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Thread: Questions about Henrys

  1. #1
    fullertc is offline
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    Questions about Henrys

    If one had a choice between the .44-40 and .45LC, is one caliber better ballistically or easier to reload ammo? Does one have to have the repo barrel relined out of the box? Is there a common consensus about which bullet/powder charge/lube gives the best accuracy? Any other issues? Heard stories, always wondered. Thank you.
    Tom Fuller, 5036V,
    29th Wisconsin Inf.

  2. #2
    bobanderson is offline
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    The 45 Colt, (once called the Long Colt, but no more) is a great cartridge with many followers. The problem is that it has a thicker case near the mouth which does not seal as well as it should with the milder pressures experienced with black powder target loads. This is evident by the black carbon ring on the outside of the case mouth caused by leakage.
    44-40 is thinner, therefore more subject to deformed case mouths when ejecting from the lever action. For an experienced handloader, this is no problem, but some are hesitant to shoot brass that has been bent and straightened. The thinner case mouth seals better leading to better accuracy at lower pressures.

    I'd say go with 44-40 in an Iron frame rifle.
    Bob Anderson
    Ordnance Sergeant
    Company C, 1st Michigan Volunteer Infantry
    Small Arms Committee

    "I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on.
    I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."
    - John Wayne in "The Shootist", 1976

  3. #3
    bobanderson is offline
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    My load is Lyman 427098 over 30 grains of Goex 3f, my lube and a standard primer, not a magnum.

    Won my only DSCA points and 50/100 and aggregate golds with my Henry about 10 years ago. I bring it out for BPTTA once in a while.
    Bob Anderson
    Ordnance Sergeant
    Company C, 1st Michigan Volunteer Infantry
    Small Arms Committee

    "I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on.
    I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."
    - John Wayne in "The Shootist", 1976

  4. #4
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    45 colt

    I am one of the few that uses the 45 colt henry, I have found once you fire form your brass don't resize them, just bell the case mouth just enough to get the bullet to fit in and seat as usual and I don't get the leekage as Bob has said. I have never had any deformed brass using this method. I shoot a Dick Dasterly bullet with an extra large lube grove. I bought my Henry second hand and it had been re-lined by Hoyt, Brass frame. I do use hard lead and a stout powder charge (30gr. goex Olde Eynsford 3F) to fill my case and seat the bullet to compress the powder. One last thing I use is Dick Dasterly Pearl Lube, not sure what he puts in it but I can shoot all weekend and never have to clean the gun at all.

    These are a few things I do that work for me and my Henry.

    RC
    Rick G. Cameron Jr.
    13082

  5. #5
    Jim Wimbish, 10395's Avatar
    Jim Wimbish, 10395 is offline
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    I have shot both 45 Colt and 44/40 Henry's made by Uberti. The blow back was so bad with the 45 Colt that I now only shoot it with smokeless powder with which it shoots quite well. I tried heavier loads in the 45 Henry to try to reduce the blowback issue and was never happy with the results. The gunk in the chamber from shooting was so bad that the action would gum up. The Henry is not a gun that I want to take apart very often, so this was a show stopper. The Henry shot well with a 255 grain bullet sized .452" and around 23 or 24 grains of Goex 3f. I tried loads as high as 30 grains. If anyone has tried shooting these guns with the lower fouling Swiss powders, I would be interested in hearing the results.

    I have played around with loads in the 44/40 ranging from around 21 grains up to 30 grains of 3f and have wound up with a load around 22 grains with a 240 grain Lyman 429667 bullet sized .429". I have tried shooting a lighter 215 grain NOE bullet with this gun. It shoots the bullet well with smokeless, but it won't group as well as the 240 grain bullet with Goex 3f black powder. The rifling on the Henry's has been changed over the years by Uberti. Mine has around a 1/20 twist, but I have heard of slower twists in these guns. The guns were made for smokeless powder and some shoot better than others with black powder. The bullet-powder combination that I am shooting now in my 44/40 works quite well. Fouling is manageable and there is no blowback even with the light load. I purchased this gun already set up by a teammate of mine, so it saved me a lot of trouble figuring things out. I have also tried shooting it with smokeless using Accurate #5 Powder with a use as is load from Accurate and it shot well with it.

    As for reloading, I expected problems with the relatively thin 44/40 case, but have found it very easy to resize and load. Even though it is a slight bottleneck, I have not had to lube cases before resizing. I shoot a lot of 45 Colt in my Ballard with .454" bullet. It is an easy case to resize and load with a carbide sizing die. Make sure that you use pistol, not rifle primers in both of these cases.
    Last edited by Jim Wimbish, 10395; 02-14-2019 at 03:56 PM.
    Jim Wimbish

    Member of NSSA since 2000



  6. #6
    jonk is offline
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    Our team doesn't enter the repeater match. I have picked up with teams that questioned my .45 for all the reasons others have noted. More than once I have outshot all the guys I picked up with. Other times they beat me with their .44s easily but I still held my own and helped them medal.

    On a good day I will run a hit time of about 5.5 seconds on 50 yard events and about 13 seconds overall factoring in the 100 yard event. On a bad day, double that. But that's because I put in my time with load development and practice. Guys who do the same with a .44 do just as well.

    In short it's the guy behind the trigger. If I have a bad day it's me. Jitters, tired, heat, whatever.

    If you DO go the .45 route, anneal your brass, fireform, then only neck size it about 1/4". Bell the mouth, seat the bullet and remove the bell. No blow by.

    I think guys bad mouthing the .45 aren't annealing and FL size every time.

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