Henry Rifle Forums

I handled one of these in 44 magnum at the local gunshop and it was pretty nice.

I'm interested in owners experiences with it's accuracy and feeding reliability.

I'm also interested in how well it works with miniature red dot sight such as the Primary Arms Micro Dot, or Aimpoint T1, or similar. Specifically I'm concerned about cheek weld with such sights. I know it goes against the grain to use such a sight on a classic rifle, but there has long been something with my eyes that makes it impossible for me to shoot over irons with both eyes open. I can close an eye, but eye fatigue and strain set in rapidly. With a dot sight, I can handle both eyes open easily, so it's kind of necessary for me.

I will be handloading cast bullets for it and can arrange for my bullets to be sized to fit the bore, unless it runs larger than .358" in which case I'll need new molds. I'm willing to buy the additional molds if necessary.

Well, I have had a .357 BB steel for over a year and a half. It has seen several thousand round through it.

As to feeding, I had some occasional hangups when it was new. Between breaking in the rifle, making a few changes to my reloading, and learning to operate the lever with authority, those hangups when away, within a couple hundred rounds it became as smooth as silk. Loads 158 grain .38s just fine as well. I normally load .357 magnums for it.

I rarely shoot it over 25 yds. I am very pleased with the accuracy I get from it. I can't tell you if it is a MOA or less. It is no match for my bolt action .223, with a bull barrel and adjustable trigger at distnace, however, a lever action pistol caliber is not a bench rest weapon. I would be very surprised if the Henry is not right up there in accuracy compared to other .357 lever actions. My daughter often puts 10 rounds into a big ragged hole at 25 yds with arms braced on the table.

Neither of us cared much for the stock sights and I put a holographic red dot on it shortly after buying the Henry. We both liked it a lot. It did look a little odd, but worked extremely well. I would likely choose a tubular module, if buying one, but I had the holo sitting in a drawer unused at the time. We have since moved on to a 3-9 Vortex, but would not be at all unhappy if I had to move back to the red dot.

I have tried cast, but had leading issues, and decided to just stick with plated rather than work through the issues. I did that with 9mm and it was a long, frustrating journey. I know it can be done, others routinely shoot cast through theirs.

I was talking with Clovispup today and made the comment that if all my weapons were lost in a tragic boating accident, the Henry would be the first one I replaced. I might have to look hard at the all weather in .357. Basically the same weapon, with a nice textured chrome finish, and a much better protected wooden stock.

I have no doubt that you would be more than pleased with a Henry BB steel in .357.

Can't help you on the Henry, but I have used a variety of red dots on lever guns and if you can get by the traditional thing - and I get that some cannot - I think they make a great sight for a lever gun. For me, much faster to acquire than any iron sights or scope crosshairs and I especially like that they don't alter change the weight or balance of the gun the way a scope does. I'm partial to tube style red dots, such as the excellent Ultradots. Have never had one fail, even on the hardest kicking rifles or handguns and they kind of look like a mini scope.

I have a Henry 30-30 in steel. I've also shot a buddy's brass 357 Big Boy. My 30-30 has XS ghost ring sights, and it is a tack driver. When I shot my friend's Big Boy, we were using the stock semi-buckhorn sights. From sandbags on a bench, we were able to get hits on clays out on the 100 yard berm. Mind you, we sure didn't get hits every time, but we got hits, and our misses were just off the edge of the clays.

While red-dots certainly are nice, I think my inclination would be to try a Skinner peep sight. You may be surprised at how good they work.

there is no reason a red dot can't be used on a Henry .... we have learned via having them on rifles that for longer shots the size of the dot can more than cover the center of the target .... if accuracy/bullet grouping at longer ranges, our AimPoint Red Dots don't offer the precision of cross hairs

ditto1958 wrote:I have a Henry 30-30 in steel. I've also shot a buddy's brass 357 Big Boy. My 30-30 has XS ghost ring sights, and it is a tack driver. When I shot my friend's Big Boy, we were using the stock semi-buckhorn sights. From sandbags on a bench, we were able to get hits on clays out on the 100 yard berm. Mind you, we sure didn't get hits every time, but we got hits, and our misses were just off the edge of the clays.

While red-dots certainly are nice, I think my inclination would be to try a Skinner peep sight. You may be surprised at how good they work.

If they are anything like military peep sights, it's a lost cause for me.

I'm not able to keep track of the sights with both eyes open. My eye dominance is not completely consistent either.

jamesp81 wrote:I handled one of these in 44 magnum at the local gunshop and it was pretty nice.

I'm interested in owners experiences with it's accuracy and feeding reliability.

I'm also interested in how well it works with miniature red dot sight such as the Primary Arms Micro Dot, or Aimpoint T1, or similar. Specifically I'm concerned about cheek weld with such sights. I know it goes against the grain to use such a sight on a classic rifle, but there has long been something with my eyes that makes it impossible for me to shoot over irons with both eyes open. I can close an eye, but eye fatigue and strain set in rapidly. With a dot sight, I can handle both eyes open easily, so it's kind of necessary for me.

I will be handloading cast bullets for it and can arrange for my bullets to be sized to fit the bore, unless it runs larger than .358" in which case I'll need new molds. I'm willing to buy the additional molds if necessary.

I bought a new .357 BBS in August last year, and have put some 500 rounds through it at the range. Feeding has been excellent - I have not had a single misfeed. A full mag tube takes 10 rounds of .357 magnums, and it feeds perfectly from full down to empty. I have not shot .38 special, so cannot speak about those. Ejection of spent cases is also very good, but you have to be firm with the lever.

I do not like the buckhorn iron sight, and considered several aiming devices. I looked at Aimpoint red dot sights as I intend to go deer hunting. The terrain over here in mid-Norway is such that most deer hunting is done at distances under 100 meters (109 yards), so a red dot sight would be a good choice. However I found the Aimpoint a bit too bulky and for me it does not suit the classic look of the BBS, so I went for a Leupold VX-2 1-4 scope instead, and am very happy with that choice.

I find the inherent accuracy of the .357 BBS to be very good, see target pics below. I have experimented with several loads:

.357 Hornady XTP 158 grain with 15, 16, 17, and 17.5 grains of W296 - very good accuracy, better with the higher loads
.357 Selliers & Bellot JSP 158 grain with 6,7,8 and 9 grains of HS-6 - accuracy as above
.358 lead(18 BHN) CN 158 grain with carnauba lube and 6, 7 and 8 grains of HS-6 - not good accuracy, but no leading

Besides that I have shot Magtech .357 FMJ factory ammo, which is quite hot actually. Bullet velocities ar similar to the max loads with W296 above.

I am not satisfied with the 158 grain lead bullets accuracy, so will probably melt them down and try a 158 grain Lee RF mold I have bought.

At the range


Shot fired


Magtech factory load, 100 meters / 109 yards from rest


.358 sized 158 grain CN lead bullet - not very happy with accuracy


S&B 158 grain JSP with HS-6 load - 4.4 cm / 1.7 inch group at 100 meters / 109 yards from rest

I have the Henry BBS in .357 (20" barrel). I put a Skinner peep rear sight on it and had to go to a shorter front sight and went with a 1/16" gold bead front sight.
I have found the Hornady 158 grain XTP JHP to be very accurate from my rifle. I do handload and load this bullet over 14.5 grains of Alliant 2400. In the past, I had good results with Winchester white box and Federal jacketed ammo in my Henry BB .44.

With the right ammo, the Henry BBS .357 is very accurate and it is very pleasant to shoot. If I could only have one center fire rifle, it is the one I would choose.

I got a .357 BB Steel recently. I'm using a Montana Gold 158gn JHP over 14.5 gn Alliant 2400 and it is a tack driver with this load. I've got about 800 rounds through mine and it cycles smoothly. I enjoy shooting at Clay Birds at 50 yards on a sand berm. With the factory sights (Buckhorn Rear/ Brass Bead Front) I have not trouble killing clay birds at 50 yds off hand, standing. I may just stick with the current sights as I always shoot with both eyes open and I can move the gun from target to target with ease with these sights. I love shooting this rife and am getting very quick with it.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/0 ... 7-carbine/

John Davies
Spokane WA

Welcome to the forum from CT, John. Thanks for posting the link.