My HO15-308 is home

[Yornoc3]

That's a nice one. Congrats on a great pick up. I'll bet the fiddleback is even more clear in person.

[Mac11700]

That's a nice one. Congrats on a great pick up. I'll bet the fiddleback is even more clear in person.

Thank you and it does show up better in person.

Mac

[RanchRoper]

She is a beauty!

[Mac11700]

Well this is a real bummer...

I have to send my 308 back to Henry.

I have some issues with the trigger and the excessive hammer pull.

The good folks at Henry have assured me that they will make things right and I am hopeful that they will...

I'll keep you posted

Mac

[Yornoc3]

I'v also noticed the stout hammer pull, but have attributed that to the rebounding hammer mechanism. Is your trigger pull really heavy? I was surprised how good the trigger is on my 45-70; the .243 feels OK, but, lacking a snap cap, I haven't really checked it out yet. I've heard of a few others being heavy, so I'm confident Henry will get it right for you.

[Mac11700]

I'v also noticed the stout hammer pull, but have attributed that to the rebounding hammer mechanism. Is your trigger pull really heavy? I was surprised how good the trigger is on my 45-70; the .243 feels OK, but, lacking a snap cap, I haven't really checked it out yet. I've heard of a few others being heavy, so I'm confident Henry will get it right for you.

It's pretty bad actually.. There is a definite hitch pulling it back. It's almost 10lbs and I basically have a set trigger with it the way it is right now. I can start squeezing it and stop, then have a lighter pull of 3.5 lbs to finish the break and all of this is easy to hear as well feel with it. It actually feels like I am dragging the trigger over gravel... The hammer pull is reading 18.5lbs... So I know something is definitely wrong with it. I've tried lubricating it and working the trigger on it several hundred times but that's gotten me nowhere.

I could take it apart and do a trigger job myself, but seeing as this gun is new and unfired I shouldn't mess with it..

I'll give them a chance to fix it first...

This is all very frustrating to say the least

Mac

[JEBar]

frustration understood but I do agree with your decision to send it back .... not only will they get it right for you but, with this being a new line, they may learn something that will help them

[Mac11700]

frustration understood but I do agree with your decision to send it back .... not only will they get it right for you but, with this being a new line, they may learn something that will help them

I do hope so, after all this would be a great rifle to hand down to one of my sons.

Mac

[slofyr]

I'v also noticed the stout hammer pull....

It's pretty bad actually.. . It actually feels like I am dragging the trigger over gravel... The hammer pull is reading 18.5lbs... So I know something is definitely wrong with it.....

Unfortunately, nothing is wrong with it. Henry designed and built it that way, and it appears engineered by their lawyers. The hammer is stiff because it compresses two springs. If you remove the inner spring it will lighten the pull, but then the hammer strike may not ignite all primers because the strike energy is neutered by the rebound action. The reason is the shape of the hammer spring guide hand. Re-contouring the spring guide is the fix, but doing it should be done by an EXPERIENCED GUNSMITH who can visualize the motion and not overdo the reduction. I suspect Henry will not sell you a spring guide for your experimentation. A gunsmith doing the mod could fabricate a duplicate spring guide so you could preserve the OEM item. Expect to invest a wad of $$$ for the job.

The gritty trigger is caused by the conical-shaped trigger return spring. Its wide end slides against an area of the frame casting which has a crude sand-cast finish resembling aggregate concrete. Filing the offending area smooth is the fix.

[CT_Shooter]

Unfortunately, nothing is wrong with it. Henry designed and built it that way, and it appears engineered by their lawyers. The hammer is stiff because it compresses two springs. If you remove the inner spring it will lighten the pull, but then the hammer strike may not ignite all primers because the strike energy is neutered by the rebound action. The reason is the shape of the hammer spring guide hand. Re-contouring the spring guide is the fix, but doing it should be done by an EXPERIENCED GUNSMITH who can visualize the motion and not overdo the reduction. I suspect Henry will not sell you a spring guide for your experimentation. A gunsmith doing the mod could fabricate a duplicate spring guide so you could preserve the OEM item. Expect to invest a wad of $$$ for the job.

The gritty trigger is caused by the conical-shaped trigger return spring. Its wide end slides against an area of the frame casting which has a crude sand-cast finish resembling aggregate concrete. Filing the offending area smooth is the fix.

Thanks, slofyr. But, please explain your statement a bit more clearly. Did you talk to anyone at Henry that helped form this conclusion? What was that conversation like? Did they admit to a known problem with the shape of the hammer spring guide? How and why were lawyers likely involved? I'd like to know more.

[slofyr]

... please explain your statement a bit more clearly......

It was explained clearly enough to help a gunsmith improve the H015 hammer and trigger pull.

[Yornoc3]

I agree that the rebounding hammer mechanism leads to the stout hammer pull (I'd probably blame the lawyers for that, too ), but my 45-70 has a surprisingly good trigger, well under the weight of the rifle, and I think the just acquired .243 is close to that, too; I can't really say, having not fired it yet (I'm not a fan of dry firing with out snap caps). So the trigger doesn't have to be that heavy, and Henry should be able to get it down to a decent pull weight.

[slofyr]

“Stout” is an understatement.

These rifles have a simple sear and notch trigger design. Pull resistance is influenced by several factors: hammer spring tension, the amount of sear overlap which determines trigger travel before the break, the cut angle of the notch and its surface finish. If the notch engagement is short and the angle of cut is shallow, trigger pull can feel reasonably light even with a strong hammer spring. My H015, fortunately, has both so the factory pull is acceptable. The standard trigger-job procedure of stoning the notch and reducing overlap was not necessary. Even with the OEM hammer springs, the trigger can be made better if the sear/notch area is cleaned of the factory goop and re-lubed with moly grease. Larry’s Guns sells a product called "NECO MOLY-SLIDE” which makes an excellent sear lube if mixed 50/50 with a sticky base like automotive motor honey [Power Punch]. With the H015, you will still need to smooth the rough surface where the trigger return spring slides, as previously mentioned.

[JEBar]

while I have no problem using tools and, under most circumstances, my first inclination is to try and fix things .... when it comes to firearms, once you get beyond changing grips on a revolver or possibly installing a spring kit, I simply will not work them .... in January we turned our CCH 45-70 and BBS 44 Mag over to a gunsmith for him to work on their trigger pulls .... based on his measurements, the OEM trigger pull on our 44 measured 6.5 lbs and our 45-70 measured 9.8 lbs .... fine adjustments to a Henry trigger pull require precision honing that is really as much art as science .... we set as a target trigger pull 3 lbs .... when I picked them up the 45-70's trigger pull measured 3.1 lbs and the 44 Mag measured 2.9 lbs .... having fired them both, his work has really paid off .... I can't fault Henry for producing rifles with heavy trigger pulls ... as others have mentioned, lawyers are involved

[brianpa]

Nice looking rifle. I just picked my 44 up and it is very nice to.

[Mac11700]

while I have no problem using tools and, under most circumstances, my first inclination is to try and fix things .... when it comes to firearms, once you get beyond changing grips on a revolver or possibly installing a spring kit, I simply will not work them .... in January we turned our CCH 45-70 and BBS 44 Mag over to a gunsmith for him to work on their trigger pulls .... based on his measurements, the OEM trigger pull on our 44 measured 6.5 lbs and our 45-70 measured 9.8 lbs .... fine adjustments to a Henry trigger pull require precision honing that is really as much art as science .... we set as a target trigger pull 3 lbs .... when I picked them up the 45-70's trigger pull measured 3.1 lbs and the 44 Mag measured 2.9 lbs .... having fired them both, his work has really paid off .... I can't fault Henry for producing rifles with heavy trigger pulls ... as others have mentioned, lawyers are involved

Lawyers or not AFAIAC.. I should not have to resort to having a Smith do a trigger job on this brand new rifle. That's just totally unacceptable to have to do While I do appreciate all of the reasons given by everyone here, make no mistake about that, I will wait for Henry to fix this rifle first, and then I will decide wither to try to fix it myself or get my money back for it..

It's a shame that this flaw isn't more widely known, because if I had known about it sooner then I wouldn't have went this route..

Lots to chew on for now

Mac

[JEBar]

if not the best option, sending it back to Henry is most certainly a viable option .... if it is out of spec and it sure sounds like it is, they will take care of it .... we could have sent ours back but the decision to pay to have a gunsmith work on ours was based on wanting a specific trigger pull

[Yornoc3]

Good point, JEBar. Some companies will reduce a trigger pull weight only to a specific point, i.e., nominally the weight of the gun, for CZ shotguns. If you want a lower specific weight, you're usually on your own. As I've mentioned, none of the 3 Henry rifles I own have trigger pull weights nearly as high as the gun weight, I'd estimate they're in the 4 lbs range, so my small sample makes me think Henry will correct an excessive trigger pull down to a reasonable weight. I'm not expecting a trigger like you'd find on a European kipplauff on a $370.00 Henry, though .

[Mac11700]

Well my 308 is on the way back to Henry... Hopefully they will fix it and get it back to me asap...

Mac

[Mac11700]

I should have my 308 back tomorrow.. I could have had it this afternoon, but I could not be there to sign for it

Fingers crossed

Mac