Please share your thoughts on the Henry Big boy 44 Magnum.

[Crunchy Frog]

I think you made a good choice. A .357 rifle is very versatile. Very easy to shoot when loaded with light .38 Special ammo and the longer barrel and the lack of a barrel/cylinder gap squeezes good performance out of .357 loads.

Much cheaper to feed than a .44, even if you handload.

Pistol caliber lever action rifles can be picky eaters. Choose your ammunition accordingly. I’d recommend a round nose flat point or truncated cone flat point bullet.

Your rifle is legal for cowboy action shooting if you’d like to give it a try.

 

[Ks5shooter]

For hunting get the Big Boy steel version ,less bling. I am a 45 Long Colt fan myself,and if you reload you can bump up to +p loads.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Today I put 165 hot 357's through my Henry. They were all Hornady and Black Hills Ammo hollow points. Most were 125 grain. I'm done shooting lite for caliber bullets and wanted to get rid of them.

It took me awhile to figure out the sights and where to hold, but once I did I started hitting ok.

I'm not an experienced rifleman and my eyes kind of blow. The green target in back was the experimentation target.

The black shoot and see was my last 50 rounds shot at 75 feet. I have a lot of work to do, but the gun is a ton of fun to shoot.

 

[MidRoad]

My brother loves his. We put a set of Skinner sights on it. Highly recommend Skinner's. Had to file the brass blade down ,little work but is well worth it

Only down side is how shiny it is. Afternoon sun+brass receiver = very bright glare. My brother found it humourous to get me with the glare when we were out hunting this past season. He only took it out once this year claiming it was too shiny to hunt with

 

[bannockburn]

460Shooter

Great choice and you've got a great Dad for making this happen! Enjoy your new Henry!

 

[Zaydok Allen]

460Shooter

Great choice and you've got a great Dad for making this happen! Enjoy your new Henry!

I was pretty blown away when he said he wanted to get me a rifle. I'm extremely grateful and look forward to shooting it with him next time he visits.

He wanted to give me an heirloom. He succeeded. There's no better heirloom then a gun from your dad.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Geez, looking st that target, I obviously have a lot of practice to do and really need to work with that sight picture.

I'm so used to shooting handguns that the front sight seems to be a mile away.

 

[bannockburn]

460Shooter

He wanted to give me an heirloom. He succeeded. There's no better heirloom then a gun from your dad.

Very eloquently put! That right there speaks volumes! I have my Dad's one and only gun, a German made single shot .22 rifle that he used when times were tough during the Great Depression to put meat on the family table. It will go along with a few other guns and knives, to my oldest son when the time comes.

 

[DPris]

Why did you have to file the front blade?
Denis

 

[chicharrones]

Geez, looking st that target, I obviously have a lot of practice to do and really need to work with that sight picture.

I'm so used to shooting handguns that the front sight seems to be a mile away.

You know, if someone would come up with a steampunk-ish red dot, it might look just right on a brass receiver lever gun. Hmmmm.

 

[Gary A]

Possibly superfluous comment re lack of a loading gate: my Henry, once empty, becomes the slickest single shot you can imagine. You can just about throw a cartridge into the chamber in any orientation that isn’t backwards and it will chamber and fire flawlessly and quite quickly, too. And for 99% of the uses of a lever gun, it won’t matter anyway. If you are concerned about the magazine inner tube and spring, they are only just over $20 from Henry. Get a spare.

 

[Jackal]

We sell a lot of them at my shop. They are way too heavy. Like stupidly heavy for a open sighted short rifle. Go with the steel receiver model instead. The 16.5" carbine already has the big lever installed from the factory. Weighs about 30 lbs less than the brass receivered Big Boy as well.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

We sell a lot of them at my shop. They are way too heavy. Like stupidly heavy for a open sighted short rifle. Go with the steel receiver model instead. The 16.5" carbine already has the big lever installed from the factory. Weighs about 30 lbs less than the brass receivered Big Boy as well.

Already bought the "20 357 version.

The weight doesn't bother me. I shot it for an hour the other day and put 165 rounds through it. No issue with weight. In fact my shooting improved the more I shot.

But I'm 6'3", two hundred pounds, and I lift weights. So weight may be an issue for some folks. I suppose it could affect accuracy.

 

[ilmonster]

Looks like a beautiful rifle! I have the Marlin version, but would be happy with a Henry too. Only hear good things about them, and some of them are made right here in WI. Really a hoot to shoot a lever in .357/.38. Thankfully you reload. Really nice that your father wanted to buy one for you - great Dad! Now go shoot the heck out of it.

 

[loose noose]

460Shooter, I have the same rifle, (.357 Big Boy) and am completely satisfied with it as far as accuracy and function are concerned. I honestly believe you will be able to use it for hunting as well as just plinking to your hearts content. BTW I also have the .44Mag, and never had a problem with the weight of the firearm, in fact I'm only 5' 10" 175#s, but in my earlier days did do some weight lifting too. Definitely a neat heirloom.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

My brother loves his. We put a set of Skinner sights on it. Highly recommend Skinner's. Had to file the brass blade down ,little work but is well worth it

Only down side is how shiny it is. Afternoon sun+brass receiver = very bright glare. My brother found it humourous to get me with the glare when we were out hunting this past season. He only took it out once this year claiming it was too shiny to hunt with

Hmmm. Now that I'm looking at those skinner sights, I kind of want to put a set of them on my gun. They look like a nice upgrade with a cleaner sight picture.

 

[MidRoad]

Hmmm. Now that I'm looking at those skinner sights, I kind of want to put a set of them on my gun. They look like a nice upgrade with a cleaner sight picture.

They're really nice quality. He got brass rear and a brass blade,looks classy. Makes it much easier to shoot