and yet another Henry thread..

[doghawg]

I found a local shop with the Henry blue Big Boy on sale. I know there are other Henry threads going right now but my specific question is in regards to the 1 in 38" twist and heavier bullets. Do any of you have any experiences with 300 gr+ cast bullets in .45 colt rifles? Especially at lower velocities? Wondering about accuracy and feeding. Thanks

[Seeker]

I found a local shop with the Henry blue Big Boy on sale. I know there are other Henry threads going right now but my specific question is in regards to the 1 in 38" twist and heavier bullets. Do any of you have any experiences with 300 gr+ cast bullets in .45 colt rifles? Especially at lower velocities? Wondering about accuracy and feeding. Thanks

Mine is so new and the weather is soo bad that I haven't had the chance to shoot it much at all. This past weekend I loaded up some Lee c300s with a medium charge of A#5 to test. Some night this week I'll load some with BE-86. Weather this week end is supposed to be a lot milder. I'll be back with a range report. G.

[doghawg]

Thanks Seeker and congrats on your new rifle. I'll be looking forward to seeing your results.
I'm sure the Henry .45 Colt would do a fine job with any of the 240-250 gr. JHP's and with cast bullets in that same weight category. Your mid-range loads with the 300's should answer my question. My GUESS would be that the heavier bullets might need a little kick in the pants to stabilize. I've had good luck in my Ruger Bisley .45 Colt with 300 Lee's and RCBS and even the 340 LEE (drops @ 457") sized down to .4535" and backed with Ruger only loads of 2400. But that 340 (346 gr.) might be asking too much of a slower twist....don't know.

[44man]

No, wrong twist all the way, need 1 in 20 to 1 in 25" max.
I do not know the .45 Colt twist. Henry shows no twist in their site.
How do you know the twist? Must be measured or call Henry.

[Static line]

No, wrong twist all the way, need 1 in 20 to 1 in 25" max.
I do not know the .45 Colt twist. Henry shows no twist in their site.
How do you know the twist? Must be measured or call Henry.

44man,you just lead me to do a search for the twist rate. I could have sworn that I read it somewhere on the Henry website that the 45 Colt was a 1 in 38 twist but when I just went back to visit the site,I could not find it either. So,after doing considerable searching, I came across an old thread on another forum where sombody called Henry and talked to them.They told him that it has a 1 in 38 twist and that their 45 Colt wasn't designed to handle anything over a 270 gr. bullet.Now this was dated back to about 2013 I think so anything could have changed from then.I guess the only way to know for sure is to call a tech at Henry.Actually,for me,when I think about it,I have so many cast bullets for the 45 Colt in 255 gr. that I don't have a need for anything heavier.And I am sure that they would do a number on White Tail at close range.But yes,I think Henry should list the twist rates on their site.They do for all the other calibers.

[jmort]

^^^ This is my understanding as well

[PerpetualStudent]

Henry's site is real hit or miss on that. The .44 mag big boy had a listed twist rate but a couple of weeks ago I had to call them to find the twist rate on their .357 big boy. Simply wasn't on the website. They did answer quickly when I called them (the phone and the question).

[doghawg]

Cabelas website showed the twist rate of .44 Mag and .45 Colt as 1 in 38".

[TXGunNut]

Henry's site is real hit or miss on that. The .44 mag big boy had a listed twist rate but a couple of weeks ago I had to call them to find the twist rate on their .357 big boy. Simply wasn't on the website. They did answer quickly when I called them (the phone and the question).


So...what was the twist on the .357? Seems I was fondling one the other day and thinking about all those thousands of 38 brass I have stashed around here.

[PerpetualStudent]

1 in 16 was the twist rate I was told.

He also mentioned that it was optimized for the standard 158 grain bullets but that seemed odd to me because I was under the impression that a faster twist rate like the 1:16 would stabilize the heavier ones (180 grain) more effectively than a slower twist rate.

[gandydancer]

sorry! through 41 mag was on list.


:redneck:

.172
- 9" for bullets heavier than 30 gr.
- 10" for bullets up to 30 gr.


.204/20
- 9" for VLD bullets
- 10" for bullets up to 45 gr.
- 12" for bullets up to 39 gr.



.222 RF
- 10" * 60 gr. bullets Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 14" * Twist for pistol barrels
- 15" * Special twist for rifle barrels
- 16" Standard twist for rifle barrels
- 16" Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 17" * Special twist for rifle barrels


.224 CF
- 7" for bullets heavier than 70 gr.
- 8" for bullets heavier than 70 gr.
- 8" * Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 9" for bullets up to 70 gr.
- 10" * for bullets up to 65 gr.
- 12" for bullets up to 63 gr.
- 14" for bullets up to 55 gr.
- 14" * Ratchet rifled 4 groove



6mm/.243
- 8" Special for VLD bullets over 100 gr.
- 8" * Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 10" For bullets up to 95 gr. and VLD under 100 gr.
- 12" for bullets up to 85 gr.
- 13" * for bullets up to 75 gr.
- 13.5" * for bullets up to 70 gr.
- 14" * for bullets up to 70 gr.
- 14" * Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 15" * Special for bullets up to 70 gr.


.257
- 9" for bullets heavier than 100 gr.
- 10" for bullets up to 100 gr.
- 12" for bullets up to 90 gr.
- 13" * for bullets up to 80 gr.



6.5mm/.264
- 8" for bullets heavier than 130 gr.
- 8" * Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 9" for bullets up to 130 gr.


.270
- 10" for all bullets
- 11" * for all bullets - 4 groove


7mm/.284
- 8" for all bullets-customer discretion 180 gr. VLD
- 8" * Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 9" for bullets heavier than 140 gr.
- 11" for bullets up to 140 gr.
- 12" * special for high velocity


.307
- 13" * Special size and twist


.308
- 7" * for heavy VLD bullets and/or subsonic ammo.
- 8" for bullets heavier than 220 gr.
- 8" Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 10" for bullets up to 220 gr.
- 10" * Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 12" for bullets up to 170 gr.
- 13" * Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 14" * for bullets up to 168gr.
- 15" * for bullets up to 150 gr.
- 17" * for bullets up to 125 gr.


7.65mm/.311
- 10" for all bullets


8mm/.323
- 10" for all bullets


.338
- 8" for all bullets
- 9" * Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 10" for all bullets



9mm/.355
- 10" * Ratchet rifled 4 groove
- 14" for low velocity wad cutters
- 16" for all other bullets


9.3mm/.365
- 12" for all bullets


.38/.357
- 14" for low velocity wad cutters
- 18" for all other bullets


.358
- 12" for all bullets
- 14" for all bullets


.375
- 12" for all bullets


10mm/.400
- 16" for all bullets


.411
- 14" for all bullets


.416
- 14" for all bullets


.44
- 20" for all bullets
- 16" for low velocity wad cutters


.451
- 16" for all bullets


.458
- 14" for all bullets


* Stainless Steel only


Black Powder Barrels (1.250" x 30"):


.32
- 14", 16" .320 groove


.38
- 20" .379 groove


.40
- 20" .403 groove


.457
- 20" .457 groove




Back to top. (http://www.shilen.com/calibersAndTwists.html#top)

[jonp]

Henry's site is real hit or miss on that. The .44 mag big boy had a listed twist rate but a couple of weeks ago I had to call them to find the twist rate on their .357 big boy. Simply wasn't on the website. They did answer quickly when I called them (the phone and the question).

and the answer was??????? I posted a thread on the new 41Mag. I was hoping someone would chime in on the twist rate as I couldn't find it. I think it is odd that Henry doesn't put it on the site. Do they not think people are going to shoot different weight bullets in them or never load cast boolits into a 45 Colt?

[PerpetualStudent]

For the .357 I was told it was a 1:16 twist. I have no idea what the twist rate for the 41 mag is. I'd give them a call.

[Lefty Red]

1 in 16 was the twist rate I was told.

He also mentioned that it was optimized for the standard 158 grain bullets but that seemed odd to me because I was under the impression that a faster twist rate like the 1:16 would stabilize the heavier ones (180 grain) more effectively than a slower twist rate.

My 357 BB would shoot 1.5-2" all day long out to 125 yards with my Skinner Peep and Lee 158-RFs over a full charge of Trail Boss or IMR4227. My bullies dropped out at 162 naked. Unsized and no leading with a dipped lubed Alox.

it would tear up the bullseye with Speer Gold Dots, ok with XTP in 158grs.

Jerry