Henry Rifle Forums

So I picked up my new 45-70 AW the other day, gave it a decent once-over and when I got home to start putting on my rail I noticed the front sight was pushed noticeably to one side. Seems it drifted on the car ride home. To my surprise I was able to easily push it back into center with my fingers as it was wayy too loose. I can push it out with my pinky and the sight isn't the slightest bit scored from friction. Makes me wonder how it got missed at the factory. Sooo..the the wheels in my head started turning. Do I even bother to call henry about it or do I make a fix it later myself?. Im gonna shoot it scoped anyways. So after some thought I call Henry to see what they say and they want me to return the rifle immediately. Call me crazy but for some reason I feel like there might be a bigger issue with this rifle bc of the way the guy talked to me. I told him my friend is a gunsmith and could easily fix it if I ever wanted him to in the future. The guy said no we want to make sure its in spec and that no gunsmith would be able to fix it. ......OK I thought to myself seems pretty far fetched, to be honest sounds a little suspect to me. Im thinking what else is possibly wrong with this gun? I mean its either the sight was milled too small or the dovetail in thew barrel was cut a thou too big or a some combination of both...Its not rocket science. Very annoying to have to do this as I was anxiously planning to load test this weekend. Just makes me wonder if anyone else has had this specific issue?

Hunter
No one wants to send there gun in. I just sent one in. I have had the gun sine 2004. I have sent guns back to Henry more that once. It just happens. Im sure the warranty person on the other end has specific guidelines with which to go buy when dealing with the warranty issues. Im not making excuses for Henry I get youre frustration. I have not had this issue with mine or the gun I sent in. If it was me I would send it in and let them go over it once again to check it out.

No doubt it's a bummer to have to send it back before even shooting it, but a) it's not right; b) they'll make it right; and c) you deserve to have it be right on their dime vs. putting up with it or having someone else fix it.

Maybe they'll use it as a "training moment" with their folks in the plant...

well understood on hating to have to send your Henry back .... I can't think of anything I purchase that I don't feel pretty much the same way when I have to take it in or send it back for service .... your assessment that its either the sight was milled too small or the dovetail in thew barrel was cut a thou too big is dead on .... Henry needs to know which or as you also mentioned could be a combination of both .... if one dovetail was cut too large, how many others did it cut .. .. if the sight was milled too small, how many others were done the same way .... I doubt that there is some other systemic issue, rather just the most efficient way for Henry to address your issue and to determine if there are other similar ones

I would start by having them send you a new front sight.
It could very well be the front sight was improperly fitted and it the root of the problem.
You can also measure the front sight dovetail with calipers to see if it was cut properly and compare it to the sight base.
Do what you feel is best but this is not necessarily a 'send back' need at this point.

Mistered wrote:I would start by having them send you a new front sight.
It could very well be the front sight was improperly fitted and it the root of the problem.
You can also measure the front sight dovetail with calipers to see if it was cut properly and compare it to the sight base.
Do what you feel is best but this is not necessarily a 'send back' need at this point.

Those were my thoughts too..I wanted to go down those paths while on the phone with them but had to cut the call short bc my kids were acting up. Ill try to call them back today and discuss these options.

I had the same issue on my .22 I used Blue Loctite once I centered the sight. Still can drift it if needed. About a year now.

The Wiz wrote:I had the same issue on my .22 I used Blue Loctite once I centered the sight. Still can drift it if needed. About a year now.

Ah, good to know wiz...makes me think I should just put a small crater in the bottom of the sight bead to create some resistance in the dovetail and get on my my life!!

A better way than buggering up the front sight or dovetail is to cut an aluminum shim from an aluminum can and place it under the front sight, between it and the bottom of the dovetail. This creates enough upward pressure on the front sight against the wings of the dovetail to keep things nice and snug.

I would send a new rifle back to Henry if there was an issue with it.

Can you determine the date of manufacture by looking at the box and paperwork? Could this possibly be a new old stock firearm you purchased?

This is the sort of thing people like myself look at when contemplating their next purchase and I am actively looking for a centerfire lever action rifle to purchase in the near future. Please keep up updated.

North Country Gal wrote:A better way than buggering up the front sight or dovetail is to cut an aluminum shim from an aluminum can and place it under the front sight, between it and the bottom of the dovetail. This creates enough upward pressure on the front sight against the wings of the dovetail to keep things nice and snug.

Yeah I could try that but I think that would still be too thick from the looks of it.

Give it a try. A shim from an aluminum can is actually very thin. I usually cut the shim longer than needed to get the sight in, then cut any tabs sticking out from under the sight.

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A loose sight is something the assembler and Henry final outgoing inspection should have caught. Could be an indicator that final was missed/skipped. Maybe why the Henry person wants the rifle returned immediately. I don't think I would shoot it until I had another call with Henry to talk about that.

Since inspection is done by a human, it can be unintentionally missed/skipped because of breaks, lunch, shift change, etc. The person coming back to work/inspection might think the item in front of them got inspected earlier.

Hunter2678 wrote:... I call Henry to see what they say and they want me to return the rifle immediately. Call me crazy but for some reason I feel like there might be a bigger issue with this rifle bc of the way the guy talked to me....

rest assured they will make this right. I had to send my BBB in last month with a mag tube problem. They replaced the mag tube the barrel and back to me in 7 days. also just received this swag from them today.

Thank you Henry

Yeah I could try that but I think that would still be too thick from the looks of it.

It might be but then you just hammer it thinner on the flat ‘anvil’ on the back of your vise until it’s thin enough to fit.
Trim with scissors.
Or if you know a mechanic/machinist etc. he might have some very thin brass shim stock.

If it was an old WWII vintage Mauser and had minimal slop between the sight and dovetail, I would tap the dovetail down to hold the front sight in place. Or I would use a punch to thicken the edges of the dovetail on the front sight. If it required soda can thickness shims, I would pick up a replacement sight.

You have a brand new rifle, so I would not break out the tools. I know it's frustrating to have issues with a brand new firearm, but when humans are involved problems will pop up once in a while. On a new Henry rifle, I would definitely send it back to the factory for service.

Flinch wrote:If it was an old WWII vintage Mauser and had minimal slop between the sight and dovetail, I would tap the dovetail down to hold the front sight in place. Or I would use a punch to thicken the edges of the dovetail on the front sight. If it required soda can thickness shims, I would pick up a replacement sight.

You have a brand new rifle, so I would not break out the tools. I know it's frustrating to have issues with a brand new firearm, but when humans are involved problems will pop up once in a while. On a new Henry rifle, I would definitely send it back to the factory for service.

Agreed. There's a time and place for DIY fixes and then there's a situation where you want to get what you paid for. You'll have plenty of time to fix things that you actually cause, or that occur as the result of "normal wear and tear." This isn't one of them. Make them do it.

I agree. NOT something you should have to deal with on a new gun, right out of the box. Let Henry fix it.

Flinch wrote:You have a brand new rifle, so I would not break out the tools .... On a new Henry rifle, I would definitely send it back to the factory for service.

absolutely .... Henry is footing the bill .... the thought of me trying to fix such an issue wouldn't cross my mind

Or I would use a punch to thicken the edges of the dovetail on the front sight

What you are referring to is called 'staking' the front sight.
Typically this is done by securing the front sight (bottom up) in a vise with small blocks of hardwood with leather to protect the sight.
Then the base of the sight is given a few punch marks to create some metal expansion to tighten the sight in the dovetail. This way it is invisible with no damage to the sight. Pretty basic (and common) procedure.

A good reminder here when looking over a new gun prior to purchase is a quick, firm push on the front sight. A sight as loose as the OP reported on his rifle it would have probably moved with finger pressure.