Can the Henry Big Boy handle the Ruger only 45 colt loads?

[DougGuy]

Haha almost funny.. I remember shooting my 94AE trapper with 200gr "flying Ashtrays" loaded to the gills over 2400, definitely a max load, and I was almost hitting the bottoms of the vertical concrete berms at the 200yd range. Even at +P+ velocities, you could see the boolits going downrange in a trajectory that reminded me more of turning on a garden hose. We are talking FEET of boolit drop at 200yds.

Not saying it can't be done, but if you and he were to set out a steel deer target at 200yds and see how hard it is to hit it in the kill zone with that Henry rifle, I think he would rethink the distance at which that rifle is effective, at least in that caliber, regardless of boolit style or weight.

[tazman]

We haven't tried it beyond 100 yards yet. 150 may be the limit. Will try it and see.

[DHC]

We haven't tried it beyond 100 yards yet. 150 may be the limit. Will try it and see.

Please report back what you find. The Henry is a great rifle and I like the 45 LC a lot. Seems very accurate at 100 yards (using 250gr RNFP cast bullets), but I'm *very* interested in learning your results in pushing the cartridge faster/further.

- Dan

[DougGuy]

^^^Me too.. I also want a levergun in either .44 or .45 and I had settled on the Big Boy as my choice. I think I would like to know a little more about them because with pistol caliber leverguns, there seems to be a LOT of variables in land/groove diameter, and in chamber dimensions as well. I'd want one that would handle my 300gr Lee seated same as my Vaquero handles them.

[tazman]

^^^Me too.. I also want a levergun in either .44 or .45 and I had settled on the Big Boy as my choice. I think I would like to know a little more about them because with pistol caliber leverguns, there seems to be a LOT of variables in land/groove diameter, and in chamber dimensions as well. I'd want one that would handle my 300gr Lee seated same as my Vaquero handles them.

The Henry web site says the rifle will not feed a boolit larger than 260 grains due to action constraints. Anything bigger is too long I guess. I doubt I will even be trying anything larger than 255.

[DougGuy]

And I think I read somewhere that the carrier can be modified to handle a longer cartridge? The Lee C452-255-RF would be a good boolit for that gun I bet..

[Flinchrock]

I am using a 280 rnfpgc from Accurate Molds with 22- H110 or 20-VV-N110 with no feeding or other issues, ymmv. And 20 N110 is pretty compressed.

I am getting ready to attempt working up a load with the same Boolit and 300 MP...

[ghh3rd]

A 325 bullet at 1325 FPS sounds like it would thrash a guy.

I know that to be true for my 310 gr boolit at 1380 FPS from my Ruger SBH revolver... but it sure is fun!

[RobS]

^^^Me too.. I also want a levergun in either .44 or .45 and I had settled on the Big Boy as my choice. I think I would like to know a little more about them because with pistol caliber leverguns, there seems to be a LOT of variables in land/groove diameter, and in chamber dimensions as well. I'd want one that would handle my 300gr Lee seated same as my Vaquero handles them.

They will cycle on the short COAL crimp groove.

[RobS]

I am using a 280 rnfpgc from Accurate Molds with 22- H110 or 20-VV-N110 with no feeding or other issues, ymmv. And 20 N110 is pretty compressed.

I am getting ready to attempt working up a load with the same Boolit and 300 MP...

This one???
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_...=45-280B-D.png

The short nose of .315"

In either the 44mag or 45 Colt Henry one will be limited to around .320" nose length from what I have seen.

[Flinchrock]

This one???
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_...=45-280B-D.png

The short nose of .315"

In either the 44mag or 45 Colt Henry one will be limited to around .320" nose length from what I have seen.

That very one.

[tazman]

I shot the Henry today at 3 distances just to see what the drop was. Biggest problem is I am limited to 100 yards where we were shooting. I shot 25yds, 50yds, and 100yds.
No appreciable wind. Sunny and about 78 degrees.
Rifle was rested on a folded blanket on the hood of my car. All shooting was with open sights.
Boolit for all tests was a Lee tl452-230-tc. Tumble lubed with White label X-lox.
They dropped from the mold at .454 and were not resized. Loaded to 1.615 OAL(crimped in the topmost lube groove). This is slightly over the recommended oal but they fed flawlessly.
I used mixed once fired range brass and just cleaned them in a tumbler and reloaded them. I wanted to keep the process as simple as I could for my friend to duplicate as he is a beginner at both reloading and casting.
Primers used were Winchester large pistol in all cases.
All loads were used directly from a manual except for the WSH load. All were listed as compatible/safe for use in any 45Colt revolver. The big surprise was the Titegroup load as it substantially exceeded the velocity listed in the manual. Of course the Henry barrel is 4 inches longer than the test barrel so that may have some effect.

Load data as follows.
Powder Charge weight ave velocity Extreme spread
Winchester Super Handicap 6.8 grains 1054 fps 26fps
Herco 9.5 grains 1235 fps 27fps
800X 9.0 grains 1152 fps 22fps
Titegroup 6.5 grains 1253fps 20fps

My best group was with the 800X load. I got clover leafs at 25yd 1.5 inch at 50yd and 3 inch at 100yd
My friend shot better with the Titegroup load. 1.5 at 25yd 2.5inch at 50yd and 4 inch at 100yd He fired 7 shot group for the 50yd group. His other groups were not so good and neither were mine.
I was impressed with the extreme spreads form all loads. I am used to pistol load having much higher extreme spreads than these.

I sighted in at 100yds. 50yd groups were about 3.5" high. 25yd groups were nearly dead on.
This matches pretty well with the Hornady ballistics charts. The charts suggest the drop at 150yd will be approx 12-13 inches. Drop at 200yd to be approx 27 inches. SO DougGuy was pretty close on his drop estimates.
Remaining energy at 200yd should be about 420ftlb. Roughly the same as a 357mag with a 158JHP at 100yd.
While it would be very doable to shoot deer at 200yd with this combination, I expect it should be limited to 150yd because of the drop.
I am certain the groups will be much better if my friend puts a scope of some kind on the rifle. I know my eyes limit what I can do and I have seen him shoot much better with a scoped rifle before this.
We fired 80 rounds during the testing without cleaning the barrel, and at the end of the day the barrel was spotless. Just a very few flakes of unburnt powder from the 800X load we finished with.
Felt recoil with the 1200+fps loads was noticeably more than factory loads but still quite pleasant and not a factor at all. Quite comfortable.

Discounting the cost of the brass, cost per round was about 6.75 cents per round as opposed to the $1.00plus per round he had been paying. The shooting we did today only cost about $5.50 as opposed to the $80 it would have been otherwise. My friend was suitably impressed with both the accuracy and cost.
Seems I have started another addict to our game.

[9w1911]

Great info!! Im getting one in 44mag

[cherokeetracker]

Thanks to everyone here on the comments. I wanted to add this to the thread even though I am terribly late. The amount of steel around the 44 mag is greater than the 45 colt caliber. This is just one Part of the reason things get questioned. The other that was already stated was the fact that there really is no +P in 45 Colt. We have no sammi specs to such. But generally speaking the 45 colt can shoot the same velocities as the 44 mag with less pressures. But lets please not get into the 44 VS the 45 argument here. Just goning to offer some info.
I also want to offer some much better ammo than the Buffalo Bore and that is the Garrett ammo. It is 260 grain Lead Hard Cast going 1000 FPS from a 7 1/2 in barrel of a Colt SAA third Gen or a USFA pistol. and of course these can be used in Rugers and I am sure that these would be no problem in a rifle. I have shot many of these in my Colt SAA with no problems.
Two other offerings would be the 335 grain ( cast bullets only ) from Lead head bullets. I would suggest purchase first to try,,,, before casting.
I had some 360 grain bullets that will barely fit or cycle I should probably say, and they are a hoot to shoot. These heavier bullets will print higher and just may get you out to where a 150 yd shot or further is not so questionable. With the 335 I used H110 and with the 360 grain I used LIL Gun. 16 grains of the LILGun was the most accurate. It can be coaxed all the way to 19 grains. These are a milder solution than the Garrett offerings in the 365 grain Hammer Heads.

Another suggestion is to load a dummy round of one of these to see if it cycles in your gun before Loading Live. The last thing is to check the twist rate of the rifle you use. In 45 colt the best twist rate has been the 1-16 if the rifle is using something different then your results may well be different. Last if the 335 or the 360 will not cycle in your rifle then consider doing this. (Deep Seating) A 335 loaded with 20 grains of H110 or 10.5 of HS-6 Deep Seated to the beginning of the Ogive will give you the same results as the standard practice of loading to the crimp. With a slight roll crimp there is no bullet jump. COAL can range from 1.555 to 1.696 I was not able to check the velocities of these nor any of the other loads this summer when I was doing this. The dates that I was able to got to the range coincided with the windy days. On 2 occasions my chronograph was blown over. But I do know that the deep seated loads give about 900 to 1109 FPS in a 4 3/4 barrel pistol. Each pistol and rifle is going to give different results, in velocity and in bullets drop of course. But this was another alternative to just the same options we have been given before.

To those of you that are considering the 44 mag Let me tell you that the Garrett will NOT fit into a rifle. I had a Taylor Alaskan and the Buffalo Bore shot well in it. It was the 305 grain. Not sure about what the Henry will do.

Last thing is the stepped ramp on the rear sights make it easy for me to shoot some lighter loads and then change the ramp and go to the heavier loads when playing at the range. Hard cast, J bullets, and Powder coated have been sent down range with my lever guns and any caliber can be fun. Henry came out with the 41 mag and is coming out with a 327 soon. Options are open and the fun is endless. Great thread,,, Lots of good comments and info.

[cherokeetracker]

Tazman you have now given me the desire to shoot the Rossi 45 colt rifle at 200 yds. I will have to test this with the 335 and 360 also.

[CastingFool]

And I think I read somewhere that the carrier can be modified to handle a longer cartridge? The Lee C452-255-RF would be a good boolit for that gun I bet..

I have that mold, as well as the Lee 452-200-RF. Both molds have the crimp groove at the same distance from the nose of the boolit. So you cannot distinguish a 200 gr boolit from the 255 gr once it is seated and crimped. Still working on a load for the 255 rf.

[farmbif]

the new henry steel seems just as strong as any marlin or winchester

[GMW]

the new henry steel seems just as strong as any marlin or winchester

How about the brass frame Henry in 44mag? Would it be wiser to keep my loads to mid power? Maybe this question should be for Henry Arms.
I just watched a video on the new Henry offerings and Anthony emphatically stated that the brass Big boys are hardened brass and they will hold up to the heavy loads that the steel models will. Yepper!

[duckdup]

If anyone is still interested in this old thread, I'll restart it by mentioning this:
Phil Mahin at Sierra Bullets posted info on the company blog in 2017. He is working with 300 grain bullet at +P loadings for his Henry 45 carbine. I called their tech line and spoke with Phil about his experiments. He said he is working a bit to the right of the published rifle loads in Sierra's Manual 5th edition.
I, too, got the stock email reply from Henry, "the 45 Colt will handle +P loads from any reputable manufacturer," and limit it to 260 grain for reliable feeding.
My own tests have been with the Missouri Bullet Co 250 grain hi-tech coated cast bullet, Brinell 18. Up to 1780-fps from a Henry 20-inch rifle (tested with the strap-on chrono) and no signs of stress on the Starline Brass. Also tinkering with 240JHC using Reloader 7...

[trapper9260]

I just read this post.As for a idea of what the OP ask.I was thinking is ask the one of the manual you use that have about the data you want to use, if you can use the data from Ruger only in the Henry. They should know since they are the ones that come up with the data we use.