Henry Rifle Forums

Got some Missouri cast 240gr Hi-Tek coated "Crushers". Thus far, no groups. About 6 inch "patterns".
Tried 2400 from mild to max. No change in the "patterning".
Tried some factory Fed 240 JHP's and they about touched at ~75ish yards. So it ain't myself or the rifle. 'Least I got somethin to hunt with while I piddle with it. Don't really wanna use hollow points, tho'.
Got plenty of other powders. What's worked well for y'all? Thanks.. d:^) Jake..

for hunting loads, I use 240 gr Nosler JHP's pushed by 23.8 gr of W296 or H110

I do not hunt with lead bullets .... for practice with Missouri 240 gr RNFP bullets I used 7.2 gr of Unique .... I like to practice with the same load I hunt with so, I no longer use lead bullets because I wasn't able to come anywhere close to duplicating the trajectory of our hunting ammo

Haven't shot much lead out of the 44 yet...
So I'll be following along.
Would say the Unique or 2400 for powders.
10.0 grs of Unique and a 240 cast out of a 4 5/8" Vaquero are deadly to deer.
Never tried it in the Henry, uhmm wonder why?

YMMV

RP

Vaquero wrote:Would say the Unique or 2400 for powders.RP

Got great velocity with the 2400. 1800fps. But I can't miss'em fast enough to kill'em.
Will try 231 next I guess barring a pet recipe from another loader that worked well in their rifle.

JEBar- I'm wanting to use something that stays together for penetration and not ingesting lead myself when I partake of the fruit from my labors.
That's the grande idea, anyways. Not married to lead, but I have a pile of it around.
Not so much with JSP's. And their availability doesn't look so good, either. d:^) Schneeks..

Accurate #9 has been my most consistent powder when reloading .44 Mag for both my Henry .44 Mag BB and my Smith&Wesson 629 Classic revolver. With the BB I use 17 grs. beneath Bear Tooth 250 gr lead bullets and consistently shoot 2" - 3" groups at both 75 and 100 yards. With the S&W 629 I get 5" groups at 25 yards. I do give up velocity with AA #9 as the BB load Cronys at between 1375 - 1400 FPS.

I would be a quite concerned about leading at that velocity with MBC hard cast bullets. Those bullets are 18 BHN. At that velocity, I would use gas checked hard cast lead bullets.

According to my Lyman 49th edition manual, 20.6 grains of 2400 with a 240 grain gas checked lead bullet had a velocity of 1686 fps from a rifle with a 20" barrel. Lyman shows this as a max rifle load for that bullet. The Lyman manual suggested two lead bullets - both being gas checked.

below are a couple of pictures showing targets when we were loading 240 gr Missouri RNFP bullets .... the 25 yard target was fires with Henry Buckhorn sights ... the other was fired, as best I remember at 75 yards, when we were sighting in a scope

Schneeky wrote:Got some Missouri cast 240gr Hi-Tek coated "Crushers". Thus far, no groups. About 6 inch "patterns".
Tried 2400 from mild to max. No change in the "patterning".
Tried some factory Fed 240 JHP's and they about touched at ~75ish yards. So it ain't myself or the rifle. 'Least I got somethin to hunt with while I piddle with it. Don't really wanna use hollow points, tho'.
Got plenty of other powders. What's worked well for y'all? Thanks.. d:^) Jake..

I have been getting great accuracy with the MBC 240gr RNFP coated bullet "Smasher" sized at .432. They come sized at .430 if you don't ask for a different sizing. What are yours sized at? The Henry's in .44 have a groove diameter spec'd at .431 which is SAAMI specs. So, a .432 cast bullet will work best. I would expect mediocre to poor accuracy if they are sized at .430, but sometimes that is not always the case.

I have not loaded them at high velocity, so I cannot speak as to how they will do with any load at as high as 1800fps. They may work fine if sized properly since they are coated.

I have been loading them with Red Dot from 5.0 grains to 7.1 grains, Starline brass, WLP primers, and a light crimp. Velocity has ranged from only 861 fps with the 5.0 gr charge to 1141 fps with the 7.1gr charge. Accuracy has been good out to 200 yards with any of my powder charges.

Poor bullet fit too much speed my 45 Colt bb is .451 just for grins I run some Missouri bullet pc
225 gr to 1900 shot 4" at 25yds off the bench I keep all my cast under1500 good to about
125 yds past that they drop like bricks anyway. can't see any further then that with open sight's
I run a 250 xtp at 1759 with Lil gun but the most accurate load I have is reloader 7 and 250xtp

Like Steve51 says your pushing a cast that isnt meant to be pushed that hard with 2400. You need a gas check to go that fast. I have an idea your hot enough to be burning up the bullet base with the powder charge. 2400 is a great 44 and 357 powder but I have not ever used it to push a cast bullet without a gas check that hard. Al

Hey guys. Just got back here and saw the responses. Currently recovering from knee surgery but we're gettin closer to that time again.
I was reflecting on my past hunting seasons and how much I shoot overall. I ain't a high volume shooter. So mebbe I'll just use the jacketed. I want something with some extra ooomph to penetrate those tough boar plates without coming apart into little pieces. Can't always wait for a quartering away shot.
Anyways, what size OD XTP's (or whatever)are y'all using in your Henry rifles? I'll use the lead in the revolvers. d:^)

since you started this thread I've come full circle on my bullets of choice .... I no longer use lead bullets .... with literally thousands on hand that wasn't an easy decision to make .... when it comes to 44's, we've gone back to our roots and in both our rifle and revolver only use Nosler 240 gr JHP's pushed by 23.8 gr of W296 or H110 .... we have taken black bear, boar, and whitetail deer with them .... we have used this load since the mid '60's and in all respects, their performance has consistently proven to be exceptional

I'm using Accurate #9 and .225 gr FXT. Most accurate combo for my Marlin .44 mag by far.
Jake

Are you guys noticing any difference in accuracy/performance with the various diameter jacketed bullets?
I'm finding .429, .430 & .431 diameter bullets. Thanks.. d:^)

DAVIDF wrote:They come sized at .430 if you don't ask for a different sizing. What are yours sized at? The Henry's in .44 have a groove diameter spec'd at .431 which is SAAMI specs. So, a .432 cast bullet will work best. I would expect mediocre to poor accuracy if they are sized at .430, but sometimes that is not always the case.

.430. And the Valiants I have are all .429. Hehehe.
Walp, I reckon the 'Smith'll have plenty ta eat for a while. d;^)

Talked to Henry CS and they said the groove diameter is SAAMI .431, IIRC. d:^)