Accuracy was good at 15 yards, all in a 6 inch target. Henry did a good job with this one.
Everybody has different standards, I suppose, but for me, 6" at 15yards is not "good" accuracy.
Went back and took another look at the pictures, re-read the posts (over half of which seem to be about what rifles Henry isn't making but should...
), and it occurred to me that Henry seems to have "Missed the boat" in about everyway possible, making me wonder if it wasn't deliberate.
The comment was made about how it is good to see a new revolver that's not in the snubby/CCW class, and I agree it is good to see that. But what Henry did??? IT might not quite reach the level of "abomination" but its a long way from the smartest thing they could have built.
First off, its a medium size revolver. Nothing wrong with that, but it does put it outside what most people today consider concealable and so they won't be interested in it as a carry gun. And, being a medium size revolver today, puts in direct head to head competition with sporting/service revolvers, both current and historical.
There is essentially no longer any significant "service revolver" market. Very, very few police carry revolvers these days (indeed, some of the younger ones don't even know how to operate them
), so where is the market for a FIXED SIGHT medium frame DA revolver, today??
That market in the realm of collectors, who like and enjoy the old police guns, which are virtually all S&Ws or Colts, and the Henry just doesn't fit.
Since the Henry misses out of the primary nostalgia market, despite an "old timey" look its not enough to pass muster with lots of us, let alone the purists.
I'm sure they will sell a number of guns to the curious, but after the novelty factor wears thin, then what?
Medium frame DA .357, is fine, but fixed sights (and from the picture, pretty small ones) and a free standing ejector rod, in the 21st Century??? Its not aimed at the police revolver market, because there isn't one any more. Its not in the small, light, easily concealable class, so that only leaves the sporting market, and those looking for a "nightstand gun" something for home defense without being carried in public.
For hunting, or even range use, I consider adjustable sights to be a requirement. I happily accept fixed sights on guns which are period pieces, and where the fixed sights are the only "correct" option, but I cannot understand why anyone would intentionally handicap themselves with them on a new gun intended for precision use (hunting and target) Of course, that's just me. But if the choice is an adjustable sight gun or a fixed sight gun in the same approximate use and price range, I'm not buying the fixed sight gun.
Free standing ejector rod? Ok, its a bit quaint, this one looks pretty beefy, shouldn't be an issue in practical use, but why? No one else is doing that much, these days, even Colt dropped the free standing ejector from its main models long ago. Last folks I recall hearing about demanding a free standing rod were some British gentleman who ranted about the shrouded rod getting jammed with mud in the WWI trenches....I don't think that really applies much these days...
I think the choice of caliber is fine, 38/357s are great rounds. But the rest of the gun seems a kluge of the least desirable features of the past century plus...
I am not, and do not judge a gun design on the trigger pull of a single or only a few example, particularly guns from the early part of the production run.
There is simply no way to know if the trigger (good or bad) of the gun in your hands is typical of all or just the individual gun you have.
Get a few hundred (or at least several dozen) examples where all, or nearly all exhibit the same trigger traits, then you have a sound basis for judging the merits of the design,
TO me, the Henry Big Boy misses the historical replica market, misses the bulk of the nostalgia market, and is inferior in the sporting market, combining that with its price point says to me that it won't have much in the way of selling points once "the blush is off the rose".