Henry BB Steel 45LC w/scope

[qwiksting]

Goodmorning to all. I have a question about the Henry BB steel in 45LC with a Leupold FXII 2.5x20 mm scope. I got the scope yesterday because the sights on the Henry are not compatible with my eye sight (they aint what they used to be). Anyway, the factory sights were real fuzzy and it was to hard to get a good sight picture. I was attempting to zero the scope at 75 yards. I bore sighted the barrel to get it on paper but had a hell of a time. Best I could do was at 50 yards to get on paper, but not really a good shot group. I was using cast rounds, 250LRNFP grain and . Now I am no genius with scopes, but could the weight of said boolit throw off the zero I was aiming for at 75yards? I even tried Hornadys FTX 225grn at 75 yards with the same results. Can some one give me an education. I am retired Army combat vet, I know how to shoot, but not with a scope, only iron sights.

[Tatume]

You give no indication of your location. The best thing you can do is to get hands-on help. If you are in eastern Virginia, I'll help you.

[buckshotshoey]

Have a known good shooter (not that you are not a good shot) with better eyesight shoot it with the open sights. That will confirm or deny if ts the load, or the scope mounting. The other thing to study is the .44 and 45LC have a 1 in 38 twist. You may want to experiment with projectiles on the lighter side. I really cant figure why they didnt twist their barrels a little faster in these calibers. A 45-70 with a 1 in 20 shoots very well. I would think the 44mag/45colt would respond well also. A search on this forum about 44 mag and 45 colt twist rates might net you some information. The 1 in 38 is a little controversial, so study and apply some common sense.

If you reload, you might have to push them closer to max loads to get the rpm's up. Could tighten your groups. Only one way to know.

[Tatume]

In 45 Colt, 250 and 225 grain bullets are "on the lighter side."

[buckshotshoey]

I know SAAMI has standards for cartridge dimensions and pressures. There is no reference to rifling twists on the SAAMI website. May have missed it. Just did a quick search. If you can find this reference for me, please post a link. Would like to study it.

[Tatume]

SAAMI specification for 45 Colt revolvers is 1:16" rifling.
http://saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Pistol/45%20Colt.pdf

For 44 Remington Magnum revolvers it is 1:20.
http://saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Pistol/44%20Remington%20Magnum.pdf

For 44 Remington Magnum rifles it is 1:38.
http://saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Rifle/44%20Remington%20Magnum.pdf

You are correct, in that there is no published specification for 45 Colt rifles.

[CastingFool]

I shoot both 200 gr and 255 gr boolits with my Henry BBS in 45LC. First few shots at 15 yds were surprisingly accurate. I was shooting offhand at 15 yds, because I wanted to make sure I hit paper, and yes, my sights were fuzzy. put a Bushnell 3x9 scope on it and sighted it in at 50 yds. Groups were not spectacular, but close enough to kill a deer. 200 gr RF did a good job on a woodchuck at 65 yds. I suspect the op's problem lies with the way the scope was mounted, or perhaps the scope itself. He posted he used a Leopold 2.5x20mm. That is a pretty small diameter tube, if indeed the correct size. Most scope tubes are a full inch (25.4 mm)

[Tatume]

The OP has the Leupold FX-II Ultralight Rifle Scope 2.5x 20mm. This is my favorite of all rifle scopes, bar none. They are excellent, have plenty of magnification, loads of eye relief (4.9"), and weigh only 6.5 oz. The tube is one inch diameter. The objective lens is 20 mm. The scope is not the problem.

[buckshotshoey]

SAAMI specification for 45 Colt revolvers is 1:16" rifling.
http://saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Pistol/45%20Colt.pdf

For 44 Remington Magnum revolvers it is 1:20.
http://saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Pistol/44%20Remington%20Magnum.pdf

For 44 Remington Magnum rifles it is 1:38.
http://saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Rifle/44%20Remington%20Magnum.pdf

You are correct, in that there is no published specification for 45 Colt rifles.

I did miss the .44 twist and looked right at that page. If the 1 in 20 is good for a revolver, why not in a rifle length barrel? If in a ,say, 10 inch revolver barrel, why not an 18 inch rifle? Not much difference there, especially using the .357 revolver/rifle as an example.

The SAAMI spec for .357 handgun is 18.75. There again is no SAAMI listing for .357 in a rifle. The Henry rifle in .357 is a 1 in 16!
They used a faster twist in the rifle for the .357. Why not use at least the same in the .44 .45 colt as the revolver. In this case, 1 in 16 or 1 in 20?

Just trying to understand. It doesnt make sense.

[ironhead7544]

The original 44-40 twist was 1x38. It was for the 200 gr RNFP used in the 1873. I dont know why they did not change it. My 44 Magnum Cowboy 1894 is very accurate with this bullet. The twist is generally good for up to 265 gr bullets.

Dont know the twist used in the 45 Colt Marlin. The 1x38 would probably work with 250 gr bullets. Winchester used 1x38 twist for 45 Colt rifles per 2 loading manuals.

[John Boy]

Here's a read of what happens when sighting and what to for different distances ...
http://www.gun-jutsu-training.com/zero-procedures.html

[qwiksting]

Henry is zeroed at 50 yards, dead on. After moving back another 25 yards, boolits drop 6 inches on target. Boolit used was 250 Gr LRNFP. 10.5 grns of HS6. With the fixed scope, that would be fine, its not a Lapua 338...its a 45LC. With the Leupold scope, I am much better with it that just the standard sights. Thank you for the input. BTW, used a rifle vise to take any variables besides the weather out of the equation, and had another set of eexperienced eyes on this as well. Conclusion was 50 yards , beyond that adjust sight up )kentucky windage).

[buckshotshoey]

As long as they do it consistently.....you got it made.