At 100 yards, a six-shot group (one hole is a double) measuring 1.9 inches. Not bad for a 97-year-old rifle with a tang sight in back and an oversized bead in front.

Something else to keep in mind, too, is that while the .32 chambering finally died in 1973, all three major ammunition companies are still loading ammunition, and Winchester is still offering unprimed brass 35 years later. When RCBS introduced its Cowboy Action dies, .32 Special was one of the calibers offered.

So what does the new Hornady .32 Special LeverEvolution ammunition have to offer? Over my PVM-21 chronograph, five rounds averaged 2,374 fps for a 165-grain bullet from my 26-inch-barreled 1894. Five rounds of factory Winchester 170-grain averaged 2,182 fps. The extra 192 fps, combined with the improved ballistic coefficient of the spitzer bullet, adds up to a significant improvement in a cartridge of this class.

Average accuracy is tricky to determine, since there are no new rifles with pristine bores and scope sights with which to test it. My rifle is almost a hundred years old and has a tang sight and large-bead front sight. It is, after all, a rifle for hunting deer and moose in the deep woods.

My 1894 has always delivered five-shot groups around 21⁄2 inches at 100 yards. With LeverEvolution ammunition, even this tightened up nicely, and it consistently delivers five-shot groups under two inches. Were I able to mount a scope, who knows what kind of accuracy I could achieve?

The genuine increase in velocity of the LeverEvolution raises one problem with older rifles equipped only with iron sights: You can’t lower the rear sight sufficiently to get on target at practical ranges.

“I probably had 30 rifles come in last year to have higher front sights installed,” says Jeff Tombs, a gun dealer in southern Ontario, in reference to the .30-30s and .35 Remingtons that have come through his shop since LeverEvolution made its debut.

In Tombs’ area, the .32 Special has always been popular, and while the new .32 Special ammunition was not available in time for the 2007 deer season, Jeff intends to order a bunch in time for 2008.