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AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

jdm2691
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AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

Post by jdm2691 » Fri Oct 25, 2019 7:45 pm

I want to post a picture of this to see if anyone has an opinion about what may have caused this before I contact Henry USA. Today at the range I finished a magazine working the lever as usual, looked down at the shooting table, and there was a small piece of metal. It turned out to be the lower 'L' shaped part of the locking bolt, you can see if the photo where it sheared off. I have 1500-2000 rounds through the rifle; I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this type of failure. (I work the action fast and hard, but not that hard!)

Thanks -
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Shakey Jake
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Re: AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

Post by Shakey Jake » Fri Oct 25, 2019 8:00 pm

Wow! Looks like some fatigue happened there for sure. Mine's still good on the BBS .327. I'm sure Henry will make it right.
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Re: AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

Post by JEBar » Fri Oct 25, 2019 8:02 pm

I haven't seen this type of failure .... Henry would most certainly be your best resource and I'm looking forward to your coming reports on what you learn from them .... my first inclination is simply a part failure .... please be sure to visit our How Many ? thread (link below) and add your Henry to our community's total ....



http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 37#p110737
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Re: AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

Post by BigAl52 » Fri Oct 25, 2019 10:59 pm

Just a freak case of failure. I would jump on it and get a hold of Henry. They will put a smile on your face with there customer service.
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Re: AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

Post by Mags » Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:13 pm

.
Not seen that before. Lifetime warranty so contact Henry. Use their online request for service or email one of the technical customer support contacts.
http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5127
https://www.henryusa.com/henry-warranty/
jdm2691 wrote:
Fri Oct 25, 2019 7:45 pm
I want to post a picture of this to see if anyone has an opinion about what may have caused this before I contact Henry USA. Today at the range I finished a magazine working the lever as usual, looked down at the shooting table, and there was a small piece of metal. It turned out to be the lower 'L' shaped part of the locking bolt, you can see if the photo where it sheared off. I have 1500-2000 rounds through the rifle; I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this type of failure. (I work the action fast and hard, but not that hard!)

Thanks -
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Re: AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

Post by Mistered » Sat Oct 26, 2019 7:53 am

Just an unfortunate part failure.
I am surprised with as many of these rifles out there we don't here about more parts breakage than we do but then only a small percentage of Henry owners interface with one another so we will never really know.
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jdm2691
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Re: AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

Post by jdm2691 » Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:37 am

Thank you for the replies and links, appreciate it. I was leaning towards simple part failure as well, I will contact Henry and post again regarding their response. Most mechanical parts fail at one time or another and this has no effect on my fondness for this particular rifle. Its accuracy, handling, etc. are phenomenal.

I believe this may be a safety concern though, and thought other forum members would like to be aware. I read this in an article about Henry lever actions but must admit I do not fully understand the mechanics of how it works from the description. I will ask when I contact Henry:

"Closing the finger lever elevates a hefty locking bolt at the rear of the action, and as its top end engages a deep notch in the bottom of the round breech bolt, it pushes the rear, spring-loaded section of the firing pin into alignment with its front section. That prevents the rifle from firing before the breech bolt is fully locked up."


I imagine this occurrence is a rarity, but it couldn't hurt to add to the checklist when cleaning, etc.

JEBar, I will post some photos to the community's "How Many" shortly - only two, at least for now :)
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Re: AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

Post by JEBar » Sat Oct 26, 2019 12:33 pm

jdm2691 wrote:
Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:37 am
JEBar, I will post some photos to the community's "How Many" shortly - only two, at least for now :)

photos aren't necessary in our How Many ? thread, its simply a running total .... that said, PHOTOS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME ... :D .... we would really enjoy some posted with your range reports
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Re: AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

Post by Mistered » Sat Oct 26, 2019 1:28 pm

This is one of the reasons I am an advocate for a completer tear down and inspection of all moving and interfacing parts, and smoothing out any rough areas and edges than might cause binding or less than smooth engagement.
When I tore my BBB town a while back I found a rough spot on the lifter I smoothed out. Would it have ever caused a problem? Maybe not but while I was there I took care of it.

Another thing I read a a lot is how people describe cycling their lever action 'with authority' or other descriptions and I suspect a lot of this comes from a history of owners of lever action rifles of varying quality. Like anything one will be fine and operate flawlessly and the next will have some issues and may require more forceful operation.

I have experienced it myself with many lever actions and after some tuning and adjustments on some they required much less effort to operate.

My point to this is if your rifle operates smoothly, locks up properly and opens and ejects with no issues then it's probably not necessary to cycle it roughly or 'with authority'. Excessive cycling speed can 'hammer' internals and potentially lead to problems. I'm not saying 'baby' it but at the same time it's not a five ton jack you are lifting your vehicle with!
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Re: AW Big Boy .357 Broken Locking Bolt

Post by deano5150 » Sat Oct 26, 2019 2:43 pm

jdm2691 wrote:
Fri Oct 25, 2019 7:45 pm
I want to post a picture of this to see if anyone has an opinion about what may have caused this before I contact Henry USA. Today at the range I finished a magazine working the lever as usual, looked down at the shooting table, and there was a small piece of metal. It turned out to be the lower 'L' shaped part of the locking bolt, you can see if the photo where it sheared off. I have 1500-2000 rounds through the rifle; I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this type of failure. (I work the action fast and hard, but not that hard!)

Thanks -
This happened to my BBSC 357 a while back. I had to return it to Henry for repair. Here is the link to my post on that topic.

http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6375
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