Henry Rifle Forums

I bought my Henry Long Ranger 308 with great anticipation of a hunting rifle for a left hander. I have come to find out that it doesn't do well with reloads. I contacted Henry who said that they do not recommend reloads for their rifles. I use a small base 308 die (which is a full length resizing die) and after doing 50 or so I check all of them to make sure they chamber. Usually 5 or so don't chamber all the way so they are separated. After loading the rounds I check them again and 5 or so don't chamber so they are separated out. I go to the range and shoot several of the rounds but alot of them will not come out of the chamber without force. I have done everything to make this work as it is a great gun but I don't want to be stuck with only reloads so I am going to sell it. Makes me sad that Henry will not support it because it is not factory ammo. This is the first Henry and will be the last I own.
John

Hold on! Don't do anything rash. Wait and see what our members say. There are a lot of reloaders on this site who are very smart and experienced.

Welcome to the forum but this is highly unusual. I would not be so quick to sell it but try to find out the problem. First have you contacted the mfg. of the die and explained the problem? 2nd have you tried another die such as a standard FL as opposed to a SB? Third are you using 'real' .308 Winchester brass as opposed to Military 7.62 NATO brass? If you are stop and get real .308 Winchester (non-military) brass. Some military brass has thicker walls and will not resize properly. Bottom line if it will chamber 'new' .308 Winchester ammo it should chamber reloads. I had a 'similar' problem may years ago while using 7.62 NATO brass to resize to .243 Winchester and was having similar chambering problems. I would NEVER sell a gun because it will not chamber reloads - you have a reload problem NOT a gun problem - providing it chambers FACTORY .308 ammo OK.

I make sure not to use any 7.62 brass but it is mixed 308 brass. This last time I only used new Winchester brass. The biggest worry is why the cartridge loads but after firing (some of) the brass won't come out, I have to really yank on the lever and I don't like that very much.
Any input would be great
Thanks
John

Henry cannot go on record OK'ing anything but standard, factory ammo .... the two word reason is, legal liability .... factory loads must meet strict standards and they build their product around using standard ammo .... if they were to OK reloads someone is bound to make a mistake and demand Henry cover the damage .... my suggestion is to buy a box or two of factory ammo .... if the problem stops, your reloads are the problem and you need to figure out why .... if it continues the rifle is the problem and it needs to be shipped back to Henry

I'd start with purchasing a case length headspace gauge for your ammo. If it fits the gauge it should fit the gun. You wouldn't be the 1st person to find out their sizing die puts the shoulder in a slightly different place than factory ammo.

If it's getting stuck after firing you might want to try a different load or powder. Might be a pressure issue.

Do the shoulders on the fired cases match the new ones you loaded? Do they all match factory ammo?

Keep at it you'll find a load that works well.

Does any firearm manufacturer recommend reloaded ammunition in their products? I doubt you will find many that do.

It's extremely unlikely that Henry put out a chamber that is not in within SAAMI specs.

I would support what others have already advised. If factory loads work fine, then it's obviously a reloadding issue.

I have had non-typical dies. If your dies are on the large end of tolerance, but your chamber is on the tight end of tolerance, it could cause problems.

I would suspect over pressure loads for a round that chambers, but sticks after firing.

If factory ammo works fine, and if you having trouble when using recommended starting loads - I would try a different set of dies.

I have 6 Henrys I reload for and they run just fine. If it was me Id do like Mistered said and get a set of Standard FL dies. I like Redding. I also dont understand why you would not own another Henry because they wont support something they legally cannot. Al

buy a box or two of factory ammo .... if the problem stops, your reloads are the problem and you need to figure out why .

Pretty much it providing it DOES NOT have the problem with factory ammo. Unless I missed it I did not see where you mentioned ever using factory ammo so if you HAVE NOT now is a good time to stop what you are doing and pick up a box and try it before moving to the next step.

I even pulled the bullets out of 40 or so factory rounds and loaded them. Some of them also refused to eject. I bought a Go- No Go gauge for this problem and every round was a "GO". I also tried 165, 169 and 180 with the same problem. I used factory rounds with no problem except some perfecta cheap ammo.

I even pulled the bullets out of 40 or so factory rounds and loaded them.

So you loaded the PULLED bullets into YOUR resized cases?

I used factory rounds with no problem

DO you have a 'mike' - if so measure the diameter of a RESIZED case and a round of factory ammo you have no problem with and see if they are the same. With it established it runs factory ammo with no problem then as suggested you have a RELOADING issue. Reloading problems can occur with any gun and getting rid of your Henry does not mean the next gun will be problem free either. Work on thes problem until you find the solution - it's not like there are a lot of things it can be.

For liability reasons, NO manufacturer will go on record as supporting shooting reloads. Nothing unique to Henry.

I had the same issue in a Savage 99. Headspace was shorter and instead of bumping shoulders back.002 I went with .004 and solved my issues. I would imagine if it shoots factory but not reloads then a headspace and a cartridge guage which aren't that expensive would be my first choices. Set shoulders back a little farther on a dummy round and see how that goes. Check the loaded bullet and see if your oal is scarred or marked from jamming into the lands or rifling. My Tikka has a short headspace and suggested oal usually is in the lands on it and the rifle likes a little jump for accuracy. I have been looking at the Long Ranger and would like a 308 myself. Let us know what you find out.