First Look: Smith & Wesson Model 1854 Lever-Action Rifle in 360 Buckhammer

Over the past few years, Smith & Wesson has been experiencing great success with its Model 1854 lever-action series of rifles. The storied American gunmaker keeps introducing new 1854 variants, and with that more caliber options.

The latest caliber option in the Model 1854 lineup is the .360 Buckhammer, a modern, straight-walled cartridge designed for deer hunting in states and areas where bottlenecked cartridges are traditionally prohibited due to safety concerns. While there are several excellent straight-walled .35-caliber cartridges on the market that address those midwestern hunting requirements, the .360 Buckhammer, originally developed by Remington, has an advantage for leverguns in that its parent case is the .30-30 Winchester. This means that, like its parent, the .360 Buckhammer itself is also optimized to function in lever action rifles and carbines from the ground up.

This new offering from Smith & Wesson features a six-round capacity, a forged 416 stainless steel receiver with a side loading gate and a 20-inch 410 stainless steel barrel that includes a ⅝x24 tpi thread pattern for suppressor capability. Its large-loop lever is designed for smooth operation, allowing for quicker follow-up shots, while the flat trigger design aids in reliable finger placement, supporting improved accuracy.

The Model 1854 360 Buckhammer comes equipped with several out-of-the-box features, including a Picatinny-style base for optics mounting, an adjustable XS Sights ghost ring rear sight, a gold bead front sight and a tubular magazine. The fore-end on this stainless-steel model offers three M-Lok-compatible slots for the user’s preferred accessories and integrated mounts for the addition of a sling.

Smith & Wesson 1854 Lever Action Rifle .360 Buckhammer Features