Should I be burned at the stake?

Hey, at last a thread about a Henry and not one complaint about the lack of a loading gate. Congratulations SG, you've done the impossible.
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I much prefer conventional loading gates on most lever-action rifles. See, you were right-it really is impossible! ;)
 
It's a Henry, no harm, no foul. Nothing wrong with Henry, it is a modern rendering of a lever operated rifle, so a modern sight is fine. Now, an 1886, I'm bring the kerosene.
 
stagpanther-
You are already well into 2 pages of response for a post that is less than 8 hours old, so I would say you have stirred the pot just about right. Shoot it, and when people start flaming you, you know you are getting some attention. I say go for it! Traditional or not, it's a gun, not a beauty contest.
 
Just so you know, that is currently known as 'steampunk'. You are fully within reasonable fashion.
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Nah, for Steampunk it needs pipes and a boiler. Lots of brass, copper pipes, gears, and pistons.
 
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Yea, Henrys aren't classic, don't matter what you hand on them. I don't pay much attention to what others like as long as it suits me.
 
Well, it's a tough crowd....ummm, is this any better/forgivable?

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Loaded up my first "real" full power batch of handloads and this time I sure felt them--ouch! Gonna have to add a pad of some sort to the metal butt plate--that thing stings when banging out faster loads.

Decided to try Hornady 300 gr HP's driven by Xterminator--which is a compact spherical powder. The burn efficiency isn't especially good, a few of the bullets exited with big fireballs. The actual velocity recorded was far less than either the published data or QL indicate. I've seen powders "slow down" in cold temperatures, it was 14 degrees though I don't know how much of a factor that might be, the volicities I was getting were around 180 fps slower than what the published and QL indications said I should be getting.

The groups got progressively tighter the more powerful the load was, with 62.2 grs, the top load in powder, turning in a good group marred by one (obligatory) flier (or maybe it was one good shot with 3 fliers). :rolleyes:


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The groups got progressively tighter the more powerful the load was, with 62.2 grs, the top load in powder, turning in a good group marred by one (obligatory) flier (or maybe it was one good shot with 3 fliers).
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Looks to me like you had one in the bullseye along with 3 fliers.:eek:

I used to use Reloader 7 from Alliant with 300gr Remington bullets and got a consistant 2025fps from my Marlin 45/70. I don't remember the load for sure but IIRC it was 50grs of powder. But check the manual. Don't rely on my shakey memory.:confused:
 
I used to use Reloader 7 from Alliant with 300gr Remington bullets and got a consistant 2025fps from my Marlin 45/70. I don't remember the load for sure but IIRC it was 50grs of powder. But check the manual. Don't rely on my shakey memory.
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I was getting around 2000 fps--but should have been getting almost 2200 fps. I'll take a look at RL7 as well as some others. This is not a cheap cartridge to load--eats lots of powder and the bullets are remarkably expensive.
 
This is not a cheap cartridge to load--eats lots of powder and the bullets are remarkably expensive.
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The bullets aren't really any more expensive if you look at them on a "per volume" basis. They're bigger, more material, more expense.

And they aren't huge mass volume production like say a 9mm or .223 bullets are. So, no volume discount there either.


I don't know the "strength" of the Henry, 2200fps with a 300gr is 100fps above what my book lists for the 1895 Marlin, and almost over 300fps faster than the old listed loads for the 1886 Winchester.

2100 with a 350gr is smoking hot in Ruger No.3 level. You might consider REDUCING your loads when the weather gets above freezing again...seriously!
 
I don't know the "strength" of the Henry, 2200fps with a 300gr is 100fps above what my book lists for the 1895 Marlin, and almost over 300fps faster than the old listed loads for the 1886 Winchester.
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This is a 22" barrel, mind you, and like I said I was getting about 1900 fps. The "formula" came out of western powder's guide for "modern" 45-70's.

Just checked--here the actual labradar numbers:


300 HP 62.2 Xterminator
Series No 6
Total number of shots 4

Units velocity fps
Units distances yd
Units kinetic energy ft-lbf
Units weight grain (gr)

Stats - Average 1907.46 fps
Stats - Highest 1931.01 fps
Stats - Lowest 1861.47 fps
Stats - Ext. Spread 69.54 fps
Stats - Std. Dev 32.37 fps

Shot ID V0 V25 V50 V75 V100 Ke0 Ke25 Ke50 Ke75 Ke100 PF25 Proj. Weight Date Time
1 1931 1822 1719 1623 1527 2483 2210 1967 1753 1553 546.6 300 01-19-2019 03:25:12
2 1929 1820 1717 1621 1525 2478 2205 1963 1750 1548 546 300 01-19-2019 03:27:26
3 1861 1757 1657 1565 0 2307 2056 1829 1631 0 527.1 300 01-19-2019 03:28:48
4 1908 1800 1698 1603 1508 2424 2158 1921 1711 1515 540 300 01-19-2019 03:30:38
 
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H322 is my 45-70 powder for full power loads. Nothing has been better in any of them. 2200 with your 300 grain, and yes that hurts. H322 is tolerant of reduced loads to a point.
 
H322 is my 45-70 powder for full power loads. Nothing has been better in any of them. 2200 with your 300 grain, and yes that hurts. H322 is tolerant of reduced loads to a point.
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Just discovered I have a couple of pounds of H322--I'll try it--thanks. What about H335?
 
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If you get 2000fps with a 300gr bullet you are reproducing the British Express loads that were 45 caliber 300gr bullets at 2000fps. Most people buy a 45/70 for power not velocity. I would be more interested in a 350gr bullet and 1800fps or some 400gr lead bullets at 1600fps. Nothing that walks this country is safe from one of those loads. Cast your own bullets and you can shoot it for less than half the cost.

No matter if you get 2200fps from a 300gr bullet it won't even shoot as flat as a 30-30 round with the poor BC of that blunt nosed bullet.
 
I would feel less icky if you had that optic on a blued receiver, not a brass one, but if it shoots well, who am I to judge?

The lever action market needs to start moving with the times though, it's not the 60s and 70s anymore where a simple 4x scope was all that was available. Today's lever actions, specifically those in big bore revolver cartridges are dynamite to 100 yards, but the optics that make them lightening fast and capable for snap shots at that distance are all built to be on AR's. The lever action is built for speed, surely there's something that can be done to make them look half decent with a red dot or a reflex sight on them, no?

Heck, even a bolt action looks alright with an optic that's not a scope.
 
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