Henry Rifle Forums

Hey gang, I'm not only new to the forum, but also to everything related to guns. Hopefully the sheer level of my newbie-ness may at the very least get a chuckle. So here's the question, I got a BB .44, and want to go hog hunting. I've taken it out to the range a few times, and I'm having trouble getting my sights lined up. It feels like, by the time I get the front sight low enough to be in between the rear sights (since I'm supposed to get more points of contact by resting my cheek on the butt), the barrel's already disappeared underneath. It feels like a cheek weld may be the answer, but then I have a hunch that my novice hunch may not be the most reliable.

I've been looking through this forum and haven't really seen anything that answers this directly; cheek welds are normally used for scopes, if I'm understanding it correctly, and I don't have any intention of putting one on. I'm getting a no-drill sling eventually and just need to know if I need to add on the cheek rest to it, or if the issue is simply that I'm an idiot new guy who needs to learn how to not be an idiot when shooting. Link to the sling below (also, any input on the sling?)

https://fiddlebackoutpost.com/collectio ... ling-combo

Any advice would be appreciated. Love the forum, and can't wait to learn from you guys.

TLDR: BB .44, no scope or any mods. Cheek rest or no cheek rest? If no rest, how do I shoot the whammy kablammy good?

Welcome to the forum from CT and congratulations on your new Henry and shooting hobby. You will get some good advice from our experienced members, I'm sure.

In the meantime, check out this website. It may be helpful: https://gundigest.com/article/open-sigh ... s-and-uses

Richard A. Mann wrote: The key to using open sights is to focus on the front one, trust the sight picture, and like with any other sight, follow through.

While you shouldn’t need anything on the stock to get a correct sight picture, this will provide both protection and also some adjustability in 1/8” increments. I use one with no pads on my Big Boy X, if I shot only with the scope mounted I would add some height. This will work with any conventional sling, it has a slot in the bottom. Since you will be hunting, you might want the version with loops for spare ammo....

https://www.amazon.com/Beartooth-Comb- ... B07CR5V8D6

I do recommend that you learn to shoot your gun with range ammo, or better yet, low powered cowboy loads, before shooting full bore hunting ammo. Otherwise you will not have much fun, and worse yet, you may develop a bad flinch. Buy some dummy rounds (AKA snap caps) and randomly mix one or two in with your live ammo. If you are flinching you will see the front sight jump off target when the hammer drops on the dummy. ..... https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/201 ... -a-flinch/

Can you buy or borrow a lower powered rifle? Starting with a .22LR gun (or even a pellet gun) makes more sense than jumping in the deep end with a Magnum. I think Henry makes a few..... consider one for your growing collection and for low cost practice.

And welcome to the forum, the only stupid questions are those unasked....

John Davies
Spokane WA

Hey, welcome to the forum. That's a good question, so thanks for bringing it up.

As above, your sight picture is what counts, with or without a cheek rest. Lining up rear sight, front sight and target per your choice of hold on the target is what it's all about. (It's not humanly possible for the eyes to sharply focus on all three, so choose the front sight for your focus and maintain that focus all he way through the shot.)

A stock that provides a nice cheek weld with iron sights can help to steady that sight picture and being able to place your face on the stock in the same spot is also a plus for good shooting, but a cheek weld is by no means an absolute must for good shooting.

A lot of traditional lever gun stocks don't provide much of a cheek weld, anyway. Lever gun stocks have always been more about handling and carrying or putting the gun in a scabbard. Some lever gun shooters do use leather lace on pads to provide a nicer cheek rest and they work without damaging the gun, so that's an option you can try. Some of the nicer leather ones still have that traditional lever gun flavor to boot.

It doesn't have to be an all out cheek weld, either. A lot of us use a chin weld or whatever part of the face works for you on a particular gun. And some of the oldest designs have so much drop that they provide no contact with the face at all, but those guns can still be shot, accurately, too.

Lastly, if that stock on your Henry is making it difficult for the sights to line up, easily, it can be as simple as changing the way you hold the gun. Try changing your hold on the gun, especially out on the forearm until you get a balance that keeps the barrel somewhat level. The idea is to find a hold with the gun that brings the sights in line when you bring it to your shoulder without having to hunt for them.

first, welcome to our forum .... delighted to have you join us .... do hope you will feel free to read and post often, to jump into ongoing conversations and to start others of your own .... our Henry 44 Mag has proven to be one heck of a rifle, I have no doubt yours will be as well .... its a great caliber for hunting hogs .... since you've already had it to the range several times, you know that even with hunting ammo, its fun to fire .... you've already received some excellent recommendations .... I believe that when teaching new shooters you should start out with the fewest possible variables for them to contend with .... accordingly, I recommend starting by shooting from a rest with the front and rear of the rifle resting on sandbags .... once you fine a shooting position that allows you to group your bullets, remove the rear sandbag and try to duplicate the feel and sight picture that has worked for you .... cheek weld is part of that .... as things progress, you can remove the front bag and work toward standing / kneeling positions .... at all points your goal is duplicate the feel of the rifle in your hands and the sight picture that you know works for you

be sure to follow the link below to where you may add your Henry to our community's total

http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 16#p149516

Welcome to the forum. Don’t be afraid to put a piece of tape or other thing on your stock that you can feel with your cheek. It sometimes will give you a more repeatable position. Your trigger hand can also give you something to be able to feel. Depending on how much forward you like to aim you might be able to use a thumb weld for your cheek. With iron sights you really don’t have to worry about a scope hitting your eye with the big boomers.

CT_Shooter, John E. Davies, North Country Gal, JEBar, and Sir Henry, thank you for the warm welcome and all of the useful advice. This is exactly what I need to get started responsibly and efficiently, so thank you! As I keep reading and learning (like how to mention users in my replies), I'll be sure to update you on how it's going. You've given me a lot of reading and practicing to do, so I'll get to it. Thank you again for the links and help!

Welcome from Alberta. Listen to those folks, they will steer you right. Good luck.

Welcome! !