Lever Gun - Ammo Question

[opsoff1]

Has anyone used round nose bullets (i.e Sierra 2135's) in a Win 94 or a Marlin lever gun vs a flat point (Sierra 2000's)
Too risky?

What say the masses?

[Co-gnARR]

I used Hornady Levolution rounds in my Marlin 1894 (.44mag) which have a soft tip that is safe for lever guns. If round tip bullets haven't been used in the past, and no reliable load data from a reputable source exists, I wouldn't want to be the guy showing newer generations of lever gunners why these rounds are not used. Not sure if the round tips are too risky for primer detonation, or will just make problems for loading a round that will cycle reliable without compressing the charge. That said, without changing your mag tube follower (or Dremeling an indent in the middle of the factory follower) you may likely have feed problems. My gun has an unmodified follower. With the Hornady rounds I could cycle the lever once and maybe get a good feed; trying to empty the mag tube by cycling the lever was difficult. If hunting with an unmodified follower I would not expect a reliable follow up shot.

[T2C]

I think that using round nose bullets in a lever action rifle is not worth the risk. We have a member at our local gun club who tried it and rounds in the magazine detonated. The palm of his support hand is really scarred up and he lost a little flexibility in the hand. He also gained a few freckles on his face and neck when the rounds in the magazine all went up.

[sevenhelmet]

T2C, really? Do you know specifically what bullet/cartridge he was using when the detonation occurred?

The Sierra 2135 looks like the bullets you see in a lot of popular brands of .30/30 hunting ammo. The rounded lead tip should be perfectly safe to use with the tubular mag on a lever gun- many types of ammo (Winchester white box, Federal hunting ammo, etc) use bullets that look like that. OTOH, pointed-tip bullets are not safe to fire from a tubular magazine due to the possibility of cooking off under recoil, but round or flat tip ammo is considered fine.

I've had no feed issues with the Hornady Lever Evolution with a stock mag follower either. They're my round of choice for that rifle.

[T2C]

I don't know which bullet he used for his reloads. He came over to me when he saw me shooting my lever action and showed me the scars on his hand, face and neck. He told me he ran out of round nose flat point bullets and took a chance on using round nose lead bullets to reload for a SASS event at our club. I heard the story before meeting the man and took it with a grain of salt until I met him and heard his account of what he loaded and what occurred. He had a tough time making a fist with his left hand.

I pay close attention to this. As long as the diameter of the bullet tip is larger than the primer, I load it. If the bullet tip is smaller than the diameter of the primer, I shy away from loading them for a lever gun.

The new Hornady Leverevolution ammunition with a flexible tip looks promising. Otherwise, I will stick with flat tipped bullets for lever guns.

I have zero experience with the Sierra 2135 and have not had an opportunity to measure it. Have you had an opportunity to measure the tip of the bullet sevenhelmet? I would be interested to know if the diameter of the tip measures larger than 0.202".

[H_Talon]

I've used round nose with no problems, those leverevolution's are a recent thing, 30-30's have been around for
almost ever :-)

you can read more here ..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30-30_Winchester

Just saying :-)

[opsoff1]

Appreciate the feedback - I am really torn over this. I have 2135's but can't find any 2000's anywhere. I always err on the side of caution - and maybe even more so here as I am loading this ammo for a friend at work.

[sevenhelmet]

I have zero experience with the Sierra 2135 and have not had an opportunity to measure it. Have you had an opportunity to measure the tip of the bullet sevenhelmet? I would be interested to know if the diameter of the tip measures larger than 0.202".

I don't reload, so I haven't measured the 2135 tip diameter, but you bring up a very good point. Just because it "looks" like the lead-tip bullets in common cartridges for the .30/30, doesn't mean it is safe to use.

I have used the Hornady lever ammo. I like it a lot.

OP, your best best might be to call the company or mfr and ask, unless you know anyone else who uses that 2135 bullet.

[T2C]

OP, your best best might be to call the company or mfr and ask, unless you know anyone else who uses that 2135 bullet.

I don't know why I didn't think of this when I posted. Calling Sierra and asking if the projectiles are safe for lever action rifles is a great idea.