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Thread: 1860 Henry in .44 special?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    1860 Henry in .44 special?

    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!

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    Check at buffalo arms. IIRC, they show them.


  3. #3
    Boolit Man
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    None at Buffalo Arms, and after going through the same search myself I am pretty darn sure you cannot get one so chambered (in .44 Special that is).

    I do recall that years ago Dixie and/or probably Navy Arms brought in a few chambered to .44 rimfire, but where you might find one now is unknown to this unit.

    I own an 1873 Uberti Short Rifle in .44 Special, and I know that the 1866 Yellowboy replicas have been so chambered as well, but that doesn't really help. I was prepared to settle for an 1866 in lieu of a Henry, but the 1873 popped up sooooo......

    I have heard of Henry replicas being altered to accept .44 Specials by means of a chamber sleeve (Judge Roy Bean of SASS has one according to rumors) but I am not so sure I would go that route. Chamber sleeves are fraught with "possibilities"....for both good and bad.
    Otony

  4. #4
    Boolit Bub
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    Bring back the .44 Henry rimfire cartridge. I am sure that it could be done with some good effect. I'm thinking a modern aluminun alloy "Blazer" type case with lead boolit.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Freebore View Post
    Bring back the .44 Henry rimfire cartridge. I am sure that it could be done with some good effect. I'm thinking a modern aluminun alloy "Blazer" type case with lead boolit.
    Not a bad idea. AND if you really were clever, have it made to similar dimensions as a 44 SPECIAL casing and set up a MARLIN (or whatever) with convertible firing pins for rimfire AND centerfire....I had an old beater MARLIN set up that way for 32s back in the early 70s. A similar set up for a single action revolver, approved by SASS and NCOWS, would probably sell well also.

    Ammo for under $10 per 50 round box would sell nicely.


  6. #6
    Boolit Master


    MakeMineA10mm's Avatar
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    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.
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  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master

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    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.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master Grapeshot's Avatar
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    .44 rf - .44 cf

    Quote Originally Posted by .22-10-45 View Post
    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!

    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.
    Last edited by Grapeshot; 08-07-2010 at 05:44 PM.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check