Henry Rifle Forums

I made it to the range this past Wednesday and decided to see what I could do at 50 and 100 yards with my BBSC 357. The goal was to see how accurate I could be with the rifle at longer ranges using the factory buckhorn sights. It was an experiment to see if this would be a good deer rifle. I’m 49 years old and just got my first hunting license this past season. I’m trying to decide if I want to deer hunt this fall. I set up a plain white paper plate at 50 yards and shot 2ea 5 shot strings from a rest.

That was certainly accurate enough for deer hunting.
Then I set up at 100 yards knowing that bullet drop would be an issue. I shot 4 more 5 string groups before I ran out of time. I had to experiment with raising the rear sight with the elevator and adjusting my sight picture. At 50 yards I covered the plate with the brass bead. All good. Doing the same at 100 I was low. So I raised the rear buckhorn a notch. Then I was high. So I used a six o’clock hold and I was a little low. I think the sweet spot was to cover the bottom third of the plate. It’s hard to tell exactly what to do to get good hits. I think this calls for some more practice and experimentation. Also, I need to take notes this time so I don’t forget what I learned.
If you look closely, at the top and bottom of the plate (almost lined up vertically) there are 2ea two hole groups. Both are circled with a black marker. I thought that was interesting. Out of the 20 shots, 2 were high and missed the cardboard completely.

All in all I think I did ok for my first time shooting at that range. My windage was pretty good but I need to figure out the elevation. That brass bead is just too big to be very precise at long range.

Factory Ammo Deano or reloads?

the good news is, you've got a few months between now an hunting season .... I'm looking forward following your reports as you become better acquainted with your Henry

I really love my BBSC .357, and took it deer hunting a couple of times last year. There were lots of wolves in the area though, so we didn’t see any live deer. Lots of tracks, (pics below) but aside from a solo wolf, squirrels and a rabbit, there was not much moving.

I did do some target shooting and found mine to be very accurate with 158 grain sjsp. I have Skinner’s Express rear and Patridge front sights on mine. That makes a big difference for me. I’m only one year older than you Dean, but I found the factory sights weren’t great for much.

I think you're on the right track, and yes buckhorns are limited at longer ranges. I had to scope my .41 mag to get even close to acceptable performance due to my aging eyes. Buckhorns were useless for me. I don't like the aesthetics of scoping a lever gun, but ya' gotta do what ya gotta do if you're going to put meat on the table.

PS: Here's the difference a scope makes. This was from my scoped Win 9422m with CCI Maxi-mag @100 a few days ago from a makeshift rest. The ballistic trajectory is nearly identical to my Henry, but what we're concerned with here is group size, so it's a reasonable comparison. Prior to scoping the Winnie, my group sizes with the factory buckhorns had been deteriorating for several years, and I finally had to scope it. The 3 flyers were me not paying attention (breathing, etc.). 15 rounds, 1" bullseye.

Nice shooting Gunny!!

Nice job. Try shooting from 1 knee with your factory sights. I have had some success with my 1860.

The buckhorn/front bead combo is a challenge for many, it seems, and you encountered what most of us do: at anything over about 40-50 yds, that bead obscures the target so much that you can hardly guess what your true POA is.

The good news is you have lots of options to make it better, including booking a trip to Canada for a RR shooting lesson! Wish I could!

markiver54 wrote: ↑

Sat May 18, 2019 9:46 am

Nice shooting Gunny!!

Thanks. A side note: When you're trying to squeeze groups down as much as possible, setting up a video of yourself to capture things like trigger control, jerking or bucking the shots, etc. gives you the opportunity to rerun the session and critique yourself. This is a big help in honing your shooting if you don't have a coach watching you.

Good point...might try that!

Haha...shooting with me consists of load & shoot until you can't stop smiling. Not much science involved... ....sun, rain or snow....it's all good.

markiver54 wrote: ↑

Sat May 18, 2019 10:17 am

Good point...might try that!

Should be combined with a range book to mark each shot in sequence, so that when you replay the video you can see how it matches up.

You're doing fine, Dean. Folks sometimes overlook the fact that effectively using iron sights, especially buckhorn and bead combos, takes practice. I find that it helps to have a routine as far as aligning the the front sight in the rear sight when using open sights. With the gun pointed slightly below the target, I first line up the front sight in the rear sight, being careful to get both elevation and windage as precise as I can. Only then do I raise the gun and set the sights on the target. This routine has a bonus in that it directs your attention to those sights, especially the front sight. That front sight awareness and focus is the key to good shooting with open sights, whether it be on a handgun or a rifle. Keep shooting. You're on your way.

BigAl52 wrote: ↑

Fri May 17, 2019 11:34 pm

Factory Ammo Deano or reloads?

It’s the factory Monarch/PPU 158gr SJHP that I’ve got a bunch of.

deano one thing I use and it seems to help me anyway is some 3 inch peel and stick target dots. You can get them pretty cheap on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G9 ... UTF8&psc=1

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I enjoy reading about people's experiments and experiences! Thank you sharing.

Does the buckhorn on the BBSC have an elevation adjustable insert? If so, when you find you're too high or low between steps on the ladder, try adjusting the insert to fine tune the elevation.

Please keep sharing your practice and experimentation results.

deano5150 wrote: ↑

Fri May 17, 2019 11:17 pm

... I had to experiment with raising the rear sight with the elevator and adjusting my sight picture. At 50 yards I covered the plate with the brass bead. All good. Doing the same at 100 I was low. So I raised the rear buckhorn a notch. Then I was high. So I used a six o’clock hold and I was a little low. I think the sweet spot was to cover the bottom third of the plate. It’s hard to tell exactly what to do to get good hits. I think this calls for some more practice and experimentation. Also, I need to take notes this time so I don’t forget what I learned.

...My windage was pretty good but I need to figure out the elevation. That brass bead is just too big to be very precise at long range.

[quote=Mags post_id=96284 time=1558196416 user_id=2543]
.
I enjoy reading about people's experiments and experiences! Thank you sharing.

Does the buckhorn on the BBSC have an elevation adjustable insert? If so, when you find you're too high or low between steps on the ladder, try adjusting the insert to fine tune the elevation.

Please keep sharing your practice and experimentation results.


Yes, my buckhorn has an insert. I just recently got the insert dialed in for 30yds so I didn’t want to make any changes to that. I’ve been thinking about a receiver mounted peep and a partridge post for a while but I’m not ready to spend the money just yet.

Redthies wrote: ↑

Sat May 18, 2019 5:26 am

I really love my BBSC .357, and took it deer hunting a couple of times last year. There were lots of wolves in the area though, so we didn’t see any live deer. Lots of tracks, (pics below) but aside from a solo wolf, squirrels and a rabbit, there was not much moving.

I did do some target shooting and found mine to be very accurate with 158 grain sjsp. I have Skinner’s Express rear and Patridge front sights on mine. That makes a big difference for me. I’m only one year older than you Dean, but I found the factory sights weren’t great for much.

What size front sight did you get? When my budget allows I’d like to get that same sight setup.

RanchRoper wrote: ↑

Sat May 18, 2019 10:22 am

Haha...shooting with me consists of load & shoot until you can't stop smiling. Not much science involved... ....sun, rain or snow....it's all good.

pretty much the same for me .... well, except for the rain or snow parts ...

deano5150 wrote: ↑

Sat May 18, 2019 1:53 pm

What size front sight did you get? When my budget allows I’d like to get that same sight setup.

It was last year, but I recall getting the tallest he offered (650?). You can file it down if need be.