Henry big boy 327 federal magnum

[psweigle]

Looking to add either a 16 or 20 inch henry to the collection. Does anyone here own either, and what kind of velocities are you getting? Im curious as to which one shoots faster.

[northmn]

Are you going to reload or just shoot factory? I have a 32-20 and reload for it and find its handiest when loaded down a bit to about 1300 fps.

DEP

[onelight]

Looking at these results http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/327mag.html 18” is the longest he tested but it does not appear that there would be enough difference in velocity to make any practical difference . I would buy the barrel length I preferred for reasons other than velocity.

[megasupermagnum]

I own the 16.5" carbine. I have not shot it much over the chronograph, but the Federal 100gr factory load is well north of 2100 fps. That load shoots pretty good, but is surprisingly inconsistent on velocities. ES is over 100 fps. You won't be able to measure a velocity difference between 16.5" and 20". If anything, it looks like Ballistics by the Inch predicts a slightly (insignificant) lower velocity from the 20". The only problem with the Henry is the short shell lifter, meaning OAL has to be kept under 1.530". I modified mine to 1.550", but you can't get much more. It's a real shame, because it looks to me that the rifle is identical to the 357 magnum version, except for the shell lifter. I've been thinking of trying to mill my own part. The rifle should be able to accommodate north of 1.7" (357 mag). 1.625" would be nice, as then it would match the LCR (max in my LCR is about 1.600"), SP101, GP100, Blackhawk, Freedom arms, and any other custom handgun.

[Greg S]

I would contact Henry first and see if there is any difference between the two lifters. It would be easier to modify the 357 lifter with jb weld as far as oal and resting round height for ejector/bolt pick up on closing.

[onelight]

Will the Henry’s work with 32 H&R or 32 S&W long?

[megasupermagnum]

That was the first thing I tried. They don't seem to want to sell parts. I took a good look at it today, and think mine can be modified farther to work.

@onelight. They seem to cycle 32 h&r just fine, and advertise as such. I have not tried 32 long.

[onelight]

That was the first thing I tried. They don't seem to want to sell parts. I took a good look at it today, and think mine can be modified farther to work.

@onelight. They seem to cycle 32 h&r just fine, and advertise as such. I have not tried 32 long.
Thanks

[psweigle]

I plan on reloading. The ammo is very hard to find locally. Thanks for all the input.

[onelight]

I plan on reloading. The ammo is very hard to find locally. Thanks for all the input.
I have had some Federal cases once fired they were the 100 grain load that when reloading discovered some primer pockets were extremely loose I shot these in my single seven and SP101 both guns were clean with lead free bores no signs of excess pressure out of those 50 , 3 or 4 you could seat a primer with your thumb
I am unsure what caused it
Just something to watch for.

[psweigle]

Thanks for the tip. Looseprimer pockets aren't good.

[megasupermagnum]

I have not had primer pockets loosen up yet, but I've not reloaded Federal brass many times. I exclusively use Starline. One thing to watch for is split cases. I had the problem with 2 out of my 3 handguns I had at the time, so it was hard to blame the chamber. I found that most resizing dies were overworking brass to the extreme, although they were in tolerance. My fix was to size with a FCD with crimper removed, you can skip this step if you only have one gun. After that, I size down just enough for the bullet with the regular sizer. Since I began pseudo neck sizing, I have north of 15 loadings on hundreds of cases without a single split.

It might be premature, but I believe I have modified my henry to accept cartridges with up to a 1.625" OAL. I made half a dozen SWC dummys at 1.610" (currently the longest nose bullet I have), and ran them through both fast and slow. My gun always fed fine fast, but sometimes was "crunchy" if cycling SWC's slow. If anything, my gun cycles better now. The extra lead out front seems to help the cartridge turn into the chamber better.

[jjnpg317]

My Henry 327Mag 20" was giving me trouble chambering SWC (B-C#932) (Saeco#325). I contacted Accurate Molds and Tom suggested RNFP 31-110DG. He was right on ! It chambers well and with Accurate#9 shoots really well in the rifle in Starline 327 brass. I like it.

[rockshooter]

using 32 H&R cases, I find that the NOE version of 311008 feeds beautifully if the OAL is 1.455". Not so well at 1.370. I use the 32 H&R loaded long because Starline .327 cases split more often, not just in the Henry but also in 2 Rugers.
Loren

[saleen322]

This is what we got from our 20" Henry. For comparison we also shot them from a 327 GP100, 4.2" barrel. The 100 grain SP is the factory Federal round.

https://live.staticflickr.com/4408/37054245911_3dd9a80cfa_b.jpg

[saleen322]

Will the Henry’s work with 32 H&R or 32 S&W long?

Ours needs a minimum of 1.16" OAL and a max of 1.53". We shoot 32 S&W out of it so long as it makes minimum.

[onelight]

Ours needs a minimum of 1.16" OAL and a max of 1.53". We shoot 32 S&W out of it so long as it makes minimum.

That’s nice to hear. Thanks

[psweigle]

From what i gather all over the internet, and i know to taje it with a grain of salt, the 20 inch is actually getting better velocities than the carbine. The fact that it will shoot h&r mag is a plus. Im getting a 3 inch sp101 in 327 in a week or so, and have a direction on which rifle to go with it. Thanks for the help.

[reddhawkk]

Good info, thanks all. I just bought a .32 H&R Ruger and was thinking I needed a lever action to go with it.

[denul]

I have not had primer pockets loosen up yet, but I've not reloaded Federal brass many times. I exclusively use Starline. One thing to watch for is split cases. I had the problem with 2 out of my 3 handguns I had at the time, so it was hard to blame the chamber. I found that most resizing dies were overworking brass to the extreme, although they were in tolerance. My fix was to size with a FCD with crimper removed, you can skip this step if you only have one gun. After that, I size down just enough for the bullet with the regular sizer. Since I began pseudo neck sizing, I have north of 15 loadings on hundreds of cases without a single split.

It might be premature, but I believe I have modified my henry to accept cartridges with up to a 1.625" OAL. I made half a dozen SWC dummys at 1.610" (currently the longest nose bullet I have), and ran them through both fast and slow. My gun always fed fine fast, but sometimes was "crunchy" if cycling SWC's slow. If anything, my gun cycles better now. The extra lead out front seems to help the cartridge turn into the chamber better.

Can you share details of the modification?

[onelight]

This is what we got from our 20" Henry. For comparison we also shot them from a 327 GP100, 4.2" barrel. The 100 grain SP is the factory Federal round.

https://live.staticflickr.com/4408/37054245911_3dd9a80cfa_b.jpg

Thanks for posting your results. Those 120gc bullets are moving right along.