Henry Rifle Forums

Hi All,
I have a new production Henry BIG BOY H006 in .357 mag and want to have a tang sight installed on it. But the serial number is on the tang, I’m wondering if that would legally prevent me from having s tang sight on the rifle? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Paul

the Feds take a dim view of messing with a firearm's official serial number ... I don't know if there is a provision to where the number could be stamped somewhere else .... hopefully some of our folks will be able to offer a better answer .... be sure to follow the link below to where you can add your Henry to our community's total


http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 51#p171851

For sure, I wouldn't do any mod that would partially erase the serial number like drilling and tapping for a tang sight. Very unlikely the feds would ever find out if the gun stays with you, but that would be a huge issue if you ever tried to sell the gun or possibly even if you had to send the gun in for repair. Henry would have a fit if they got such a gun in for warranty work. If you want a peep, it would be legally safer to go with a receiver peep like a Skinner.

I believe serial numbers can be covered if the cover can easily be removed. I’ve had firearms where the scope covered the serial number and didn’t even give it a second thought.

So if you can drill and tap without altering the number go for it.

Thanks much for all the good advice, my smith doesn’t think it’s a big deal, he said he could inlay a small plate under the for stock with the serial number. But North Country Gal makes a good point, if that rifle ever has to go back to Henry for repair, something small like this could turn out to be a big issue. So I think I’ll just get the tang sight put on my 1894 Marlin, too bad too, as it would have looked great on the Henry.
Paul

I'd suggest that you call Henry customer service and ask them about your gunsmith's suggestion ... knowing Henry's commitment to backing their products, I'd be willing to bet a Coke that they would OK it

JEBar wrote: ↑

Fri May 21, 2021 8:27 am

I'd suggest that you call Henry customer service and ask them about your gunsmith's suggestion ... knowing Henry's commitment to backing their products, I'd be willing to bet a Coke that they would OK it

I’ll bet a coke they say don’t do it.

Beyond the issue with Henry, there's still the issue of drilling and tapping and resale value. Rule of thumb on selling used guns is that any permanent mod reduces the sales/trade in value of the gun. There are exceptions, of course, as in finding just the right buyer who wants that mod, but, overall, such a mod will make it harder to sell the gun.

Whatever you decide, though, best of luck with your Henry.