First Henry

[Gault]

Long time shooter, first Henry.

I reloaded and shot center fire pistols and rifles for years, but age and arthritis are taking their toll. I started shooting a bunch of rimfire (CZ, Marlin), but I wanted something with a bit more authority that I could handle. I started researching and decided a decent 357 carbine might be a good solution. I have the dies and molds from my 38 special, which translate directly to loading 357. I got to looking at Henry and decided I would like to get a Big Boy X, but quickly found out they are hard to find. My first clue was looking on Gun Broker and seeing new ones (not many) for hundreds over MSRP and the few used ones seem to go for MSRP prices. Other calibers seem easier to find, but not 357. The first Henry "gold" dealer I tried said "Good luck" when I said I wanted to get one. The second dealer was a bit more polite, but still no more helpful in actually getting one. I tried a third gold dealer, small family LGS, and lo and behold they had one on the shelf and even offered at less than MSRP. I think I got lucky.

I am currently in the Colorado 3 day wait, I get to pick it up Wednesday. I have a Skinner low profile steel pic rail and an Athlon Mida LE red dot inbound for it.

Now I can start to work up some warm 38 special loads and 357 loads. I already have a 150 grain RN and a 158 grain RNFP mold, few hundred pounds of lead, and 2700 primers.

[Vaquero]

Hello and welcome aboard from central W TN.
357 is a very fun round in a rifle.

RP

[5shot]

Welcome to the forum Gault!! Glad you got one at a realistic price. It must vary by the part of country you're in because I got these two locally at well under MSRP. I've seen the listings of .357 Xmodels on GB for $1500+ and can't quite explain the gouging....the law of supply and demand I guess. In states with heavily restrictive gun laws people probably think the .357 X might be a perfect survival type gun. Low power .38's for edible small game and heavier .357's for home defense or big game. I really like the Streamlight TLR-1 HL on the rail. 1000 lumens does a good job.

I really like the Ranger Point quick takedown screw also. In about a half a minute the rifle is ready to be cleaned properly... IMO...from the breech end.

I've got a quite a few bullet molds for .357's but two of the best are also the cheapest....the Lee 125 gr. RF and Lee 158 gr. RF. I powder coat heavier loads and size everything at .358". Have had good luck with everything from Red Dot for light .38's on up through Power Pistol, BE 86, HS6, Blue Dot 2400 and H110 and maybe a few more that I'm forgetting. Along with X in rifle .357's I've also got a blued Henry carbine and a couple single shots.

The one on the left is a .44 and the one on the right is in .357.

X's.jpg

[Gault]

I'll have to look up the take down screw.

I'll also have to read up on powder coating cast bullets, I usually just do the Lyman lube sizer.

[JEBar]

Long time shooter, first Henry.

welcome indeed, delighted to have you join our forum .... do hope you will be an active member who reads and post often .... our Henry 357 quickly became a family favorite .... looking forward to your reports and impressions as you become more familiar with yours .... be sure to follow the link below where you may add your Henry to our community's total

[urlhttp://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2019&p=234782#p234782][/url]

[Mags]

Welcome from the Tualatin Valley Oregon.

You got lucky! My first Henry I got same day off the shelf. The others I spent months watching for them to show up in availability.

[Hatchdog]

Congrats and welcome to the site. My Henry 357 (wood stock) really likes Hornady 158 XTP over Win 296. If you decide to shoot jacketed bullets that’s a great place to start.

[markiver54]

Welcome to the forum Gault and congratulations on your Henry.

[Gault]

Picked it up yesterday, looking decent. Kind of disappointed with some of the final fit. Sights, both front and rear were loose. I hope to shoot it this weekend.

Born 11 October 2023

Gonna have to figure out pictures...

[Mags]

Picked it up yesterday, looking decent. Kind of disappointed with some of the final fit. Sights, both front and rear were loose. I hope to shoot it this weekend.

Born 11 October 2023

I hope you like it and it shoots well for you. Check all the screws. I have 4 Henrys and all of them had something loose new out of the box.