Henry Rifle Forums

I'm excited to be picking up a Big Boy case hardened rifle (hopefully tomorrow) chambered in 357 magnum/38 special. It's a beautiful rifle. One problem that I noticed with it is that the inner magazine tube is very hard to turn to remove. I really had to torque it to get the pin to rotate out of the notch. Is there an adjustment for this or is it something that will break in with use?

A light oiling of the o ring may help. Otherwise, it will ease over time. Mine is 5 years old and still snug. I prefer it to be tight.

It should loosen up after some use. I have one like yours and it is still a bit snug but that is better than loose. Maybe a tiny bit of lube will help.
That rifle is a very good shooter and hope you enjoy yours!
And a big welcome to the forum from Va. !!

agree with the other responses ..... pushing in on the rod while turning it can help a bit by compressing the O-ring

gpraceman wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 08, 2020 5:01 pm

I'm excited to be picking up a Big Boy case hardened rifle (hopefully tomorrow) chambered in 357 magnum/38 special. It's a beautiful rifle.

Welcome to the forum from CT and congratulations on your new Henry. That's a great caliber! I know you're going to love it. As for the magazine tube, it will relax some, especially if it's coaxed with a tiny bit of oil or Ballistol. Glad you joined us.

Thanks all for the feedback. I'll try a bit of oil on the o-ring, once I get the rifle home. I was pushing in on the tube, but it was still so hard to turn.

My only other experience with a tube fed gun is the 1977 Marlin 60 that I inherited from my grandfather. No problem removing that tube. It is a very nice shooting 22LR rifle.

I've wanted a lever action for a long time, and was really excited that I found this BB at my local Sportsman's Warehouse. Can't wait to get it home. I was leaning towards a GB in 357/38 until I saw the case hardened one.

as another thought, running a cleaning patch through the tube and wiping down the rod sure can't hurt

Welcome to the forum and enjoy that new CCH when you get it. Pictures we like pictures. As others have said put some grease on it and clean the tube.

Welcome to the forum from Alberta.

Welcome from Michigan. I am with JEBAR and BigAL52 on cleaning the tube and lube, it should help loosen it up. You don't want it too loose. I have a Winchester 22 mag with an inner tube that will fall out unless loaded.

Just got mine early this year, the 44 Mag, has the same issue. Mine is very snug, but I found if you place the butt of the rifle on a solid surface it releases much easier. Maybe after some usage I my be able to “free hand” it open, but at this stage of newness it works best to place it a shooting bench. (I do place a hand towel between the brass butt plate and wood surface.).
Happy Shootin’ Fellas!

I had the same problem. However, mine did not loosen up despite all the cures you have read about. I eventually had to send the rifle back. So I would not waste to much time trying to fix it. Call Henry CS. They might want to send you a new tube but that did not solve the problem either. Rather disheartening that after three years they still have the same problem.

fortyshooter wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 08, 2020 5:16 pm

It should loosen up after some use. I have one like yours and it is still a bit snug but that is better than loose. Maybe a tiny bit of lube will help.
That rifle is a very good shooter and hope you enjoy yours!
And a big welcome to the forum from Va. !!

That's a sweet pair of case hardened firearms that you have there! Makes me want to get a revolver like that. But my wife would kill me if I got yet another firearm in such a short time. lol I'll have to settle for my Heritage Rough Rider for now. It's a nice shooting revolver, with cylinders for 22S/22LR and 22Mag.

I picked up my BB tonight. Can't wait to be able to shoot it. I was only able to get some 38 special rounds (Federal 158 gr) for it. They had those stashed in the back. I do reload and plan to get the dies and components so I can make my own.

very sharp CCH Henry .... looking forward to your continued reports


be sure to follow this link to where you can add it to our community's total ===> http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 73#p150573

Welcome from Ca! Nice choice of a Henry you have. Your Rough Rider goes well with the BB, not to worry. Believe us, you'll be looking at a single action revolver before you know it. This place is stock full of enablers, so watch it!
Geez, forgot to address the sticky tube question. If it doesn't loosen up a bit after some use, call Henry CS, let them know and they'll send you a new for free. They did that for me.

I will add something,
I have never tried this but it may work. What if you removed the O-Ring on the magazine tube. It should still hold due to the pressure of the rounds in the magazine tube. If empty you would have to be a little more careful with it>
Just a question and a thought.

jstanfield103 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 10, 2020 6:23 pm

I will add something,
I have never tried this but it may work. What if you removed the O-Ring on the magazine tube. It should still hold due to the pressure of the rounds in the magazine tube. If empty you would have to be a little more careful with it>
Just a question and a thought.

The O ring provides needed tension so the inner mag tube doesn't rotate from use and fall out. Guess they had no room for a light coil spring or rubber O ring cheaper than a spring.

Take a close look at the slot the pin rides in. There is a raised area that the pin starts on that compresses the O ring and then the pin drops into the locking slot. This raised area prevents the pin and tube from rotating on it's own and letting tube fall out.
You could take a small fill file and lightly remove a very small amount of material off the hump or raised area. Just enough to ease the amount of tension needed to rotate. Have to have some to keep tension.
Remember as the years and use go by the O ring will age and loose compression.

I had the same issue with my .357/.38 BB. It was obvious that there was a problem with rhe outer magazine tube but I didn’t want to ship my rifle back to HRA. As it turned out, I had to ssend it back for another unrelated problem. Henry replaced the outer mag tube and kept the original inner mag tube. The difference was like night and day. Loading and unloading was a breeze. If you can be without your rifle a few days, it’s more than worth it to ship it back to HRA. Especially if you suspect it’s the outer mag tube.

shootinthecinders wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 12, 2020 8:57 am

If you can be without your rifle a few days, it’s more than worth it to ship it back to HRA.

a lesson that several of us have learned and most certainly agree with