Posted on 12/23/2017 3:25:37 PM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
The eyes of soldiers, notables and frontiersmen, posing with their sleek, efficient Henry repeating rifles in century-and-a-half-old photographs, typically reflect pride and confidence, and imply that the rifle’s users know they’re holding something special. Such feelings are understandable. The 16-shot Henry lever-action set the owner above the norm. It was truly one of the mechanical wonders of its era.
During a time when most military and sporting arms were single-shots or cumbersome percussion repeaters, a gun that effortlessly spat out a rapid stream of bullets with only one charging of handy, self-contained cartridges was something to be admired and coveted. Originally made in relatively limited numbers between 1860 and 1866, the Henry .44 Rimfire rifle, which was devised, built and primarily carried in the United States, eventually fell into disuse. Nearly a century-and-a-half later, a modern resurgence of interest in Civil War arms and the rise of cowboy action shooting have given many vintage arms a new lease on life-including the Henry. Replicas of the rifle began to be successfully made overseas in the 1970s. Now the process has returned full-circle thanks to Henry Repeating Arms of Bayonne, N.J., which has brought the manufacturing of this all-American firearm back home.
The Henry rifle has one of the most tortuous histories of any firearm ever. Even though its official production lasted a scant half-dozen years, its antecedents and descendants extended for many years. In 1848 inventor Walter Hunt introduced an odd-looking lever-action long arm that chambered an early incarnation of the metallic cartridge.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanrifleman.org ...
Some cowboy loads are pretty light. I usually shoot stuff at original velocities... it doesn’t matter how fast you are if you’re just annoying the “bad guy”.
No, just an Old West firearms history buff.
Even Cowboy action loads in .357 would ruin anybody’s day I’d think. The Henry is pretty heavy with octagon barrel, so recoil is light to nonexistent.
I wish I lived out in the country, they get all pissy if I target shoot in town.
Do they make it in an AR platform?
Kinda kidding, but kind of series.
Some company DID make a 45-70 in an AR.
I heard about it in a podcast this week.
I bought a repro Henry in 1990 and it shoots great. I really like the old weapons(1860 to turn of the century). There’s so much history to them. Up until this year I always purchased repros, but this year I got an original 1873 Springfield trapdoor carbine, that was manuf. in 1879 and an original 1894 winchester rifle. I’ve never loaded black powder rounds but am getting set up to load BP rounds to fire the trapdoor.
Black powder is actually easier to reload than smokeless, no worry about over charging, just fill the case with powder allowing enough room for the bullet to seat on top of the powder. Just don’t leave an air space between powder and ball, that can cause over pressure.
The A-s-s-sault weapon of it’s day, yet no one fainted or screamed about them.
Bourke,in his book ON THE BORDER WITH CROOK mentions how in 1876,the Plains Indians got “surly” when they obtained rapid fire tube magazine rifles.
**it was last produced commercially in the 1920s or 1930s.***
I believe an ammo company ran off a bunch back in the 1980s. I remember seeing them advertised in one of the gun magazines.
Biggest problem with the brass frame Ubertis is they were in.38 Spl for a reason. The brass frame tends to stretch when fired with hot loads.
Needless to say, many gun magazines began to boast of using 13.5 gr of 2400 in reloads.
I believe I bought a stretched rifle as the used 1866 version I had rarely would fire, and the extractor hook would not grasp the cartridge.
The Uberti 1873 had no such problems with it’s iron frame.
If anyone buys a USED 1866 brass frame, make sure the bolt goes completely closed, and try to fire it before you pay for it.
Also, with reloads, the cartridge length is very important. Too short a round and the next one in the tube will cause a jam. Too long a cartridge and it will jam so the lifter will not lift it. I keep a small flat screwdriver at hand just for this problem with reloads. If the round is too long, I try to pry the bullet into the case far enough to clear the lifter. If too short, I use the screwdriver to press the next case back into the tube.
Never had a problem with factory loads.
Yes, these old guns, and their replicas, were never designed for hot loads. If some one wants to shoot hot loads in a lever gun, get a Marlin.
Octagon barrel.
This was the gun Tom Selleck used in his down under movie.
But there are some really well-made replicas out there by Uberti of Italy and Cimarron and others that are authentic, accurate and come in much more available calibers - like .45 Colt and .44-40.
Real fun gun to shoot!
Actually, Selleck used a Sharps 45-110 rifle in that movie, like this replica:
https://shilohrifle.com/rifles/1874-sharps-rifle/1874-hartford-clone-en/
I have a repro in 44-40 and am well pleased. As other have mentioned, it is heavy, and even in 44-40, the recoil is light.
I read where the later models came out with a dual firing pin as the rimfire technology was still a bit iffy, and that some forensics guys were able to track the movements of one of the Indians at the Custer fight because of that feature.
When the majority of the rifles were muzzle loaders or single shot (except for the Spencer), it still was light years ahead of the others for a short period of time. The King’s patent (side gate loader) was a big improvement.
Did he? Thanks, I thought I remember the barrel of his gun being octagonal. I thought there was something about the barrel that caught my attention as making it unusual.
Yeah, octagonal barrels on rifles were the norm, except for military rifles, until around the late 1870s.
Once I saw the Sharp i could see it was the one. That large collapsible rear sight...
Here is the rifle actually used in the movie:
http://www.wideopenspaces.com/quigley-sharps-rifle-from-the-movie-quigley-down-under/
Ha ha - you beat me :o)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.