GForce Arms LTAC357 Lever-Action Rifle: Full Review

Old West meets new school with a rifle that says "I'm your Huckleberry." Here's a full review.

August 29, 2024 By Sean Utley

Intriguing. If I could describe the modern lever action to you in just one word, that would be it. From there I’d have to expand the discussion further. Much further in fact. The discussion would include statements, questions, and points of debate. Why a lever action? What is it good for? Is it a viable option for X situation or should it be avoided for Y? There’s a considerable amount and that’s why I think this type of firearm is intriguing.

Let me be clear and state that this is not my first foray into lever actions. No, I don’t have any true formal training or introduction to them. Think more like “baptism by fire.” While I’ve fired a handful (at most) of lever actions, my first real usage came last year in the way of a Wyoming spring bear hunt with the guys from Hornady ammunition. I got a call “Hey, you want to go on a bear hunt in Wyoming?”

“Absolutely!” I said. That was all I knew about the adventure. I showed up underprepared in many ways, and we were given a choice of firearms including big bore revolvers, lever actions, and a 7mm PRC bolt action. I opted for the lever gun in .30-30 Win. because, why not?

Not familiar with the platform at all, we spent a half day blasting at prairie dogs. This helped me get familiar with the rifle, and ultimately I settled into my standard long-gun cadence: find target, aim, press trigger, follow through, repeat. Easy enough. A few days later, a bear was in the bag, a testament to the old .30-30. The experience had me intrigued.

While walnut is used for the stock of the test sample, synthetic-stocked versions are available, as well.

Now before me is the GForce Arms Huckleberry LTAC357. A lighter, faster lever action than what I hunted with, and adorned with tactical features that are normally found on AR platforms. It’s “tactical” if you will, but we all know that basically means some changes in the basic configuration — some M-LOK here, a Picatinny rail there, tan paint or black anodization, and viola: Tactical. Tactical is just a word though, and I see this setup as one that’s more practical than tactical. I can achieve more of what I want with the Huckleberry in this LTAC form than I could’ve with that traditional .30-30.

Feels Right

Shooting impressions inevitably seem to wind up somewhere near the end of a such a review. But I’ll start off early with general impressions when I first unboxed the LTAC357. Fit and finish were on par with what I would expect for any quality firearm. The anodizing on the front end is right, free of any marring or mistakes in the process. The wood on the stock is great looking, again with an excellent finish, free of anomalies. The rubberized butt pad mated up solid without gaps, as well.

The walnut stock makes for a pleasing contrast with the more tactical layout found at the front. The action uses a large hand loop to accommodate gloved hands, and is wrapped in leather.

The rifle felt light and well balanced. I placed the LTAC357 on my hand much like I would one of my competition rifles to see how it would sit. Its ballast was even, making the rifle feel like a single piece component instead of something that’s been assembled. There is a difference, though. The balance and its light weight made me want to perform the requisite new-gun-house-clearing exercises (and don’t pretend you don’t do it too). I resisted though. More time handling the GForce had me envisioning more reasons and situations to use it. A good firearm does that.

Details

Not being a lever action guru, I hardly know where to start with the details. My attention was piqued by the carbine length barrel —16.5 inches overall. This keeps the rifle handier, being more maneuverable and cutting down on weight. Not to mention it looks dang good to boot. The barrel is also threaded in 1/2x28 pattern. So, it’s ready for a suppressor if you have one laying around. This capability is definitely a nod to the pistol caliber configuration of this rifle. It can be hushed relatively well with a suppressor and the manual action means no gas blowback in your face when firing, as with many semiautos. The threading also means you can add a muzzle brake, if you prefer.

Under a textured thread protector, the barrel is threaded 1/2x28.

Just behind the threading is an easy-to-see fiber-optic front sight. Attached to the barrel, just forward of the receiver is a Picatinny rail section that is 6.5 inches in length and .5 inches tall. Obviously perfect for mounting of red dot or other optics, it also houses the adjustable (elevation only) rear sight. I placed a Viridian RX35 optic atop the Huckleberry. This optic had the perfect low-mount base that was needed to keep your face on the rifle while maintaining most of the sight picture. Other optics I tried were much too high to be useful in this role.

The barrel is shrouded in a 12-inch aircraft-grade aluminum handguard with all the spots and slots for accessorizing the Huckleberry. Your biggest issue will be deciding on where to place accessories as the M-LOK slots are laid out in a twelve, one, three, five, and 6 o’clock pattern. They’re basically on all sides and angles upping the functionality quotient a bit. A 2-inch Pic rail section is forged into the handguard at the 6 o’clock position. You’ll never have to worry about it working its way loose.

The handguard is made from aircraft-grade aluminum and surrounded with M-LOK points for attachments. These were put to use, with an angled foregrip and some spare round carriers attached during testing and setup.

Just aft of the rail is a sling stud, and I took the liberty of removing it to make room for the HopticUSA LASH (lever action specific bandstop). I put it in a position for the index finger of my support hand as this was the most comfortable and the sling stud was in the way. I couldn’t help but use up a few more of the M-LOK attachment slots, so I added a 3-inch rail section for a light, the Surefire X300 and back toward the receiver I added a HopticUSA Mini Quiver which holds an extra two rounds. I also had a HopticUSA six-round spare carrier, but handguard real estate was getting short since the LTAC already had a four-round carrier on the right side of the forend as standard equipment.

The front end of the Huckleberry LTAC357 is good-looking for sure. It’s got just the right amount of tactical/modern aesthetic without going too far. This coupled with the traditional wood stock makes for an eye-pleasing firearm.

I shot three different loads through the "Huck" from 25 yards. I debated about this distance since I’m a precision rifle shooter. I wanted 50 yards but after zeroing the PMC Bronze ammo and seeing how it might shoot, I kept it at 25 yards. I also added a bipod to the handy pic rail that resides at the front of the handguard.

Along with the general purpose .38 Special PMC Bronze ammo, I brought along Hornady Critical Defense 90-grain FTX in .38 Special and some 127-grain Black Hills Honey Badger .357 Magnum. I like the .38 Special for general shooting because, well, there's very little recoil. This seemed like the right approach but in a weird twist, I found shooting the much harder hitting Honey Badger to be more fun. There was something just right and satisfying about the thump of the .357.

The best group came by way of Hornady’s Critical Defense load. Pushing the effective 90-grain bullet at 1273 fps, it managed .76 inch groups at 25 yards. Black Hill’s Honey Badger did well too, posting a .92-inch average, and creating some very distinct and perfectly round holes in the cardboard. It looked as if someone cut the holes with a utensil of some sort. The Honey Badger was the only .357 Magnum load used and is likely not meant to be run in a lever action due to the bullet design. That said, it did run at over 1980 fps. The run-of-the-mill PMC Bronze managed 2 inches at 25 yards. I used it since it’s an affordable option for general shooting and something I would run for fun.

I should also note that I was using the Viridian green dot for aiming. This wasn’t the most precise way to do it, and groups may have been better with a magnified optic on board.

Impressions

The LTAC357 ran smoothly. I’m not sure what to expect from a lever action at this price point, but I had no complaints. The backsides of my fingers are boney and make me hesitant to fully engage in the running of lever guns. The leather cover on the lever helped a bunch, and the smoothness of the action meant I had nothing to be concerned about.

I found myself staying past the performance testing just to run round after round through the Huckleberry in 103-degree heat. Heck, I was having fun. I haven’t had fun like that while shooting in a while.

A short length of Picatinny rail is forged into the handguard, and makes for a great spot to place a bipod.

Conclusion

The GForce Arms Huckleberry LTACT357 is a hoot. I like the chambering, as it’s affordable with .38 Special, and manageable to boot. Load some .357 Mag. when you want to get serious about your work. It’s smooth, looks good, and is comfortable to shoot. The forend gives you options on rifle configuration as well.

GForce priced this rifle at $779 dollars, but street prices are closer to $700. I can think of much worse guns to spend $700 on. That said, I don’t have any lever actions to compare it to. I’m looking forward to spending more time with the Huck. If I can figure out the ejection issue, I may be very tempted to keep this one around long term.