Who made Henry replica's over the years?

[will52100]

There a guy I work with who swears he has an orginal 1860 henry in 44-40.  Said his dad picked it up in Europe for him around 15 years ago, paid something like 2800$. 

I searously dought it's an orginal, say one converted to fire 44-40.  As far as that goes, is it even posible to convert one to fire 44-40 with the length differance.  Did the orginals have the same length lifter that the new repo's have?

Any idea's on what he may have, I figure it's probably a defarbed Uberti, haven't seen it yet, but will definatly check it out.  He's not interested in selling.

Thanks

[Henry4440]

Les Quick wrote in his book: The Story of Benjamin Tyler Henry and His Famed Repeating Rifle

...During the later period of their use,some Henry rifles were converted to fire the new centerfire ammunition.Such conversions were aftermarket work, which required altering or replacing the bolt and firing pin assembly to accommaodate the brass casings' centerfire primers.



.... Henry rifle s/n 2984 has been converted from .44 rimfire to .44 centerfire....
The Henry rifle s/n 9373 pres.to Capt. John A. Smith , Co.E 7th Regt. Illinois , was converted to .44 centerfire.

But 44-40 ??

[Buck Stinson]

The .44 Henry Center Fire cartridge was designed for use in a batch of late model 1866 Winchester carbines that were shipped to Mexico, Central and south America.  There were approximately 1100 carbines actually made at the factory in this center fire caliber.  I have such a carbine, shipped in 1888 as a center fire.   To get back to the original question, I don't know what your friend has but I can absolutely guarantee that it is NOT an original Henry.  Because of the size and mechanics of the original Henry frame, it is impossible to convert an original to fire the .44-40 cartridge, since this cartridge is just over 1/4" longer than the .44 Henry RF.  There simply isn't enough room in the action for a cartridge of this length.  I remember several reproduction Henrys rifles that came out of Germany about 30 years ago, long before Uberty or Navy Arms.  These guns were all shipped in the white and were very nice.  These of course were also .44-40.  Maybe this is one such gun.  Pictures of your friends henry would probably help a lot, especially any barrel markings.

[Henry4440]

I remember several reproduction Henrys rifles that came out of Germany about 30 years ago, long before Uberty or Navy Arms.  These guns were all shipped in the white and were very nice.  These of course were also .44-40.  Maybe this is one such gun.  Pictures of your friends henry would probably help a lot, especially any barrel markings.

In 'white' Henry rifle,made by Uberti and sold here in Germany by Hege-Uberti.

[Buck Stinson]

That is not the same as the ones I have seen in the past.  The first one I saw belonged to an airline pilot friend of mine back in the late 1970's.  It was purchased by him in Germany alright, but it had a brass frame and buttplate, while the rest of the gun was in the white.  I don't remember if it had the early round buttplate like the one in your photo or if it had the later pointed toe.

[Henry4440]

Ah, then you mean this one.


Was also sold by Hege-Uberti here in Germany.

[will52100]

well I talked some more with him and it seems he's calling it an orginal, not understanding what orginal is.  Think he's confused.  Said his dad got it for him in europe, had to break it to him that all henrys are made in europe nowdays.

It might be an interesting model, if so I'll take some pics when I get in and post them.

Thanks

[Buck Stinson]

Lonesome,
That looks more like the one I saw.  How old are they?

[Henry4440]

Lonesome,
That looks more like the one I saw.  How old are they?

A friend at my Shooting Club owns such a Henry. His was made 1982 and sold by Hege-Uberti.
Go to the Taylor website,they still sell these Henry rifles.
http://www.taylorsfirearms.com/products/cfHenry.tpl

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

The carrier (cartridge elevator) on original Henry rifles was too short to accommodate a 44-40 round. Modern replicas of the Henry have had their frames 'stretched' a little bit for a longer carrier, long enough to accommodate the 44-40 and 45 Colt rounds. Here is a photo that may prove useful. The short copper cased cartridge third from the right is a 44 Henry Rimfire cartridge. The centerfire cartridge that a few Henry rifles were chambered for was the same over all length as the original rimfire version. The cartridge on the far left in this photo is a 44-40, the cartridge on the far left is a 45 Colt. A carrier just large enough for a 44 Henry Rimfire could not take the much longer 44-40 round. It just would not fit.




Here is a photo of an original Henry. This photo is useful because you can just see the bottom of the carrier poking out of the bottom of the frame.



Here is a photo of my Uberti made Henry. You can also see the carrier visible at the bottom of the frame. Notice too that the vertical area just in front of the side plate is wider on the Uberti Henry than it is on the original. That is where the frame was stretched for the longer 44-40 carrier.