Coote from New Zealand
Posted: Sun May 26, 2019 11:08 pm
Hi. I live at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island. I've been hunter for a very long time. I became aware of Henry rifles when looking for a single shot rifle with decent steel sights instead of either no sights or plastic fiber-optics.
As I was growing up we seemed to have three main categories for firearms: .22s, .303s and shotguns. The .303s were mostly ex-military Lee-Enfields of various types... sometimes used in a near-original condition.... or maybe 'cut down' or 'sporterized'. I knew there were other calibers around, and some people did have telescopic sights... but I thought of them as being in the minority. Many deer, pigs and goats were shot with full-jacketed military .303 British ammunition. One rifle my father let me use a lot had a date stamp of 1897 on it. I remember thinking that during my hunting lifetime this rifle will become 100 years old, but my dad either sold it or gave it away before then. The foresight was on a bit of a cant, and I had the occasional misfire, but I also had a lot of success with it out to some fairly long ranges.
A few years back I thought I needed a big caliber with a scope and a moderator. So I ended up getting a couple of .308's. I devoted one to shooting subsonic cast bullets, and the other I reserved for full-power jacketed projectiles. They were OK, but they just didn't look and handle like the sleek, simple rifles I grew up with... and I have never liked having to 'baby' a scope. I sold them both and bought a Rossi '92 stainless lever gun in .357 magnum. This little rifle is great for hunting pigs and goats in the scrub, but it isn't ideal for long shots. So I got a Howa .223 bolt-action repeater with a scope which I haven't used much yet.
I've had a lot of fun and shot a few large animals with the lever gun, but I have found that I can't group too well with it using lead projectiles and subsonic loads. It is fine for up to fifty yards on larger targets, but I consider it a bit risky to stretch beyond that. Most of my hunting nowadays is done on and near 'lifestyle' blocks so I like to keep the noise and power levels down in my cartridges. At the ranges I mostly shoot at, the 158 grain lead bullets travelling around 900 feet per second are more than adequate for the job. The projectiles pass right through large goats. It is a lot more powerful than the subsonic .22 LR bullets that I've used successfully for a very long time when hunting on private land near livestock and homesteads.
While the Rossi '92 is a very tough, loveable gun, it flings the empty cases to where they can be hard to find (I reload), and it doesn't seem to group as well as I'd like so I feel I have to limit the distance in which I can use it. I'd like to be able to take a shot at a hare at 75 yards, but it would be risky. So I figured I should look around for a break-action single shot chambered for .357 magnum. That is when I discovered the Henry single shot. I was delighted to find it has a simple extractor instead of the rocket-launcher ejector. And the sights look great compared to the fluorescent plastic models on some other rifles (these no doubt have advantages, but I just prefer 'traditional').
I enquired at my local gun shop and found that the importer was bringing in one Henry Single Shot in .357 magnum. I ordered it immediately and expect to see it in around a month.
As I was growing up we seemed to have three main categories for firearms: .22s, .303s and shotguns. The .303s were mostly ex-military Lee-Enfields of various types... sometimes used in a near-original condition.... or maybe 'cut down' or 'sporterized'. I knew there were other calibers around, and some people did have telescopic sights... but I thought of them as being in the minority. Many deer, pigs and goats were shot with full-jacketed military .303 British ammunition. One rifle my father let me use a lot had a date stamp of 1897 on it. I remember thinking that during my hunting lifetime this rifle will become 100 years old, but my dad either sold it or gave it away before then. The foresight was on a bit of a cant, and I had the occasional misfire, but I also had a lot of success with it out to some fairly long ranges.
A few years back I thought I needed a big caliber with a scope and a moderator. So I ended up getting a couple of .308's. I devoted one to shooting subsonic cast bullets, and the other I reserved for full-power jacketed projectiles. They were OK, but they just didn't look and handle like the sleek, simple rifles I grew up with... and I have never liked having to 'baby' a scope. I sold them both and bought a Rossi '92 stainless lever gun in .357 magnum. This little rifle is great for hunting pigs and goats in the scrub, but it isn't ideal for long shots. So I got a Howa .223 bolt-action repeater with a scope which I haven't used much yet.
I've had a lot of fun and shot a few large animals with the lever gun, but I have found that I can't group too well with it using lead projectiles and subsonic loads. It is fine for up to fifty yards on larger targets, but I consider it a bit risky to stretch beyond that. Most of my hunting nowadays is done on and near 'lifestyle' blocks so I like to keep the noise and power levels down in my cartridges. At the ranges I mostly shoot at, the 158 grain lead bullets travelling around 900 feet per second are more than adequate for the job. The projectiles pass right through large goats. It is a lot more powerful than the subsonic .22 LR bullets that I've used successfully for a very long time when hunting on private land near livestock and homesteads.
While the Rossi '92 is a very tough, loveable gun, it flings the empty cases to where they can be hard to find (I reload), and it doesn't seem to group as well as I'd like so I feel I have to limit the distance in which I can use it. I'd like to be able to take a shot at a hare at 75 yards, but it would be risky. So I figured I should look around for a break-action single shot chambered for .357 magnum. That is when I discovered the Henry single shot. I was delighted to find it has a simple extractor instead of the rocket-launcher ejector. And the sights look great compared to the fluorescent plastic models on some other rifles (these no doubt have advantages, but I just prefer 'traditional').
I enquired at my local gun shop and found that the importer was bringing in one Henry Single Shot in .357 magnum. I ordered it immediately and expect to see it in around a month.