38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
I have to say that I’ve handled a few with synthetic stocks and noticed the fit to be above the quality of the wood fit. You’re spot in there.
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School me on Lever Actions (please?)
- Thread starter CoastieRon
- Start date
I have to say that I’ve handled a few with synthetic stocks and noticed the fit to be above the quality of the wood fit. You’re spot in there.
The problem is the fixed magazine. Long ago I had the idea of solving the fixed magazine issue with a quiver of pre-loaded tubular magazines. The concept is still in the development stage but when I iron out the kinks, I'll be RICH!
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Eric H
NES Member
That was my exact thought process on why I was looking for a lever action .357.
Knob Creek
NES Member
Rod and Gun of New Bedford is having a 100 Yard Lever Action match this Sunday. Good place to check out lever guns.
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My son turned 18 last month......he went up to ktp and made his first adult rifle purchase. A Henry carbine all steel 357. He was very excited Friday night to buy it. Too him to the club yesterday and sad to report nothing but problems. It's accurate....but a total jamomatic. Two times we had to take the lever off to get a stuck round out of the mag tube then called it a day. When you open the lever a round comes out of the tube but stays nose down then the second you go to close the lever it's just locked open with that round nose down into the tube and locked tight. These two malfunctions were not the only problems........constant fail to feed......new cartridge is sticking nose up above the chamber when trying to close the lever. Also noticed the extractor was popped out so far when trying to close the bolt it got stuck on the edge of the ejection port!
It's going back. Just sucks because my other two Henry guns have been amazing. Makes it worse that this was my son's first gun purchase as an adult. I feel bad for him. But have told him good news it's a Henry and they will get it right.
Forgot to mention......all factory ammo. 3 different types of 158 grain 357 mag and some Winchester 130 grain 38 specials. Jams were consistent with all types.
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Are you using the same ammo in all the lever actions? I know Henry can be particular with OAL and that fact is hidden/listed in the owners manual. I ended up buying a large supply of LEVERevolution by Hornady of .357 ammo to solve it and never having to worry about it again.
For .38 Henry recommends.
Winchester USA:
Winchester Cowboy .38 Special Ammo
158 Grain Lead Flat Nose
Good luck. Matt
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The other Henry's are a 22 and a 410 shotgun.
I'd expect this Henry 357 to cycle factory 158 357 with zero issues......that was kind of the point if my son's buying it. Relatively inexpensive ammo with a good deal of power
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From what I have read here it is the .38's that are lighter weight and different length that can cause problems. It was noted after one of the GB's a few years ago. It is in the owners manual but no one knew about it before hand.
It will do this when it is fixed. I’d take it apart (they have a video), inspect the parts, and put it back together. Either I’d understand the malfunction then or I wouldn’t, but at least I’d know there were no metal chips or visible burrs and that everything was where it was supposed to be and screws tight. Not saying I was that way when I bought my first one. It’s what I’ve become. Still, since it’s going back anyway, it’s an educational opportunity of sorts.
That's the main reason my son wanted it to be his first purchase.
I don't think it's the ammo choice. There's something wrong with it. The two times it completely locked up we had to remove the lever to get the round out. It was nose down into the mag tube and locked in tight. It did this when opening the lever not when trying to close it!
No doubt. It happens. When I got my 45, it cycled fine and worked OK for a few rounds, and then got hard to open. Turned out that the slot cut into the breech bolt to accept the locking lug had a little bit of extra metal on the front edge that could easily have been filed away--if anyone had seen it and thought to do so. With it there, the full force of firing was directed at this one small point. Firing the gun hammered that surface flat, forcing the extra metal outwards, bulging the bolt outwards at that spot, which is an obvious problem if you want the bolt to slide properly in the receiver. At this point the bolt had to be replaced. They took care of it. I recently sent my 357 in for something minor--the magazine tube support migrates to one side or the other with normal use/handling, even though I can't just push it with my thumb. I had tried working some blue loctite in there, but I still had to bang it back with the palm of my hand once in awhile if I wanted it to be centered. I just asked them what they thought of me using red loctite on it. They weren't fans of the idea and said they'd rather I sent it in. So I did. I think it spent all of 2 business days in Wisconsin before heading back to me.
xero2099
NES Member
My bro has same rifle and he also had some ftf issues initially. once we finished with 3 boxes of 357 and 3 of 38 it works like a charm
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
I'm just jumping in here and may have missed this. Did you get any pictures of the offending jams? I know the henry isn't exactly like a Marlin but I've dealt with my fair share of Marlin fiddling and have had success remedying the situations.
Eric H
NES Member
Oh man, that truly hurts to read of your son's situation Whacko. I took mine out to the range just over a week ago and had absolutely no problems regarding ejecting and feeding. It was a total hoot.
I know when it gets squared away your son will have a blast.
I know when it gets squared away your son will have a blast.
strangenh
NES Member
There are guns where the tolerances on each part just line up wrong and QC does not catch it. I've had one before on an expensive firearm. Just let the manufacturer know (or if you prefer, your FFL can handle it assuming they sold it rather than just transferred it) and it'll get taken care of.
I just contact Henry on their web site, and they get back to me one business day later with a prepaid UPS label. Only hassle is coming up with an overbox (the first time), plus I need to drop off at the nearest UPS location of a certain type, which for me is in Ashland. The gun comes back to my front door.
KTP has great customer service. Wish I lived closer..
One thing the guy at kittery agrees with me on is that the extractor seems odd. You can pull it out with your finger very easily. There is very little tension on it. I own a shit ton of rifles and none have extractors with almost no spring tension on them.
AHM
NES Member
Coil springs are made by a machine that winds wire and chops it off to length, right?
I wonder whether the last spring in a batch is short when the spool goes empty.
Maybe you just won the luck of the draw.
AHM
NES Member
Thankew.
May not be the most likely explanation.
But at least it's a semi-innocent scenario.
(You'd kind of hope the assembler at the factory
would notice that the spring was short.
But you'd really hope they didn't try and stretch it to the usual length).
