Looking for opinions from owners.

One specific question. A lot of 44 magnum Marlins had slightly oversized bores from what I’ve read and their accuracy was meh as a result. Wondering how accurate the Henry is by comparison?

Rossi makes a better looking rifle.

Still looking for accuracy comparisons, or at least accuracy feedback on the Henry.

Mine seems pretty accurate.

If I bought one (and I might), I'd entertain the X-Model for the faster twist rate and side loading gate.
I don't like the polymer furniture, so I'd swap it out for wood.

I'm curious to hear too.  My Henry .45 Colt is a very accurate rifle. I suspect it's the same with the .44 magnum but I don't know for sure.

Henry is a great rifle. The trigger is very good and so is the accuracy.

My Henry 44mag and marlin 44 are both very accurate... I haven’t compared them back to back though.  I’ll have to see how they pattern next to each other when it warms up a bit.  Both are excellent rifles though.

I emailed Henry about the twist change. Regarding the current/outgoing models-

Increasingly this thread is justifying the idea I need to get 44 magnum Henry and a 44 magnum Ruger Redhawk

That's if you want to try to find a 20 twist non-side gate model, which would be a moot endeavor IMO.
Safe to say that all the new .44 mag side gates are 20 twist.

Yes, you do.

I have a Henry Big Boy Carbine in 44 magnum and a Super Redhawk in 44 mag...they are an amazing pair, especially if you reload.


Now, as for accuracy...I'm still working on that one, and I'll be honest that the gun does some weird things that I cannot explain. Running 5 rounds at a time, every time I get an odd flyer...EVERY TIME.

With a red dot, 240g Roze projectiles will shoot a repeatable 1" group...save that one flyer. From 50 yds, with 240g Roze, 3" average, with 240g XTPs, 2" average, with 250g Sierra Tournament, 2.5" group.

100 yds is more difficult for me with a 3 MOA red dot and that's it...my eyes are crap. You're talking a 5-6" group this far.

As for that "flyer" I'm talking about. Here's some group sets...different days, same gun:



The bottom one was 2 5-shot groups...both of the flyers were darn near on top of each other.

Have a Ruger 96/44 that is a tack drive. Along with a couple S&W 629's. Nothing beats a 629, IMHO.

The couple Henry's I've owned quickly got sold. Accuracy was pretty horrible. Could hardly hit a paper plate at 100 yards off sand bags. Tried many different rounds both factory and reloads.

Friend has a big boy 44 and it's plenty accurate.  

The "needs large bullets" thing is old, i wouldn't worry about it unless you're talking buying a JM marlin.  I had two Remington made marlins in 44 and both were plenty accurate with cast and jacketed bullets of .429 or .430 diameter.



Is the flyer always the same shot of the group (ie always the first, last, etc)?

I was going to say that I have run .429 to .431 projectiles in my Henry and they all perform well.

Where the flyer is in the string? Excellent question. I posted this issue elsewhere and was asked the same thing. I'm going to have to test it some more and pay attention to see.

That is like Twilight Zone weird.  If it were a revolver it might make sense but a lever gun?  I'm super curious to hear what your further testing unveils.  Once I get some ammo loaded I need to test my .45 colt since its been years since I did it.

On a related note, I recently decided I might try a red dot on my Big Boy.  My eyes are getting old and red dots are bad eyes best friends.  I took the Henry out only to discover mine isn't drilled and tapped for mounting sights.  I had no idea that Henry mare them like that.  Gun must be older than I thought

Yes you do!

I’m heading to the range tomorrow with my .44 Big Boy to verify zero. I’m not the best shooter but I’ll report back.

Edit: Took it out this morning and this is the result. Mind you, I’m not used to shooting big ass bead/buckhorn sights. Black Hills 240g .44 mag, 50 yards. First 3 shots were a little low, second 2 shots were on the money IMO. I’m happy.

Attached File

I have the carbine and it shoots fantastic. I had the rifle length also and it too shot wonderful with a variety of loads. Both were very accurate out to 100 yards so I sold the rifle to a friend and kept the carbine because it was just as good only in a shorter package. I’ve had several Marlins, all JM marked and none were as good as a Henry. None shot as well or were nearly as smooth.
Also, if you have any issues with a Henry they are phenomenal to work with. My carbine was in a batch that had bad mag tubes that split. Henry openly and quickly addressed the problem and it was one week from them sending me the shipping label and having it back to me.
I would not hesitate to purchase another, but the one I have is so nice I have no need.

During the previous AR feeding frenzy (when SW ARs were going for $1,200 each) my local Wally had a Henry Golden boy 22 for right under $300.  That thing sat there for two months as it bounced around in my brain.  When I decided to buy it, it was gone.  I was disappoint.  Later when a regular Henry 22 (non-Golden boy) popped up for $279 I bought it.  It's a sweet shooter.  

Right after I had made the resolution to consolidate and shrink down calibers to 308, 556, 9mm, 10mm, 38/357, 40 and 45 I sold off most of my non resolution conforming rifles/pistols.  I wanted to get rid of 40 but hung on for sentimental reasons.  Anyways, I swore to not add anymore none military calibers...  so much for resolutions about guns...

So there I was walking by the rifle case at Wally's again a couple years later and there was a Henry Golden boy in 44 mag.   Based on the quality of the Henry 22 lever action I was convinced of Henry quality so I bought it.  After shooting it I decided that I needed a 44 mag pistol to go with it.  Found a person selling a Ruger Super Blackhawk for a good price and for another hundred he threw in two sets of dies, primers, powder, extra cases, and bullets.  I almost didn't purchase the reloading kit because 44 was plentiful but fortunately I did.  This was 4 or so years ago.

Perusing the local gun sale ads a couple months ago I came across a no dash 629 with a 6 inch barrel that had been magnaported.  I got a case of the gotta haves so now it resides in my 44  collection.  

Coming home I decided to inventory 44 mag ammo and was shocked to find that all I had was a partial case of 44.  I had neglected to buy much beyond immediate needs when it was available.  So I started looking over the local ads again.  Upshot is that I came across a guy that was selling his wife's 44 mag stash of 15 boxes of factory Hert plus some loose for a some cash and primers that I did stock up on.  

That magnaported 629 shoots sweet.  The blackhawk is a handful.  I don't know why Ruger went with the small handgrips on such a large caliber.  The Henry shoots nice but my eyes are fuzzy with the rear sight anymore.  

I'm getting setup to start reloading 44 here shortly.  My reloading stuff has been stored for over a decade so I'm kind of excited to get it back up and running.  First up will be the aforementioned 44.  

I've got a Winchester 1897 shotgun in the back of the safe.... maybe I need to look into cowboy action shooting.  I hear it's a blast.

For sure! Actually, when I got mine I noticed the brass plate on the buttstock was very splotchy. It looked like the finish was peeling off (which brass doesn’t do of course). I sent them and email and all they asked for was my address, next thing I knew I had and entire replacement stock in my hand.

YES!

44 magnum is easily my favorite round to load, it is super versatile and you can do near infinite amounts of customization with it. I've found that my Super Redhawk and my Henry both have specific, and different likes/dislikes when it comes to projectiles and powder.

Get yourself some RangerPointPrecision sights. They even make one in brass to match the GB.


https://rangerpointstore.com/marlin-henry-cloverleaf-peep-sights-fiber-optic-traditional-brass-black-silver/

I'm going to spend a big chunk of the $1400 stimulus check on a Henry Big Boy steel. My biggest problem is I can't make up my mind whether to get the rifle or the carbine. And those Ranger Point Precision sights look like a huge improvement over the Skinner sight. In for a penny, in for a pound!

Rifle vs carbine....depending on caliber I guess.  Rifle cartridge & hunting can = rifle length...unless weight is a major concern then maybe carbine.

Pistol caliber cartridge (to me) = carbine.  I'm not sure you gain anything but extra weight when shooting the rifle.  I know my Henry Big Boy .45 Colt is a heavy beast.  Although much of that is the octagonal barrel.  My little Winchester 94 .44 magnum is so light by comparison it's hard to believe.

I always opt for carbine unless there's a specific reason to go with the longer barrel.

I really want one of the Henry All Weather side gate models in .45 Colt & .44 magnum.  The only thing that would be better is if they offered a takedown version.

I'd go with a carbine because I want to travel the northern part of this country and continent someday and that will pack easier.

http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/calibers.html

The twist rate is a bigger factor in poor accuracy.  Traditionally 44 mag rifles had a 1:38 twist, while the same gun in 45 Colt would have a 1:20 twist. The SAAMI spec for 44 mag rifle is different than 44 Mag revolver.  Crazy.

I read that Henry was switching to a 1:20 twist in their 44’s.  I’d call them to confirm.