Henry Magazine Spacer

[Junkman]

Mako put me wise to this ingenious idea, so I had to make one for myself.
Here is the one I made (oak 1/2" dowel) and the dimensions that work for me...

[Rev Willy Duncum]

I made one up last night and used it in a match today for the first time.  These things really work great! 

[PJ Hardtack]

I've owned and shot a Henry in 44-40 for years, doing the 'Henry Shuffle' to get my paw out of the way of the mag follower. I've also learned not to shoot it with a glove on unless I'm counting rds.

I take it that this device prevents the problem from occurring? And is readily removeable when full magazine capacity is required? Any reduction of the mag spring required?

[Coffinmaker]

Well ....... I'm not Junkman, and I've never stayed in a Holliday Inn, but, I was involved in the early discovery of a spacer for the Henry Magazine.
The spacer slides in and out without any real bother.  Except if you forget to remove it and load the cartridge stack on top of it   That gets kind of comical.  Don't ask how I know that 
It does NOT require any modification of the magazine spring.
It will prevent a magazine detonation.
It will allow you to grip the barrel in front of the frame without the "Henry Hop."
A plain wood dowel will stick to the sides of the magazine in wet/damp weather.
I make mine from 7/16 dowel, epoxied into a Schofield case on both ends with brass screw shanks as "stops"
I have a really long one for Cowboy .45 Special cases
I call mine ......... Stick, Mark I, A1 

Coffinmaker

[Junkman]

I was typing as you replied Coffinmaker 

[PJ Hardtack]

Thanks, guys!

Got one under way ..... mine will be the the "Stick, MKI A1*", for the use of .....

Don't know why this didn't occur to me long ago.

[Driftwood Johnson]

My how time flies. I just came across the receipt for my Henry. I bought it in 2006. Here is a thread I posted about it and the spacer stick I made for it back then. Not claiming I invented the idea, I got the idea from another Henry shooter. But here is how I made mine.

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,15500.0.html

[PJ Hardtack]

Driftwood

Thanks for taking the time to repost about your Henry 'stick' and your humility for not having claimed to be the originator.

I'll be picking up a piece of 1/2" dowel today and I found a neat little knurled brass 'button' knob that I'm going to use on a screw for a guide.
I also think I'll cap the ends with either a brass ring or cases with the rims ground off. I mean if somethin's worth the doin', ya might as well do it to excess ...... ;>)

[PJ Hardtack]

Well, I spent some time and a little material making up a Henry mag spacer according to the dimensions posted, only to wonder why in hell I bothered .....

When I found out that I couldn't use it with 10 rds in the mag, it became an exercise in futility. Having it around for the occasional stage involving less than 10 rds makes it just another gadget to take to the loading table and keep track of. Making it short enough to close the nose cap on 10 rds makes it redundant.

Oh well, it was a fun project and something to occupy me on a cold Monday morning. Looks like I'll be continuing to do the 'Henry Hop' ..... like Cap'n Call and Gus in 'Lonesome Dove'.

[Junkman]

I can't image why you are belly aching, because this works for everyone it would seem but you. The dimensions are for a Henry rifle, not a carbine if that's what you have.

[PJ Hardtack]

Whoa, Junkman! Back off a little there Cowboy .....

I guess the proper comment ought to have been: "'What is the maximum number of rounds you can load to get the benefit of the mag stick with a stick of xxx inches in length?' That take the burr off'n yer bed roll?

In my Henry RIFLE, it sure as hell ain't gonna be 10 rounds of 44-40 with a Lyman 427666 200 gr RNFP. I realize a lot depends on exactly where you hang your paw on the barrel.

I've already started on another, this one being the 'Henry Mag Stick Mk II*'. Simpler and better than the first.

[Junkman]

Simpler and better than the first.

What could possibly be simpler than a stick with a screw in it? 

[PJ Hardtack]

Junkman

Too simple!  ;>)

Made one using the destructions posted by Driftwood using two 44-40 cases joined with a piece of dowel and a brass stop pin.

Overall length is 2-7/8", allowing 10 rds in the magazine. Works like a hot damn.

If I was to do it again, I'd use a piece of copper or brass tubing.

[Junkman]

2 7/8? Where are you placing your off hand? What is the COAL of the 44WCF cartridges you are using?

After thinking on this for a while, I realized that I load with the lever open and the carrier down. This allows the first round to be in the carrier. Loaded this way, 10 rounds allows me about 1/4 inch to close the magazine and seat the follower. I hold the mag/barrel right in front of the receiver and the spacer provides about 4 inches for my hand and the follower will not contact my hand.

[PJ Hardtack]

Junkman

Selecting three 44-40 rds at random, they mike a 1.570". Winchester brass, cast Lyman 427666 bullets. With this device, I'll be holding close to the receiver.

Our club asks that we load with the action closed, hammer may be at half cock. I don't know where that's carved in stone, but I like your idea better. I'll suggest it.

I made a second stick; the MKII**. This one uses one 44-40 casing, a brass collar on t'other end and a round headed brass pin.
Looks like I might be making up the MKIII** .... ;>)

[Junkman]

PJ,

I think the loading procedure is what made the difference for us. Now that I figured that out, I apologize for the confusion on my part.

Could you post a picture of your MKII**stick? I would greatly like to see it. 

[PJ Hardtack]

Once I learn to operate our new Fujifilm Finepix S2950 14 MP camera and post pics from it, I'll be happy to!

I hate gadgets smarter than me. Used to be that ran the gamut of tools like hammers, chainsaws and the like. Now it's just about every damn thing that comes down the road .... ;>)

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

With all due respect, you guys are working too hard at this. Don't bother premeasuring to make your stick. Do it empirically, let the gun and your ammo tell you how long to make it. My 44-40 ammo runs around 1.585 long with a 200 grain Mav- Dutchman bullet, but that is really immaterial. Custom make your stick for your ammo and your gun.

When I made my stick the first thing I did was drop a live round down the magazine so it rested in the carrier. Then I dropped a length of 1/2" dowel down the magazine behind it. You want the stick to protrude just far enough into the carrier to shove a round all the way onto the carrier. You don't want it to protrude so far that it hangs up the carrier when it tries to rise to eject the last round. So with a live round in the carrier I made a mark on the stick at the very end of the slot in the magazine. That marks the spot for the stop on the stick. A stop placed at that position will allow the stick to shove the last round onto the carrier, but not protrude so far as to hang up the carrier. Removing the stick I drilled a hole at the mark for my stop. Uswe what ever you have at hand for a stop. The brass rod in my stick has been filed down so far that I never feel it sliding past my hand so it does not hang up against my hand. I also put a slight bevel on the end of the stick to help the carrier push it out of the way when ejecting the last round.

Next I removed the stick and loaded ten rounds into the magazine. The stick was longer than needed at this point. I placed the stick on top of the ten rounds and made a mark on the stick to cut it so it would be just a little bit shorter than the the length of the magazine with all ten rounds loaded. This means that when the rifle is fully loaded with the stick in place, there is only about 1/4" or so of travel for the follower to butt up against the stick. This is an important safety feature. With just 1/4" of travel, there is no way a follower that slips from your grasp can gain enough velocity to fire any rounds in the magazine.

With all due respect, why in the world would one load the Henry with the action open? With most lever guns, you physically can't do that, the carrier would block the loading gate with the action open. Load it with the lever closed. Measure your stick with the lever closed. No need to make this any more complicated than it needs to be.

Hope this helps.

[Junkman]

Yes but the Henry is NOT like other lever action rifles. It's very easy to load the rifle and carrier with the lever open. All you do is cock the hammer with your thumb (to get it out of the way) and 'short stroke' the lever until the bolt is open. My gun club requires that if the bolt is closed (on any gun) that the muzzle be pointed 'on target'. That rule kind of rules out loading the Henry with the lever closed. I agree with you that for the spacer to work properly, you have to have the first round in the carrier.

[Abilene]

If the carrier is in the down position, the first round loaded will be on the carrier, regardless of whether the lever is open or closed.