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Henry single shot rifle


Too Tall Bob

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I am searching for CURRENT OWNERS  of these rifles as they(the rifles) have now been available for a bit. I am interested in your opinion of them, quirks they may have etc. I am looking for responses from folks who ACTUALLY own and shoot them. 

Thanks in advance 

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I'll be following this because I'm interested too. I really wanted to get the 45-70 with the blued receiver (because the brass receiver has no butt pad!) for side matches, but have been hesitant until I see some honest reviews.

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3 hours ago, Tyrel Cody said:

 

3 hours ago, Too Tall Bob said:

I am searching for CURRENT OWNERS  of these rifles as they(the rifles) have now been available for a bit. I am interested in your opinion of them, quirks they may have etc. I am looking for responses from folks who ACTUALLY own and shoot them. 

Thanks in advance 

 

I have the Henry Single Shot 45-70. It has the steel receiver. It is a wonderful rifle. I have never used it in a match but that is because I opted not to shoot BP. 

 

I have fired mine with HMS 45-70 Cowboy 405 Grain hard cast lead cartridges. At 50 yards the sights were dead on. The kick from these rounds is tolerable with the recoil pad furnished with the rifle. The sights are basic flat top rear with elevation bar and brass bead post front. At 100 yards I just aim a little high, inch or two, and it’s dead on.

You cannot mount a tang sight on these rifles due to the locking lever mounted in the tang.

The metal finish is very good and the wood is excellent. 

Cabela’s / Bass Pro have these rifles for $379.00. I paid $369.00. Fantastic deal!

 

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

 

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Thanks Pat - that’s the kind of info I was hoping for regarding the single shot rifle. 

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4 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

Nice looking rifle, Patriot.

 

lI bet it would look gorgeous with a big octagon barrel, or maybe half Oct/round setup.

 

..........Widder

 

Now that would be nice - half round/octagonal

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I have petitioned Henry on social media to consider making a single-shot in .38-55. I think that would be neat. They already make the new side loaders in that caliber.

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I have the same rifle .

Love it .

I did upgrade the sights with Buckhorn sights and a large bead front sight.

Love it too :D

I will try to post some pic's  later .

 

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14 hours ago, John Hangman Ruth said:

I have petitioned Henry on social media to consider making a single-shot in .38-55. I think that would be neat. They already make the new side loaders in that caliber.

That caliber would be dandy for plainsman side matches.  The pistol calibers are not as useful as the shorter cartridges are more difficult to handle quickly.

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I have the Henry single shot with the steel receiver in 45-70. I have shot, and won, a couple of plainsman matches with it. I subsequently sold my H&R Handi Rifle in 45-70 to a friend. Love the gun. Its great looking, good quality.  It has extractors, not ejectors, so I shoot in traditional plainsman category. After some modifications, I love the gun. Right out of the box it had some quirks that kept if from being as competitive as it could be. I am going to explain the modifications I did on my gun, but of course take no responsibility for the function of your gun or your safety if you try to do the same. I also would not make these modifications if I was going to use the gun for other purposes. However, I purchased it just for plainsman competitions. It does take some bravery (or stupidity some might say:) to start grinding away on a new gun like I did.  

 

The gun is fairly easy to disassemble and is fairly mechanically simple once you get inside. I could not find any instructions or videos on line and was able to completely disassemble and reassemble the gun without any problems.  

 

The Henry comes with some internal safeties that prevent the hammer from being cocked when the barrel is open and prevents the barrel from being opened if the hammer is already cocked. This is not ideal for speed in a plainsman match. The first is a part inside the action that slides to the rear  when the barrel is opened. It has what looks like a pin on the end that fits into a hole and locks up the hammer. I ground that pin completely off.  Also, when the barrel is open the hammer is prevented from pivoting back, as it is blocked by the lower part of the release lever. I ground away part of the lower rear of the hammer to prevent it from being blocked on its backwards travel. I took a little off at a time until it was able to travel back without obstruction. With these two modifications I can now open the barrel with the hammer cocked, or cock the hammer when the barrel is open.   

 

The other quirk is that the hammer and trigger are very stiff. This is because there is a strong double spring assembly. This is necessary because the gun has a rebounding hammer which, after hitting the firing pin rebounds backwards. That way the hammer is not resting on the firing pin. The strong spring is necessary to overcome the rearward force of the rebound.  I modified the shape of the bottom of the hammer by grinding it, in order to defeat the rebounding action, I then removed one of the springs.  The gun's action is now much smoother and lighter. Because it doesn't rebound, the hammer does now rest in the closed position. 

 

The gun has functioned perfectly since these modifications and is also in much better condition to compete in a speed match. With these modifications I am very happy with the rifle, and will take it over a handi rifle any day. Without the modifications, while it is still a great looking and solid rifle, I probably would keep the handi rifle for plainsman competitions. If you want a gun for hunting or plinking, its great right out of the box. 

 

 

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