anyone ever shot the Hornady Lever Evolution ammo for 30-30? I got a box of it to try out in my Marlin 336 this deer season. Traditionally the 30-30 was considered more of a bush gun, but Hornady claims this ammo will change that. A 12.1" drop @ 300 yards seems like something you'd get from a .308 not a 30-30, but they claim this to be true. I'll let yall know how it goes and whether this ammo changes my usage of my Marlin.

Not from personal experience, but from friends and family stories it seems that they don't do well at relatively short range. One friend who shoots a .45-70 and my cousin Tim who shoots .35 Remington both had bullets that failed to expand on relatively small deer at 50 yards or less. Neither shot hit bone.

I use them in my .444 because about the closest shot I'd have is 125 yards, mostly longer. I'm sighted in for 200 yards. With my rifle I was able to get shots into slightly over a 2" group at 200. With my buddy's .45-70 at 100 I had shots touching.

They DO seem to be hotter than other brands of ammo. My friend's .45-70 shoots about 3-4" higher at 100 with 300 gr. HLE's than with 300 gr. Remington jacketed hollow point.

I have used the 30-30 lever evolution for several years and have killed several deer with it. It has never failed to expand or kill any deer...period. In short, it has made the 30-30 a reliable 200 yard gun, based on my experience.