New Guy, Older Eyes, Head About to Explode, Have Questions

[ESquared]

Hello, all,

Full disclosure, I don't even have my first Henry in my hands yet, but the BBS .357 should be here by the end of this coming week. Very eager to take it to my range (I have an indoor facility, up to 50 yards) and begin to understand how to shoot it most accurately with my 60 year-old eyes.

It may or may not make any difference, but my shooting experience is all handgun, Sig P-Series and 1911s, almost all with barrel lengths of 4.4" or shorter. This incoming Henry with its 20" barrel and buckhorn sights has me nervous. Searching here in the "Sights and Scopes" sub-forum has proven very informative but head-spinning at the same time. Googling this topic seems to be too general.

So, my questions are as follows:

Given that my shooting will be 90% range, most of that at 50 yards or less, should I just not worry about it and figure out the stock sights? The other 10% might be deer hunting, but certainly within 100 yards.

If I can't get anywhere with those stock sights, should I move to Skinners or a scope? I'm not all that hung up on the "scopes don't belong on a lever gun" thing, I just want results and, for me, that means being able to hit what I'm aiming at with accuracy. And, the $$ involved with a Skinner Express vs. a decent 100-yard-type scope seems pretty darn close, especially if I end up having to swap out or otherwise monkey with the front sight to make the Skinner work for me (which Skinner's own website seems to promise will be a 50/50 proposition).

I'm no scope snob, so I can't see paying much more than $100 for what I need/want to do. Throw in the standard Henry ring and base set ($50-$60) = $150, +/-. A Skinner Express is about $100, and new front sights plus smithing could easily be $50. Make sense?

So, if the money is the same, and my distance is primarily <100 yards, am I over-thinking it and should I just default to the Skinners? Have to admit, I'm much more appreciative of the aesthetics of that set-up vs. a scope, so that would be my preference. What I don't want to do it spend upwards of $150 on Skinners now and $150 on a scope set-up later.

This post may get moved, like my query on Ammo, but this seemed like the place to start. Thanks in advance, as always, for your help to the New Guy.

[Jdl447]

Peep sights don't help me focus on the front sight with my prescription. For short range I like red dots for long range scope.

[Mistered]

Welcome to the forum!
While I like my Henry BBB .357 I hated the stock rear sight from day one. It is literally one of the worst I have ever seen supplied on a new rifle. Tiny 'U' groove (I enlarged mine) small and hard to adjust blade. I shot it a little with mine but eventually installed a Williams 336 top mount peep sight and really like it - which I knew I would considering three other levers I own have Williams' on them. The 336 is intended for the Marlin but fits the Henry like it was made for it by reversing the windage slider in the dovetail and mounting the sight 'backwards' (see my post with a pic of this) then read my range reports with target pics showing the results. It's a less expensive alternative to a Skinner however the front sight needs to be swapped with a taller one for the proper sight 'plane' . I went with a .490 height blade and this works well for me.

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[Mistered]

and new front sights plus smithing could easily be $50. Make sense?

No smiting required - front sights are easy to swap.

[clovishound]

Well, you might get lucky and the factory sights will work great for you. But,,,,,,, I wouldn't hold my breath.

If you are looking for the most in accuracy, I would go with a scope. Even if you had perfect 20 year old eyes, you would be able to obtain better accuracy, at distance, with a scope. The magnification factor is the main advantage here.

I understand the appeal of iron sights, and the peep sights are probably some of the best, especially for those with vision problems. They cannot compare with the performance of a decent scope, however.

[Mags]

I share clovishound's insight. With the factory sights I could hit a large target like a nutria out to 100yds or so. But for shooting 4" targets I needed to get a scope. I chose a scope that I could afford about $350 + $70 for rings and $15 for a picktany rail. I have the .30-30 so I wanted a scope that recoil would not mess up the optics alignment calibration. The scope I bought has up to 6x magnification. In hind sight after visiting the range, 6x zoom was not enough for me to get the shot grouping tight enough on 4" target. I probably should have gotten a scope with zoom out to 8 or 10x for 100yd shooting.

[North Country Gal]

I can give you all the pros and cons for every type of sight ever used on a rifle, but, to be honest, this is really something you need to work out for yourself, based on your expectations for accuracy. As clovis, says, though, a scope, even a low power scope, will squeeze the most potential accuracy out of your Henry. Keep in mind, a scope will have some negatives, too, same as any other type of sight.

I'll also second using a red dot. Won't get you quite the accuracy as a scope, but it will be the easiest to use of all sights for short range work, won't change the balance of your gun or add much weight. Since most of my rifle shooting is without a rest and my eyes aren't what they used to be, I use red dots on a lot of my rifles, now. Out to 50 yards, a red dot gets me groups almost as small as using a scope.

[JEBar]

welcome to our forum, you are really going to enjoy your 357 .... ours is one of our favorite rifles .... looking forward to your coming range reports and observations based on firing yours .... at 71 years old (wearing trifocals) I can well understand your vision concerns .... realizing I'm in a bit of a minority here, I actually like Henry's buckhorn sights .... I learned to shoot using Winchester's model 94 30-30 buckhorn sights and still use that rifle with its stock sight today .... my suggestion would be to give your Henry a try with its OEM sights .... it won't take long for you and your rifle to come to an understanding ....as you stated, most of our shooting is at a range with distances of up to 100 yards .... for our Henry rifles, we prefer a scope .... once yours arrives please take a look at our How Many ? thread (link below) and add it to our community's total

http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 100#p64100

[ESquared]

Thanks for all your replies so far, very interesting to hear everyone's take on the topic. As I suspected, there are as many answers and points of view as there are shooters and rifles.

Mistered, your Williams 336 (mounted backwards!) looks very nice, but is there a simple way to attach it to a BBS 357? I'll google that for more info, so thanks! And interesting to hear that front sights are an easy swap. I'm used to the pistol world, where you need a sight pusher and/or a gunsmith.

I'll look into red-dots, but I come back to the install question. Doesn't look like they can be used with the standard Henry ring and base set, am I wrong about that? If not, what other hardware would be required for my BBS?

First things first, though. Let me get it in my hands and see how it works for me out of the box. Thanks again for the guidance!

[Mistered]

Mistered, your Williams 336 (mounted backwards!) looks very nice, but is there a simple way to attach it to a BBS 357?

If the BBS has the same two (.5 on centers) holes on the as the BBB does then it will mount the same - with the two screws provided.

[RanchRoper]

Congrats on your new Henry. I would give the factory sights a try, but then that's all I shoot. Best of luck.

[North Country Gal]

Thanks for all your replies so far, very interesting to hear everyone's take on the topic. As I suspected, there are as many answers and points of view as there are shooters and rifles.

Mistered, your Williams 336 (mounted backwards!) looks very nice, but is there a simple way to attach it to a BBS 357? I'll google that for more info, so thanks! And interesting to hear that front sights are an easy swap. I'm used to the pistol world, where you need a sight pusher and/or a gunsmith.

I'll look into red-dots, but I come back to the install question. Doesn't look like they can be used with the standard Henry ring and base set, am I wrong about that? If not, what other hardware would be required for my BBS?

First things first, though. Let me get it in my hands and see how it works for me out of the box. Thanks again for the guidance!

Red dots use the same base and/or base and rings as a scope. Some like the Burris Fasfire can be ordered with their own weaver style adapter and can attach right to any weaver scope base, no rings needed. Tube style red dots like an Ultradot 25 will use standard one inch weaver scope rings and the 30 mm Ultradot will use standard 30mm weaver scope rings. In fact, they are supplied with the rings. You then attach the red dot with rings directly to a weaver base, same as a scope with weaver rings. If you can mount a scope on your rifle, you can also mount a red dot, though the specifics of how and what it takes will vary with the model of red dot. In some cases, it's actually easier to add a red dot than a scope.

[ESquared]

Yes, I believe all the Big Boys are drilled identically.

[Mistered]

Yes, I believe all the Big Boys are drilled identically.

Well if this is the case then a Williams would be an inexpensive (about $39), and easy install. You would still however need to install a taller front sight.

[tractortad]

Welcome to the forum from Viginia's Shenandoah Valley, ESquared. A 357 steel BigBoy is an excellent choice for your first Henry - very fun and versatile caliber in a lever gun - congrats.
Here is another option for a sight setup:
Skinner peep on the rear, Lyman Globe on the front. For me, this setup works much better than the factory buckhorn/front bead set that comes on a new Henry. In good lighting, this is almost like looking thru a 1x scope, but still keeps the old "lever gun" look for the rifle.

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[ESquared]

Thanks, Tractordad, that looks like a very nice setup! I did a quick search on Amazon for the Lyman Globe, and, of course, there are a few of them, at different heights. Do you recall which one you installed?
Looks like they come in .404", .584" and .700".
And, then it looks like they sell inserts.
Can you tell I have no idea what I'm doing?

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c ... OYC3N3DMA4

[tractortad]

Thanks, Tractordad, that looks like a very nice setup! I did a quick search on Amazon for the Lyman Globe, and, of course, there are a few of them, at different heights. Do you recall which one you installed?

Hey ESquared - I didn't know anything about Lyman Globes or Skinner peeps before I got my first Henry, either. I learned about this from another great Forum member named Squatch (unfortunately recently passed), who wrote an excellent post ("The Process") on his experience while setting up this same setup on his first Henry. I'm just repeating his knowledge.

The setup you see in the previous pics is a .494" 17A Lyman Globe front sight paired with a Skinner "Express" BigBoy rear peep and Lee Shaver inserts (they are finer looking inserts - better for target shooting). This same setup would probably work on your steel 357Mag BigBoy, but you really don't know until you try it. I have found the best place to buy the Lyman Globes to be Midway or Brownells.

Don't want to make it more difficult for you, but here is another setup that would probably work on your Henry:
A Skinner "Low-Pro" rear peep with a .404" 17A Lyman Globe on the front. The Low-Pro is a less expensive Skinner option, but still works great on a Henry. If you go with this, make sure to get the 8-40 threads.

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[ESquared]

This is very helpful, Tractortad, regardless of where the information originated. It's so nice to be able to tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience here!
That "Low Pro" option is very appealing to me, not because of the cost difference, which is a good thing, but because of the way it looks.

To my untrained eye on these Henrys, "less is more" in most cases, and that certainly fits that bill. That's kind of the knock on putting scopes on these beauties, isn't it? Just sort of distracts from the classic look. What you've got there is a very clean, uncluttered look, especially once you remove the buckhorn.

I'll continue to explore ALL of these options, but right now, the Low Pro is at the top of the list.

[ESquared]

Me again.

There seem to be lots of Lyman Globes that start with "17A". There's 17AHB, 17AUG, 17AMI, 17AML.

So sorry to continue to go back and forth, but can you confirm which one is in your picture? I'm guessing it's the "17AML", as that seems to be the only one that's .494". Do I have that right?

[ESquared]

Since we're discussing options, has anyone tried the HiViz three-dot set that's on the Henry website? I'm very accustomed to the three-dot sight picture from all my years with handguns.

https://henrypride.com/collections/rifl ... 7840240665

Thoughts and/or opinions?