By Jim Dickson | Contributing Writer
Federal Cartridge Co. has teamed with Henry Repeating Arms Co. to produce ammunition for the specific needs of lever action rifles.
The first cartridges of this line are the .327 Federal Magnum, the .357 Magnum, the .44 Magnum, the .45 Colt, the .30-30 Winchester, and the .45-70 Govt., with the .35 Remington soon to be added to the line.
I had a box of Hammer Down .45-70s to run through a Henry casehardened frame .45-70 lever-action rifle. I regard this rifle as possibly the finest .45-70 lever action ever made. It cycled this ammunition and everything else fed through it flawlessly. Accuracy was on a par with bolt action rifles but speed of operation was definitely faster. The .45-70 round is loaded with a 300-grain bullet at 1,850 fps, a popular deer load for this caliber.
This combined with perfect balance and handling qualities made for a very fast shooting gun.
The stock has a semi-pistol grip and wood-to-metal fit is as good as modern CNC machining can make it. The heavy octagon barrel measured 21 inches while the rifle weighed 8 pounds, 2 ½ ounces on my commercial grocery scales. It held four rounds in the tubular magazine and one in the chamber for a total of five rounds.
The receiver is color case hardened while the barrel and oversize lever are blued. It is drilled and tapped for scope mounting, but comes with a fully-adjustable semi-buckhorn rear sight with diamond insert and a brass bead front sight.
The stock is crafted from American walnut with checkering on the grip and forearm. It is fitted with a black ventilated rubber recoil pad.
Beautifully fitted and finished inside and out, its components felt like greased glass when it was cycled. The .45-70’s recoil was about like a 30-06 in a gun of the same weight. Quite manageable and totally unobjectionable.
There are some definite advantages to using this new ammunition. First of all, it is part of the Federal Premium line which means more inspections all through the manufacturing process.
Some lever action rifles have had problems with feeding, cycling, and ejecting, and this ammunition has been designed with a slightly modified case geometry while still meeting SAAMI specs. The front face of the cartridge’s rim features a patent pending chamfering specifically designed to improve reliability in lever actions.
All Hammer Down cases are nickel plated to prevent corrosion. That’s important as many people carry extra ammo in leather cartridge loops or cartridge pouches where verdigris corrosion can occur.
From the Gold Metal primer to the powder specially formulated to achieve maximum velocity in carbine and rifle length barrels while still meeting SAAMI specs. this is not your ordinary increase of velocity attained with a rifle length barrel. This is most dramatic in the 250-grain .45 Colt, which comes out of a rifle barrel at 1,400 fps yet still comes out of a Colt Single Action Army revolver at 800 fps.
Bullet weights are heavier as well for some calibers for increased stopping power. For example, the .357 Magnum bullet weighs in at 170 grains and the .44 Magnum bullet is 270 grains.
The results are highly impressive. When the handgun calibers are now shot out of a rifle barrel the Hammer Down loads for the .357 magnum are 1,610 FPS compared to 1,180 FPS from Federal’s existing hunting handgun loads while the .44 Magnum is 1,715 fps compared to 1,250 fps out of a handgun. It just goes to show what the right powder can accomplish with a longer barrel.
Premium quality projectiles designed just for these calibers and velocities with molecular bonded lead cores to the jacket complete the package. Proper expansion under all hunting conditions and ranges is assured, the .30-30 having 100% weight retention after being shot through 10% ballistic ordnance gel at 100 yards.
Since this ammunition is intended for lever action rifles and carbines it comes in rifle style 20-round boxes. Despite the extra measure of quality built into it the MSRP remains user friendly at $19.99 to a high of $43.99 depending on caliber.
The calibers offered currently are:
.327 Federal /127 grain MSRP $23.99
.357 Magnum /170 grain MSRP $19.99
.44 Magnum /270 grain MSRP $19.99
.45 Colt /250 grain MSRP $21.99
.30-30 Winchester /150 grain MSRP $22.99
.45-70 Govt. /300 grain MSRP $43.99
Why should you buy premium quality ammunition to go hunting? Well, ammunition is the least of your costs when making a hunting trip, yet from the moment that you press the trigger everything depends on that round. If you are hunting something that can bite back, then you are staking your life on your ammunition performing properly. Doesn’t it just amount to common sense to take a long hard look at what you are going to be shooting at that critical moment when the game is in your sights?
Now there is ammunition tailored to the special needs of the classic 19th century lever action rifle designs. That’s certainly worth looking into.
