Hollywood

I've been a SmugMug user for more than 10 years. Yes, the current basic account is $40 per year (I liked it better when it was $25 per year, but that was some time ago...). I find it very easy to use, both for uploading pics and for posting said pics in web forums. I will say that picture uploading is much faster than it used to be - maybe the extra annual cost paid for some better equipment on their end? So it can be said to be expensive (but I can afford $3.33 per month), but it works, it works fast and it works well. Gratuitous rifle pic of a recent build to celebrate the upcoming inauguration. Sorry for the funky bit on the pistol grip, but for now I reside in the Communist People's Republik of Kalifornia.

The Henry Big Boys have nice wood and a high level of fit-and-finish, especially for the price paid. And, of course, they are all American made. The single one I owned (357M, Big Boy Steel) was fine for plinking and/or hunting. The guns are highly over-sprung, I guess to make sure that they go Bang every time you pull the trigger. Mine sure did. There was nothing special about mine as far as smoothness of the action, and I didn't like the amount of side-to-side play that the lever had when extended. But it did feed 38 SPL cartridges just fine and it seemed to shoot accurately enough (just shot it at a short distance indoor range before I ended up selling it). As said several times above, you really can't run them fast, so not good for CAS. I also could not get used to it not having a side loading gate. That is O.K. for me on .22 rifles, but just didn't seem right with a centerfire caliber. And one would be pretty much on their own to slick them up or lighten springs, unless they had a local gunsmith who had specific experience and worked on this brand. No real aftermarket parts availability specific to Henrys. In the end it would have been a decent rifle for specific purposes, as long as those purposes didn't require fast shooting. With so many other better choices out there for CAS, I sold the Henry and went in a different direction. Once one shoots a nice '66, '73 or even a well done '92 or '94 it would be very difficult to deal with a Henry for any application. And I'm not all that certain that scoping a Henry is really any easier than scoping a Rossi R92. Rossi makes a pretty effective scope mount base kit for their rifles: http://www.rossiusa.com/accessories-scope.cfm

One of the guys in our club got a pair earlier this year. First time I saw them was when I was working the loading table, and all I could say was "wow". They are really beautiful guns, which stand out very nicely on the table and in the holster. I have not shot them, but to my knowledge in the 4 or 5 matches where I have seen him shoot them, he has had absolutely no issues with them. He's not one of our highly competitive shooters, but he's no newbie either.

I just went through this decision making process after deciding to start shooting BW after this year's Western Regionals. In order of main gun, then back-ups, I chose: 1) Newer production (post-"JM Stamped") Marlin 1894 CSS, 357M/38SPL, which I had bought used and had had some action work done by Cody Conagher; 2) Marlin '94 Cowboy Competition chambered in 38 SPL, with only the Marlin factory action work done to it; 3) Taylors & Co. (Chiappa) 1892 chambered in 357M/38 SPL. The '94 CSS initially gave me some fits in use, having previously used a Winchester (Miroku) '73 and a Uberti '66. Just gotta work the lever more consciously harder as compared to toggle-link actions. Also I found that it needed a really good cleaning/lubing, so I learned how to disassemble/reassemble '94s. Has since been 100% when I do my part, even with my 38 SPL hand loads. Just got the Cowboy Comp, and was happy I could find one chambered specifically in 38 SPL. I tried it for the first time before, and during a couple of stages in my last match. Not quite as nice yet as the CSS - The Marlin "factory action job" is not as good as one performed by a Cowboy gunsmith (I knew that going into the purchase), and the gun has not been shot enough yet. The Taylor's/Chiappa 1892... I chose to get this also as a potential back-up based on my personal general love for '92's (all previously Rossi's). I bought this particular rifle due to the high praise it had on the interwebs for its quality of materials and fit & finish, its buttery smooth action out of the box, and its lack of corporate lawyer specified safety features (no tang or bolt mounted safety, no multi-piece firing pin, no rebounding hammer, etc.) I will agree that the quality of the wood and metal and the fit and finish are spectacular. However I must specify that (based on the rifle I purchased), its action is really no better out of the box as compared to the Rossi's I have had. My wife shoots a Rossi R92 in competition, and it has a fantastically smooth action based on the re-springing and slicking up we performed on it at home. The Chiappa is nowhere near as smooth. So even though it cost a lot more money and is overall much nicer to look at as compared to a Rossi R92, I have to classify it as Nate Kiowa Jones classifies R92's: Unfinished as received. The Chiappa will need to be slicked up and re-sprung to be usable in competition, and then it will eventually be just as smooth as a worked R92, but it will look much nicer. Oh, and I had bought a Henry Big Boy Steel last summer (before I got the second Marlin and the Chiappa), and, well... It will be going to its new owner next week. He is just going to use it as a range toy and for plinking, which is the best use for it. Would not be good for any level of competition as it is so heavily sprung and there are no Cowboy gunsmiths who work on them. I suppose that an industrious owner could eventually figure out some lighter springs and do some significant polishing of the internals, but the Henry will never be a good rifle to use in our sport/game (at least in my opinion).

I just got the standard stuff (the first one on the page you linked). In my experience the standard cure adhesives (of almost any flavor) cure stronger than their accelerated cure cousins. When I did my new loading gate (I bought a replacement one and JB'd it even before I picked up the new rifle) it took about 3 hours of first applying, then shaping it back up (to deal with gravity sag), letting it sit, and repeating. After about 3 hours at room temperature I was able to make final shaping adjustments which did not sag away. So not something to do right before you are going to bed, to let cure overnight. Unless you want to have to build it up again the next morning, doing the process all over again. Working with the material while still pliable allowed me to finalize the shape just as it was beginning to set up, and no filing or sanding was necessary after full cure. There are some good photos on line of the result you want, and it ends up being a very straight-forward mod.