Yellowboy or Henry?

[Spitpatch]

another issue to consider, is the 66 Yellowboys didn't have a wooden forestock, and the modern clones didn't either ....which can become an inconvenience as the barrel heats up.

The Winchester Model of 1866 certainly DID have a wooden forestock. It is the 1860 Henry that did not. While the term "Yellowboy" certainly may have been later regularly applied to the Henry, its most common assignment (perhaps the origin) is to the Model 1866, especially the carbine version (a full 75% of Model 1866's were carbines) so favored by the Native Americans in defense of their homeland.

 

[Spitpatch]

"I can't agree with 'cobbled' together - as mine has very nice fit and finish, is glass smooth and very accurate."

They ARE good guns. Couldn't have made the splash they did without being so. My reference was in comparison to an Uberti. Side by side: wood to metal fit, blue quality and aesthetics of even the sighting equipment strongly favors the Uberti guns. The "Henry" receiver also seems at first glance to be "clunky" and "blocky". Come to think of it, this impression survives even to the second glance.

All personal opinion and matters of taste.

 

[41mag]

yes, perhaps my memory chip was a dud, it was the Henry 1860 model Yellowboy (bronze, by the way, rather than 'brass')



For this style of stock, you're going to need a heavy leather glove or something after a dozen rounds or so, as the barrel warms considerably.

 

[Spitpatch]

Having spent more than a couple range days with Ubertis (including a friend's 1860 Henry), we never found this barrel-warming concern to interfere at all or cause any discomfort. We shot blackpowder and no milquetoast loads and often in rapid fire. The magazine is of a diameter sufficient enough to keep all but the most ham-handed operator safely away from any perceived danger.

I am certain that if one set a goal to warm that barrel enough to scald the occasional straying digit from its perch under the exposed magazine that might be accomplished. Rapid fire of a full magazine (.44-40) never caused ANY discomfort.

If this was a chronic problem the original guns would not have been the success that they were. The forearm feature later appearing on the 1866 may have mitigated this rare (or non-existent) discomfort, but its primary purpose was protection of the tubular magazine from external impact and damage resulting in malfunctions. (The earliest forearm design was actually part of a loading mechanism: sliding it forward exposed a loading gate-experimental and never a production feature.) Remember: this rifle (1860 Henry) was primarily designed as a weapon of war. The exposed (relatively delicate) magazine the full length of a battle rifle is simply asking for trouble. The same line of thought can be viewed in battle guns without a tubular magazine: In these cases rifles (Mausers,Springfields,Enfields,etc.,etc.) employ robust wood forward of the receiver to protect the barrel from the ravages of the battlefield and increase the overall strength of the weapon should it be employed as a club. This full-length treatment is even seen on the "musket" versions of the early Winchesters.

Obviously another motivation to place a piece of wood "up there" is conventionality: Indeed, the 1860 Henry appears (even in comparison to other rifles contemporary in its day) to be "missing something".

Overwhelming reports of scalded hands from heat-coil Henry barrels do not appear in the numerous battle reports on this rifle's rapid-fire performance.

 

[Roundball58]

What Spitpatch said. Heat was never an issue shooting my Henry in CAS with BP loads. The main issue was the tab on the follower protruding under the magazine. Your leading hand would block the follower resulting in the cartridges failing to feed into the elevator. You learned to do the "Henry Hop" during a magazine dump.

 

[41mag]

Glad to hear of the non-issue with the Henry. I shot a SASS matches & had a problem with hot barrel. Maybe I'll give 'em another look. My Navy 66 remained fun to shoot but still more awkward for me than the longer Uberti 73. I have no theory or explanation for either.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

The issue with the fake brass Henry is it's ugly. That plating chips off also.

 

[RVTECH]

The issue with the fake brass Henry is it's ugly.

What are you referring to?
The centerfire Henrys have solid
Brass alloy receivers.

 

[Throckmorton]

since we're talking about my favorite lever guns here, a week from today there is a 3 day cowboy shoot in Florence.
If anyone is heading to the coast for the 4th of july 'weekend', the range gates will be open,range is just North of Bimart, turn east on Munsell lake rd, range is about a mile down ,on the left. Matches saturday and sunday mornings. Come watch some old guys act like kids again, lol.