Both Ends Of The Scale

A Light-For-Caliber .45-70 And A Heavy-for-caliber .22
Long Rifle both give better-than-expected performance.

By Payton Miller

Hornady’s LeverEvolution ammo has been impressing lovers of tubular-magazine leverguns—like me—since the company first dreamed it up. I’ve used it in .357 Magnum, .30-30, .35 Remington and .45-70 and thought I was pretty well-versed in the stuff.

Recently, however, I discovered a new (well, new for me) variation—a 250-grain loading in .45-70. When I first saw it, I thought the “250” part was a mistake. It seemed way too light for a time-honored cartridge, which, up to now I’d only seen as low in factory bullet weight as 300 grains. What was going on? So I got hold of some. My reservations disappeared after the first 3-shot group.

At 50 yards, the 250-grain Flex-Tip shot tighter groups from my Marlin 1895 than the 325-grain LeverEvolution load I’d used for years. Along with a point of impact about 4 inches higher, recoil was noticeably lighter. So, what would you hunt with this 250-grain .45-70 LeverEvolution number? I’d figure just about anything you’d feel comfortable using a .454 Casull on—deer definitely. In fact, this particular number is 10 grains heavier and about 100 fps faster than Hornady’s XTP .454 Casull load from a 7-1/2-inch barrel.

For big hogs or black bear, the 325 would be a better bet, although I don’t think the 250 would be a deal-breaker. From my Marlin’s 18-1/2-inch barrel, the 250-grain load clocked 1,933 fps. By comparison, the older 325-grain load averaged 1,896 fps.

When Marlin switched from Micro-Groove to Ballard-cut rifling for their Model 1895’s, they really opened the door to great performance from Hornady’s LeverEvolution Flex-Tip ammo (although the Marlin people couldn’t have foretold its eventual appearance). I’ve had problems getting good accuracy with the stuff from the older Micro-Groove barrels—specifically an early ’50s Marlin 336 .30-30—and I know I’m not the Lone Ranger in this regard. But with more recent 1895’s (including the very successful Guide Gun), LeverEvolution ammo can pretty much hang with anything.

There were no complaints about the accuracy of Hornady’s 250-grain .45-70
LeverEvolution load at 50 yards from this XS-sighted Marlin.

From S&W’s Model 63, 8-shot groups with Aguila’s 60-grain SSS
Sniper Subsonic provided a twist on expectations.

The Case Sod Buster Jr. (above) and Tear Drop Wharncliffe (below) show
off the beautifully wavy Damascus blade patterns to eye-catching effect.

A Weighty Rimfire

The Model 63 shot 40-grain RWS Subsonic LRs a bit tighter (and considerably faster)
(above) than the Aguila ammo. From a 20-inch barreled Ruger M77/22, however,
50-yard results with the “overweight” Aguila stuff (below) were more than
adequate considering the rifle’s twist.

There was a kicker, however. Those 60-grainers chronographed a snail-like 422 fps! At first I thought my chronograph had gone crazy, but a check-and-see reading with Winchester 40-grain high-velocity Power Points was pretty much on the money at 929 fps. And then I tried some RWS Subsonic 40-grain hollowpoints, which clocked 629 fps. Since they represented a 50 percent weight decrease from the Aguila stuff, suddenly the low numbers for the 60-grainers didn’t seem so shocking.

Still, it was tough to argue the fact the Aguila specialty item was quite sensitive to barrel length. So in order to investigate further, I set the little S&W aside, moved the target frame out to 50 yards and grabbed my 20-inch barreled Ruger 77/22 rifle (1:16 twist). My best 5-shot group was a hair over an inch, with four shots clustered in 3/4 of an inch. And the velocity was now a reasonably “in spec” 916 fps.

Now that’s certainly not match grade, but if it’s not small-game good, it’s mighty close! I don’t think I’d want to push the yardage much past that, but the Aguila 60-grain SSS might be just the thing for larger-than-ground squirrel critters. And, it’s worth noting there were no feeding difficulties through the Ruger’s rotary magazine.

Now switching to a cutting edge topic, if standard stainless or carbon steel blades don’t look sharp enough for you as far as a dress-occasion pocketknives go, Case’s new Mediterranean Blue Bone Damascus family will do the trick. The current lineup includes eight classic patterns including two of my all-time single-blade favorites—The Wharncliffe-style Tear Drop, and the Sod Buster Jr., featuring a skinning blade. Both are of Ladder Damascus-patterned carbon steel, forged by Devin Thomas, who is highly regarded in custom knife circles. My experience with Damascus blades has been minimal, however, knife guys I generally listen to claim they have excellent edge retention, yet sharpen fairly easily. So I gave one of them a try.

I did a lengthy bit of “green-stick/ dead-stick” wood whittling with the Tear Drop’s Wharncliffe blade, then touched it up briefly using both the coarse and fine sides of a DMT diamond hone. Yep. I did sharpen it a bit, even though I too have read stuff about some custom knives being able to slice through six sections of 1/2-inch hemp rope, cut open an oil drum, skin a moose and still be able to shave hair. I then sliced some smallish tomatoes with it for a BLT sandwich. It bit through the skin with no effort. When I was done, I carefully wiped the juice off (being careful not to cut myself) and re-oiled. Don’t want anything acidic left on a blade this pretty!

Churchill’s Webley & Scott Model 1913 recently was sold at a
Bonhams auction in the UK for $7,416.

Just Enough Gun

Last December Sir Winston Churchill’s Webley & Scott 7.65mm (.32 ACP) Model 1913 “self-loading pistol” (Serial No. 130104) was sold at Bonhams Sporting Guns Sale in Knightsbridge, UK. As Prime Minister during World War II, Churchill survived numerous assassination attempts. Many today would consider the Model 1913 inadequate, however, Churchill’s famed bodyguard Walter J. Thompson carried one during his 18 years of service with Churchill. The pistol came with two letters certifying its provenance.

The late (and indeed great) Prime Minister—no firearms novice—also had a Sten Mk III SMG in his personal collection. Churchill’s Webley & Scott may not have figured as prominently in his career as the 7.63 Mauser “Broomhandle” he carried at the Battle of Omdurman, but it is indeed a fascinating artifact (www.bonhams.com).

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