1860 henry in 44-40 good deer rifle ?

[Preacher Curt]

hello all , im kind of new and was wondering if a henry in 44-40 would make a decent deer rifle say up to 75 yards ? i have never shot a 44-40 so dont know alot about them . there is one for sale here at a local gun shop, looks good , always liked the style of a henry. for  $880.00. going by what i have seen the price is good . its a taylor .any feed make will be very appreciated

  preacher curt

[Major 2]

Well ... my dear bought my Henry as a Christmas present to me, so I guess she though it was good 

Kidding aside , I would imagine historically , deer have been taken with the 44/40..
legally, I think it's a bit light for deer hunting permits...others may know better than I 

[The Avocado Kid]

I have a friend that has a Henry in 44-40 and he hunts with it.....says it is good up to 200 yards.....hunts deer with it here in AZ. I would guess it depends on the shooter....remember...they shot deer in the old west with 44-40 BP. Dusty.

[The Avocado Kid]

Major2....if she ever gives you a hard time you can shoot her with the Henry.....cheap joke I know.

[trickshot]

I've been saving up my pennies to buy a new Uberti made model 1866 in 38-40 and this is something I have thought about a lot. Here are my thoughts on the subject.

Deer are not armour plated, and a large caliber soft lead bullet passing through the animal close to the heart will kill one just as dead as a high velocity 30 caliber jacked bullet.

The 44-40 was originally designed by Winchester as a rifle cartridge to be used for the purpose of killing game animals like deer as well as self defense against bad guys.

The .44-40 loaded with black powder is credited with killing more deer than any cartridge except the .30-30 Winchester.

That's good enough for me, I don't need no more.

Live Free

[Delmonico]

Used with common sense a 44-40 will work fine if the shooter puts the bullet in the right place at a resonable distance.  One must remember also though as one goes further north the deer tend to get bigger.  As for legal, it depends on the state and how the laws are set up, here it has to have 900 foot pounds of energy at a 100 yards to be legal in a rifle.  You ain't gonna make that in any load safe in a toggle link, you might be able to do it safely in a 1892 or a Low-Wall.

BTW in it's day the 25-20 with the 87 gr bullet was considered a deer rifle.

[Major 2]

Dom...
that's what I was thinking.. I don't hunt but know many that do, I think 45 Cal. is the minimum BP cartridge here if Florida...
Or so I'm told.
Of course, one does not shoot a lever gun in BP season, so it would a 45 cal. Muzzle loader.


Preacher Curt
If your looking to have the most fun with your pants on (can you say that to a Preacher ?) the $880 is not a bad price in fact if it's NIB it's quite good... though on occasion it might drop a little on sale... But the increasing Euro has those days about over.
44/40 is very desirable, and most importers are backordered right now. 

[Dusty Morningwood]

Since the Uberti Henry is proofed for modern factory smokeless loads, the .44-40 is plenty adequate for deer.  Most deer are shot at ranges under 50 yards anyway and a well placed .44 slug will lay them low.  I used to hunt with a 92 Winchester carbine in .44-40.  Never heard any complaints from the deer I shot. 

[Delmonico]

Since the Uberti Henry is proofed for modern factory smokeless loads, the .44-40 is plenty adequate for deer.  Most deer are shot at ranges under 50 yards anyway and a well placed .44 slug will lay them low.  I used to hunt with a 92 Winchester carbine in .44-40.  Never heard any complaints from the deer I shot. 

If you go into old ammo catalogs and old loading manuals there ar "Hi-Speed" loads that should never be shot in any toggle link no matter when it was made.  Also despite what a lot of folks think you kill a deer on any other animal by removing the fresh blood from the brain, either by shutting off the central nervous system which shuts off the heart or causeing it to leak out in other places so enough don't get there.  It can be done with a 22 Short in the right place. 

[litl rooster]

Dom...
that's what I was thinking.. I don't hunt but know many that do, I think 45 Cal. is the minimum BP cartridge here if Florida...
Or so I'm told.

Of course, one does not shoot a lever gun in BP season, so it would a 45 cal. Muzzle loader.


Preacher Curt
If your looking to have the most fun with your pants on (can you say that to a Preacher ?) the $880 is not a bad price in fact if it's NIB it's quite good... though on occasion it might drop a little on sale... But the increasing Euro has those days about over.
44/40 is very desirable, and most importers are backordered right now. 

Booooolits go in from the muzzle end


Major is right if it's NIB it's a good price.

[Preacher Curt]

folks  i wish to thank you for your input. here in indiana they just passed a law that lets you hunt with any pistol cartridge in a rifle if it meets the already pistol rules in which the 44-40 does .i felt it would work but wanted to get some input from those more experinced.i used to hunt with a 357 mag handgun and kiled three deer in three years and if im not wrong 44-40 is close to the the same if not smae ballistics.thanks again looks like im going to the gun shop tomorrow

  preacher curt

[Major 2]

That's great... come join us in the Henry Forum 

your going to love it !

[Preacher Curt]

well folks i am the proud owner of a 1860 henry in 44-40. cant wait to fire a few thru her .now im looking at getting a pistol in 44-40 .oh the pain the pain !!!!!!!!! 

preacher curt

[Major 2]

Oh man... 
the fun begins , may I suggest a Colt conversion, or an Open top or perhaps the forged frame Remy conversion.

These go with a Henry like bread & butter 

[The Avocado Kid]

If money is a concern Piettia 1858 remy is a good choice....$199.99 at cabela's can't beat that....then ad a R&D conv.cylinder either in .44 cal. or .45 cal. and you will be set to go....Midway has conv.clyinders on sale this month....will cost you $259 free shipping this month I think. Be safe and have fun.Dusty.

[w44wcf]

Yes indeed, the .44 W.C.F. / .44-40 is more than adequate for deer.

Here are some testimonials from hunters as they appeared in Winchesters catalog dated 1875. The ammunition used was the factory 200 gr lead bullet / 40 grs. of b.p.

..."I have fully tested the late improved Winchester Rifle and take pleasure in stating that it is the best rifle I have ever used. I have killed a number of deer, at distances from one to two hundred yards and in every instance, the bullet passed clean through the body."

..."I killed at a full gallop, at about 100 yards distant, a very large buckwith a splendid set of antlers with the first shot. The bullet struck him in the shoulder, as he ran toward me, and after traversing the entire length of his body, tearing the lights and paunch into atoms in its course, it passed out behind through the thickest part of the ham."

..."The killing qualities, at large game, is all that could be desired, to the wonder and admiration of the guides and sportsmen who saw its working during my visit to the Adirondack woods last fall."

..."I can say for one, that I think the Winchester Model of 1873 (.44 W.C.F.) is the best firearm now in use for hunting and sporting; they give the best satisfaction to every one that has used them here. James Gary and C.S. Martin have killed 17 bears and 100 deer since the first of September with Model 1873.

..."For a sporting rifle, I think the Winchester Rifle is excelled by none. I have killed antelope, deer, and elk, with my gun, at from 200 to 400 yards. I would not exchange it for any other rifle."

129 YEARS LATER IT'S STILL PERFORMING THE SAME WAY  as reported  by  Doc Toombs  on the SASS Wire - January 11, 2002.

"I took 2 deer this year with a '73 short rifle clone in .44 W.C.F. My hunting partner took 3 deer with a Marlin in 44 magnum. We both using hand loaded cast bullets, mine weighed 200 grains, his 240 grain. His came out of the barrel at over 1,700 f.p.s., mine came out the barrel at 1,290.  All deer were shot at under 100 yards."

The results:
- all deer dropped within 50 yards
- no bullets were recovered (complete broadside penetration)

"There was NO difference on effectiveness between the two calibers. Of course I still believe the Magnum is a superior deer cartridge. Probably the result of too many years of reading gun magazines."

"But the reward of using a 44wcf with original velocity cartridges is immeasurable."


w44wcf

[Tuolumne Lawman]

BP loads from the 44-40 are hotter than factory, as far as velocity goes.  37 grn volume of Pyrodex P or FFFG Goex shiould give abot 1350 FPS from a 24 inch barrel.  35-37 grains volume of 777 will do even better than that.  I plan on loading some 200 grn JSPs with 37 of 777 for my steel frame Henry.

[Halfway Creek Charlie]

HEY TL you're back!
Glad to see you survived the move to the Flat(er) country. Major 2 told me he had heard from you and you were there and setting up.  Hope it's cooler there than it has been here this week. 107 in Acton, 115 in Lancaster. Whooeee TDH fer me. I finally had to break out the AC. Too hot to do anything but set in front of the fan.

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Howdy,

Locals here squawk when it hits 95 with 80% humidity.  I much prefer that to 110 dry!  One thing I like is the changes in the weather.  Some days mild, some showers, some hot.

As for the 44-40, Winchester still lists it as a deer size game cartridge in their 2007 catalog.  They list it at 1190 FPS from a 24".  Good BP loads, safe for Henry and 66s can get 1350 fps!  Folks think nothing of using a 44 Magnum handgun for deer, but according to Winchesters ballistics, the 44-40 from a 24 Henry would be almost the same as the 44 Magnum to 100 yards.

44 210 grn Magnum pistol: muzzle 1250fps  729 ftlbs     100 yards  1010 fps     475 ftlbs
44-40 200 24" rifle                      1190fps  629 ftlbs                     1006 fps    449 ftlbs

[Pitspitr]

H*ll! if a Henry can kill a mature buff on the dead run, at long range like Costner did in Dances with Wolves it ought to be more than enough for deer.

(that was tongue in cheek, BTW)

You'll enjoy your Henry.