Lever action help in deciding.

[teflon6string]

So, its been a while, but I decided on a plain Jane Henry big boy 357 rifle. No octagon barrel, no fancy crud. Walnut and blued steel. Got her this evening. Feels light and small and will be a perfect companion to my gp100. The action felt silky on this one.

Congrats, good choice, especially in classic blue steel! Totally agree with how small and light a 357 lever feels. Exactly like a Red Ryder... 'cept different.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

Congrats, good choice, especially in classic blue steel! Totally agree with how small and light a 357 lever feels. Exactly like a Red Ryder... 'cept different.

I am glad I am not the only one who thought Red Ryder. Not a big fan of the weight of the octagon barrel, so I went with round. It is very tempting to put a rail and a scope on it, but at the same time it feels wrong. It is really a lightweight everything you need, nothing you don't rifle.

 

[GOG]

Quit talkin' about it and go shoot it. We need pics and a range report.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

Quit talkin' about it and go shoot it. We need pics and a range report.

Well, I can't till Tuesday. I work today through Monday. I am kind of excited about this one truth be told.

 

[GOG]

I think you're going to love it.

 

[CHLChris]

@Wombat of Doom You'll have to let us know what you think of the loading system of the Henry. It's different than the side-load of so many others.

 

[RVTECH]

Wombat - when you load your Henry take note if the inner load tube seems to hang up and not want to slide down smoothly over the rounds AND if your finger lever 'kicks' out.
IF this is the case you have the common problem about 90% of Henry rifle owners have - but I stumbled on a 'fix' for it and it works perfectly.
If you have this problem take your RCBS deburring tool and push the cartridge follower in with the tip of it and when the cutter enters and stops on the opening of the tube simply 'DEBUR' the inside edge of the tube just like you would with a piece of brass for reloading. A slight bevel is all it needs to slide smoothly over the rims and down smoothly.
Also most of the load tubes are not very clean coming from the factory so take a 20 guage shotgun 'mop' and put it on a cleaning rod. Wet with Hoppes and push it into the end of the tube and gently push it in and make sure the spring does not hang up - if it does slowly back the mop back a bit and push it in again until you compress the spring entirely and have swabbed the entire tube - you will probably be surprised how dry and dirty the inside of the tube is. When done dry the mop and push it in again to remove any excess Hoppes.
Last but not least do the same to the OUTER tube with the lever open so you can push the mop all the way through past the cartridge lift.
This will improve the load tube DRAMATICALLY. This is one of the biggest complaints about the tube is it hanging up on the cartridge rims but this will solve it!

 

[Jonnyuma]

I used to pack a 44 Marlin and a Super Blackhawk when I stomped around the central AZ desert looking for ghost towns and gold in the 90s (never found much of either. Okay... none, really) but got out of the "cowboy" stuff when I moved to OR... O yeah, I also got old and that sh*t is HEAVY.
Now I'm really wanting a .357 lever gun. I bought a .357 Blackhawk a couple of mos ago because a friend gave me a case of ammo... good enough reason according to, well... me.
I'm watching this thread closely. I'm over my AR-building and wasn't sure where I was going to go next... I thought it was going to be 30+ caliber bolt actions but now I'm thinking pistol cal carbines are a more pragmatic direction. Although I don't see any "builds" going down this route, I also didn't see many 1000+ yard shots coming out of my theoretical big-bore bolts. Plus, some indoor ranges will let you shoot pistol cal rifles. That's a winner-winner... you know the rest.

 

[PaulB47]

I got a stainless Rossi .357 with the 16" barrel some time back, had a peep put on it (WAY better than the barrel sight). It's about as small and handy a rifle as can be had, and still be called a rifle. The stock was a very dark (I guess Brazilian) hardwood that looks good with the stainless.

The action was a bit gritty so I took it apart and slicked it up. Lots of how-tos available out there for this. Also some guy named Steve, forget his last name, in the cowboy action crowd, makes a living out of slicking up these rifles for customers.

I don't shoot it much, just use it for a "truck gun" as it is so small. Also my eyes aren't too good any more (sigh).