Honest opinion re: Italian Henry's

[gnoahhh]

I've held a secret desire to own a brass framed Henry in .44-40. Is the exposed tubular magazine truly as delicate as I would be lead to believe (not that I would be subjecting it to very much use), and secondly what kind of accuracy can one reasonably expect. If it can reliably dance empty beer cans at 50 yards with light cast loads, I'll be happy.

Would an iron framed gun be all around better than a brass frame, even if the gun will be lucky to get a couple hundred light shots per year through it?

Thanks.

[czechotto]

My experience with the Henry was with a .44-40. I used it in a couple Buffalo Bill Wild West Shows that were held at Greenbush State park Wisconsin in the 90's. With a Lyman .429 cast bullet and 35 gr. of fffg black powder, I could cut a playing card in half edgewise at 15 yds. (When I could hold it steady!) Also in the mid 90's I stood behind a shooter at the Michigan Camp Grayling Long Range Civil War Sharpshooter match who hit a 2ft.wide x4ft. tall target repeatedly at 800 meters using a .44-40 Henry. He light loaded the cartridge to near .44 Henry rimfire specs by using around 25 grs of black powder. It still had enough power to knock the target down and when it reset he would hit it again. There is no reason why you could not make a can dance at 50 yards. I have no experience with the iron frame. They are a fun rifle and a great piece of history. The magazine is sturdy enough as long as you don't plan on slamming it down on a rock or something. Remember to ease the spring loaded magazine follower down on the loaded cartridges. My son slammed it down on a 5 in 1 blank and it went bang. Scared the daylights out of us. Hope this is of some help and or interest.

[williamwaco]

Italian Henrys?

I don't think there is such a thing?

http://www.henryrifles.com/about-henry-repeating/

We take great pride in manufacturing our rifles in the United States, hence our corporate motto “Made in America, or Not Made at All”.

I know several people who own them in several calibers. 100% if them love them.

[czechotto]

I believe gnoahhh is referring to modern made replicas of the 1860 Henry rifle. They have been made for many years by Uberti and probably others in Italy. the first ones were only in .44-40. They now have them in .45 Long Colt. So yes there is such a thing.

[pworley1]

The UBERTI / HENRY 1860 is a great rifle in my opinion. Mine is fun to shoot and more accurate than me. I have never had a problem with the magazine, but I try to be very careful with it.

[jmort]

1866 and 1873. Great guns, especially when worked over by a SASS gunsmith. Would love to have a .357 1873 with a short stroke kit installed and tuned. I have tried one out and they cycle like a dream.

[Little Boats]

Offerings from Italy are much better than they used to be. Beer cans at 50 yards should be no problem straight out of the box. The fit and finish from places like Uberti are hit and miss but overall QC seems to catch the worst of them for further work. Italian guns have their break in period while they work out all of the rough edges. If you can take it apart and put it back together then doing most of the final fitting is something most tinkerers enjoy.

I would put a thousand rounds worth of wear on it with my moto tool then put it back together with any of the available spring kits. easy peasey

If money is no object and a person wanted an heirloom to pass on to family the American made one from Henry is freaking beautiful

[gnoahhh]

Thanks fellas. That's exactly what I wanted to know.

The U.S. Henry is indeed beautiful but $2300 is too much for my blood!

[williamwaco]

Thanks fellas. That's exactly what I wanted to know.

The U.S. Henry is indeed beautiful but $2300 is too much for my blood!

OK, I misunderstood the question.
I had no idea those things were that expensive.
you can get the 45-70 for a third of that but is is not a "Henry" It looks like a marlin 336.

Back to Uberti.

I have never owned one but I have shot several of them at the range. I think they are excellent.

[doc1876]

I have had a Henry by Uberti for several years. mainly shoot blanks out of it on horseback but I love it. the only drawback that I find is that the tube mechanisms have sharp edges. Enjoy

[BruceB]

...... $2300 is too much for my blood!

A quick check on Gunsamerica shows numerous Henry Big Boys in .45 Colt, priced from about $700 on up.

Where did this $2300 price come from? Is it for some different model? The GA ads, at least some of them, mention "brass frame".

A good friend just bought a .45-70 Henry for about that $700 figure.... what a dandy rifle!

[dubber123]

A quick check on Gunsamerica shows numerous Henry Big Boys in .45 Colt, priced from about $700 on up.

Where did this $2300 price come from? Is it for some different model? The GA ads, at least some of them, mention "brass frame".

A good friend just bought a .45-70 Henry for about that $700 figure.... what a dandy rifle!


Bruce, different animal altogether. The $2,300 one is a new made copy of the original Henry repeater. That is the MSRP, I have no idea what they are selling for.

[BruceB]

Ah-HAH! That explains it, and thanks kindly.

I was really wondering where the huge spread came from.

Hmmm.... does this mean I need a "real" Henry-type Henry? I watched a "Hickock .45" video a short while back, wherein he was test-firing a replica "real" Henry.... it seemed to run very well indeed for him.

Interesting for sure.... but the tariff, as stated, is very high.

[avogunner]

As others have stated, the Uberti 1860 Henry is a very fine rifle. I think I've had my .45 Colt version close to 20 years now and have no criticisms of it at all. I bought it for a fun rifle and it is exactly that. Also, I just plain like shooting these "old" rifles and think about the men that used them 150 years ago.
Semper Fi

[gnoahhh]

Hmmm. I started out thinking .44-40 (as a means of getting as close as possible to .44 Henry RF via handloading), but the comment about .45 Colt caused me to do a double take since I'm already deep into .45 Colt loading. Would it be worthwhile to try and scare one up? Does the skimpy rim have any effect on feeding/functioning?

I should admit that this will be my first (and probably only) foray into pistol caliber lever guns. I'm a devotee of Savage lever guns.

[fecmech]

I should admit that this will be my first (and probably only) foray into pistol caliber lever guns. I'm a devotee of Savage lever guns.
That's what they all say about pistol caliber levers! Betcha can't own just one!

[Little Boats]

Pistol caliber lever guns are great fun to have around. I took my last East Texas deer with an Uberti model 92 in .357. My only knock against the original Henry is they get hot while shooting.

For general plinking and SASS anything you choose will be fine. The 1866 and 1873 can be modified to shorten the lever stroke so those seem to be the current favorites for competitors. If your plan is to hunt with the gun or shoot heavy loads the 92 is the strongest of the pistol caliber guns due to the locking lugs.

[doc1876]

44-40 s will lever better than your 45s. now you can get pistols to match your new 44-40!

[hp246]

Uberti makes a pretty good product.

[35 Whelen]

I, for a few weeks, owned a Uberti 1866 long rifle in 44-40 which is essentially a Henry with a traditionally loaded magazine. I bought it to resell, but since I bought it used I decided to shoot it a bit. I cast and loaded a 220 gr. RNFP to "traditional" 44-40 velocities which is around 1200 fps MV.

The damned thing would shoot fist size 5 shot groups at 100 yds.:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Auctions/Uberti1866100ydlabeled2_zps458034f5.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Auctions/Uberti1866100ydlabeled2_zps458034f5.jpg.html)

I even messed with regulating the ladder sight to 200 yds.:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Auctions/Uberti1866200ydlabeled7_zps85e4c5d9.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Auctions/Uberti1866200ydlabeled7_zps85e4c5d9.jpg.html)

,,,but didn't work too hard at it since I knew I'd be selling the rifle.

I say absolutely get you a Henry!

35W

[hightime]

119868As in my avatar, Uberti, Henry, 44-40. Excellent! I also have a 1873 in a 45 colt. The 44-40 shoots the best.

Owen

[pls1911]

Friend has a Uberty as discussed above, in 44-40.
Fit, finish, function, accuracy, and fine wood quality puts it equal to any offering on the market.
If it was in .45 Colt, I'd be lusting for it.
If there anyone interested.....