I'm curious if anyone happens to have a Henry "Lone Ranger" chambered in 223 Remington? If so - how do you like it and are they any "issues" such as cartridge feeding (with box magazine) and COAL, boolit design, etc.?
Long story short - I got acquainted with a young fellow out here and we went shooting in the desert where he let me shoot some his 223 ARs. A lot of fun! I'm and old fogey though and the AR platform doesn't really appeal to me, but he had one set up with glass for bench rest shooting and I was impressed with the 223 Remington cartridge - enough that I'd like to get a 223 rifle just to play with the cartridge for plinking and target shooting. he 223 is all new to me however.
Lots of choices out there - bolt, single shot, etc. but I ran across the Henry Long Ranger and had never looked at them before,. so wasn't aware of them being available in 223. I have a number of Henrys and like them - and for what I want to shoot, one in 223 looks like fun.
One place out here I can shoot up to 100 yards and my friend just found another place that we can shoot out to 625 yards. Due to eyesight issues, I'll be scoping whatever the of rifle I end up with. I figured I would use Starline 223 Remington brass. I'd like to play with cast boolits - probably several different weights. The Henry Long Ranger in 223 has a 1 in 9 twist rate as does the Henry single shot. Other makes/actions I've started to look at seem to have fast twist of 1:9 to 1:12? I'm not looking to load "hot" , but rather to play around developing loads. At some point I might play with some jacketed bullets, but primarily I have always shot lead and cast my own. In 30-30 and 8 X 57, I have had good luck with cast and powders such as Red Dot, Unique, Bulls Eye, etc. out to 100 yards and have also played with gas checks in those calibers as well so am not afraid to do that in the 223 and go with other powders that would work better.
The videos I've watched on the Henry Long Ranger in 223 seems to show there ability for accuracy with a scope but they are using jacketed rounds. I like the idea of a lever gun in the caliber - but - there are so many options out there for bolt guns - Ruger, Mossberg, Savage. CZ and of course there is the Henry single shot - all priced cheaper than the Henry Long Ranger. So is the extra $$ for the Henry Long Ranger worth it in terms of accuracy ability with lead boolits - I know the quality is there - or would I be better served to go with different make/action type even if the twist rate is similar?
Because of my eyesight, even with a scope. I'm not expecting to be able to put them into a thimble but rather just have fun at shooting different distances and playing with windage and elevation and at long distances. be able to hit steel and hear the plunk once in a while
Your thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks!