new Henry rifle...

[indy007]

So... when shooting guns of that era... is it a requirement that you dress ridiculously too? That chick could be cute but she's wearing something that looks like its from a bad stephen segall movie.

[lazs2]

Problems so far...  The follower is not long enough to feed my favorite lead bullet load of 250 cl keith..   It needs a fairly short overall length round to work.  some 300 grain bullets with shorter overall length work.. the 250 one is the longest 44 mag I have ever seen.  

The hammer does not always engage the sear and it locks up the action till you do the hammer with a thumbnail.. this seems to be wearing in but..  it just doesn't seem that the bolt moves the hammer enough to me.

I have had lever guns in the past and always got rid of em.. they always lacked either smoothness or accuracy compared to their bolt or even semi auto counterparts..   they also are very complex and hard to take down and put back together with lots of little parts.. mostly they don't really get cleaned very well.

good things so far..

 the gun is more accurate than my brothers marlin 44 or my buddies winchester 44 which was crap...  

I bought this gun not for looks but because it was the smoothest and most accurate out there.   so far.. that seems to be true.

The weight is a help..  a 44 mag from a carbine with solid buttplate is hard on the shoulder.. little worse than a 30-30   the Henry is more pleasant to shoot than the marlin.

lazs

[lazs2]

I don't do cowboy action shooting.. or any competition for that matter but gun owners owe a great debt to the sport.

It is bringing more people into the shooting world.. more women and families than any other.. it gives a good impression of firearms on newbies and it is a lot of fun for the families that participate.

The more people who actually pick up a gun and learn to shoot it... the less people who believe the gun control nuts silly hysteria.

lazs

[TomHorn]

Well, mine chambered in 45, is no more fake than yours in 44mag... LOL!!!

I already made the point about the name, "Henry"...
I guess that because the company, owns the name....
All their guns are "Henrys"... If they built M11/9's they'd
still be "Henrys" Hmmmmm?

But that dont make it so!!!

Take it easy man!!!
I'm not cuttin up on your rifle bud....
I like it.... Said so earlier....

You better double check about 44/40 rimfire & centerfire tho...

You are right about 45 Colt in the old days, Colt made 44/40 SA's
Not the other way around....

Don't need to try one, already have a HENRY replica
chambered for modern 45colt... Among many others!!!

I guess I was taking a stab at the company using the Name...
I hate that kind of marketing stuff!!!!



TH

[lazs2]

so what do you call your fake winchesters?   What do you call your fake henry?


the company bought the name fair and square.

There are no "44-40 rimfires"  the yellowboy was chambered for the same weak 44 henry rimfire.

There was no rifle chambered for 45 colt until the fakes showed up.. just like my Henry is a new rifle built by people who bought the name.  

You started out saying you had real henry's and real colt single actions so you "knew the difference"   I would say that you do not have either but that you have modern replicas that are not faithful to the originals in every way.

I wanted a carbine in 44 mag.. I wanted quality and strength and accuracy.   I have not been pleased with 44 mag lever guns of the last few decades.

I may not like this one and it may end up being sold.  

So far I like it... I am not pretending that it is an 1860's Henry rimfire.

lazs

[TomHorn]

Hmmm, It's a fake??? I suppose so....
But if ya take it apart, the parts sure look darn close to the same....
except for the bolt, w center firing pin....
Superior materials, allowing it to fire a modern cartridge, yep!!!
But the rifle follows the original Henry pattern...

Hence, "Henry rifle"....

The action was sticky on mine too....
Until I packed the action with fine valve lapping paste....
Cycled the action about 100 times... Perfecto!!!

I've had it a few years now, I've taken a buck every year...
And a bunch of Coyotes as well.... They shouldn't have
been sniffin around the horse barn...
Shoots good, after a slight tweak of the sights....

LOL you better check again on 44/40 rimfire....

My SA's are genuine Colts, only diff from the oldies is the
hammer block safety... And fire modern ammo....

Rifle and pistols are close enough to the oldies for me...
I've handled originals at our local gun club.. Except for the state of
aging, ya cant tell the diff...

SASS comes around every year, western style shooting is a blast...
Lots of fun, you should try it!!!



TH

[bsdaddict]

very nice gun, Lazs.  Still thinking about one for my dad...  He's made some noises about wanting a lever gun, mainly because he'd like to have a rifle that shares ammo with his revolver(s).  He's got a couple 38 specials and a .357 mag, anyone have any experience with using .38's in a .357mag?  Would the .357 Henry work for this or would it be a waste?

[TomHorn]

The 357/38 works sweetly in lever guns...
He'll love it, if he likes western stuff..

My son has a Rossi lever gun in 357...
I gave it to him for his 21st birthday...
It fires 38 with no prob... cheaper shootin!!!
He loves it!!!

TH

[lazs2]

No big deal horn.. it's just that you said you had a real henry... you don't.. of the two of us..  I think I am the only one who has a real henry.


the 44-40 was a centerfire.   It was, and is a crappy thin necked bottlenecked cartridge.

the 44 rimfire was a 44 200 grain slug powered by 26 or 28 grains of black powder.. the 44 WCF, or.. as it was later called the 44-40 was a 200 grain slug with a 40 grain slug.

You are right tho.. modern guns have better materials and can take higher pressures..  Mine is a 44 magnum which is light years from a 44-40

I really don't care but... a replica is a replica.  

I like my guns made in the USA... if I can.. the Henry and Kimber are all US made.

I didn't buy the gun to play cowboy or to try to fake anyone out.

The action was not sticky in the least.. it was glass smooth from the box.  I may have to send it back if the problem with the hammer not catching in the sear comes back.   I think they just got a little too light on the trigger.   Too narrow a notch.. there is no creep and the pull is about 2 1/2 lbs which is the lightest I have seen on modern guns out of the box.



lazs

[lazs2]

bsd.. yep.. 38/357 is a great lever gun round.  It will reach right out there from a carbine and shoots as flat as the 44 but with less energy.

I chose the 44 tho because I have so much 44 mag stuff.   And.. 44 mag brass is the toughest there is.    44-40 brass is trash as is most 45 colt stuff.. too thin.. not enough reload life in it for me.

38's are weak brass too but who cares?  It is easy and cheap to come by.  I also like brass instead of plated cases.

lazs

[TomHorn]

Your right, a replica is a replica...
But when I draw it from the scabbard,
People KNOW what it is... I don't have to say its a Henry, because it has the name on it... Its Obvious!!!

I have a wooden crate full of antique cartridges, I know there are a few of those 44 rimfires in there... Along with a boatload of the oddball antique blackpowder cartridges... I collected them for years, to build a cartridge board.. Never got around to finishing it... I'll dig around in it, see if I can find one...

Yep that seems a very light pull for a brand new rifle... Suprised it made it out of the factory that way... I wouldn't mind a pull that light, if I had stoned it myself... But thats pushin it!!! Getting to the point of dangerous.

45colt vs 44mag, is another old debate, LOL....
I like both myself, 44mag shoots flatter, but 45 throws a whopper slug...
If you can hit your target, both will get the job done, no sweat!!!



TH

[lazs2]

tom... 44 rimfire is not 44-40   All 44-40's are centerfire.   The most likely rimfire you have is the 44 henry.   There were some foreign 44 rimfires.

"take it out of the scabbard"?   I don't have a scabbard.    I don't have to explain anything..  I say "Henry big boy in 44" and everyone knows just what it is.  

Just like I am not trying to fool people that my Kimber is a 1911 colt..  I say "Kimber" and they know what it is.

As for the 44 mag 45 colt thing.. they both shoot the same weight bullet for the most part..  the problem I have with the colt is the crap brass.. it is thin and it is huge.. light loads rattle around and the brass splits.   I have thousands of 44 cases..  I would hate to tell you how many times I have loaded some of em.

Like I said... we shooters and gun owners owe a great debt to the cowboy action shooters for getting so many new people and families interested in guns but... I didn't know they were so snooooty that I can't shoot my Henry around em.

lazs

[Yeager]

is replica a bad word?  I guess if your a antique firearms collector it is.  

If the replica is high quality and continues a beautiful and important lineage of history and engineering then a replica is a most critical and important thing.

[Holden McGroin]

My replica is less fake than your replica.

[Rich46yo]

Originally posted by lazs2
bsd.. yep.. 38/357 is a great lever gun round.  It will reach right out there from a carbine and shoots as flat as the 44 but with less energy.

I chose the 44 tho because I have so much 44 mag stuff.   And.. 44 mag brass is the toughest there is.    44-40 brass is trash as is most 45 colt stuff.. too thin.. not enough reload life in it for me.

38's are weak brass too but who cares?  It is easy and cheap to come by.  I also like brass instead of plated cases.

lazs

                       I can load my .45 colt Vaquero to outperform, or perform closely, any .44 mag and quality .45 brass will last as long as any .44 mag brass as long as you buy quality brass. Somehow this myth has persisted since the days of balloonhead brass and weak walled .45 handguns. Dick Casull, and others, himself used the .45 colt to push the performance envelope.

                     Quality .45 colt brass is not "weak". I load .45 colt, .44 mag, .454 casull, and when pushing all 3 to their max I get similiar case lives.