1860 Henry rifle: Anybody have/shoot one?

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Panzerschwein

Panzerschwein

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Wuh' howdy ya'll :)

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I've been really wanting to fullfill a personal firearm dream of mine by purchasing an Uberti 1860 Henry rifle. I'm looking into the 24" bbl brass frame guy in .45 Colt. Any of you fellers ever dealt with a Henry rifle? I've heard good things about the Uberti reproduction. I'm not in CAS or any other shooting sport. I simply want this rifle because I've always been so attracted to it's appearance and design, which is 153 years old. Being one of the first mass-produced repeating rifles unto itself is very historic, not to mention it's service in the American Civil War and it's use in the old west and frontier days. Personally, few other firearms stir up the imagination for me like this one does, and like I said owning one is just a personal "dream gun" fantasy I would really like to fulfill. But of course, like any gun, I want one that's going to work and perform well just like the original did.

Just looking to get a little input on this. Do you have any stories about your time with the Henry rifle? Thanks!
 
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I got to shoot a friends of mine it was fun, but I will say it does get hot if you shoot it quickly.

We used full power loads not the cowboy stuff....it might not get too hot if you used those reduced power loads.
 
From what I hear the Uberti Henrys are safe to run with non +P smokeless loads but due to the toggle link action that is essentially a jointed elbow holding the breech block closed they are ill suited to any real "hot" .45 Colt loads. I would run factory smokeless loads, but not cowboy action loads if I could avoid it, that is until I get some reloading equipment set up for .45 Colt. I also hear they can really get warm after a bit like you said, no problem with me :) I tend to shoot too much ammo at a time anyway!
 
I had three at one time, two brass frame, (Actually, the frames are made of harder Bronze), and a steel frame.
One of the brass frames was in .44/40 and the other in .45 Colt
Steel frame is in .45 Colt and I ended up keeping this one.

All the weaknesses of the original Henry rifles are apparent in these rifles as well, Weak stock to frame association, exposed barrel sides, an easily broken off loading tab that intereferes with round feeding during rapid fire because the support hand gets in the way,,,
Makes one really appreciate how far weapon design has come and I highly recommend any serious student of the gun has one of these rifles in their collection.
The steel frame rifles hold up better to heavy shooting, Bronze frame guns will weaken and stretch at the frame/barrel interjunction and headspace will be affected as well as barrel wobble occurs eventually and the rifle becomes unsafe to fire.
This occurs after about,,,oh, 10,000 rounds of moderate pressure ammunition.
Not a great big deal to a weekend fun shooter.
A problem for serious cowboy action shooters.
Barrel Quality on the Henry replicas is very good and accurate shooting is the norm, not the exception.

These are not the rifles to shoot ramped up loads in either.
Keep pressures to the cowboy load level for best results.
 
Oh I see. I was really gunning for a "brass" reciever, but I also plan to shoot it quite a bit with standard loads. Will it really only last just 10,000 rounds? If so, how long will the steel receiver guns last?
 
I'll venture the barrel will wear out before the receiver does on the steel frame rifles.
My point is most shooters won't fire their rifles enough to see problems occur.
Factory cowboy loads @ $56/100X100=$5600
Reloads will cost about 1/2 that if you trust someone elses reloads
Set up and components to handload your own @ about $1800 and if you cast your own and start with new components the price will drop to about $1400
You willing to spend that on ammo, go ahead and wear it out & buy an new one when you do.
 
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Lol :p Well I do plan on getting into handloading for the .45 Colt and .357 magnum. I would not be interested in any super weak cowboy loads for the .45, but would load standard moderate power loads. Nothing hot rodded at all but not weak. But I plan to shoot it regularly. Do you think I should go with steel or brass for the reciever?
 
To see one, the original type, bronze, is to think only of holding it, possessing it. Feeding it. Making it speak. I envy you.
 
Unless you're shooting competition (I don't), I wouldn't worry about 'wearing one out'. Get one, shoot it and be happy. The iron frame guns are pretty, but the 'brass' guns are a treat to the eye.

Like you, I had wanted one since seeing one in a museum when I was a kid. I got my chance a few years back and picked up one in 45 Colt off the used rack at the LGS, complete with sling. I've never regretted it.

With 200-225gr cast bullets and 8grs of Unique you'll get around 1200fps out of that long barrel, hardly a wimp load, (that's 44mag handgun territory, and last I heard nobody has called a 44 mag handgun weak) with very little recoil. And it shoots like it has eyes. That big, stiff barrel is pretty darn good.

Yes, the barrel gets hot with smokeless and even hotter with BP. Wear a glove. The loading tab? Learn to do the 'Henry hop'. When the tab bumps your hand, hop it over the tab. Doesn't take long for it to become second nature.

I don't full length size my brass. Once they've been through the Henry, I neck size with a 45ACP carbide die down to where the base of the bullet will be when it's seated. They look like 44/40's when finished.

Good luck with your quest!
 
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I had to root around to find this pic in storage but the steel frame guns are not ugly by any imagination.
Steel frame rifles do not have a lever latch & the brass frame guns do.
I can post a full size pice if you need to see whole gun but will have to dig rifle out of safe first
standard.gif
 
A friend of mine has one that he shoots in cowboy action matches. He usually loads black powder. You want to talk about a hot barrel!
 
I have an Uberti Henry military version (brass frame, sling swivels) in .44-40. No complaints whatever on the quality.

Years ago I used this in Civil War reenacting. The main problem was making blanks that would cycle through the action. (A bulletless .44-40 case would be too short.) What I ended up doing was to use .444 Marlin brass, cut down so that, after crimping, the round would be the length of a loaded .44-40 round. These were loaded with black powder and a light paper wad, just to keep the powder in place.

BTW, these blanks will also function in .45 Colt, .38-40, .44 Special, etc. as long as you run them through the appropriate sizing dies when you load them.

Another thing to note is the proper sling to use with a Henry having sling swivels. Most reenactors use incorrect slings. The rear end of the sling passes through the butt swivel (on the side of the stock) and is fastened by a sliding, square brass buckle. The front end goes through a long open hook (not a snap hook) that hooks to the barrel staple, and is fastened by a brass button. (S&S Firearms has repro Henry slings for $35, but Dixie Gun Works has better hooks for $40 a pair. A perfectionist would want to replace the S&S hook with a Dixie hook.)
 
I had a Dixie sling on my CW 1860 Martial Henry.
A reenactor bought that rifle from me and still uses it
+1 on the 444 Marlin cases for blanks.
He made his up using 30/40 Krag cases cut down and fire formed.
 
henry_071512.jpg

Mine is a Cimarron. Great gun. Lots of fun to shoot. It is a 44/40 and with the sun behind you, you can watch a 200 grn slug most of the way into the group at 100 yrds. I normally pick it up about 50 yrds out and you can watch it drop into the paper. Kind of neat how it looks as it falls from your perspective as a shooter.

It always draws a crowd at the range. Not many folks see one. Actually now that I think about it, I have never seen another at the range.
 
Quality is typical Uberti. Very pretty on the outside, sometimes a bit rough on the inside. The only real quirk to them is that the originals were designed for rimfire ammunition. The modern repros, of course, are centerfires. Thus, some caution is in order when loading the tube mag. Either letting rounds drop down the tube, or letting the follower slam home can easily set off a high primer. One round going off in a tube mag is likely to do unpleasant things to the others.

Aside from that, the strengths and weaknesses accord pretty well with the originals. The one piece construction of the barrel and mag tube make it quite stiff, and therefore, usually quite accurate. The barrel gets hot. The mag follower bumps your hand when you get low on ammo. Dirt can get in the bottom of the mag tube. The toggle link action isn't as strong as the later Browning and Marlin designs, and the brass frame version is weaker yet.
 
Yes. It is a Navy Arms (Uberti made 'em I'm sure) and not the CW version exactly, but close enough.
 
Excellent! I'm kind of torn as to what type receiver I should get. I would prefer brass, because from what I hear only 400 or so Henrys were made from with "iron" receivers, so a brass one would be more authentic (at least to me). But I've heard the steel frame Uberti Henrys are stronger than the brass frames, and since I'd be shooting this gun quite a bit and not just every once in a great while I wouldn't want the gun's receiver to start distorting or causing problems. WHAT TO DO!?!?
 
If you go black powder, think about a 44-40. If you shoot smokeless or subs, 45 colt. The new 45 brass is thicker than it was, and doesn't always expand fast enough (or enough) to prevent all the blow back into the action, and it will get stiff after a few dozen rounds. Cowboy shooters I see tend to own these in 44-40 if they want to shoot true black powder, otherwise APP, Pyrodex, and others work well with the 45 (as does Unique, etc.).

No doubt the gun has MAJOR coolness style points, and from what I've seen, the newer Uberti guns (both pistols and rifles) are well finished and smooth inside and out. Long ago they had issues, but I think those are largely behind them now.

Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your new gun.
 
I am planning on using .45 Colt with smokeless or BP substitute handloads loaded to BP pressures. Still not sure on whether on not to buy a brass or steel receiver Uberti 1860 Henry though. From what I hear the brass frames are not good for long term durability. Like I said I plan to shoot this gun quite a bit. A gun you can't shoot much is no good at all as far as I'm concerned.
 
Okay thanks. Is the brass frame really not meant for shooting at all really? It seems that that might be the case judging from all the negative things I hear about it. Apparently it might be suitable for cowboy action loads but that seems to be it.
 
I kinda feel the same way as you buddy. But I'd like to shoot the thing pretty regular-like, not just let it sit in the corner and look nice. You know what I'm saying? So it's been hard to choose between brass or steel frame for this rifle. I need help!
 
You need a brass one. Nothing else will make you happy. If you wear it out, fix it or buy another. Even over at the CAS forum you never hear about anyone wearing one out, only people 'hearing' about 'someone' wearing one out.
 
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