Henry 44

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I'm completely stuck on which 44 mag to get, the carbine in 16.5 or the full 20 incher. Right now it would be for the range and just for fun, but would like to use it in the future for hunting, and as a farm gun. I like the idea of 10 rounds of 44, but then also like the little handier length of a carbine. Is 3.5" and half a pound that significant? Hey, I mean for rifles sicko. Keep it clean.

Figure I'll save the 18.5" all weather version for 45-70 later on.
 
I vote 20" Henry all weather 44....but that’s because I have one and love it. I bought it last year for deer in Maine and plan to continue using it. Haven’t had a chance yet to see let alone shoot a deer.

It’s not very heavy even with a Nikon 3-9x40 scope mounted. I want maximum velocity so I prefer the 20".
 
I like the idea of 10 rounds of 44, but then also like the little handier length of a carbine. Is 3.5" and half a pound that significant?

I don't think so, especially if you plan to add a scope. I've got...er...a "few" Henry Big Boy rifles to compare between mine and my oldest son's (but only the one in 44).

The large loop levers fit me better. That's a little bit extra if you think you might want the large loop on the 20". With iron sights I enjoy the extra 4" of sight radius on the 20" models.

I think you're going to need a pretty slow-burning powder to show much of a velocity advantage in a 20" over 16" with .44 magnum. After awhile, you run out of case capacity with slower burning powders, and 16" is probably just about enough barrel to harness what's there, maybe not quite.
 
If you’re considering the regular brass big boy with the octagonal barrel then I’d def go with the carbine. I had the 20 inch model and it was heavy as hell. Sold it to get the all weather Henry which just has a normal round barrel and is much lighter.

There’s no way in hell I would lug around the big boy with the octagonal barrel all day in the woods.
 
go 16", I think it makes more sense for a hunting / farm gun if that is what you are going for.
 
I'm not a real fan of lever guns and don't own any presently, but if I were to ever buy one it would be a 16 inch model.

Scope it with a medium power scope and it will be just fine for hunting/farm use.
 
If you’re considering the regular brass big boy with the octagonal barrel then I’d def go with the carbine. I had the 20 inch model and it was heavy as hell. Sold it to get the all weather Henry which just has a normal round barrel and is much lighter.

There’s no way in hell I would lug around the big boy with the octagonal barrel all day in the woods.
This, my buddy and I both got one in .44 and I got the carbine in regular steel and he got the full size brass. Holy hell, my 26" 1886 weighs the same as his rifle.
 
I wish Ruger still made the .44 lever model 96:

13827999_1.jpg



... or the .44 Deerfield:
88703c76057031857c455a5edafcce5f.jpg
 
I vote for the big boy carbine. Something about the length of a carbine .44 mag. So much so that I have an old Ruger Carbine in .44 mag and it is a favorite and it matches the other Ruger carbines.

Shoot and enjoy whatever you buy. [mg]
 
I wanted the 20 inch blue steel version, but all I could find was the regular brass receiver Big Boys with the heavy octagonal barrels. Of the two, I went with the lighter, more handier carbine version. No complaints other than it seems a bit flashy as a woods gun.

Henrysling.jpg
 
i owned the henry 44 mag steel carbine 16" model. it was very nice. i stupidly sold it so then went and got myself the same model in 357 mag. installed a skinner rear peep sight which is probably the best upgrade these rifles can have. i sort of wish henry sold the carbine models with the standard loop lever not the huge one but whatever. i'm pretty sure henry would be willing to sell a standard sized loop lever if i bothered them.

in terms of ballistics there's no way the 44 mag is gaining much out of a 20 vs 16 " barrel. thus i see no point in going longer barrel. i suppose the sight radius is nice but again the skinner peep sight will improve that situation much more than a longer barrel with the shitty factory rear sight. i like the henry steel receiver models, not the brass ones. currently i've held onto the 357 mag steel carbine and the steel 45-70. both are phenomenal. i also with henry would make the all-weather model with a shorter barrel. that would be sick.

Henry Rifles
 
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i suppose the sight radius is nice but again the skinner peep sight will improve that situation much more than a longer barrel with the shitty factory rear sight.

Yes, that's certainly true, though in my case it's Skinner Express versus Skinner Express. I don't waste time with barrel-mounted rear sights if I can help it. The last Henry I bought was never even fired (outside the factory, at least) without a Skinner Express sight. I've got some astigmatism in my right eye that combines with presbyopia in a nasty way, so the longer the sight radius the better. I've recently found that I can shoot both barrel lengths well if I wear +0.75 safety glasses. Then, since I can pretty much bring the front sight in focus, the astigmatism doesn't matter.
 
Yes, that's certainly true, though in my case it's Skinner Express versus Skinner Express. I don't waste time with barrel-mounted rear sights if I can help it. The last Henry I bought was never even fired (outside the factory, at least) without a Skinner Express sight. I've got some astigmatism in my right eye that combines with presbyopia in a nasty way, so the longer the sight radius the better. I've recently found that I can shoot both barrel lengths well if I wear +0.75 safety glasses. Then, since I can pretty much bring the front sight in focus, the astigmatism doesn't matter.

Im running the receiver mounted peep sight which i believe is the express. Have not played around w the barrel mounted peep that fits in the dovetail. Didnt see much point to it.
 
i also wish henry would make the all-weather model with a shorter barrel. that would be sick.
Yeah that would be cool. The only other complaint I have with my all weather 44 is that there isn't any checkering on the stock or forend. That may be due to the industrial grade polyurethane they apply to the wood?? The stock is fairly slick but not like my hands are sliding off the gun. Some checkering would allow a slightly better grip/hold on the gun.
 
Im running the receiver mounted peep sight which i believe is the express. Have not played around w the barrel mounted peep that fits in the dovetail. Didnt see much point to it.
I've got the skinner stainless barrel mounted peep sight on mine which works well. I went that route since I have a scope mounted on the receiver.
 
I've got the skinner stainless barrel mounted peep sight on mine which works well. I went that route since I have a scope mounted on the receiver.

i was contemplating similar setup but figured that with a rail on the receiver i wouldn't be able to still witness through the barrel-mounted peep. how do you have the scope setup to accomodate still using the peeps?
 
i was contemplating similar setup but figured that with a rail on the receiver i wouldn't be able to still witness through the barrel-mounted peep. how do you have the scope setup to accomodate still using the peeps?
I don't lol. I mainly use the scope for deer hunting and occasional range use. So the peep sight gets more use when I'm plinking at the range. I like that I can just take off the scope and not have to mess around with the peep sight.
 
I don't lol. I mainly use the scope for deer hunting and occasional range use. So the peep sight gets more use when I'm plinking at the range. I like that I can just take off the scope and not have to mess around with the peep sight.

i guess my question is with the scope mount in place (weaver, pic, etc) can one still use the irons? since they sit pretty low i figured would obstruct
 
i guess my question is with the scope mount in place (weaver, pic, etc) can one still use the irons? since they sit pretty low i figured would obstruct
No the Henry scope mount is too high/thick to allow you to see the barrel mounted peep sight.
 
Yeah, the Skinner Express is receiver-mounted. A do have a barrel-mounted Skinner sight which is currently not mounted on anything but which I have tried on various guns. For whatever reason, I can't seem to shoot very accurately with it. Probably my fault.

FYI, for the Henry 30-30 and 45-70 models they have an Express sight with a narrow dovetail and slots for recoil lugs in it so you could take a scope on and off without disturbing the receiver-mounted peep sight. The obvious downside to it is that you're limited to just a couple of existing ring choices that can both fit the dovetail and handle the recoil (making use of the slots).
 
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