Henry Big Boy Steel .44 magnum "Heads-up" info

[Hickok]

This may be some useful information on loading for the Henry Big Boy Steel .44 magnum. (Side-gate)

Here are tidbits I found with my Big Boy .44 mag., other rifles may vary.

My rifle will generally feed any cast bullet, SWC, RNFN, hp, etc as long as the OAL of the cartridge is 1.64" or less. BUT, crimp grooves are not always located to this measurement.

The Lyman 429421 is entirely too long, as the front driving band would be inside the case, and the crimp would not prevent bullet "setback" in a lever action.

IF, I seat the RCBS 240gr SWC to the 1.64" OAL and crimp on the front driving band, the cartridges will feed perfectly. I realize this is not the optimum way to crimp.

The Lee 429-240-SWC seated to crimp groove feeds perfectly, 1.60". Feeds slick and easy.

Also the Lee 240 grain RN boolit will work if I first "bump" a flat-nose profile on boolit and then load to the crimp groove. This gives a OAL of 1.64".

My barrel mics at .431". I size at .432" Barrel twist is 1 in 20 inches, 12 grooves.

The RCBS and Lee molds are casting about .001" to .002" under .432" (depending on the mold), with ACWW, so I PC, then size to .432". (Gas-check where needed.) Absolutely no leading, barrel cleans with a patch or two.

Groups at 50 yards are 1 1/2" to 2" for five shot average. I get 3" to 4" groups @ 100 yards for 5 shots.

I am using H110 and 2400 powder, and more load development is ahead.

Just an observation, I also have a Winchester 94AE in .44 magnum. It has the solid butt-plate, while the Henry has a generous recoil pad. I can shoot the Henry from a bench all day without any discomfort. The Winchester starts to thump my shoulder after about 30 to 40 rounds. Not extremely painful, but I can feel that "warm glow" in my shoulder with the Winchester after hammering a long string of magnum rounds. The Henry is mild and comfortable because of the recoil pad.

(I don't even want to mention my Marlin 1895 45/70 off the bench!)

Hope this info may be of use for anyone wanting or owning a Henry .44 magnum.

[TjB101]

Thanks for the information… I’ve had a 44 steel on order for 6 months. This will come in handy

[Hannibal]

I commend you for being realistic with the group sizes from your rifle. I had a brass receiver in .357 and from factory accuracy was very similar to your experience. There's an archived thread around somewhere.

I'm highly suspicious of some of the accuracy claims I've seen on the forum.

[phonejack]

I have the same results with mine.

[JoeJames]

My brass Henry Big Boy really liked the .431" 240 grain Laser Cast boolits from Oregon Trail. So certainly not surprised yours like the .432".

[doulos]

So far my BigBoy shoots both .431 and .432 sized bullets about the same. I have a older 1-38 twist rifle. It shoots bullets up to 250 grains or so pretty well. I have shot some really good groups at 50 meters. Most with lighter loads using Unique, Universal etc. Have shot very little at 100 yards. . My best heavy loads have been with a Nosler 250 grain and Hornady XTPs. My cast bullets are just behind those. Most groups at 50 with heavy loads are about 2 inches. Have used AA9, 2400, H110. But best groups have been with AA11FS believe it or not. I had a 7 shot group at 50 meters just over an inch with that powder. Ive tried some 300 grain pills. They were fairly accurate to about 70 yards. I noticed at 80 some of them were tipping when going through the paper. The rifle is probably more accurate than I can shoot it. Small short lever actions are tough for me off the bench. They are very sensitive to how hard you pull into your shoulder and forearm placement.
As far as OAL. I have kept all my reloads at 1.610 or under.

[brass410]

So far I've been able to hit the backstop everytime with my 44mag, regardless of distance. Target performance well lets just say "minute of pie plate"

[Dom]

Disappointed to hear about the loading limitations on the Henry. My Win 94 has no such problems. Feeds anything from 200gr SWC to my largest, a 310gr SWC crimped in the crimp grove. Was thinking about a Henry, but not now. Thanks for the info.

[odette]

My .44 X Model has taken everything I have fed it in both 44 mag and 44 Spl. I am feeding it cast .44 from an old 240 gn RCBS SIL mould. With wheel weights it is throwing 250 gn. Groups are 2 to 2.5" at 50 yds. I have not worked up any loads yet for accuracy, only powder used so far was a starting load of H110 in the mag and a starting load in the Spl using Unique.
I am going to try 10 each in mag and Spl with and without gas check.

[Hickok]

Disappointed to hear about the loading limitations on the Henry. My Win 94 has no such problems. Feeds anything from 200gr SWC to my largest, a 310gr SWC crimped in the crimp grove. Was thinking about a Henry, but not now. Thanks for the info.

Dom, I also have a Model 94 Winchester 44 magnum, and like yours, mine will feed anything that will fit into a .44 magnum case. It doesn't care how long or short the bullet is.

[Dom]

My thoughts also. The Henry is not an inexpensive rifle & should handle a variety of bullets, properly crimped. To me a 250gr SWC is a bread & nutter bullet for the 44 mag. Never heard of a 44 lever rifle not accepting this bullet. Henry has to be aware of this. What happens if a shooter wants to use some of the Buffalo Bore ammo with heavy bullets ? Henry needs to make an adjustment to this rifle IMO. You can of course send a chamber & throat cast of your rifle to LBT molds who will cut a custom mold to fit properly.

[Groo]

Groo here
Many forget that the factory spec for oal of a 44 is 1.61 [or so] not what you can put in a revolver!!!!!!!!!!!
Keith designed his boolet for "short "cylinder 44 spec rounds, not 44 mag.
This changes oal too much for some levers to handle as they are designed for "Factory" spec rounds.
I see this most often with people use to loading for "long" cylinder guns like the Ruger blackhawks...
The think the rifle should take the same oal,,, tain't so.....

[Dom]

Got to thinking about this bullet length dilemma . Checked some of my 44 bullets. Picture shows a 44 cal 250gr SWC ( Lyman mold ) on the left & a 44cal 265gr RFN ( Saeco mold ) on the right. Even though the Saeco is heavier by 15grs it is noticeably shorter. This bullet style mighbe the answer to your OAL in the Henry? The Saeco style will easily allow crimping above the crimp grove if needed. Attachment 285656

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Try some Hogdon HS-6 with those boolits. My scoped Henry single shot will put 5 into one ragged holed at 50 yards. Using the irons I would probably be in the 2"-3" range as well.

[Dom]

HS-6 formerly known as Winchester 540 delivers excellent accuracy in my 44 cal handguns & rifles with a little less than top velocities , but a very useful powder.

[odette]

My .44 X Model has taken everything I have fed it in both 44 mag and 44 Spl. I am feeding it cast .44 from an old 240 gn RCBS SIL mould. With wheel weights it is throwing 250 gn. Groups are 2 to 2.5" at 50 yds. I have not worked up any loads yet for accuracy, only powder used so far was a starting load of H110 in the mag and a starting load in the Spl using Unique.
I am going to try 10 each in mag and Spl with and without gas check.

[odette]

out of my Henry X, the 44 spl without gc's keyholed badly and only 5 out of 10 were on paper. The 10 with gc's printed about a 4" group, no keyholes, windage was good but shot 6 to 8 " high. This was a starting load for 250 gn .44 Spl lead load. All were Hi-Tek coated with 3 coatings