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Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

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GunnyGene
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by GunnyGene » Sat Apr 25, 2020 10:22 am

Goodbye Middle Class wrote:
Sat Apr 25, 2020 9:38 am
Nice pic GG. It's on topic and I'm glad you posted. That's the point of a photo thread. Being relatively new to the Henry Rifle world, I found I was hungry for as much info as possible.

Seemed like my searches kept coming back to the same group of photos and videos.

What I discovered is that while articles we're great, I actually learned more from the forums, pictures, and YouTube videos that kept it simple, actually just showing and sharing information.
Thank you. :) Btw I don't know if ballistics is something you pay attention to, but I'm somewhat of a ballistics nut by training and inclination, so I tend to gravitate more to the technical aspects of a rifle system (firearm + optics + ammo) than the eye appeal of a particular gun. It also means that I will chronograph a variety of ammo before settling on a particular brand, design, weight, etc. for a particular purpose, instead of believing the manufacturer's advertising. Since I don't reload, I don't have the option of rolling my own. In the case of a pistol caliber, the advertised mv, etc. is normally from a 5" or 6" test barrel, which means you can expect a significant increase in mv in a rifle, and subsequent change in trajectory. Forgive me if you are already aware of all this. :)
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by leverjc » Sat Apr 25, 2020 11:20 am

I think you made a great selection on your tools. I have a Wheeler scope mounting set that I have used a lot, though most of the time just for checking. It seems to me that newer rings do not need to be lapped as much as the older ones, but I like lapping the rings just to roughen up the surface anyway and I use the fat driver a lot. I don't think I have had my inch/pound torque wrench out of the box since purchase of it. I also have a Wheeler screwdriver, hammer and punch set so it was nice to get a smaller free set with the Tipton vise if I should ever need a replacement.

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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by markiver54 » Sat Apr 25, 2020 12:51 pm

Rifletom wrote:
Fri Apr 24, 2020 11:16 pm
From the Henry store, I bought the Talley integral mount/ring set up for my two Henry's. Fairly low and rock solid. Price was right also. Rifle is looking good.
And no lapping required with the Talley mount.
Matter of fact, if you do lap, it voids the warranty. I have the same one Tom. :D
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RanchRoper
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by RanchRoper » Sat Apr 25, 2020 1:17 pm

Good pics, welcome to the forum from Alberta.

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Goodbye Middle Class
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by Goodbye Middle Class » Sat Apr 25, 2020 1:20 pm

markiver54 wrote:
Sat Apr 25, 2020 12:51 pm
Rifletom wrote:
Fri Apr 24, 2020 11:16 pm
From the Henry store, I bought the Talley integral mount/ring set up for my two Henry's. Fairly low and rock solid. Price was right also. Rifle is looking good.
And no lapping required with the Talley mount.
Matter of fact, if you do lap, it voids the warranty. I have the same one Tom. :D
Thanks for the responses and helpful info.

As I will detail in later posts I've already decided against lapping since I've settled on a one piece integral scope mount. However it is a handy tool to have if I ever move to separate rings.

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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by Rifletom » Sat Apr 25, 2020 1:22 pm

markiver54 wrote:
Sat Apr 25, 2020 12:51 pm
Rifletom wrote:
Fri Apr 24, 2020 11:16 pm
From the Henry store, I bought the Talley integral mount/ring set up for my two Henry's. Fairly low and rock solid. Price was right also. Rifle is looking good.
And no lapping required with the Talley mount.
Matter of fact, if you do lap, it voids the warranty. I have the same one Tom. :D
Indeed you do! These work perfectly on the BB's. I need to shoot in the desert soon.

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Goodbye Middle Class
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by Goodbye Middle Class » Sat Jul 18, 2020 12:56 pm

Hello Fellas. Sorry I've been way for a while. Busier than I'd prefer and had been itching to get a few things done and posted.

So here's a whole bunch. All at once!!


Shortly after I bought the rifle, I purchased some gun leather through Fiddleback Outpost from Rick Lowe Outfitters (RLO).


Stock sleeve with 1" cheek riser pad and .44 ammo loops. Strap with compatible clamp swivels. Ammo bandolier for the strap, and finally, loop lever wrap for the the Large loop lever.

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Liked them so much I bought a set for my Father-in-law for fathers day. He has a brass receiver Frontier .22, without factory swivel studs, so I gave him the the no-tap set which sleeves over the walnut and clamps onto the ammo tube....



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Up next:

I finally had the time in the past week to dress the rifle....
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Last edited by Goodbye Middle Class on Sat Jul 18, 2020 1:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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markiver54
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by markiver54 » Sat Jul 18, 2020 1:01 pm

Very nice leather!
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Goodbye Middle Class
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by Goodbye Middle Class » Sat Jul 18, 2020 1:15 pm

I also picked up a picatinny style Rhino Rail from Ranger Point Precision.


Compatible for Henry and easy to install with a little surface oil on top of the receiver between it and the rail, and thread lok for the taps.


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I love how low profile it rests on the rifle.


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I also like the the fact that it is channeled which makes sighting it still possible without a scope mounted.


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However, I will add that the buck horn sight was a challenge at the range. The little adjustable blade with the white diamond was off-set to the right. Shot groupings were good but everything I did, even with bench rest, was all on the right side of the Noon-Six line of the target. I finally figured it out back in the shop when trying to adjust the little screw on the buck horn sight I pulled the blade piece with the diamond out and flipped it 180, re-inserted and it was centered. Didn't make sense to me but it worked.
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markiver54
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by markiver54 » Sat Jul 18, 2020 1:21 pm

I have three of those darn blades and all have the offset diamond. Ended up scoping my rifle anyway, so it no longer mattered.
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Goodbye Middle Class
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by Goodbye Middle Class » Sat Jul 18, 2020 1:45 pm

.

Dressing the rifle with the RLO leather was super easy, then kind of a pain in the behind......


The strap and bandolier were a snap. The swivels, with a drop of oil, fit perfectly into the Henry factory swivel studs


The stock cover took a little more patience. The leather laces will break if pulled too hard. The challenge is getting it tight enough pull/stretching the leather a bit to get a tight fit. The sleeve, naturally, wants to ride forward to the narrower end of the stock. The swivel stud gives an anchor point to prevent this. I did, however, adjust it once I had it on. I pulled one of the laces, stretching back even further back over the stud to add additional tension. This looks a little less symmetrical but prevents any slide forward or rotation around the wood stock.

The real pain in the butt was the lever loop wrap. This is what took the real patience. My pictures show my solution. I would recommend DO NOT do it this way with the lever still on the rifle and the rifle in the gun vise. Lesson learned!

Next time, definitely use the clamps, but I will remove the lever from the rifle, wrap the internal end of the lever loop in scrap leather and lock it in a traditional vise. This would have made it so much easier for me to work the leather around the loop. Don't be a dummy like me the first time I tried this.


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I would also recommend having clamps. I have small ones from other hobbies and woodworking. They helped keep each few laces tight while I threaded the next 4 or 5. Then moved the clamps along as I went. Definitely have some type of a leather work needle. I made my own using some scrap electrical wire. This will be necessary to thread the laces which is made from some type of sinew or intestine? It is super strong, has a small amount of stretch, and is a little greasy.

I think the contrast looks nice on the brown leather but on the black it was a little much for my preference. So I touched up the loop laces with a sharpie to black them out. The sinew absorbed it nicely. I gave it some time to dry then wiped with a paper towel to make sure it didn't transfer off. I think next time I will blacken the sinew before threading for a better uniformity of appearance.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out!



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Enjoy!

.....more to come..........

.
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Last edited by Goodbye Middle Class on Sun May 02, 2021 8:33 am, edited 7 times in total.

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JEBar
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by JEBar » Sat Jul 18, 2020 1:50 pm

well thought out and executed .... nice work indeed .... the thought of using clamps like that would have never crossed my mind .. 8-)

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markiver54
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by markiver54 » Sat Jul 18, 2020 2:34 pm

Congrats on a job well done!
Looks great too!
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by Jerrysea » Sat Jul 18, 2020 2:56 pm

That really looks good. Enjoy.

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Goodbye Middle Class
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by Goodbye Middle Class » Sat Jul 18, 2020 4:50 pm

.



Last post for the day.....

Around the same time I purchased the Rifle I also picked up a little partner for it in the same caliber.......


IMG_20200420_224644353~3.jpg


A sweet compliment to the rifle and handy "Bear Repellent".

It's an Awesome Performer, Wicked accurate, reasonable recoil, and a pleasure to shoot.

.
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markiver54
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by markiver54 » Sat Jul 18, 2020 5:14 pm

Very very nice!!
Love wheel guns. Especially S&W's I have two. A 6" 686 and an 8 3/8 500 mag.
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by Goodbye Middle Class » Tue Aug 18, 2020 10:41 pm

Having had some time to pop off several brands I've settled on the Hornady Custom XTP 240gr JHPs.


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Plenty of other sources for ballistics info. I just decided what I liked. I figure the Hornady factory rounds are hot enough and consistent loads. I won't be loading any of my own so for the price I'm happy with these. They seem to be cleaner firing as well. (I went through a cheapie box of cowboy loads, forget which brand. They were fun plinkers, but some dirty barrel-puffers for sure.)

The jacketed rounds also cycled smoothly and I managed decent accuracy with them too.

More out of curiosity, than anything, I tried the Leverevolution .225gr also from Hornady.


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I didn't find much difference other than the lighter bullet kick. I'll use up what I have at the range and then stick with the XTP 240gr for both the Henry and S&W.

I picked up a .30 cal steel man-purse to carry my "stuff".


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The boxes fit nicely inside.....


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That's all for now.


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Next couple of posts will have a lot more, being a tale of trial and error as I finally worked out my scope and rail situation...


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220
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by 220 » Wed Aug 19, 2020 12:51 am

It is amazing just how many additional purchases a new rifle leads to.
I have had a BB brass my son purchased in March sitting in the safe unfired, with covid and restrictions in place he hasnt been able to get home from his posting. Waiting for him to home and be the first to fire it.

So far I have added
200 factory ammo
200 starline brass
2k LP primers
310gr 6 cavity mould
210gr 2 cavity mould
4 MTM ammo boxes
240, 270 & 300gr jacketed bullets
shot capsuals
base & rings
2-7x scope

With him on standby for deployment overseas it could be a while before he is home. The way I am going I will have spent more than he did on the rifle

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Goodbye Middle Class
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by Goodbye Middle Class » Wed Aug 19, 2020 1:09 pm

220 wrote:
Wed Aug 19, 2020 12:51 am
It is amazing just how many additional purchases a new rifle leads to.
I have had a BB brass my son purchased in March sitting in the safe unfired, with covid and restrictions in place he hasnt been able to get home from his posting. Waiting for him to home and be the first to fire it.

So far I have added
200 factory ammo
200 starline brass
2k LP primers
310gr 6 cavity mould
210gr 2 cavity mould
4 MTM ammo boxes
240, 270 & 300gr jacketed bullets
shot capsuals
base & rings
2-7x scope

With him on standby for deployment overseas it could be a while before he is home. The way I am going I will have spent more than he did on the rifle


I agree. Hilarious because it is so true!

Not to mention all the never used accessories I'll have to resell somewhere. I experimented with a lot of different options when I was trying to figure out how to mount the scout scope I wanted. Often with comedic results.

I even tried an AR style cantilever mount which absurdly resulted in this Horror Show!!!


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Hahahahahahaha! I laugh out loud every time I think about how ridiculously goofy this looked!

I'll have more to come about that part of my journey in the next few posts.....
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Re: Henry Big Boy Steel .44 Magnum Journey

Post by Goodbye Middle Class » Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:46 pm

I decided I definitely wanted a scout scope. I figured with a pistol cartridge rifle I would not be comfortable taking more than a 100-150 yard maximum shot. No desire to be dropping Al-Qaeda at 700 yards so no need for a high powered scope.

I just wanted a fixed power, quick acquisition scope that I could ready-raise for an accurate shot that also had comfortable eye relief. After research and reviews I decided on the

Leupold FX-II Scout IER 2.5x28mm Scope.


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So here's the rub....how the heck am I supposed to mount a scout scope when nobody (and I mean nobody) makes a manufacturer ready scout rail for a Henry Big Boy Steel??!!

Well that's when picked up more than a few rail/ring/mount options to experiment with.....

Also picked up some Leupold lense covers.


IMG_20200424_173346378~2.jpg

These are correct, but a word of warning: some sites don't have accurate info on part number compatibility based on scope model. The first time ordered I discovered the front lense cover they said was a match...was not. Had to send back, do research and order the right one. Annoying!

I would recommend going to Leupold's site for accurate part numbers before you order.
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