How big a deal is 44spec?

Slowhand Bob · January 20, 2014, 08:00:56 AM

My question is why no Henrys in 44spec? Not being a gunsmith, It leaves me wondering why the big deal just making a few Henrys in .44spec while they are being produced at the factory? A one step process that just might sell as many or more guns than the .45Colt version has. The Colt version required a whole new barrel reaming/rifling process while in my mind the 44spec would be just a matter of swapping the chamber reamer for running off a few guns each year??? Though I am sure it is always the same small group hollering for a .44 straight walled Henry, I do think it would equal the small shooter group that was happy with the .45. Converting from 44-40 to 44spec is an expensive deal, after the fact, but nothing as a part of the manufacturing process.

Major 2 · January 20, 2014, 02:00:19 PM

Uberti's done some, Wolf Niederastroth has one...
They are rare though, not to many made it to this side of the pond.

I saw one several years ago, Though I can say with any certainty it was a Factory 44 Spc'l.
Seem to remember Happy Trails , might have made some $:-\$
.

Pettifogger · January 20, 2014, 08:08:56 PM

Mainly because the .44 Special is not popular with CAS shooters. Uberti made some 66s and a few 73s in .44 Special. They sell like buffalo chips. Kind of interesting but no one really wants one. Why would they take an unpopular caliber and put it into an extremely limited production gun like the Henry?

Abilene · January 20, 2014, 08:47:26 PM

Well, I gotta disagree with Pettifogger. I think they would sell all the .44 Spcl Henrys they made. But they can't keep up with the backorders for .44-40 and .45 Henrys as it is. Lack of capacity.

Slowhand Bob · January 20, 2014, 09:56:38 PM

All it requires is using a different reamer in the process for X-number of barrels that are already rifled for the .44 caliber. I would even bet that a numbers cruncher would tell you that the actual cost per barrel is lower in 44special than either the 44W or the 45C. Popularity, try a run of X(for whatever) and see how quickly they sell?? As we have seen several times over recent years, new models seem to somehow get introduced regardless of current inventory situations. It has even happened with a couple of models that some said would never materialize! And in this case we are not even talking about developing so much as one new part...

Major 2 · January 21, 2014, 12:59:28 PM

Quote from: Abilene on January 20, 2014, 08:47:26 PM
Well, I gotta disagree with Pettifogger. I think they would sell all the .44 Spcl Henrys they made. But they can't keep up with the backorders for .44-40 and .45 Henrys as it is. Lack of capacity.

I shoot a 44 Spcl 73 and I like it just fine.

Pettifogger · January 21, 2014, 08:00:06 PM

Quote from: Major 2 on January 21, 2014, 12:59:28 PM
I shoot a 44 Spcl 73 and I like it just fine.

That's great. Shoot what you like. However, the fact is that the .44 Special simply is not very popular. Cimmarron had a whole rack of 66s in .44 Special at EOT a few years ago. Marked down substantially to try and move them.

buckskin billy · January 21, 2014, 10:18:28 PM

I bought a model 66 back in 2008 in 44 special to match with my open tops. it was like finding a needle in a hay stack. many cas shooters asked me if I had bumped my head for wanting that caliber.

Cliff Fendley · January 21, 2014, 10:43:16 PM

44 special may not be popular in SASS but I see quite a few shooters using it in NCOWS, particularly open top shooters and they are the very ones likely using a 66 or Henry rifle.

I'd say in a Henry it would probably go over fairly well. At least well enough to make a run of them.

Major 2 · January 22, 2014, 12:04:00 AM

Quote from: Pettifogger on January 21, 2014, 08:00:06 PM
That's great. Shoot what you like. However, the fact is that the .44 Special simply is not very popular. Cimmarron had a whole rack of 66s in .44 Special at EOT a few years ago. Marked down substantially to try and move them.

Thanks, I suppose if I did what was popular, I'd be using Rugers in 38 Spc'l too....

Different strokes for different folks

Quote from: Cliff Fendley on January 21, 2014, 10:43:16 PM
44 special may not be popular in SASS but I see quite a few shooters using it in NCOWS, particularly open top shooters and they are the very ones likely using a 66 or Henry rifle.

I'd say in a Henry it would probably go over fairly well. At least well enough to make a run of them.

exactly

John William McCandles · January 22, 2014, 08:31:01 AM

Sierra Sue and I shoot .44 special in both our '66's to match our R&M conversions or Open Tops. But we shoot NCOWS. They are very hard to find, took seems like forever to find her '66 short rifle and they usually fetch a premium price.
I believe that a Henry, '66 or '73 in .44 special would sell as long as the market wasn't flooded with them. At present it seems to be feast or famine with new production.
Also with a change of carrier .44 Russian could be shot in them or .44 Colt with little modification..

JW

Seth Hawkins · January 22, 2014, 03:43:24 PM

Buy a 44 WCF and have it re-chambered. It would probably be cheaper and much quicker and easier to do than buying one originally chambered in 44 Special. As was said, they command a premium price and are as scarce as hen's teeth. But, the 44 WCF's aren't.

This is what I did when I re-configured my Henry to shoot a heeled bullet. It was originally a 44 WCF. I bought a 45 cal barrel and had it re-chambered for my 44 Henry CF cartridge.

Slowhand Bob · January 22, 2014, 04:52:12 PM

I do have an old Uberti 44W Henry and was even talking with a gunsmith bout sleeving the chamber to 44spec when he up and retired. Now I would really prefer to keep it, as is, even if just as a safe queen. I would bet a dollar to a doughnut that a run of 20" barl 44sp would sell like hot cakes to some of the guys who have bought the Uberti 44 conversions over the years. I do have an old/uggerly '73 chambered fer 45 that I use with Kirst Conversions BUT the 44-40 is a mighty un-Henry round to pair up with my cap and ball pistols, not even taking into account the wasted powder! Pre 1873 pistoleers and lever-gun men were not wart hogs and a few even clung to their older calibers for years after the new fangled mag-like 44-40s and 45Colts. I even think that after the '73 caliber debute the cowboys mostly discarded the concept of two guns in one caliber, with a slight nod to the 44-40 added to some pistol line ups. I can not cozy up to the idea of using 45special brass in rifles that chank them all over the place.

Coffinmaker · January 22, 2014, 05:25:15 PM

Well by golly Bob,
Being just a little cantankerous aren't ya!! Well, actually I have to agree with ya. I really really wanted Uberti to build some .44 Special Henry rifles. Hey, just one if I could have had it. But, no such luck. I do remember the trouble Cimarron had selling a batch of '66s they had some years back. They moved real slow even when Cimarron had them at "give away" prices.

I've never been a believer in "Period Correct" crap. Once in a while however, I do get a wild hair. I wanted a cartridge combination close to the original .44 Henry Flat and settled on the Cowboy 45 Special case. Couple of .45 Schofield chambered Open Tops and a Henry with a cartridge stop and presto! I was in business. Not satisfied though. Nope, not me. Then the special carriers came out for C45S and they work just fine with .44 Russian. Already had .44 Colt cylinders and barrels for my Open Tops and went looking hard for a '66 (remember Cimarron?). Finally managed to find a '66 and darned if the seller didn't throw in a poop load of .44 Russian brass he couldn't shoot in it, but I could. Now I have a pair of '72 Open Top pistols and a '66 that I can shoot "close" to original cartridges in. I still don't have a Henry chambered in .44 Special.

Now where was I going with all this, you want to know.
Well, there are TWO of us that want a .44 Special Henry. Probably not many more but at least TWO of us

Coffinmaker

Major 2 · January 22, 2014, 06:11:45 PM

I'd be # 3 ... course I have 4 Henry's, but not one in 44 Spec'l

Slowhand Bob · January 23, 2014, 09:01:36 AM

Not sure what will ever materialize from my frustrated dreams (UHHHH, the ones about guns) but I do have two of the short carriers hidden for possible future use. One is the '66/'73 version and the other is a Henry version carrier. I have pretty much decided that the state of affairs with the 45special round are just not conducive to my using them in rifles, so my use of them will be limited to revolvers, where none are ever lost. Perhaps one day one of my great grandchildren will find these pristine unused carriers tucked in the back of a drawer and be able to sell them as antiques on EBay for a million dollars each, which will be about $130 based against todays dollar rates! Course by then they will be able to print them out of some new super plastic that is stronger than any current steel!

PJ Hardtack · January 23, 2014, 05:11:25 PM

Four now.

I came into this game with a .44 mag Vaquero and a B-92, using .44 Spl. in both. Then it became a two-gun game and I bought another Vaquero in .44 mag.
I've got a Henry in 44-40, but think I'd be happier if it was in .44 Spl. or Russian. A '66 or '73 in .44 Spl.? You bet!

Quote from: Coffinmaker on January 22, 2014, 05:25:15 PM
Now where was I going with all this, you want to know.
Well, there are TWO of us that want a .44 Special Henry. Probably not many more but at least TWO of us

Coffinmaker

Coffinmaker · January 25, 2014, 11:39:54 PM

Well now ...... Just 996 more folks and we'll have enough for a run

Coffinmaker

Seth Hawkins · January 26, 2014, 02:31:38 PM

Quote from: PJ Hardtack on January 23, 2014, 05:11:25 PM
Four now.

I came into this game with a .44 mag Vaquero and a B-92, using .44 Spl. in both. Then it became a two-gun game and I bought another Vaquero in .44 mag.
I've got a Henry in 44-40, but think I'd be happier if it was in .44 Spl. or Russian. A '66 or '73 in .44 Spl.? You bet!

I've seen some '73s in 44 mag at Guns America:
Stoeger 1873 44 Mag
Uberti 1873 Carbine 44 Mag
Uberti 1873 Carbine 44 Mag

Ford D. River · April 06, 2014, 04:27:59 PM

The 44 Special is very similar to the 44 Henry round. Much closer than the 44-40. Since the 44-40 is not made in the Uberti Open Top 71-72, a Henry in 44 Special would be a good match. I also heard they made a few.