[Henry .327 PSA]

1 hour ago, Vail Vigilante said:

So how many variations of 32 length cartridge have you tried this with?

I am only using H&R Mag brass.  I have loaded from 1.340" to 1.400". 

[Primers]

 

[Wall mount wood rifle rack locking horizontal]

Just type in "wooden gun rack" in Google.

[Stoeger 12GA Single trigger seized]

Well the above posts weren't terribly useful so I will offer a few comments that might be a tiny bit useful.  The Stoeger single trigger is a Rube Goldberg device.  Hopefully you are old enough to know what that means.  If not look it up on Google.  The right hand hammer has a hump on top that hits tab A when if falls and that pushes on tab B, etc.  The good news is there are not that many parts in there.  Take off the stock and open and close the action watch the trigger and hammers move as they are fully exposed when the stock is off.  IF you have some mechanical ingenuity you should be able to see what is going on.  If not you will have to take it to someone that has some experience with Stoeger single triggers.  Which, unfortunately there are not an awful lot of.

[Henry .327 PSA]

Out of the clear blue sky I got an email from an LGS that the Henry .327/.32 Mag was available.  I had not seen any for quite a while.  We have all read the opinions on the wire of the Henry for SASS competition so I decided what the heck I will see if they are true.  I had just completed a complete tune-up on a new Ruger Marlin so I could do a direct comparison.  Not enough space here or probably enough interest for a full Chronicle article so here is a BRIEF summary.  The overall fit and finish is very good.  It functioned OK stock but like all new untuned guns was very stiff and clunky and something I would not shoot in competition.  I noticed there were at least two big differences from the older Henry's to the current production models.  The firing pin (the old was two piece, the new one piece) and the extractor.  The Henry also has a firing pin block and a transfer bar.  The Marlin does not.  The new Henry looks like a miniature Marlin 336.  The trigger pull was odd.  It broke at six pounds but felt much heavier.  It was like pulling against a solid wall.  The trigger did not cleanly break.  Just after a while of pulling the trigger the hammer would unexpectedly fall.  The trigger felt dead.  I have boxes of springs and parts so I replaced or removed the following parts.  (These are not great photos.  I did not set up any lights and just shot them freehand.)

 

 

I took an old Uberti firing pin extension and turned it down to the OD of the firing pin.  Bored a hole in it and then cut off and pressed a section on the back of the firing pin to convert it from transfer bar (which is now gone) to direct impact by the hammer.

 

 

As noted the trigger felt odd.  When you pull the trigger it is pressing up on the sear.

 

 

However on the other side of the trigger there is a link that is pushing up on the transfer bar.  This makes the opposite end of the transfer bar rocker push down on the sear spring so you are pushing and pulling at the same time.  Finding a replacement for this spring was somewhat of a challenge since it is curved in its movement and fits tightly on a stud on the sear to keep it in place.  After a bit of searching I finally hit the proper combination of spring tension and ID.  This trigger mechanism is completely different than the Marlin.  After looking at it I decided to make no changes that would keep me from reinstalling the original parts and returning the gun to stock.

 

 

Videos of disasembly and reassembly of the receiver show a simple process of simply shoving the hammer screw through the receiver.  I do not know if they have changed between the older and newer versions but it was a PITA trying to get that scew back in place.  A regular screw has the thread diamenter the same as the shank diameter as shown on the screw on the right.  The screw in the gun is a shoulder screw like the one on the left.  That shoulder kept hanging up on the transfer bar rocker.  It took me quite a while to figure out how to reach a probe up into the receiver to align the rocker.  (You can't use a slave pin because of the step in the shoulder screw.)

 

 

One other big difference between the Marlin and the Henry is the trigger guard and trigger placement.  With the Marlin I have impaled or bitten my finger a few times.  I have had no contact with the Henry trigger.  Henry on the bottom.  Also notice the new style extractor.  The older Henry .327s had a completely different extractor.

 

 

OK so how does it work?  Quite frankly I am astonished.  The trigger pull is now down to three pounds with a clean break.  It levers smoothly and lightly.  I have fired ten matches with it and it has not had a jam and can be run as fast as the Marlin.  The only bobbles I have had have been a couple of ejected live rounds.  Shooter error as the gun levers different from the 73s I am use to.  I am switching over to .32s as I am having a harder time with gun weight.  These steel Henry's seem to be in short supply as they dried up locally shortly after I bought this one.  There are brass framed ones still listed at different distributors.  BUT, the steel frame weights 6 3/4 pounds.  The brass model weighs two pounds MORE so that one is not a consideration.  I only want to carry one type of ammo so I use the same ammo in the pistol and this rifle.  I will see how its long term durability is but right now I am very satisfied with the rifle after the tune-up.  There are parts I removed that I would not remove on a hunting rifle and I made sure I did not make any changes that cannot be reversed and the original parts reinstalled.  Can YOU do this?  I don't know.

 

 

[Electronic scales]

40 minutes ago, Von Dutch, SASS # 7995 said:

I have a RCBS (electric) Brass prep center, and it was about 15 years old, and the motor took a dump called RCBS to see if I could buy a replacement motor and they told me no need it was good for life, and they set me a new one that was about 10 years ago. Thats not the first time RCBS had taken care of me!

 

I actually had an OLD Dillon vibratory cleaner (at least 20 years old) and it was guaranteed for life.  However, it did not take long for manufacturers to realize they cannot guarantee electrically operated devices for life.  When my old vibratory cleaner died Dillon replaced it with a new one and it does not have a lifetime guarantee.  This is the warranty for the current version of the RCBS prep center.  I am talking about what is happening now not the "good" old days.  I just paid $2.80 for a regular size McDonald's hamburger.  I remember when they were fifteen cents.  Simply not relevant in 2025.  I also have received excellent service from RCBS on their presses and accessories as I have from Dillon and Hornady.

 

[Well, I was going to a shoot today.]

Seamus so glad to hear you were not sitting in there.

[What's the best lasting gun blue?]

This one tested the best.  It is the "Super Blue" not the regular Birchwood Casey cold blue.  You have to wear gloves with this stuff.  I have several cold blues and this one is pretty good.  HOWEVER, NO, NONE, NADA, cold blue is as long lasting as hot tank blue nor do they cover like hot blue.  Period!  Also some cold blues take to certain kinds of steel better than others.  That is why I have .44-40, Oxpho-Blue and the Super Blue on hand.

 

[American Frontier Firearms]

They had a tent at Winter Range 20 years ago.  Beautifully finished.  I had one for several years but could never find a mate for it so I finally sold it.  They are fairly scarce and you seldom see them for sale.  USFA used Uberti parts for its early guns.  As I recall AFF used Armi San Marco parts. 

[Electronic scales]

25 minutes ago, El Chapo said:

 

I had a bad experience with a Dillon tumbler a while back and I no longer buy anything from them that they don't manufacture in its entirety and covered by their lifetime warranty.  Caveat emptor!

Nothing Dillon (or anyone else) sells that runs on electricity is guaranteed for life.

[Electronic scales]

This was the last PACT sold and it has been discontinued.  It was CHICOM.

 

[Electronic scales]

All the consumer grade reloading digital scales (PACT, Lyman, Hornady, RCBS, etc.) are made in the same factory in China.

[MEC 9000 Bar Return Spring]

Off the Mec website - 

 

[Where to find #4 lead shotgun shells]

13 minutes ago, El Chapo said:

Most ranges?  I've never been asked what was in my shotgun shells at any range. 

 

I don't load or keep shot bigger than 7 1/2 though as such shot is banned from virtually every clay range due to distance/safety requirements.

Seems like directly contradictory statements.  The fact that you weren't asked does not mean, as your second statement indicates, larger shot is not banned.

[Intermittent Firing Pin Results]

The cylinder is over rotating.

[Load advice ADI AS30N/APS350 (Clays) going to Red Dot]

On 5/12/2025 at 7:06 PM, Buckshot Bear said:

I have lucked out and got many many years worth of freshly made and imported Red Dot.

That is interesting since Red Dot and most other Alliant powders have not been availble in the U.S. for many, many months.

[WTB Original Winchester 1893 Shotgun]

I emptied the mailbox.  Should be OK now.

[WTB Original Winchester 1893 Shotgun]

If you do not do a deal with Blackwater send me a PM.  I have one in very nice condition in the safe.  If interested I will take it out and get a few photos.

 

I also have a Burgess in there somewhere.

[Miroku 1873 45 colt action job recommendations please]

https://sbgwllc.com/shop/miroku-winchester-1873-tuning-kit/

 

[Frontiersman help - Caps fire but fail to ignite BP]

[Ruger NMV fast draw?]

Old left, new right.

 

[Ruger NMV fast draw?]

It has the old Vaquero hammer.

 

[Long Hunter Operation]

Good luck Jim.  Should not be near as windy as Amarillo.

[Another 'Out of Battery' in southern Arizona (1866)]

I have a 66 lever you can have if you know anyone going to the ACSA match tomorrow (Sunday) I can bring it with me.

 

Edit.  The OLD original Navy Arms short carrier 66s had a lever safety.  They have not been produced for decades and the parts are virtually impossible to find.

[1873 OOB discharge at club match today]

The "trigger safety" has nothing to do with keeping the firing pin retracted.  It's purpose is to keep the hammer cocked until the lever is closed.  Most OBD's are shooter induced by slapping the lever trying to force in a round.

 

Edit.  The firing pin extension is heavy.  When you slap the lever and the bolt comes to an abrupt halt the extension keeps traveling forward by inertia.