Henry rifles

O

oldmansbike

Inactive
Looking to get started in CAS and I am having trouble locating a rifle in 357. The only one I have found locally is a Henry Big bore in 357. NIB for $740. My question is are the Henrys any good for CAS? The gun seemed a little on the heavy side to me. My wife will be shooting it too so weight is a consideration for us. Thanks
 
Some like 'em, most don't. One big complaint is they aren't representative of anything that ever existed in the day.
 
shafter said:
Get a REAL Henry!
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Pretty expensive, and .44 Henry rimfire cartridges aren't very easy to come by. If you were to lucky enough to find one chambered in .44 Henry Central Fire, you could make ammo from .44 Colt brass, I think...
 
It's legal but generally frowned upon by the way it got to be legal plus it's heavier than Hell.
 
Ok, let's get it straight. Are we talking about a "Henry" rifle, as in an 1860 rifle (or replica thereof) OR are we talking about rifles manufactured by the company known as Henry?

There aren't a lot of 1860 rifles used in SASS because of (1) weight and (2) the loading tube mechanism, but I have seen some -- especially some BP shooters. The most popular rifles in SASS are the 1873, 1866 and 1892 Winchesters (but I don't want to leave out the 1894 Marlin....so now I haven't :D). In the case of the 1866's and '73's, these are, of course, remanufactures which are mostly done by Uberti and sold through distributors such as EMF, Navy Arms, Taylors, Cimmarron, etc. The '92's are mostly Rossi remanufactures.

I can honestly say that I've not seen a rifle manufactured by Henry at any shoot with the exception of .22 youth models shot by the Buckaroo/Buckarettes (age 13 and under). I've fired a couple of the .22's but never anything else made by them, so I can't comment on them.

There's lots of considerations when deciding upon a rifle for SASS competition. My best advise, as I've given before, is go to a local shoot, shoot their rifles and decide what you'd like to buy from the experience you have. Believe me, everyone will let you shoot what they have. Ask lots of questions, look at your bank account, and decide from there.

Good Luck!

Tanker6 a/k/a Chickahominy Charlie
 
The new ones made by Henry Repeating Arms. If the money thing wasn't as big of a deal as it is, I would probally roll with a Rossi 92 or a 1873.
 
The Rossi '92's are generally cheaper than a (for instance) Henry Big Boy in .38/.357, but without knowing what deal you have going, it's hard to say whether it's a better option or not. I purchased my '92 "slicked up" by a gunsmith and used for $500. The '73's are somewhat more expensive (stock guns generally run in the $850 range).

The Big Boy is not authentic to any rifle used in the Old West, but unless that bothers you, it's not important.

Again, I'd go to a local shoot and shoot the various rifles there and make my mind up from there. You may find someone who has a Safe Queen that he/she wants to part with that will be a good bargain as well.

Good Luck!
 
The Rossi 92 is about the cheapest bang for the buck. The older ones need some slicking up but fill the action with white lithium grease and work it a few hours and it will be slick enough to run loaded rounds through it with one finger as fast as you can work the lever.
 
Why? What happened?
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For a gun to be legal for use in SASS matches it has to be approved by the wild bunch(founders). The new Henry was built and advertised as SASS legal when it wasn't. A lot of people bought them and then found out they couldn't use them so the wild bunch were kind of pushed into accepting them. At least that's my understanding of it.
 
Politics aside, the chief downfall of the Henry rifles, for me, is that they're quite heavy. In our pistol cartridge silhouette matches, a couple of the guys have Henry .357s and after 40 rounds plus warm-up shots, they're a little hard to keep on target.

I have a Golden Boy and the same thing holds true with it - I shoot it regularly at smallbore silhouettes and it does get to be a handful by the end of a match.
 
I don't shoot SASS, but I do own a Henry Big Boy .357. LOVE that gun! Its my "go to" gun for deer hunting in heavy woods.

At 8.68 lbs it is a little heavy. Personally, I like that for offhand shooting. I find it helps me hold steady and makes the recoil of even full house rounds negligible.

Great rifle for hunting from a stand....a little heavy for "still hunting".

I like mine well enough that I also bought the Henry 30-30 and am currently hunting for a used .44 Mag. Great guns and great company!
 
Hawg Haggen said:
For a gun to be legal for use in SASS matches it has to be approved by the wild bunch(founders). The new Henry was built and advertised as SASS legal when it wasn't. A lot of people bought them and then found out they couldn't use them so the wild bunch were kind of pushed into accepting them. At least that's my understanding of it.
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That's the story I heard as well -- don't know if it's true or not, but it is the "popular" version. The biggest reason I've heard these rifles "frowned upon" is that they don't resemble any rifle of the period. They're manufactured by the company (they claim the lineage anyways) who made the first, 1860, lever action rifle, but the rifles they make now don't resemble the 1860, 1866, 1873, 1892 or any other rifle of the period. The only rifle of the period which side-ejected, for instance, was the 1894 Marlin. All the others were top eject. The SASS crowd generally wants it to look like the old gun -- not be some new modern design. :rolleyes:

That said, I wouldn't let anyone else's "frowning" bother me if that's the rifle I wanted. Legal is legal, no matter how it got that way. But you've heard most of the cons (and pros). Go shoot a bunch of different ones and decide for "yo ownself." :D
 
They're manufactured by the company (they claim the lineage anyways) who made the first, 1860, lever action rifle
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They have nothing to do with the original Henry, they just purchased the rights to use the name.


The SASS crowd generally wants it to look like the old gun -- not be some new modern design.
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I'm the same way only moreso. I want my guns to be true to the original design. That's why I don't like Rugers.
 
Thanks all. I haven't been able to find a Rossi 92 or a Marlin 94. I have found a Winchester 92 from Us Repeating Arms. Are they any good?
 
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