And then there is the Henry...

[Tudorp]

Ya can't have a lever action section without a Henry. Henry knows how to build a lever action. Once ya shoot one of these, ya never want to shoot anything else (yeah, right). Henry Big Boy in .357 Mag, and Henry Golden Boy in .22lr.

[Dannyboy53]

Those are beautiful carbines Tudorp!    I have a Henry H001, I've had a lot of .22 rifles and this one is by far the smoothest functioning and best shooting I have ever had. They are great carbines for sure.

[Tudorp]

Thanks, I do love Henry rifles. I sold off one of my M1 Garands to purchase the Big Boy. I chose the .357 BB, because the more popular one is the .44 mag. The cowboy shooters buy the .45LC, so not many carry the .357 so that is the one I went looking for. I figure if someday in a few decades, if/when these Big Boys ever become a collectible rifle, it's going to be the one no one wanted when they were built. So, that would be the .357. Ya just don't see many out there right now, and they are still currently being built.  Nobody wanted the Edsel either back in it's day..

[Loose}{Cannon]

Cant say I have ever shot a Henry.    Bring it to TX and let a cowboy check that dude out.   

[Tudorp]

Ironically, we are from Texas, and about to be in deep east Texas for about a month visiting family.

[Greasemonkey]

I'm still tempted to trade my Marlin 1894 in .357 for a Henry .357, but for now, I have the Golden Boy .44Mag, and the thumper Henry .45-70. The Henry original in .44-40 has tempted me as well, but the price holds me off.

[CARBINE]

I just bought a Henry last weekend, I will post up some pics tonight if I get a chance.....its pretty cool.

[carls sks]

beautiful! my wish list just got longer. 

[firstchoice]

I'm still tempted to trade my Marlin 1894 in .357 for a Henry .357, but for now, I have the Golden Boy .44Mag, and the thumper Henry .45-70. The Henry original in .44-40 has tempted me as well, but the price holds me off.

  I've been wanting a Henry in .357 for some time now. Have you fired the Henry's in either, or both, the .45-70 and the .44-40? Just curious as to ballistic comparisons/bullet size, etc.? I will have the Henry .357 some day, but may complete the set with one of the other two aforementioned calibers. Would like to hear any advice on this!

firstchoice

[Greasemonkey]

There is really no comparison between the .44-40 and the .45-70, it's apples to oranges.  The .45-70 is a rifle round from the word go, in it's extreme hottest loads, it gets to .458 Winchester Mag territory, the .44-40 was used as both a pistol round and a rifle round, somewhere above a .44spl and well below a .44mag. The .44-40 is basically the gun that won the west, and was very popular due to both pistols and lever actions being chambered in it, it simplified ammo. The .45-70 was developed in the same year in 1873, so both were originally black power rounds. The .45-70 was originally a military round used in Trapdoor Springfields and even the Gatling gun, and according to the Sandy Hook tests

After the Sandy Hook tests of 1879, a new variation of the .45-70 cartridge was produced: the .45-70-500, which fired a heavier 500 grain (32.5 g) bullet. The heavier 500-grain (32 g) bullet produced significantly superior ballistics, and could reach ranges of 3,350 yards (3,120 m), which were beyond the maximum range of the .45-70-405. While the effective range of the .45-70 on individual targets was limited to about 1,000 yards (915 m) with either load, the heavier bullet would produce lethal injuries at 3,500 yards (3,200 m). At those ranges, the bullets struck point-first at a roughly 30 degree angle, penetrating three 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick oak boards, and then traveling to a depth of 8 inches (20 cm) into the sand of the Sandy Hook beach.

I don't have a Henry in .357....yet, I have a Marlin 1894, which I had problems with, it's been pretty decent since I got it back for warranty work. One day it will be dropped for a Henry in .357, or since I have the S&W 657, maybe I'll just opt for a Henry in .41 Mag. The .44 Mag Big Boy I have shot quite a bit, it really is a joy to shoot and very accurate. The .45-70, oh yeah, I've shot it and love it, both are and live up to the hype of being super smooth, even out of the box, something the Marlin isn't and wasn't, it's pretty ratchety.  One thing alot of lever guys don't like is the loading, they are not side loaders like the Marlins and Winchesters, you have to pull the sleeve out and insert your new rounds, think Marlin 60 style tube mag. I haven't had an issue with it, but some detest it because you can't really "load on the go" like the Marlin or Winchester, I say you also don't get your finger caught in the load gate either..