44 Henry heel based cartridge designation

[Seth Hawkins]

To those of you who have done the conversion to the Old West Moulds' heel based bullet using 44 Colt brass - what did you decide on for a caliber designation for this cartridge?
44 Henry?  44 Henry Flat?  44 Henry Centerfire?     

[Trailrider]

Dont know how they would compare dimensionally, but there WAS a .44 Henry Central Fire.  It was virtually identical to the .44 Henry Rim Fire Flat, but with a center fire primer and brass case.  They were made sometime in the early 20th Century for use in center fire modified Model 1866 rifles made up for some South American government contracts.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

This is an extract from a book report I sent to THE SHOOTIST, but I think they mislaid it.

Review; THE HISTORY OF WINCHESTER FIREARMS

By;  Duncan Barnes, George R. Watrous, James C. Rikhoff, Thomas H. Hall, and Pete Kuhlhoff, Winchester Press, 5th edition 1966, 1973, 1980
ISBN 0-8329-0397-3

Page 12. "In 1891, 1,020 M/66 components parts on hand for many years, were used in the assembly of rifles chambered for the 44 "Henry" center fire cartridge and shipped to a firm in Brazil. In making up this lot of guns it was necessary to change the breech pin by discarding the Breech Pin Snapper, substituting a center fire firing pin and also inserting a threaded bushing in the face of the breech pin base with a hole in the center to allow the point of the firing pin to protrude and hit the primer. All other components were the same as previously used on the standard M/66, 44 caliber rim fire rifles, except for the chambering of the barrel."

[Trailrider]

This is an extract from a book report I sent to THE SHOOTIST, but I think they mislaid it.

Review; THE HISTORY OF WINCHESTER FIREARMS

By;  Duncan Barnes, George R. Watrous, James C. Rikhoff, Thomas H. Hall, and Pete Kuhlhoff, Winchester Press, 5th edition 1966, 1973, 1980
ISBN 0-8329-0397-3

Page 12. "In 1891, 1,020 M/66 components parts on hand for many years, were used in the assembly of rifles chambered for the 44 "Henry" center fire cartridge and shipped to a firm in Brazil. In making up this lot of guns it was necessary to change the breech pin by discarding the Breech Pin Snapper, substituting a center fire firing pin and also inserting a threaded bushing in the face of the breech pin base with a hole in the center to allow the point of the firing pin to protrude and hit the primer. All other components were the same as previously used on the standard M/66, 44 caliber rim fire rifles, except for the chambering of the barrel."

Thanks, Sir Charles!  I didn't have the time to look up the exact dates.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

FWIW, the .44 Henry cf and the S&W .44 American share the same parentage and dimensions.  (Cartridges of the World)

[Seth Hawkins]

Thanks, Guys.

But I'm asking about the modern cartridge that a few guys have created/developed to duplicate the original 44 Henry Rimfire that uses modern Starline 44 Colt brass and a heel base bullet from a mould by Bernie Rowles of Old West Moulds.  The bullet is .452-.454 with a .429 heel, with an OAL very close to the modern 44WCF.  Bernie describes the bullet as a modified version of the 248 gr. Remington design.  My mould drops a bullet around 225 gr. using a 1:40 mix and a .453 dia.

OCB was the first guy I recall making mention of this round and the mods he made to his rifle to be able to shoot it.  I honestly don't know if he was the one who designed/developed/created it or if it was a joint effort with other shooters.

OCB did answer my question, though.  He has kept it simple - "44 Henry" is the calibre marking I'll use on mine.

Thanks, Bill.