Henry Single Shot Initial Impressions

[megasupermagnum]

Part numbers are somewhere in this thread.

[Foggy1111]

I have had that idea, but I'm thinking aluminum may be better. Plenty tough, and the less mass, the better. I wouldn't change the length, but I would make it larger diameter.

I do have some good news though, as mine is finally 100% reliable. I had to go to the 42# spring. I've shot 150 rounds now with no problems. There is no problem with my gun, and there is certainly variations between each, so the 31# may work with some. Mine did not, but works with with the 42#. My trigger is now a crisp 3 pounds, 6 ounces. I can't complain about that. I've got a couple loads worked up, and and am happy with it. At this point I don't think I will change anything more, and will continue to shoot it.

Mega.....how is the hammer pull? Can a kid or gal operate it?? That is one of the biggest complaints I have with my Henry SS.....that the hammer pull is tough for me and would be for many others. While the trigger pull is "hard" at least it breaks clean....and has little creep.

I like the idea of a material change in that plastic intermediary bushing. Listening.

[BigAl52]

Kudos To MSM for all of his research testing and time spent helping others. I like RFD have just used the 31 pound spring and the stock small spring and been perfectly happy with the results. No FTF and I have a Burris 2 X 7 X 32 scope on my 357. Have a Carlson hammer extender on it also. With my hand around the grip I can reach up with my index finger and easily cock the hammer. I would think a woman or child could cock the hammer without to much effort. Not sure what my trigger pull is as I dont have a gauge. Ive been following this thread for quite sometime. I changed my 357 quite sometime ago and have fired about 300 rounds through mine. For those that dont want to search back through this thread the 42# Spring part number at Grainger is 54MY59. Bag of 10 of them is 19.90 and I think they charge 10 to ship them. Al

[megasupermagnum]

I have had an 11 year old nephew shoot it with no problems at all. I do have a hammer extension on it, which may or may not make it easier.

[jaysouth]

Just got my Henry barrel back from David White today,Chambered from 357 Mag to 357 Maximum and barrel chopped to 20". Have not had time to shoot it yet, Anyone have a 31# hammer spring they would be willing to sell?

Has David made any pronouncements about the Henry yet? He must like them or he would not work on them. He is a master with Handis and encores.

[Foggy1111]

I've had two of the Carlson/Henry hammer extensions fly off the gun. Why?....because they are made of aluminum and cannot withstand the firing process without working loose. I have a third Carlson/Henry extension delivered to my door at N/C from Henry.....due to these issues and my complaints. They are now made of steel. I am hopeful that the extension stays put now....but cannot check it until I get back to MN.

These issues are small....but none-the-less are frustrating when working with this gun. I think there will be a reasonable solution with replacement springs to afford a reasonable hammer pull.....and a decent trigger pull. My example would be horrible for women and youngsters......and not something to brag-on for adults.

I really hate to "rag-on" a gun for these reasons......but this example of Henry's production leaves allot to be wanted. In short....the trigger and hammer pull sucks.

[BigAl52]

Henry replaced free of charge the alum hammer extenders they had. Also Grove tec is another option. I have one of those on mine and they stay on and work fine. Im not sure what one would expect out of a rifle that sells for about 375.00. I personally think its a good little rifle. Not ever being in the gun manufacturing business I wouldnt know what there up against with legalities when it comes to the trigger. Maybe the design can be changed for the hammer pull and Ive heard they are working on it. In any case I like mine

[crappie-hunter]

Has David made any pronouncements about the Henry yet? He must like them or he would not work on them. He is a master with Handis and encores.

I did not have a conversation with him at all about the Henry. He just responded to my email about the total cost of the work I wanted,and I sent him the barrel only and I had it back within 1 week of sending it to him ,very fast turn around.

I am impressed with the rifle so far, have not settled on a load yet but the Lee 200gr cast bullet shows the most potential. and the best groups so far. I have fired a couple of 5 shot groups that measure 1 1/4" at 90 yds, with a cheap simmons 4 power scope. More testing is in order to verify repeatability. I'm impressed so far especially with 77yr old eyes.

[megasupermagnum]

Henry replaced free of charge the alum hammer extenders they had. Also Grove tec is another option. I have one of those on mine and they stay on and work fine. Im not sure what one would expect out of a rifle that sells for about 375.00. I personally think its a good little rifle. Not ever being in the gun manufacturing business I wouldnt know what there up against with legalities when it comes to the trigger. Maybe the design can be changed for the hammer pull and Ive heard they are working on it. In any case I like mine

It's a good rifle with some work, but as it stands, they won't exist for too many more years. Henry absolutely needs to make changes to become competitive. There is a long list of sub $400 rifles that beat the Henry single shot in pretty much any category. Unless Henry can make these semi-competitive to the TC Encore, the line will be discontinued. It's as simple as that.

I doubt we will ever see the broad range of calibers that TC offers, but to outright decline the idea of a switch barrel? Henry has overpriced themselves to be a replacement for H&R, and even H&R offered extra barrels. That's the whole point of the break open single shot! If they wanted to build a nice single shot, they should have made a falling block to compete with the Ruger #1. That would have given them a much larger price range to play with, and would have made more sense.

I said this when they came out, I bought one anyway just to see. I am now certain I was right. After the work I put into it, it's a great rifle for me. I don't see myself buying another, unless they make needed changes.

[BigAl52]

MSM
You could very well be right. Im not sure of all the Single Shots below 400.00. I dont have a big selection of Single Shots the Henry is my first. Ive owned TC contenders in the past but never went the carbine route with those. Most all the TC stuff I see now is more money than the Henry. From what Ive seen of the CVA and read about them I dont care to own one if there customer service stinks like I read it does. As far as the Henry being discontinued down the line neither you or I know that. Maybe the improvements are coming. Al

[megasupermagnum]

I hope they improve it. TC cost more money, but you are getting a rifle with a good history of surprising accuracy, nearly unlimited calibers/barrels, and while the out of the box triggers aren't impressive (certainly usable, unlike Henry), they can be tuned to be fantastic. Plus the big one is the option to become a handgun. In the case of cheap single shots, I think most would go for the Rossi, although there are other brands. I don't like any of the cheap single shots now, they had nothing on H&R.


Personally, I'd rather Henry drop the nice wood stocks. Make a rifle that works out of the box, put synthetic stocks on it, maybe skimp on the sights as they ones they have are garbage anyway, and get it down to a street price of $275. Then they could be competitive, and take the gap H&R used to fill.

Being as that's not Henry's MO, a better way to go would be to fix the trigger, and offer extra barrels. Then Henry would have a rifle competitive with TC, for a significant discount, and nice wood stocks.

[crappie-hunter]

Mega.....how is the hammer pull? Can a kid or gal operate it?? That is one of the biggest complaints I have with my Henry SS.....that the hammer pull is tough for me and would be for many others. While the trigger pull is "hard" at least it breaks clean....and has little creep.

I like the idea of a material change in that plastic intermediary bushing. Listening.

Made a bushing out of stainless steel today,tolerances have to be near perfect, especially length. Test fired two rounds, it went bang, more testing needed,I had been getting 1 or 2 misfires out of 20 shots with the original large spring only. No time for range work today,will post when I get time to do more testing.

[hillbillydruggist]

does anyone have any scope mounting tips? I am thinking about buying a new Henry and I have a Leuopold 6x36 fixed power, I have a horrible track record with scope mounting...LOL

[megasupermagnum]

There's no real secret, but ring height is always touch and go. Now I have enough rings around I can try a few to get the right height. Use the Warne base they make for H&R handi rifles. I would bet low rings will work with that combo.

[hc18flyer]

does anyone have any scope mounting tips? I am thinking about buying a new Henry and I have a Leuopold 6x36 fixed power, I have a horrible track record with scope mounting...LOL

Today I picked up my Henry .357 max from my Gunsmith. I had purchased the Warne 981M base and low Burris Zee rings to mount a used Leupold 4x Compact scope. My Gunsmith had to use medium rings to clear the hammer. Makes a compact, neat rig, can't wait for the weather to break so I can shoot it! I will post pics as soon as I can.
hc18flyer

[8mm]

I have read all 14 pages of this topic with great interest. I have 2 Henry SS rifles: a 44 mag brass and a 308W steel. I bought a spring from a member but have not yet installed it. The 308 is the most likely recipient. The cocking force and trigger pull is excessive which is no surprise to anyone who owns this rifle or has read these pages.That will be my Spring project when and if Winter finally recedes.

I agree with the commentary on the commitment of Henry in producing a fine product made in the USA as well as a first class customer service. I believe that the trigger issue will be resolved by Henry in the not too distant future simply because it is a lawyer induced design flaw that has tarnished an otherwise fine product. My need for a 30-30 single awaits the improvements.

In the past year I have acquired 2 CVA Hunter singles: a 45-70 and a 35 Whelen. They are not things of beauty but the beauty is in functionally excellent quality and as superbly accurate cast bullet rifles for less than $250 each. I have had no real issues with CVA and their customer service is very good. The reason I am going off topic is to note that the low end single shot rifle market once owned by H&R is now Henry's competition.

[littlecmonkey]

I took possession of a Henry SS in 30/30 yesterday. I don't have the #31 spring yet, but did take the gun apart to remove the small spring to see if that had any effect. It did reduce the trigger weight by about a pound, but there seems to be no consistency to the pull weight in using a gauge several times after the work. I get from high six to low five, but never the same twice.

Decided to see if the hammer still had enough force to detonate primers. First pop never occurred, but after that has shot five flawlessly. Sigh...why couldn't they just design this correctly in the first place?

If anyone has a spare #31 spring they're willing to sell, please PM me.

The quest continues....

[rfd]

with the henry .357 s/s i had, it required the 31# spring and short spring to get consistent primer strikes, and yielded a consistent 3.5# average trigger pull weight. with the henry .223 s/s, it only required the 31# spring. very inconsistent from gun to gun, as a few other folks here have noticed. as one feller has deduced, it might just be an issue with the effect of the stock bolt going into the spring tube. in any event, getting a 31# spring, or even some of the other springs that MSM was offering months ago - all came from grainger, i believe.

[littlecmonkey]

I did end up getting a 31# spring. Went out this morning to test three different loads to see what the gun preferred. Had five shells of each recipe. Experienced two misfires with the new spring WITH the original small spring. Not acceptable.

Though I like the solid "clunk" of closing this gun, the fit and finish is decent, the wood is above average...this trigger thing is a deal breaker. I wish I had not purchased this gun. I will not buy another Henry unless they announce this problem has been resolved. Made in America, or not made at all. In my opinion, with this trigger, it should not have been made at all.

Gun grouped well, but with the original equipment and cold weather, I'll have to bring along a set of vise grips to pull the trigger.

[RustyReel]

I wish I had not purchased this gun. I will not buy another Henry unless they announce this problem has been resolved. Made in America, or not made at all. In my opinion, with this trigger, it should not have been made at all.

I agree. I put the 31# spring in and it made a world of difference...I can at least cock the hammer now and the trigger is lighter. However, I have had misfires each time out and I certainly would not hunt with the gun for that reason. I waited a long time to finally get one of these and I wish I had not wasted the time or money on it. I'll take a used Handi. Mine is in 44 Mag and thus far doesn't shoot worth a hoot either.