The .360 Buckhammer: Specs, Ballistics and Origins

The .360 Buckhammer is a straight-wall, rimmed rifle cartridge introduced in 2023 by Remington Ammunition and Henry Rifles. Remington describes it as a SAAMI-accepted cartridge designed for lever-action rifles, while Remington’s catalog also says it is best suited in break-action or lever-action rifles. It was marketed toward hunters in straight-wall deer-hunting areas who want a lever gun, but that is not state-specific legal guidance. Always confirm current cartridge rules with the wildlife agency for the place you hunt.

What the .360 Buckhammer is

Remington says the .360 Buckhammer was introduced in 2023 by Remington Ammunition and Henry Rifles. Remington describes it as a straight-wall, rimmed round designed for lever-action rifles.

Henry says the cartridge was developed in partnership with Remington Ammunition, and Henry says it was first to market with rifles chambered for the new .360 Buckhammer cartridge. Henry also lists a break-action, one-round H15 Steel Single Shot Rifle in .360 Buckhammer, and Remington’s .360 Buckhammer category page says the cartridge is best suited in break-action or lever-action rifles.

The compatibility point is simple: Remington says .360 Buckhammer is not compatible with rifles or handguns made for other cartridges. Use only ammunition that matches the firearm’s marked chambering.

Origins and case design

Remington says the .360 Buckhammer was developed using the .30-30 Winchester as the parent case. Remington also says the .360 Buckhammer differs from the .30-30 by case shape and bullet diameter: the .360 Buckhammer is a straight-wall cartridge, while Remington describes the .30-30 as bottlenecked or tapered, and the .360 Buckhammer uses .358-inch bullets compared with .308-inch bullets for the .30-30.

That design explains much of the cartridge’s identity. It is not simply a renamed .30-30. Remington’s description ties it to the .30-30 parent case, but Remington also separates it by straight-wall case form, larger bullet diameter and cartridge compatibility.

SAAMI specifications

SAAMI is a key reference for the .360 Buckhammer’s standardization. Remington is useful for readable cartridge descriptions.

Specification	Published value
Remington bullet diameter description	.358 inch

That figure is most useful as a reference specification. For a hunter or lever-action shooter, the practical takeaways are that the cartridge is described by Remington as SAAMI accepted, uses .358-inch bullets in Remington’s description, and is built around a straight-wall, rimmed case rather than a bottlenecked or tapered .30-30-style case.

Factory ammunition and published ballistics

Remington’s first published .360 Buckhammer bullets were 180-grain and 200-grain Core-Lokt soft points. Remington also publishes load data for a 180-grain Core-Lokt Tipped Lever Gun load and a 160-grain Core-Lokt Copper load.

Here is the Remington-published data available from the listed product pages:

Remington .360 Buckhammer load	Muzzle velocity	Ballistic coefficient	200-yard energy
160-grain Core-Lokt Copper	2,275 fps	.190	808 ft-lb
180-grain Core-Lokt soft point	2,400 fps	.178	970 ft-lb
180-grain Core-Lokt Tipped Lever Gun	2,400 fps	.212	1,123 ft-lb
200-grain Core-Lokt soft point	2,200 fps	.181	898 ft-lb

Remington publishes additional 100-yard-zero trajectory details for its 180-grain Core-Lokt soft-point load. The 180-grain Core-Lokt soft point is listed at 1,558 fps at 200 yards, with 7.9 inches of drop at 200 yards when zeroed at 100 yards.

Practical hunting range

Remington describes the .360 Buckhammer as effective and accurate at 200 yards. Henry describes it as optimized for lever guns and accurate out to 200 yards, and Henry’s H15 .360 Buckhammer listing gives its best-use line as target, hunting and large game up to 200 yards.

The published trajectory table for the 180-grain Core-Lokt soft point supports treating 200 yards as a key reference distance rather than as a vague idea. With a 100-yard zero, Remington lists 7.9 inches of drop at 200 yards for the 180-grain Core-Lokt soft point.

Retained energy also changes by load. Remington lists 200-yard energy at 1,123 ft-lb for the 180-grain Core-Lokt Tipped Lever Gun load, 970 ft-lb for the 180-grain Core-Lokt soft point, 898 ft-lb for the 200-grain Core-Lokt soft point and 808 ft-lb for the 160-grain Core-Lokt Copper load.

For field use, do not turn those tables into a universal rule. The published numbers show that trajectory and retained energy vary by load, and actual use also depends on the rifle and sight setup.

Rifle context from Henry

Henry lists several .360 Buckhammer firearm details that help explain the cartridge’s intended home. Henry’s H9 X Model listing in .360 Buckhammer gives a 21.375-inch barrel and 1:12 twist. Henry’s H15 Steel Single Shot Rifle listing gives the .360 Buckhammer version as a break-action rifle with one-round capacity, a 22-inch barrel and a 1:12 twist.

That matches the cartridge positioning from Remington and Henry: a straight-wall, rimmed round connected to lever guns, with break-action single-shot use also listed by both Remington and Henry.

.360 Buckhammer vs. .30-30 Winchester

Remington directly connects the .360 Buckhammer to the .30-30 Winchester by saying the .360 Buckhammer was developed using .30-30 Winchester as the parent case. Remington also says the .360 Buckhammer gives velocity, energy and drop similar to the .30-30.

The design contrast is still important. Remington says the .360 Buckhammer is straight-wall, while the .30-30 is bottlenecked or tapered. Remington also says the .360 Buckhammer uses .358-inch bullets compared with .308-inch bullets for the .30-30.

For one published comparison point, Winchester’s 20-inch-barrel data lists a .30-30 Winchester 150-grain Extreme Point load at 2,205 fps and 1,619 ft-lb of muzzle energy. That is not a full cartridge-to-cartridge judgment, but it gives a published .30-30 data point beside Remington’s .360 Buckhammer numbers.

.360 Buckhammer vs. .350 Legend

The .350 Legend is another straight-wall deer cartridge, but the published design details are different. Winchester says the .350 Legend uses .357-inch bullets, has a 1.71-inch shellcase length and has a 2.26-inch overall cartridge length. Winchester also says the .350 Legend has no parent case and uses a .378 nominal rim diameter.

By comparison, Remington describes the .360 Buckhammer as rimmed, based on the .30-30 Winchester and designed for lever-action rifles.

Winchester says the .350 Legend was designed for deer hunting out to 250 yards. Winchester’s 20-inch-barrel .350 Legend data lists a 150-grain Extreme Point load at 2,325 fps and 1,800 ft-lb, and a 180-grain Power Point load at 2,100 fps and 1,762 ft-lb. Those are Winchester’s .350 Legend figures, not .360 Buckhammer figures.

What to check before buying or hunting

Check three things before relying on the .360 Buckhammer for a season. First, confirm your firearm is actually chambered for .360 Buckhammer, because Remington says the cartridge is not compatible with firearms made for other cartridges. Second, check the ammunition maker’s current data for the exact load you plan to use. Third, if you hunt in a straight-wall area, confirm current cartridge rules with the wildlife agency that regulates that location, because Remington’s marketing statement is not a state or provincial regulation.