,38 in .357 lever action mirror thread

[jdm2691]

I have a Henry .357 All Weather as well, shot it for the first time today (great gun, IMHO). I fired 150 Sellier & Bellot 158g .38 Special in addition to 100 GECO 158g .357 Magnum. No issues with cycling at all and yes, the gun sure is a lot of fun to shoot. I like the flexibility but to be honest the .38 feels like .22 so I ordered a bunch of .357 tonight and may stick with that going forward. Reloading that one caliber sounds like an interesting idea too. Regardless, the option to go from mild-to-wild is one of the appealing aspects of the gun for me. I sure had a lot of fun shooting that rifle today.

[CT_Shooter]

Thanks for the report on your new Henry, and welcome to the forum from CT. Glad you joined us.

I have a Henry .357 All Weather as well, shot it for the first time today (great gun, IMHO). I fired 150 Sellier & Bellot 158g .38 Special in addition to 100 GECO 158g .357 Magnum. No issues with cycling at all and yes, the gun sure is a lot of fun to shoot. I like the flexibility but to be honest the .38 feels like .22 so I ordered a bunch of .357 tonight and may stick with that going forward. Reloading that one caliber sounds like an interesting idea too. Regardless, the option to go from mild-to-wild is one of the appealing aspects of the gun for me. I sure had a lot of fun shooting that rifle today.

[PT7]

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Welcome from the Show-Me-State.

Glad to hear how well your .357 AW Big Boy shoots, and that you're enjoying it a lot. I just got the same Henry rifle in January. Modified to another sight as opposed to the buckhorn. As soon as winter weather fades away, will get to an outdoor range and do a final sight in. Pretty sharp-looking newer style Henry, isn't it?

Enjoy and be safe.
PT7

[Flinch]

Regardless of caliber, I believe Combined Overall Length is the biggest factor in ammunition that will function properly in a lever action rifle. I think bullet shape runs a close second.

[jdm2691]

Thanks for the welcome guys, appreciate it.

Yes PT7, it sure is a sharp looking style and I'm very happy I went with it. The good looks combined with the opportunity to play a little rough with it is a nice mix, although I'm not hard on any of my firearms regardless of age, make, or condition. I shoot paper and steel only so won't be out tramping through the brush with it, but when retirement rolls around and I want to shoot in the rain or snow I know can without worry. BTW, I added a Skinner aperture behind the buckhorn which I didn't even have to remove, just dropped it all the way down and it's out of the way. Skinner's site mentions the possible need for a taller front sight on some models when going to their peep, but my combination is just fine as is.

Flinch, I agree - I've read that somewhere before and it's why I mentioned the brand of .38 Special that ran so well in my post. I actually laid it out next to a .357 along with some other .38 brands including +P and based on the cartridge length it appeared to pretty close. The literature from Henry also states that the .38 must be a minimum of 158g, so that's a consideration too.

[Flinch]

Even if a lever action owner doesn't reload, a decent dial caliper is handy for measuring factory ammunition C.O.L., sight height, etc. You don't have to spend a lot of money to buy one suitable for measuring ammunition and other firearm related items. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/82276 ... less-steel

[Mags]

.
They are also good for measuring other things around the house and shop.

Even if a lever action owner doesn't reload, a decent dial caliper is handy for measuring factory ammunition C.O.L., sight height, etc. You don't have to spend a lot of money to buy one suitable for measuring ammunition and other firearm related items. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/82276 ... less-steel

[markiver54]

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They are also good for measuring other things around the house and shop.

Even if a lever action owner doesn't reload, a decent dial caliper is handy for measuring factory ammunition C.O.L., sight height, etc. You don't have to spend a lot of money to buy one suitable for measuring ammunition and other firearm related items. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/82276 ... less-steel

Exactly! I have an older one...no analog dial, but works great. Gonna see if it will help me later today when I drift the front sight on my new SGC.

[Mags]

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I have a digital as well as an older one too. No dial. Resembles an old slide rule of which I have a couple of those too.

.
They are also good for measuring other things around the house and shop.

Even if a lever action owner doesn't reload, a decent dial caliper is handy for measuring factory ammunition C.O.L., sight height, etc. You don't have to spend a lot of money to buy one suitable for measuring ammunition and other firearm related items. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/82276 ... less-steel

Exactly! I have an older one...no analog dial, but works great. Gonna see if it will help me later today when I drift the front sight on my new SGC.

[markiver54]

.
I have a digital as well as an older one too. No dial. Resembles an old slide rule of which I have a couple of those too.

.
They are also good for measuring other things around the house and shop.

Exactly! I have an older one...no analog dial, but works great. Gonna see if it will help me later today when I drift the front sight on my new SGC.

This one works well for a lot of things, like you said Mags.

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[Flinch]

.
They are also good for measuring other things around the house and shop.

Even if a lever action owner doesn't reload, a decent dial caliper is handy for measuring factory ammunition C.O.L., sight height, etc. You don't have to spend a lot of money to buy one suitable for measuring ammunition and other firearm related items. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/82276 ... less-steel

Exactly! I have an older one...no analog dial, but works great. Gonna see if it will help me later today when I drift the front sight on my new SGC.

If you know how much correction is required at a given distance, you can calculate how many thousandths of an inch you need to move a sight to zero. I have been using the formula you can find on the Brownell's website for over 30 years and it works. Here is the link. https://www.brownells.com/aspx/learn/le ... ?lid=13093

[Leftofcenter67]

My Henry BBS seems to like .357 Magnum (As the manual says 158 grain). I have fired .38 special American Eagle 158 grain. It's not as smooth in loading probably because the case length is shorter. The crud ring is more of a revolver thing I believe but I could be wrong. It certainly has issues loading with 140 Grain Hornady LeveRevolution ammo. It loads but not very smoothly.
If you want to keep the costs down, maybe reload .357? Then you get the case length the Henry likes.

[JEBar]

the crud ring can most certainly form in a rifles chamber .... if / when it does, ease of access usually makes removing it much simpler in a revolver's cylinder than in a rifle's chamber .... Henry's are designed to work with SAAMI spec ammo

[markiver54]

the crud ring can most certainly form in a rifles chamber .... if / when it does, ease of access usually makes removing it much simpler in a revolver's cylinder than in a rifle's chamber .... Henry's are designed to work with SAAMI spec ammo

SAAMI? Please interpret for my un-informed mind. Old as I am, still somewhat ignorant of abbreviated terms.

[Mags]

.
All about SAAMI here
https://saami.org/about-saami/

the crud ring can most certainly form in a rifles chamber .... if / when it does, ease of access usually makes removing it much simpler in a revolver's cylinder than in a rifle's chamber .... Henry's are designed to work with SAAMI spec ammo

SAAMI? Please interpret for my un-informed mind. Old as I am, still somewhat ignorant of abbreviated terms.

[JEBar]

they are the ones who handle the standard specs for ammo to ensure that all brands are the same size .... manufactures use those numbers to design their firearms

[markiver54]

Thanks guys. It would seem all major brands of factory ammo are SAAMI approved then...

[JEBar]

Thanks guys. It would seem all major brands of factory ammo are SAAMI approved then...

that would be correct .... I really can't see any being marketed that doesn't .... that would include the specs given in reloading manuals .... the liability would simply be too great

[wbunning]

I make all my own CF ammo, and had issues with my .38 Specials in my BBB. The few factory .38's I trided were 'iffy". As far as my handload .38's, They cycle and shoot fine with a longer-nosed bullet such as a Keith-type SWC, but I finally said "what's the point?". I shoot all .357 mag cases now, and just down-load a bit if I want a milder round.

[Vaquero]

As a hand loader I don't see the reason to load 38's to shoot in 357's.
If you don't want full hose loads for practice, it's no biggy.
I no longer own any 38 spl. firearms, so I don't even bother with them
Sure there are probably a box or 3 of factory 38's in the safe and that's where they will be, unless an emergency were to arrive.
I sent all my 38 brass to a buddy up in the NE that loads them for a pistol of his.

RP