Sixgun Seamus Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I have been in the CAS game for less than a year now and I personally shoot an Uberti rifle, Ruger pistols and Stoeger SxS and a Winchester 97. I have a buddy that I want to get started in our game and he owns a Henry Big Boy rifle. I have heard comments although nothing specific that a new model Henry is not suitable for CAS. I'd like to let him know but I can't give him anything specific so I'm asking for your help. What do I tell him? I own a Golden Boy and a Big Boy myself and really don't have problems with either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLACKFOOT SASS #11947 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Tell him NO! Don't wait until you see someone using one in a match. That will be a long time. Blackfoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 If he ALREADY owns the Henry BB, then encourage him to start getting involved with SASS/CAS I've never personally owned a HBB but from being a witness as to their value on the firing line and trying to shoot fast, don't be surprised if feeding issues are encountered. I have been around a couple (as in 2) that seem to work fine as long as the shooter worked the lever at an average speed and as long as he/she didn't try to run it fast. If his HBB starts giving him issues, then he can start looking for a more appropriate rifle. Wish I could be more specific. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Since he already has one. let him shoot it and he will soon learn. LG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Sgt. Jake McCandless #3368 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Seamus It is not well suited to CAS,it maybe better than throwing rocks at the rifle targets and it may not. As their is no loading gate on the side of the receiver one would need to master one round reloads through the ejection port. There not many gunsmiths willing to support the rifle,in fact if any pards know of one you might post it to help other pards out. If one incurs problems with a henry back to momma it has to go. In my opinion the only other rifle as poorly suited to CAS would be the 94 winchester in pistol calibers and if I had to choose between the two it would be the winchester,after that rocks. Adios Sgt.Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anvil Al #59168 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 If he ALREADY owns the Henry BB, then encourage him to start getting involved with SASS/CAS I've never personally owned a HBB but from being a witness as to their value on the firing line and trying to shoot fast, don't be surprised if feeding issues aren't encountered. I have been around a couple (as in 2) that seem to work fine as long as the shooter worked the lever at an average speed and as long as he/she didn't try to run it fast. If his HBB starts giving him issues, then he can start looking for a more appropriate rifle. Wish I could be more specific. ..........Widder +1 In my opinion. They are close to the worst SASS legal rifle out there. BUT. He has one already. So might as well use it to get started while he gets the rest of it together. Then if (and most likly he will) he is still shooting. He can upgrade later. Love there .22 But that Big Boy? I would rather throw rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ T. Sites Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I have been in the CAS game for less than a year now and I personally shoot an Uberti rifle, Ruger pistols and Stoeger SxS and a Winchester 97. I have a buddy that I want to get started in our game and he owns a Henry Big Boy rifle. I have heard comments although nothing specific that a new model Henry is not suitable for CAS. I'd like to let him know but I can't give him anything specific so I'm asking for your help. What do I tell him? I own a Golden Boy and a Big Boy myself and really don't have problems with either. I started with a Winchester 94 after a couple match's I started to go faster than the rifle. I would use the bb till I was running to fast for it to keep up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Bullweed Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Go for consistent 35-second stages, shooting clean and enjoying CAS. No one consistently runs these guns faster than that. My $.02 worth based on observations and heresay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cemetery Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I've shot with two people many times who both have the Henry Big Boy in 45colt. One uses smokeless, the other one uses full house loads of real black. Neither one of them ever had any troubles with the rifles. Were they fast? Not top ten, but they held their own, and had more fun than NJ law allows. If your friend enjoys this game, he can always get another rifle..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 They will cost you alot of misses due to rounds remaining in the Jammed gun .... I have seen 8 different guns in action ,,,,,,, at a large number of matches over a 6 year period and have only seen 1 run through a 10 stage match with-out trouble ... At the very next match that gun cost the owner 16 misses before he borrowed my 92 to finish the match .... He then proceeded to try a talk me out of my 92 ... I have seen folks want to give-up on this game because of taking large numbers of misses because of "The stupid Gun"... Good Luck if you try to run it for this game Jabez Cowboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace_of_Hearts Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 The Henry Big Boy can be used effectively for Cowboy Action as well as most other guns straight from the factory. The biggest problem with them is that no one makes any "improved" parts so they will run faster. You can help your friend considerably if you change the hammer spring for an adjustable one. Marlin main spring The ejector is also exactly the same as a Marlin Disassemble the action and POLISH all bearing surfaces to smooth out the action. Do not over-tighten the lever screw. It is designed to be finger tight only. Like the Marlin, The Big Boy does not like to used in anything but the horizontal plane. Don't tilt the action sideways to the right or you may experience "roll off" of the round on the carrier. The extractor is the weak point of the action. It does not like ANY dirt. The extractor is held in place by a spring loaded pin the pushes backward into the bolt when an empty is ejected. ANY dirt/carbon will cause the pin to stick/hesitate and the extractor will be unsupported and simply fall out as the action is closed. Viola! No more extractor. This is not a problem with factory load or reloads that are within limits that seal the chamber. Most Cowboy reloads have significant blow-back due to a lack of sealing and the carbon gets in the extractor pin hole. The solution is to increase the power of the extractor spring and/or enlarge SLIGHTLY the hole that the extractor pin rides in. A temporary fix is to apply grease to the extractor so that carbon can't get in. Reapply each stage. With the above fixes, the Henry Big Boy will run smoothly and reliably and can be emptied in about 5 seconds. Until someone makes single piece firing pins, I am afraid it will not function much faster than that. The rifle is also heavy and you have to muscle it around on sweeps that change directions a lot. It is accurate as hell..... (Don't forget to turn the rear sight insert around so that the black side faces the shooter. Most who "poo poo" the Big Boy for a match gun do not shoot unmodified 66/73's or Marlins that haven't had parts "ungraded" and polished. The Big Boy is a Factory Gun not a modified "race" gun. Use it till you heart tells you to buy some other. But! Always remember your first girlfriend and what that kiss felt like. Good luck to your friend and to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dapper Dynamite Dick Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 As a starting gun, they are good as anything. If your friend wants to stay in the game, he will find nothing but problems with the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pit Bull Tex Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I love the Henry.Out of the box or off the shelve it is the smoothest gun.I shoot with a cowboy that shoot a Henry sometimes and never has a problem with his.It is heavy but it will drive tacks.If your friend wants to shoot a Henry great.He will learn what he likes down the trail and then he can get what he likes not what he is told he needs.I started with a blue 92 and then got a 73 and a 66 and a brass 92.Had rotator cuff worked on and now I am back to the blue 92.Tell you friend to shoot and have fun buy what feels good to him and not what he is told he has to have and enjoy the ride.The guns are fun but the people are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Junky Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Like everyone else is saying.......it's takes a while to get "up to speed" in SASS. So, start with the rifle he has and learn the "game".....then when he out grows the rifle he will gladly get another. Since the rifle isn't married to leather or anything it's no big deal to swap it out later on. We have a couple guys shooting them and they do well with them at moderate speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Loving Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I purchased one in the early years of my SASS shooting. Mine ran pretty good right out of the box. Being in the .357 cal it's heavy as hell. At the end of a six stage day you've done your workout and won't need a trip to the gym. Additionally, allow the brass to get a little pittena because if you polish it up really pretty it'll blind you when the sun hits it. Never could get it to run really fast but it'll do the job and as mentioned above it is accurate. I used it for about six matches then fixed everything mentioned by myself and the others by putting it in the closet and buying a Jimmy Spurs uberti 1873 Winchester. Solved all my problems. Didn't see where your pards caliber was because I know they are not all legal. Hopefully his is in a .45 Colt because that makes em a lot lighter. Good luck and hope to shoot with each of you down the trail. :FlagAm:/> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckhorn Bud Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I started SASS with my Henry Big Boy. I had a few issues at first all due to case length. It likes .357 length cartridges. .38s are about 97% reliable. That other 3% is where the jams come from. As long as my overall length is good the rifle runs flawlessly as fast as I can. The only reason that I don't use it now is because my wife won't let go of it. It's her SASS rifle now. (We shared guns for a long time until we could afford a set for each of us.) As for the comment on misses, I've gotten several clean matches using my Henry BB. Don't let anyone discourage you. The Henry Big Boy is a good rifle. I can only see two down sides to the Henry BB are it is heavy and it can't be short stroked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Use what ya got until you feel a need to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Dog, SASS #20401 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I purchased one in the early years of my SASS shooting. Mine ran pretty good right out of the box. Being in the .357 cal it's heavy as hell. At the end of a six stage day you've done your workout and won't need a trip to the gym. Additionally, allow the brass to get a little pittena because if you polish it up really pretty it'll blind you when the sun hits it. Never could get it to run really fast but it'll do the job and as mentioned above it is accurate. I used it for about six matches then fixed everything mentioned by myself and the others by putting it in the closet and buying a Jimmy Spurs uberti 1873 Winchester. Solved all my problems. Didn't see where your pards caliber was because I know they are not all legal. Hopefully his is in a .45 Colt because that makes em a lot lighter. Good luck and hope to shoot with each of you down the trail. :FlagAm:/>/> I do not know why you think any of the HRAC rifles are not legal. The 357, 44 mag and 45 Colt are legal main match guns. The 30-30 and 45-70 are legal long range side match guns. The lever and slide action 22s are legal side match guns. The 22s and long range guns are much better suited to our game than the 3 main match leverguns. Thru the years I have seen ,more than a few newbies bring shiny new BUB (Big UGLY Boys) out to play only to find they are jammamatics and retire them quickly and replace them with Marlins, or Ubertis or Rossi 92s. They just do not work for main match competition. I have noticed the price on the BUBs has reached lofty heights as well. Money not well spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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