Got my Big Boy Steel 41 Mag Carbine today

[Chucksolo1]

Just curious but why a .41 and not a .44? I assume you have an ol' hogleg chambered in that caliber.

[Vaquero]

Just curious but why a .41 and not a .44? I assume you have an ol' hogleg chambered in that caliber.

Most of us do, and is sometimes the reasoning behind it... But
I also so have a 357 rifle and revolver, a couple 44 revolvers and a rifle, and a pair of 45's with yet another rifle in said caliber.
And we don't even need to start on the rimfires.

The 41 is very capable and usually with a little less recoil than the 44.
I have taken deer with both the 41, and the 44 with the revolvers and saw no distinct difference between the two.
If you don't reload then I would choose the 44, just because of ammo availability.

RP

[Ridgerunner665]

Just curious but why a .41 and not a .44? I assume you have an ol' hogleg chambered in that caliber.

I do have a Blackhawk in 41... I also handload pretty much all my ammo.

I've always liked using the less popular rounds...I was using a 25-06 in the mid 80's, long before they were popular in any sense.

My current deer rifle is a 280 Ackley Improved.

My carry pistol is a 357 Sig.

The thing about these types of rounds.... they're often just a little better than rounds that came before them, its usually not by a difference one can see in the field...but by the numbers... and I'm a numbers guy.

I'm also not as young as I used to be and I don't like recoil any more...all the above rounds offer magnum performance, or dang near it... with less recoil.

I fired 100 rounds of hot 41 ammo through the Henry Sunday afternoon, 210 grain bullets at 1,725 fps...I was feeling it in my shoulder when I was done.

Had it been a 44, it would have been a little worse.... nothing at all wrong with the 44, I've owned a few over the years, its just more than I need here in northeast TN for deer and black bear.

[BigAl52]

Everyone has a 44 I do to. But I like different like Ridgerunner does. Had a 460 and a 475 Linebaugh to. Just dont need all that recoil. Been shooting 41 mag since the 80's. Always has and always will be my favorite handgun round.

[Mags]

.
I don't. But maybe someday. Thinking when Henry comes out with a .44mag sidegate.

Everyone has a 44 I do to. But I like different like Ridgerunner does. Had a 460 and a 475 Linebaugh to. Just dont need all that recoil. Been shooting 41 mag since the 80's. Always has and always will be my favorite handgun round.

[Chucksolo1]

My brother had a Winchester Model 94 a few years back and I can remember getting a VERY sore thumb from pushing .30-30 rounds in the side gate. I like the tubular mags. Slower to load for sure, but, it's ok for me!

[Ridgerunner665]

Amazon sent me the wrong scope.... they sent the VX-R Hog scope.

Gonna send it back.

[Vaquero]

Sorry to hear that RR, hopefully they get it right.

RP

[Mags]

.
I'm fine with the tube load when I've got a shooting bench or table to rest the rifle on when I reload. But is fumbling/awkward with that inner tube trying to reload standing out in the open and/or in the brush.

My brother had a Winchester Model 94 a few years back and I can remember getting a VERY sore thumb from pushing .30-30 rounds in the side gate. I like the tubular mags. Slower to load for sure, but, it's ok for me!

[BigAl52]

.
I don't. But maybe someday. Thinking when Henry comes out with a .44mag sidegate.

Everyone has a 44 I do to. But I like different like Ridgerunner does. Had a 460 and a 475 Linebaugh to. Just dont need all that recoil. Been shooting 41 mag since the 80's. Always has and always will be my favorite handgun round.

Sorry Mags. The phrase everyone has a 44 was a generalization to indicate that the popularity of that caliber exceeds that of uncommon calibers like the 41. So next time I will just say everyone except Mags and a few others has a 44.

[Ridgerunner665]

I'm just gonna order the scope direct from Leupold through the custom shop and get the parallax set to 75 yards....its only $25 to do that.

May or may not get it in time for opening day... but I really like the gun so I might as well scope it the way I really want it from the git go.

It'll never take a shot at any animal past 125 yards..
with most being 50-75 yards... only seems right to get the parallax set at a reasonable distance, 150 is the factory default on center fire rifle scopes.

[Vaquero]

When does your hunting season begin.
Our general firearms season always starts the Sat. before Thanksgiving.

RP

[Ridgerunner665]

When does your hunting season begin.
Our general firearms season always starts the Sat. before Thanksgiving.

RP

Same here...I may get it in time, gonna order it tomorrow.

[Ridgerunner665]

On the tube loading...

I actually prefer the tube over the gate, I can load the gun and get back in action much quicker than with a side gate...just takes a little practice.

Besides that, I can't remember ever having to reload in a hurry while hunting... don't recall ever firing more than 3 rounds at anything.

A loose loading gate screw can't jam up a gun if it doesn't have one to get loose.

Unloading is quicker and easier.

Tube load lever actions were used in war to great effect....load it on Sunday and shoot it all week.

I understand that some people just like having the loading gate, but its true usefulness is often greatly overstated.

I wouldn't let that stop me from owning a wonderful Henry lever action.

If I need to reload any faster than I can with the tube, I've brought the wrong gun anyway.

[Ridgerunner665]

And back to the scope.... after doing the math I realized that having the parallax set to 75 yards wasn't worth the effort on a low power scope (too many years playing the long range game, old habits die hard).

So....I ordered one from Brownells... then got an email today that told me they were actually out of stock.

I canceled that order and ordered one from EuroOptic... maybe the 3rd time is the charm, lol.

Hard to find that scope in stock right now.

And I settled on Vortex pro rings, lightweight, not bulky, not terrible expensive (on sale at Midway)...so, if the scope comes through this time, I should have everything, just need to get back home and get it together.

[markiver54]

On the tube loading...

I actually prefer the tube over the gate, I can load the gun and get back in action much quicker than with a side gate...just takes a little practice.

Besides that, I can't remember ever having to reload in a hurry while hunting... don't recall ever firing more than 3 rounds at anything.

A loose loading gate screw can't jam up a gun if it doesn't have one to get loose.

Unloading is quicker and easier.

Tube load lever actions were used in war to great effect....load it on Sunday and shoot it all week.



I understand that some people just like having the loading gate, but its true usefulness is often greatly overstated.

I wouldn't let that stop me from owning a wonderful Henry lever action.

If I need to reload any faster than I can with the tube, I've brought the wrong gun anyway.

Well put!!...I agree completely!

[Mags]

.
What did you decide for ring height?

...
And I settled on Vortex pro rings, lightweight, not bulky, not terrible expensive (on sale at Midway)...

[Ridgerunner665]

.
What did you decide for ring height?

...
And I settled on Vortex pro rings, lightweight, not bulky, not terrible expensive (on sale at Midway)...

I got low rings....I believe they'll work... the Henry picatinny rail is .443", the rings are .75" from the base to the center of the ring, and the eyepiece on the scope is 1.6".

Should leave about .383" for hammer clearance.

[Ridgerunner665]

If a person used the Henry weaver style mount medium rings might be a safer bet... that mount looks thinner than the picatinny mount, but I haven't measured it to verify.

[Mags]

.
Don't think so. I can see loading ammo one cartridge at a time through a side gate taking the same amount of time as inserting ammo one at a time through a load tube port, but opening and closing the mag tube is two additional steps that adds a little bit more time over a side gate. Now loading with preloaded speed tubes that's definitely faster. Unloading a Henry side gate is just as fast, since Henry side gates can be unloaded either way (repeated lever actions or by pulling the inner tube).

The point with the side gate really isn't faster loading, it's not having to deal with the ergonomic handing/juggling/fumbling with the inner mag tube during loading.

Lack of a side gate didn't keep me from owning my first Henry (.30-30) and wasn't even a consideration one way or the other for my 2nd Henry, a magazine fed Long Ranger. My 3rd Henry mulling was a for a .44mag, but then Henry came out with side gates. So now I'll wait on that to see what other side gates Henry comes out with. In the meantime I sometime mull over selling my first Henry and using the money toward a side gate .30-30. I go back and forth on that thought.

On the tube loading...

I actually prefer the tube over the gate, I can load the gun and get back in action much quicker than with a side gate...just takes a little practice.

Besides that, I can't remember ever having to reload in a hurry while hunting... don't recall ever firing more than 3 rounds at anything.

A loose loading gate screw can't jam up a gun if it doesn't have one to get loose.

Unloading is quicker and easier.

Tube load lever actions were used in war to great effect....load it on Sunday and shoot it all week.

I understand that some people just like having the loading gate, but its true usefulness is often greatly overstated.

I wouldn't let that stop me from owning a wonderful Henry lever action.

If I need to reload any faster than I can with the tube, I've brought the wrong gun anyway.