Hello the camp- 16 shooter ordered

[matt45]

Hello the Camp,
     I finally gathered the money together to order a Henry the other day, and I was hoping you folks would help out a FNG.  So any input would be helpful.  First, I'm ordering it in 45 LC (I already have several other weapons in that caliber, so it saves some dough).  The first question is if the 14,000 psi  SAAMI limit is too high for the Henry?  Next, I have a RCBS 230gr roundnose mold (for my 1911- witness my moniker)- providing the bore on Henry I get is .452 would that mold work for this rifle?  I am partial to Lee moulds, so does that outfit make a good mould for this weapon, and what else might you recommend?
     I've read several of the threads here that talk about a replacement screw kit from KTI   Would it behoove me to get one right off the bat (already have the screwdrivers and punches).  Does the users manual have good directions re: disassembly and assembly, and if not, what is a good source.  I see my old friend Toulamne Lawman is here and he wrote about smoothing the finish scratches on a spring (I don't recall which one).  Is this still a good idea, or has Uberti gotten that bug out of the system?
     I use (please don't give me too much Hell) Triple Seven with my Spencer.  I have heard that is tough on brass.  So, is using this powder w/ a Henry not a good idea.  If it is OK, any good ideas on a starting load (loading by weight and not by volume).  I also use a foaming cleaner product by Hoppes- does anyone here have any experience w/ that in this rifle?  Last, but not least, I ordered       Wiley Sword's book on the Henry.  Any other suggestions that are under $50.00
                                                                                                                 Thanks

                                                                                                                  Matt45

[Sean Thornton]

Here is a web site that has tons of free information including over 55,000 words on how the Henry was used in the Civil War.
http://44henryrifle.webs.com/index.htm

[Major 2]

"Any other suggestions that are under $50.00"

Sure...

I suggest... I add you to the Henry shooters list  

That will be $ 49.95 please  

[Montana Slim]

Hey Matt, congratulations on choosing a fine weapon.

Everyone will strongly recommend you choose a different bullet for your Henry. A RN bullet is not the way to go.
How about one of the RNFP, truncated cone or other shapes having a flat point. Lee makes several designs since you're partial to them. I have one of their semi-wadcutter molds in .45 that would work fine with smokeless (ifn I had a Henry in .45 - mine is an Improved model in 44-40). If you think you'd like to go "black" someday, look into the Big-Lube bullet molds.

Good shooting
Slim

PS
I was also one of the first to post about the Uberti mainspring issue on CAS-L. My new, Uberti replacement mainspring was coarsely ground crosswise on the spring...just like the one that failed. It's an easy part to remove and "fix", so I'd say check it out. Glad the word is getting around.

You'd be surprised what you'll find by using the search feature on this board. http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,16579.msg219725/topicseen.html#msg219725

[matt45]

Thanks all for the info.  As to joining the fine organization, I'll do it once rifle is in hand- don't want to be a wanabe.  Major2, you can be sure my check is in the mail 
                                                                                    matt45

[Major 2]

Credit accepted 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Your Henry will be fine with 14,000 psi SAAMI max loads. But most loads will be less than that, and there is no reason to go to the max for Cowboy Shooting. Most 'cowboy ammo' will be less than SAAMI max pressure.

I too will  suggest you do not use a round nosed bullet like your 1911 likes. Tubular magazine rifles are different, you should use a flat nosed bullet. For 45 Colt in a heavy rifle like the Henry, no need to scrimp on bullet weight, go for a 250 grain Round Nosed Flat Point bullet. You will never notice the increased recoil from a heavy bullet with such a heavy rifle.

I don't have the owner's manual for my Henry anymore, but I don't think it had any useful information about takedown. Uberti really doesn't want you taking their guns apart.

The Sword book is a good historical book, but it is not going to help you with disassembling your rifle. Gunsmithing Guns of the Old West by David Chicoine will. You can probably find it at Amazon. He has a few pages about the toggle link rifles in general, and a couple of pages specifically about the Henry. Plus, the Chicoine book is full of all kinds of useful information about gunsmithing in general.

Marauder's Old Irons pages have lots of good information. Nothing specific about the Henry, but lots of good information about the '66 and '73, a lot of which is also useful for the Henry owner.

http://marauder.homestead.com/Rifles.html

I think you are referring to VTI  gunparts, not KTI. They are a great source for parts, including the hardened screw kit. You can buy the hardened screws if you want, but the real key is learning how to remove the factory over torqued screws in the first place without ruining them.

http://www.vtigunparts.com/



Here is a photo of a couple of Uberti mainsprings (hammer springs). The spring is the same for the Henry, '66, and '73. I once had one snap in half on me a long time ago. See those marks running across the curved face? Those are the problem. They are leftover grinding marks. These marks cause what is known as 'stress risers'. When the spring flexes, it is under a lot of stress. Those grinding marks give any stress fractures a place to start. The spring of mine that broke snapped right along one of those lines. As far as I know, Uberti is still making hammers with those grinding marks left on them, and it is a disgrace. Frankly though, I am surprised that more springs don't break, but in fact it is pretty rare. I have been around a lot of toggle link rifles now for a lot of matches, and mine is the only one I am aware of that ever broke. What I do, is to get out the old Dremel tool (gasps of horror) and put on the smallest rotary grinding wheel. Then I carefully smooth out the grind marks, working the length of the spring. The idea is to replace the course horizontal grind marks with fine vertical ones. It is extremely important not to over heat the spring, because that will ruin it. I do not clamp the part in a vice. Instead I hold the spring in my hand while I am working. After each pass of the Dremel tool I dip the spring into a mug of water to keep it cool. The combination of water and holding the spring in my hand keeps me from over heating it. It will get too hot to hold before the temper is destroyed.




Or you could just call up Happy Trails for one of his lightened mainsprings that he has already ground down.

http://www.thesmithshop.com/




Can't help you with Triple Seven, I only shoot real Black Powder through my Henry.



And by the way, you ain't gonna fit 16 rounds in the magazine if you are shooting 45 Colt. More likely about 12 or 13.

But I'm sure you will have fun with your new  rifle.

[matt45]

Driftwood- thanks much for the info. 
     I realized just after I sent it forward that the 45 ACP mold was a bad idea- way to make me look more stupid than I already am.  I called Hodgen and got the info I needed re: 777.  I expect that I'lll probably switch to goex shortly.

[Driftwood Johnson]

If you can find Schuetzen, I highly recommend it. About the same price as Goex, but burns cleaner.

[Pancho Peacemaker]

matt45:

Consider investing in some .45 S&W (i.e. .45 "Schofield") brass and some 200 gr RNFP bullets.

They cycle just fine in the Henry and will increase your magazine capacity so you can load it on Sunday and shoot it all week.


Pancho

[matt45]

     Yeah, that might be just the thing to do- would also make a visual difference so I don't shoot one of my 45LC loads for the R. Blackhawk in a toggle link (I was planning on getting some nickel cases, but considering the low pressure and the increased hardness of nickel plated brass I like your idea better).

[Wagon Box Willy]

. . . . .

Or you could just call up Happy Trails for one of his lightened mainsprings that he has already ground down.

http://www.thesmithshop.com/

Driftwood,

As per your suggestion in another thread of mine, I installed the Whisper Spring kit from Happy Trails and it seems to make a big difference in my new '66, thanks.

As to the lightened main spring, have you used it or heard of any issues with using it for BP and WLP primers?

Thanks
  Willy

[matt45]

...and several more questions- as per Pancho Peacemaker's suggestion I ordered some 45 Schofield and am fixing on loading them once I get some bullets molded.
     So, I assume that one loads BP in a 45 Schofield the same as one does in other calibers- eg: nothing special I should worry about?
     Next, looking @ the Schofield case vs. a 56-50, it looks close to a comparison of 44 rimfire vs. 56-50.  Does anyone have a guess as to 45 Schofield ballistics w/ BP compared w/ 44 rimfire?  Thanks for any info.
                                                                                                          Matt45 

[Pancho Peacemaker]

...and several more questions- as per Pancho Peacemaker's suggestion I ordered some 45 Schofield and am fixing on loading them once I get some bullets molded.
     So, I assume that one loads BP in a 45 Schofield the same as one does in other calibers- eg: nothing special I should worry about?
     Next, looking @ the Schofield case vs. a 56-50, it looks close to a comparison of 44 rimfire vs. 56-50.  Does anyone have a guess as to 45 Schofield ballistics w/ BP compared w/ 44 rimfire?  Thanks for any info.
                                                                                                          Matt45 

This issue went around last year.  Take a gander here:  http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,34874.0.html

[Dusty Morningwood]

When people say they have gotten a "sixteen shooter"  I feel compelled to share my videa of shooting 16 .44 Russians out of my Henry.

[matt45]

Thanks for the info.  By chance, does anyone here have an overall cartridge length for a successful (functions in the Henry) 45 Schofield round?

[matt45]

Hello The Camp,
     Just got off the horn w/ keri macdonald at Taylor Arms- a Iron Framed Henry is on its way to me as we speak- YAHOO

[The Pathfinder]

Congrats, Matt, you'll have a ball with that Henry. I've got two iron frames myownself, 1 in 45 and the other in 44-40. They are a joy to shoot.

[matt45]

Hello the Camp,
     Just finished putting 25 rounds down range- it's -1 here today, and my old eyes are tearing up.  W/ the Schofield load I'm getting 1" groups @ 25 (both 3 and 5 shot groups) and the groups are about 3" low @ that range (I've had to blow some pumpkins up, too, so not all work shooting).  No chance to chronograph yet, or shoot @ a longer range- but I'll keep ya'll informed- whether you want me to or not
                                                             Matt45

[PvtGreg]

I have found out of the box my Henry can do amazing groupings out to 100yrds.  Last time I benched it at 100yrds I got 2" 5rd groupings.  (45lc 6gr trailboss)

I don't have a range any longer than that, but suspect bullet drop would start being a factor.