Back to the mothership

[parson48]

I bought a 44 mag Big Boy steel a while back. It has been back to the company 3 times over accuracy issues. Twice they replaced the barrel; the third time they sent me a new rifle. They enclosed a test target with the replacement which looked pretty decent, until I saw that is was fired at 25 yards.

At 50 yards I still have a 3" gun, using factory ammo, which Henry recommended.

One of the times that I sent it back I enclosed targets, along with targets from my 35 rem, shot at the same range session, just to show them that I am a fair marksman.

I know that they guarantee satisfaction with their firearms but, frankly, I didn't buy this rifle to keep sending it in for "repairs"!

I truly hate to take a loss on a fairly new gun but, my frustration limit is on overload with this.

I told the gentleman that I talked with that, in my opinion, a lever gun should be able to give 2 1/2" - 3" groups at 100 yards. He fully agreed with my assessment. By the way- everyone that I have spoken with there has been very friendly and understanding, but I STILL have a rifle with unacceptable accuracy!

I trust that you have much better success with yours

[CT_Shooter]

Part of 'making their own barrels', includes whether or not they roll the steel stock they get from someone else, not the mining and processing ore.

Thanks again for helping me understand what "making their own barrels" means. So -- to be clear -- Henry does NOT make its own barrels.

How would you describe what it is that they do do?

[Mags]

Part of 'making their own barrels', includes whether or not they roll the steel stock they get from someone else, not the mining and processing ore.

Thanks again for helping me understand what "making their own barrels" means. So -- to be clear -- Henry does NOT make its own barrels.

How would you describe what it is that they do do?

In the video Henry does the machining of the final barrel. They don't show how the barrel blank rod was made/forged or share where they get their blanks from.
We can't say that the video encompasses everything they might do start to finish. What the video shows is the final machining of prefabricated parts to final dimension, cosmetics and assembly into the finished product. Do they do their own prefabrication foundry forging, castings, CNC, etc of parts prior to what they show in the video?

[CT_Shooter]

Do they do their own prefabrication foundry forging, castings, CNC, etc of parts prior to what they show in the video?

Good question.

Considering that you identify some very important steps in the process of barrel making that, if they do those things, they could have simply described it prior to the video segment about the barrel. Why didn't they?

Regardless, I'm confident Henry will make 5shot's rifle right.

[North Country Gal]

I wouldn't settle for a 3" at 50 yds 44 mag even in one of my revolvers. My Ruger SA and DA 44 mag revolvers with scope or red dot from a rest have usually done better than that at 50 yds with premium grade Hornady or Barnes 44 mag factory ammo. My Encore 44 mag pistol with 12" barrel will do an inch or less at 50.

I've had several Marlin 44 mag carbines and when scoped, I've still been able to keep them under 3" at twice that distance, as in 100 yards. Hope Henry can take care of you guys.

[5shot]

parson 48. You have more patience than I do. I did, however, send my single shot .44 back three times. Twice for the atrocious trigger pull and the last time for the factory recall. It came back with a clean 4lb. pull and is one of my favorite rifles. Accuracy is great in the 1" to 1 1/2" range at 50 yds.

North Country Gal. I agree with your accuracy standards. Most of my deer hunting is in the woods where shots are relatively close but I wouldn't be comfortable taking a 100 yard shot with this rifle as it is now. I really wanted to like this X-model. It's compact and handles nicely, the action is smooth and trigger pull is very good. I have several Henry's with really outstanding wood and am a little OCD about banging them up in a ladder stand. The X is a working gun.

I hate having to ship a gun and even if it had been a "One trick pony" and only shot one hunting load well I probably wouldn't be doing this. Completed the online form tonight and waiting on a shipping label. Henry insures the gun for full value so that takes some of the stress out of it.

[North Country Gal]

I know what you mean about having to ship guns back for repair. It's a real pain. I try everything I can, first, before giving up on a gun and shipping it back. In your case, I'd send the back for sure and if that doesn't solve the problem, I'd sell the gun, but I'd be up front about the accuracy. Some folks would be fine with that kind of accuracy and, of course, some wouldn't. Yeah, you'd take a hit dollar-wise, but in my experience, when I'm not happy with the way a gun shoots, it just gets set aside and not shot. I just don't have room in the safe to keep dust collectors. Best of luck with Henry, though. It would be great if they could do what you want with the gun.

[BigAl52]

I bought a 44 mag Big Boy steel a while back. It has been back to the company 3 times over accuracy issues. Twice they replaced the barrel; the third time they sent me a new rifle. They enclosed a test target with the replacement which looked pretty decent, until I saw that is was fired at 25 yards.

At 50 yards I still have a 3" gun, using factory ammo, which Henry recommended.

One of the times that I sent it back I enclosed targets, along with targets from my 35 rem, shot at the same range session, just to show them that I am a fair marksman.

I know that they guarantee satisfaction with their firearms but, frankly, I didn't buy this rifle to keep sending it in for "repairs"!

I truly hate to take a loss on a fairly new gun but, my frustration limit is on overload with this.

I told the gentleman that I talked with that, in my opinion, a lever gun should be able to give 2 1/2" - 3" groups at 100 yards. He fully agreed with my assessment. By the way- everyone that I have spoken with there has been very friendly and understanding, but I STILL have a rifle with unacceptable accuracy!

I trust that you have much better success with yours

Another vote for more patience than me. Id ask for my money back and would buy another brand in 44 mag. If Im not mistaken Forty sold his 44 Henry and bought another brand that shoots alot better. Just my .02 worth

[Vaquero]

I wouldn't be loosing any money on the deal. If they can't make it right, I'd be demanding a new rifle or a full refund.
The 44 has got to be one one of their top sellers and most highly produced, maybe just maybe the tooling is wearing down.
Maybe they should think about a replacement. I' seems to be the one that has been the most problematic in the year or two.
If I were looking for a 44 mag rifle now, I would look somewhere else.
5shot I do hope you get some satisfaction before to much longer one way or another.

RP

[5shot]

Thanks folks! Still waiting for warranty claim to be approved. If memory serves me correctly, a couple years ago it was simply a matter of talking to the nice lady in Rice Lake and shortly thereafter a shipping label appeared in the e-mail. Now it's filling out a form and reading..."Warranty claims are processed in the order they are received." Maybe Monday.

I have a buddy that does gun shows frequently and I'll be sharing a table with him next month but there's no way I could peddle this without full disclosure. I'm all too familiar with the roller coaster ride of going from "New gun buzz" to "Major league letdown."

parson 48. If they send this rifle back shooting the way it left I'll probably jump ship as a Henry fanboy (geriatric version ) and look at a Ruger/ Marlin or the new Smith. I much prefer Henry's safety setup to a crossbolt though.