Work the Lever on Federal Premium’s new HammerDown Hunting Ammo

By Kristin Alberts

HammerDown ammunition uses nickel cases, bonded bullets, and loads intended for long guns, offering better performance and smooth cycling for lever-action hunters. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)
Federal Premium and Henry Repeating Arms join forces to develop HammerDown – a specialty lever-action ammo. Both are American made and ready to run—and hunt — in your lever long gun. Here are 10 things you should know before ponying up the bucks for HammerDown.
1. Calibers
The initial launch of HammerDown covers some of the most popular lever-action calibers built by Henry Repeating Arms and other western-gun manufacturers to include .327 Federal Magnum, .357 Magnum, .44 Rem Mag, .45 Colt, .30-30 Win, and .45-70 Govt. Both the .30-30 and .45-70 are shipping now, with the others slated to hit store shelves later in 2020.
2. How Does it Work?
HammerDown is engineered to work in lever guns, but how? It is intended to function flawlessly when filled via either tubular magazines or side-loading gates. Federal chamfered the cases and used “specialized geometry on the front face of the case’s rim. This difference improves cycling in all lever-action feeding systems,” according to Federal Premium Centerfire Rifle Product Line Manager Eric Miller.
3. The Business End
It should come as no surprise that

Source: Guns.com