Lever gun fun!!!

[1911ly]

I finally made a trip to the range. The first since my surgery. First this summer actually! I took my Henry's. The 44mag and 45-70 Government. Had a great time! Here's the result's:

Here is a little history first. I put a set of Skinner sights on my 44mag. Finally had a chance to dial it in better. The original front sight turned out to be to low for the Skinner rear. So I ordered a new taller sight from skinner. I ended up needing to remove .050 off the new post. It was way taller.

It's pretty much a tack driver now. Here are some 25 yard shots. A 3 round group. It's hard to tell but if you look close this is 3 round group. 2 are nearly in the same hole. the round was a 240 grain hollow point bullet with 18 grains of 2400. Hand loaded. Currently loading some 19 grain's of powder to try.

I ran out of daylight to try 50 and 100 yards.



I need to file the front sight down more so the rear ring is not so far out of the rear sight base. I want to see what it does at 50-100 yards before I cut more. I'll just say the Skinner sight's rock!

Rear skinner sight:


Up next is 45-70 govt. Last year I had trouble with the Mag tube coming loose and the bullet follower catching on the bullet lifter. I diagnosed it as a bad mag rod. Without question they sent me a new one. Promptly I might add. I had not had a chance to test it last year. But I did Tuesday and it resolved the issue 100%. I put about 40 rounds threw it without one issue! It's fixed.

I have decided I am going to swap the sights on the 45-70 to the Skinner. The sights fit just like the 44mag sights. I am eager to see how she does with the Skinner sights. I think I will be happy!

It was a great day for some lever gun shooting! Weather wise and fun wise. I'll hopefully get a chance to load some more bullets and try the 44mag again this weekend. Special thanks to my shooting buddy cousin Bobby. We had a great day!

 

[Kentuckyblue]

Sounds like you had fun, those 45-70's sure are a hoot to shoot. I have a Marlin that I love to shoot.

 

[tge45]

Nice shooting. I've not tried the Skinner sights, but I do have a couple Marlins with the original style tang peep sights.
Henry is a great company.

 

[Thor]

Nice,

If I were buying a new .45-70 I'd get a Henry. I have a Marlin 1895CB with Guide Gun furniture on it, William's peep sight.

I'd be interested to see if Henry is going to field a more traditional .45-70, something full length like my CB...though I can't say I'd be shopping for one as mine's just fine.

Have fun beating up that shoulder!

 

[1911ly]

Nice,

If I were buying a new .45-70 I'd get a Henry. I have a Marlin 1895CB with Guide Gun furniture on it, William's peep sight.

I'd be interested to see if Henry is going to field a more traditional .45-70, something full length like my CB...though I can't say I'd be shopping for one as mine's just fine.

Have fun beating up that shoulder!

The reason I have the Henry is because I shot my buddy's guide gun. I really wanted a 1895. I could not find a new one that was nice. I didn't want a used JM gun for nearly the cost of a new Henry. I went with the Henry and could not be happier. I wish it did have a longer barrel though. But I love it just like it is. I am eying one of these. The Henry Original | Henry Repeating Arms I wish it were in 45-70. No doubt I will get one.

And yes my shoulder was sore the next day. It did not bother me while I was shooting. I probably should have stopped at 20 or so rounds :-(.

 

[Thor]

The reason I have the Henry is because I shot my buddy's guide gun. I really wanted a 1895. I could not find a new one that was nice. I didn't want a used JM gun for nearly the cost of a new Henry. I went with the Henry and could not be happier. I wish it did have a longer barrel though. But I love it just like it is. I am eying one of these. The Henry Original | Henry Repeating Arms I wish it were in 45-70. No doubt I will get one.

And yes my shoulder was sore the next day. It did not bother me while I was shooting. I probably should have stopped at 20 or so rounds :-(.

Those original Henry's are sweet...if they came in .45 Colt I'd already have the wife convinced we 'need' one. I'm having a hard time convincing even myself that I need another caliber to buy though. I've already got a good stock of .45C so buying another rifle with a different appetite would be, well, expensive and possibly problematic based on availability.

And yes, 20 rounds of .45-70 are a really good massage. Can the Henry handle the hotter loads from Cor-Bon or Garrett? Those are +P rounds, I use the hard cast, and you'd be advised to stop well short of those 20rnds...

 

[1911ly]

From what I am reading it will handle up to 405's. The 500 grains won't load. To large? Not really sure what the complete story is. Depending on who you talk to at Henry they say different things. I am shooting the Hornady Lever Evolution and reloading the brass back to those spec's with the Hornady Lever Evolution bullets. It's plenty shoulder bending enough. I don't think I'd enjoy shooting a much heavier load as much as I do this load.

I'd like to do a hog hunt with it someday!

 

[Thor]

I'm not sure why they wouldn't load...I think they are the same external dimensions but they are not loaded to SAAMI standards. Some of them come with warnings to only shoot out of modern Marlin rifles. I was just wondering if the new Henry was built with that kind of grunt in mind...just in case you need to shoot the odd wandering elephant.

 

[1911ly]

Here is some info I found.

Henry .45-70 and buffalo bore ammunition - AR15.COM

They are saying the chamber is a little longer on the 500 grain so the chamber needs reamed? Even on the Marlin. It might be just the Buffalo Bore ammo? Not sure. Mostly I'd say the Henry is a CYA thing. Even Marlin says to ask the Ammo manufacturer. Not to sure what's going on. But I'd bet if you can shoot it threw the GG you can the Henry too.

I'd like a guide gun. If one comes along at the right price I'd buy one. But it will be a Pre Remmy. The Remmy's I looked at were really poor fit and finish. It will be a JM stamped for me to own it. I really was impress with my buddy's guide gun!

 

[Thor]

Thanks for the link. It looks like Rem started cutting the chamber shorter so that it wouldn't take the heavier rounds...I guess that's why I never questioned it with mine as they all fit fine.

 

[1911ly]

Thanks for the link. It looks like Rem started cutting the chamber shorter so that it wouldn't take the heavier rounds...I guess that's why I never questioned it with mine as they all fit fine.

Yw, I love learning about this stuff. I am eager to listen and learn. I don't know where you are located but it would be cool to get a few 45-70's together for some shoulder bending fun! Although I think I am going to limit my round count to 20 or so. I still have a tiny sore spot lol. Maybe I'll wuss out and buy a recoil pad :-)

My spare front sight came today. I am going to mill it down and cut a dovetail so I have a little more windage adjustment. Still need to order the rear Skinner sight too. One project at a time! I got a million going on. And I need to reload some 45-70 to boot.

 

[Thor]

I'm generally about 45min south of SB (when in town). Where do you usually shoot?

I started with the stock furniture, which I still have and thought it would be cool to have something more historically accurate so I put this on.

View attachment 30750

And while it looks really sweet on the rifle after shooting it with that thing I ordered this.

View attachment 30751

The only issue with the GG furniture on the CB is that the forearm is longer on the GG so it needs to be shortened.

View attachment 30752

The issue with the steel horseshoe stock is it locks into position basically on the shoulder joint and that's the only place you can hold it unless you want it to drive like a stake into your chest...

 

[1911ly]

I shoot at the St Joesph Restoration Society on County Road 100 or the Howard Township Conservation Club.

I'll get some ammo loaded up this week. That horse shoe stock does look pretty punishing if you held it wrong. But looks so cool!