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Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

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JEBar
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Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

Post by JEBar » Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:07 pm

while I really don't know why, I was a bit surprised in looking at Henry's website to see that they offer 16 lines of rifles chambered for 44 Mag/44 Special than the do in any other caliber .... 45 Colt comes in second with 11 lines .... .357 Mag/.38 Spcl third with 9 .... .45-70 Gov’t is fourth with 6 .... I don't know what, if anything, that should tell us about calibers as they relate to use in lever action / single shot rifles .... we have three Henry rifles (a 357 Mag, a 44 Mag, and a 45-70) all of which happen to be in Henry's top 4 calibers (as determined by the number of lines in which they are used) .... if we could only have one, I'd be hard pressed to make the choice .... that said, we do fire many more rounds our of our 44 than the other two combined


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Re: Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

Post by Henry88 » Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:24 am

And of course, and probably just a coincidence, the original Henry was .44, was it not?
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Re: Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

Post by PT7 » Tue Aug 28, 2018 8:25 am

An interesting observation. This should be another part answering the Q: "So what are the things (attributes?) a .44 can do better than a .357?" The Q was in the recent threat discussion, http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 9&start=20. It would be revealing to see the marketing analyses that Henry looks at on the demand/sales of their centerfire rifles. Too bad DanAtHenry doesn't participate much in our Forum discussions; his in-the-know position would possibly bring some cool commentary/insights to our chats. 8-)

And the personal use of your .44, Jim, tends to support this data you've gathered. ;)

Thanks for posting this observation.
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JEBar wrote:while I really don't know why, I was a bit surprised in looking at Henry's website to see that they offer 16 lines of rifles chambered for 44 Mag/44 Special than the do in any other caliber .... 45 Colt comes in second with 11 lines .... .357 Mag/.38 Spcl third with 9 .... .45-70 Gov’t is fourth with 6 .... I don't know what, if anything, that should tell us about calibers as they relate to use in lever action / single shot rifles .... we have three Henry rifles (a 357 Mag, a 44 Mag, and a 45-70) all of which happen to be in Henry's top 4 calibers (as determined by the number of lines in which they are used) .... if we could only have one, I'd be hard pressed to make the choice .... that said, we do fire many more rounds our of our 44 than the other two combined


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Re: Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

Post by PT7 » Tue Aug 28, 2018 8:38 am

Yes, it was, Henry.

Jeff Quinn's (gunblast.com) 2014 eval/review of the "“The Original Henry” 44 WCF Lever Action Rifle, Made in the USA by Henry Repeating Arms," listed this brief description of the original cartridge used:
The original Henry was chambered for the 44 Henry Rimfire cartridge. It used a 216 grain bullet (pointed or flat-nosed) loaded over 25 grains of black powder (or 26 grains), and this cartridge is long out of production. The new Original Henry rifle is chambered for the 44 WCF centerfire cartridge (44-40), with only the changes needed to fire the newer cartridge. The 44 WCF was introduced in 1873 as a rifle cartridge.
Henry88 wrote:And of course, and probably just a coincidence, the original Henry was .44, was it not?
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Re: Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

Post by BigAl52 » Tue Aug 28, 2018 8:52 am

Id like to see there sales figures. I know when the CCH guns were first released the first one to become available was the 45 colt followed by the 44 mag. The 357 didnt become available until just about 7 months after the information was released that these guns were going to be made.
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Re: Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

Post by JEBar » Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:03 am

PT7 wrote:It would be revealing to see the marketing analyses that Henry looks at on the demand/sales of their centerfire rifles.
that most certainly would be interesting .... Henry is a very well run company that is in the business to sell firearms .... toward that end, they don't produce lines that sit on the shelves .... the fact that 16 of their lines are chambered for 44 Mag has to say something
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Re: Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

Post by Mistered » Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:23 am

I suspect (and could be entirely wrong) the greater # of Henrys are chambered in .44 Mag due to nothing more than to equate the modern Henry rifles with a caliber that was predominant with original lever action rifles.
In actual use however believe the .357 is used more than either a .44 or .45. Reason is whenever I see ANY lever action rifle come up for sale locally either on a forum or in a LGS a .357 gets way more responses & interest than when a .44 or .45 is listed. Also when I see a used one show up on the LGS rack it tends to set there for a while and if a .357 shows up it is usually gone before my next visit to the shop.
MORE .44 are may be SOLD however but I believe the .357s actually get more use.
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Re: Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

Post by RanchRoper » Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:25 am

I posted this awhile ago but in case you missed it. An original Henry 44 rimfire cartridge I picked up at a recent gun show. From the 1860's. Copper casing. Next to a 45 Colt for scale.
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1860 Colt SA Richards Conversion Revolver .45C
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Re: Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

Post by JEBar » Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:35 am

I did see that picture and thanks for posting it again .... the old 44 rimfire had a comparatively short period of popularity .... it wasn't a strong cartridge but its the source of Henry's "Load on Sunday and shoot all week long" motto ....
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Re: Observation - Most Popular Centerfire Calibers

Post by North Country Gal » Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:29 am

Not sure I would read too much into the fact that Henry has the 44 mag in more of their lines, but you could be right. Without actual sales figures, though, we're all just guessing.

I do know that with JM Marlins, the 357 also came in behind the 44 mag, 45 Colt and even the 45-70 as far as number of lines it was offered. Marlin never really pushed the 357 the way they did the 44 mag and 45-70, but, especially the 44 mag. I also know, however, that the demand for used 357 JM Marlins far exceeds the demand for the others. 357 mag JM Marlins are much harder to find than the 44 mags and when you do find a 357, now, you'll pay big bucks. People who bought 357 JM Marlins have always been very reluctant to sell them. I think user satisfaction and actual hours of use counts for a lot, too. For sure, our JM 357 is a rare gem and it shoots like a gem, too. Never sell gun for us.

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