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Hello, Has anyone seen a Henry reproduction in .44 special? I heard they were coming out but dealers know nothing about it. Also, Has anyone ever seen a Henry repo. in .44 rimfire? Back in late 70's Guns & Ammo did write up about limited edition...Some say they were chambered for .44-40 & only had rimfire pins? Thanks guys
Ammo for under $10 per 50 round box would sell nicely.
:Fire::cbpour::redneck:
I load the 44 Russian case with a 205gr RNFP and either holy black or a smokeless equivalent (depending on how authentic I want to be vs. how much I don't want to clean my weapons). With a couple minor dimensional differences, this is DARN CLOSE to a reloadable version of the 44 Henry RF. I did this purposefully because I wanted my cowboy guns to be more authentic for a post-Civil War cowboy/lawman.
Yes, there was a very limited run of 44 Henry Rimfire 1860s brought in in the mid-80s. I remember the dates specifically, because that was when I was doing Civil War re-enacting, and our unit discussed converting from the Enfield muzzleloader to the lever-action. (Didn't because it wasn't authentic for our unit, and getting/making blanks was not workable.) As I recall there were only 500 to 1000 of them made. I saw one at a Civil War supplier in the Quad Cities. (Was it Jarnigan's?) Anyway, that's the only one I ever saw. Haven't seen or heard of them since.
I believe the 1860s were brought in in 44 Spl. caliber at one point. I got an 1866 (again, I was thinking of a cowboy in post-civil war west) in 44 Special, which I then converted to 44 Russian with a carrier that allows shorter cartridges to load and feed properly. I'm pretty sure I could have ordered a 44 Special in an 1860 also, but I'm not 100% sure on that. Mine's a Cimmaron, and Taylor's was the only other source for the 44 Special versions. Try their websites.
Well I was recently up to Upper Missouri and got to handle a 44 Centerfire 66 that Doc was working on. It was made for the South American trade. The ctg is real close to a 44 special and I would love to take on apart to see just how it was filed but what I was told is 216 grain flat nose bullet with 23 grains of powder. Cimarron advertises both the Henery and the 66 in 44 special. With modern cases and the right mould it is easy to exactly duplicate the 44 henry round. I was lucky enough to get to shoot and original Henry with rimfire rounds about 20 years ago.
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Originally Posted by .22-10-45
I've seen '66's in .44 Special and had an 1866 shortened and rechambered from .44 WCF to .44 Spcial years ago. Have not heard about the Henry so chambered.
In the 1960's Navy arms imported a limited quantity of Henry's in .44 Henry rimfire. They were more for the collector than for serious shooters as the limited ammount of ammo made was VERY expensive.
The '66's that were imported back into the states from South America were chambered in .44 American, a center fire version of the .44 Henry RF. They were unique as they had dual firing pins, a RF set and a Center Fire pin. This was done so that they could use the .44 RF if the CF version were not available.
The closest you can come to the .44 RF in a rifle these days is to use .45 Cowboy Special Brass, which can be loaded with .45 ACP dies, and a 200 grain LRNFP bullet.
You will then have to get one of the mod kits to be able to use the short .45 Cowboy brass in a 1860 or 1866 chambered in .45 Colt. This modification is also available to allow the use of .44 Russian cartridges in a .44 Special lever gun. M1860 or 1866. You might want to check over at www.cascity.com for further info.