Henry Big Boy Brass .45LC ejection issue

[CurtZHP]

Got a goofy thing going on with my BBB .45.

It does everything it's supposed to do right up until I go to eject the last round. The spent brass simply will not leave the gun without help. I usually have to turn the rifle on its right side with the bolt back and shake, sometimes jiggling the lever a little, to get the shell to drop out. On one or two occasions, I've actually had to resort to fishing around in there with my finger to get it loose. And it's not like it's lodged in there somehow. The shell rattles around freely in the chamber, but consistently wears out its welcome.

Always on the last round in the magazine. All others, whether I've loaded five or ten, eject just fine.

This is a recent development, so I initially chalked it up to dirt. But, even after a good cleaning, it still gags on that last shell.

Thoughts?

[Mags]

In ejecting the last round there is no next round coming up on the elevator. Prior to the last round, there is always a next round coming up that probably is helping push the spent round out. Think maybe a malfunction in the ejector spring that isn't noticed until the last round is ejected. That last round, instead of being ejected is maybe dropping into the cavity where the next round would normally be sitting on top of the elevator.

[BigAl52]

IF I remember right mine kinda does the same thing. My bad but I would be interested to see what Henry had to say about it. I just kinda let it go and never did email them or call them. Al

[CurtZHP]

In ejecting the last round there is no next round coming up on the elevator. Prior to the last round, there is always a next round coming up that probably is helping push the spent round out. Think maybe a malfunction in the ejector spring that isn't noticed until the last round is ejected. That last round, instead of being ejected is maybe dropping into the cavity where the next round would normally be sitting on top of the elevator.

Looking at where that ejector spring lives, I wouldn't be at all surprised if there's some schmutz down in there that a normal cleaning is just missing.
And I tend to use cowboy action ammo in this gun, which is dirty to begin with.

[Mistered]

wouldn't be at all surprised if there's some schmutz down in there that a normal cleaning is just missing.

Ditto this - the Henrys have a ‘soft eject’ by design and it wouldn’t take much to inhibit the ejection action given there is not a lot of spring tension to begin with.

[CurtZHP]

When we last left our hero.....

Took her to the range yesterday. Still not spitting out that last shell without help, so I guess it's time for a takedown.

[JEBar]

I recently had to replace the ejector spring in our 44 Mag .... yesterday I took it out to test the new spring .... loaded her 10 times with 10 round .... all 10 times the last case failed to eject .... it was pulled out of the chamber and pivoted to where the front was sticking out the ejection port .... this is something new for our rifle .... there wasn't any grit in the track and as noted it has a new spring .... I've taken it apart, recleaned and thoroughly inspected it .... I can't see a thing wrong .... sometime next week I hope to take her out and retest .... I'm considering calling Henry to see if they have any recommendations

[JEBar]

oh well, once I got to thinking about calling Henry, I did .... told the rep what was going on .... he said that with a new spring, there most likely has to be another issue .... he's emailing a return label .... I hope to get it shipped out on Monday

[BigAl52]

I will be curious to see what they find out Jim as my 45 Colt carbine also does this with the last round ejection. I haven't called them yet but I will be doing that also. Al

[JEBar]

I will be curious to see what they find out Jim as my 45 Colt carbine also does this with the last round ejection. I haven't called them yet but I will be doing that also. Al

as noted it failed to eject the last case 10 straight times .... with my luck, when they get it in their shop and test it, the last case will fly out, travel all the way across the shop and break a storm window before hitting the ground ...

[Frontiersman]

Out of curiosity, did anyone try different ammo?

[JEBar]

Out of curiosity, did anyone try different ammo?

the 100 rounds were part of 1,200+ that we loaded a few months ago .... hundreds fired and ejected as they should prior to the ejector pin breaking .... after installing a new ejector spring all of them fired as they should .... all 10 that didn't eject did so when the rifle was empty .... as already noted, I can't see anything that could cause it .... it will be interesting to see what they come up with

[CurtZHP]

Out of curiosity, did anyone try different ammo?

Unfortunately, I didn't have any other on hand to try.

Didn't take it down like I said I might, but I gave her a much more thorough cleaning than I have. As soon as the weather cooperates, we'll try this again.

[clovishound]

Had to replace the ejector spring on my .357 BBS last year. You can see the spring without disassembly. One part of the Y should be sticking out toward the bolt, not laying nearly flat, as the bad one did. Gunsmith replaced mine. The store I bought it from has a lifetime warranty policy, so when I had trouble with ejecting, I just went ahead and let him look at it. He identified the problem quickly and Henry sent him the part. This spring is removed during normal tear down, so I would have had no problem with replacing it myself.

[Shakey Jake]

Yeah, my .327 Federal Mag does that from time to time. I think it may also be due to shell cases being a bit wonky. I do the same thing and just jiggle the bolt a little and it will fall out.