I have a Henry Big Boy Steel in 357 coming

[tazman]

I have a Henry Big Boy Steel in 357 coming and I want to load some ammo in preparation for breaking it in.
I can figure out my powder charges without a problem. What I need to know is what OAL seems to work best in that rifle?
Boolits I have available are Lee 358-158-RF, Lee 358-125-RF, NOE 360-150-SWC, Lee TL358-158-SWC, Lyman 358429, Lyman 358311, and the NOE version of the RCBS 180 Flat nose silhouette boolit.
Any experience you have had with any of these in the Henry would be a great help. I don't want to load up a bunch that will not work feed properly.
I have both 357 mag and 38 special brass available.

[Ramjet-SS]

I went with an Accurate mold that specifically made for the Henry rifles so Tom at Accurate can get you set up. The COL is pretty short. Now the fun part; this rifle is absolutely fantastic and so much fun. I have the Big Boy Carbine but the accuracy is really good in fact it is way better than my expectation. The darn little fun will shoot anything from the cast to 125 grain JHP. I can run this gun lighting fast. Enjoy they are really great rifles.

[MyFlatline]

I have one also..my favorite is a 180 grn. And have no issues with seating depths. All were loaded according to the books. They being said, the Marlin would not chamber what the Henry did.

[BigAl52]

I have quite a few Henrys and in my experience if you exceed the 1.590 oal you might end up with cycling issues.

[tazman]

I have quite a few Henrys and in my experience if you exceed the 1.590 oal you might end up with cycling issues.

Thanks. That is the kind of information I am looking for. It appears, from the loading manual, that a couple of the loads I am wanting to try will be right at that number. The 358311 being the first one I saw. Most of the others are shorter.

[Rizzo]

I have a Henry Big Boy Steel in 357 coming and I want to load some ammo in preparation for breaking it in.
I can figure out my powder charges without a problem. What I need to know is what OAL seems to work best in that rifle?
Boolits I have available are Lee 358-158-RF, Lee 358-125-RF, NOE 360-150-SWC, Lee TL358-158-SWC, Lyman 358429, Lyman 358311, and the NOE version of the RCBS 180 Flat nose silhouette boolit.
Any experience you have had with any of these in the Henry would be a great help. I don't want to load up a bunch that will not work feed properly.
I have both 357 mag and 38 special brass available.

Congrats on your new Henry.
I also have the BB Steel 357 mag. and use the Lee 358-158-RF mold for cast bullets.
I have been setting them at 1.580" COAL and they shoot fine with no leading sized at .358"
My recollection is that the barrel slugged at .355" groove diameter.

I am still experimenting with different powders and alloys to get the best accuracy and groupings.

I also tried some American Eagle 158 grain JSP factory ammo and these were very accurate at 75 yards, which is what I zero at. I am trying to match those results with cast bullets. Those AE bullets are set at 1.560" COAL and have 14.30 grains of what looks to be H110/W296 powder.

That's the next testing I am going to do with a 1.560" COAL and see how that goes.

Looking forward to reading any testing you do with yours.

[tazman]

I have a bunch of the Lee 358-158-RF cast up, sized, and lubed. I think I will start there and see what happens before I try others. I may also try some 358311 since I also have some of them ready to go.

[Jrprock]

My BBS carbine in 45 Colt will cycle up to 1.63” with no issues and 1.65” depending on bullet profile.

[TNsailorman]

I will be waiting on a report on your Henry Taz. I have been thinking about one in .41 magnum to go with my revolver. james

[dverna]

Have fun with it! I love my lever action.38/.357’s. I have three....but all Marlin 1894’s.

[robg]

that lee 158gr boolit works great with 7 gr true blue for a mid range load

[northmn]

What you load for the 357 depends a lot on its use. I keep a few American Eagle 158 soft points around in case I want to deer hunt with it. Other wise I like a 125 grain bullet loaded to around maybe 13-1400 in the rifle. They shoot well for me. That's my use.


DEP