Henry Rifle Forums

Copying a post I made on the S&W forum last year, might be helpful for some here. Link to thread: http://smith-wessonforum.com/firearms-k ... 357-a.html

Skinner Winged/Tactical sight for Henry Big Boy Steel is a Go

As mentioned above, I was interested in a winged sight for this gun and found that RPP is currently the only manufacturer to offer this. However, I contacted RPP to find out that their sight is of proprietary design inasmuch as the only apertures that work with the sight are theirs, whereas I wanted the ability to use different apertures of standard threading, which Skinner allows. The problem is that Skinner doesn't list a winged sight for the Henry Big Boy Steel at their site. Thus, for a short while I was stumped. Until...

I did some research online and found that others have discovered that sights for Marlin's 336 rifles are of the same hole spacing found atop the Henry BBS receiver. The problem is that due to the location of the pair of holes, which are located further forward than on the Henry, Marlin sights overhang the rear of the Henry receiver, placing the sight too near the hammer. Photos illustrate:

Henry BBS receiver:



Marlin 336 (at top):



But what about that rifle below the 336? Those appear to be of the same spacing and very close to the same location of those on the Henry. Well, it's a Marlin 1894. Confirming the 336 and 1894 share the same spacing, with only the location differing, I went back to Skinner and found they offer their Winged/Tactical Sight for the Marlin 1894. Got it today and it fits the Henry BBS perfectly. So, even though Skinner doesn't currently list the sight for the Henry, I can confirm the Marlin 1894 sight does indeed fit and work.

In other words, the factory drilled and tapped rearmost scope mounting holes location and spacing on the Marlin 1894 and Henry Big Boy Steel receivers is virtually identical, including the thread size/pitch. Skinner's Marlin 1894 Winged/Tactical Sight on my Henry Big Boy Steel Carbine .357:




The great thing about this is the Skinner sight is a nice heavy duty unit, it offers great adjustability, provides 5 additional inches of sight radius and allows for the use of standard thread apertures of your choice. Not only that, unlike most other options, it sits low enough on the receiver to where it works with the factory front sight, co-witnessing the factory buckhorn sight on the barrel perfectly.

So, now owners of these newer Henrys have a previously unknown option for peep sights.

Well, that's a fascinating tale, thank you for sharing! Looks very nice and the benefits of additional sight radius and not having to mess with/worry about the front sight are the whipped cream and cherry on top!

Will have to research further, but thanks for the tip!

Good info, great documentation.
I've known Henry's and Marlin 94s share issues with some Williams sights.
This makes sense.

-db-

welcome to our forum, delighted to have you join us .... thanks for the very interesting info, I'm sure it will prove to be helpful to many of our members .... please take a look at our How Many ? thread, link below and add your Henry to our community's total ... after you get to 10 or more valid post, please take a look at our current Giveaway thread noted in the banner above


http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 696#p90696

Anyone want to buy a like new Skinner Express??? Wish I had known this fit the Henry 6 months ago. My only dislike with the Skinner Express is the lack of protection for the actual peep!

I’m presuming windage is adjusted with the ovalized screw slots, and elevation is the standard spin aperture up/down with set screw lock?

Redthies wrote:I’m presuming windage is adjusted with the ovalized screw slots, and elevation is the standard spin aperture up/down with set screw lock?

Yes, correct.

I should have included an updated photo of the full rifle, er...carbine, with the sight attached:

I am assuming it would work on BBB .357 after looking at my rifle. I have a low pro on mine. Wonder if they make it in brass. Will have to check it out.

-db- wrote:I should have included an updated photo of the full rifle, er...carbine, with the sight attached:

I was just looking for that pic, and then you added it. Thank you. How tall overall is the sight? Looks like the wings are 3/4” or so at the highest point? Also appears as if you will need a person with tiny fingers to change the aperture?

I looked again (for the 20th time or so) at Andy’s website, and while I understand that he is not a web designer, I for one find it far more difficult than it needs to be to find things. It would be so much simpler if he just showed all the different sight options like Lo-Pro, Reliable, Express, Alaskan, Tactical etc and then just had 2 drop down menus for finish and rifle model. Maybe I’m nit picking, but every time I go there I seem to find another cool thing tucked away in a dusty corner...

The flat across the top of the wings measures only 1/2" tall. It looks taller but it's actually quite a low profile sight, which is a good thing. As for the aperture, a pair of needle nose pliers helps get it started until you can grasp the knurling most apertures have to finish screwing it in. An extended shank aperture also makes this easier: