Hex barrel vs Round

[Henry88]

There is a reason many guns claim heavy target barrel

I'm by far no expert, but I think at least part of that is heat dissipation for situations like the range, where it's not unusual to fire somewhat continuously. There are many sporter weight barrels that are accurate, but not after the 10th shot, or whatever.

[albin25]

I'm pretty sure it's about "looks" and whether you want a rifle that looks like it's a "period piece" or not. I'm no historian, but I'm fairly certain the original Henry (1860's) were made with a octagon barrel by the New Haven Arms Company (since re-named to Winchester). The current Henry Repeating Arms Company produces replicas...excellent rifles in their own right.

[PT7]

Just a minor correction, to the thread title and to one or two of the comments. The hexagon is not the shape Henry uses to build its barrels. A hexagon has six sides. Henry rifles are built with an octagonal barrel, which has eight sides. Here is the Henry picture from their BB web page.

Henry octagon barrel.jpg

[Les]

After you read these comments, you might share with us what you think.

I certainly can't argue with any of the comments. I don't have any personal experience concerning the accuracy of the two types of barrel - yet - so I can't really comment on that point.

It stands to reason that a barrel which has more mass per unit length will heat up more slowly than a lighter barrel, but whether this makes much difference to normal sporting or target rifles is a question that would probably trigger a long lasting debate, with a 50:50 split at the end of it.

The question of aesthetics is much easier to answer. A hexagonal or octagonal barrel definitely looks 'cooler' than a round one, and I think that Henry as a company has been very clever to include the octagonal barrel in some models of their range.

[Les]

Just a minor correction, to the thread title and to one or two of the comments. The hexagon is not the shape Henry uses to build its barrels. A hexagon has six sides. Henry rifles are built with an octagonal barrel, which has eight sides. Here is the Henry picture from their BB web page.

Duly noted!

[Sir Henry]

I didn't notice it in the thread title but my first comment was written correctly.

Just a minor correction, to the thread title and to one or two of the comments. The hexagon is not the shape Henry uses to build its barrels. A hexagon has six sides. Henry rifles are built with an octagonal barrel, which has eight sides. Here is the Henry picture from their BB web page.

Henry octagon barrel.jpg

I like the Henry Small Game Carbine with the octagon barrel because it is shorter yet slightly heavier. The heavier barrel makes it easier to steady in my opinion.

[tx gunrunner]

Never counted the number sides on a Henry barrel and no need to start now . If it not round or egg shape then it must be hexagon or octagon . Who cares .

[Sir Henry]

Never counted the number sides on a Henry barrel and no need to start now . If it not round or egg shape then it must be hexagon or octagon . Who cares .

A person needs to know so they can buy either hexagon or octagon bullets.

[seak89]

Remember the first Henry, Winchester 66 and 73 were all built for war not sportsman. Most all new rifle and handgun designs were for killing men in battle.

[albin25]

You mean my Henry is an evil assault rifle??