The Henry Rifle

[ckkalyan]

Thanks xl_target for that excellent video by Hickock45 - he is absolutely thrilled by the beauty of the rifle!

Here is a link for the Speed Loader - demonstrates some tips and tricks on usage

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This is part 2 (there are a total of three parts, including one for .22 revolver - loading). He demonstrates two ways of speed loading - one through the loading gate. Interesting.

[timmy]

All true, TC. It would be nice if they would offer a premium option like this. Reloading can become so tiresome at times!

Completely agree Timmy. Maybe I would never be able to get one into India but would still love to see a lever action in .22 in the 1860 design or, even better, a side loading gate just like the centre fires After all, the tab and spring system does have one little bothering factor - the user has to keep looking at the tab as it approaches the forehand, pushing one cartridge after another towards the chamber with every cycle of the lever. The user has to shift his fore grip and let the tab pass. I guess that's the main reason why the Winchester, with a proper wooden foregrip, left the Henry behind in popularity. Wouldn't you agree ?

TC

TC, yes, I certainly would.

But I forgot about the tab needing to go through the fore end -- duh!

I was not thinking of doing it quite like the Henry. Rather than having that swiveling tube on the end of the barrel, they could have an angle off of the slot the tab travels in, and one would just have to pull the tab to the muzzle and lock it in the little side slot. Similar to the "safety" on a Sten submachine gun.

At the end of the magazine tube that's against the receiver, they could have a short sleeve around the magazine tube that would uncover a loading port when twisted. What I don't like about the common method with the removable tube is that, when you are out in the field, you have to hold that silly tube, hold the gun upside-down, hold the box of ammo, and then drop the ammo into the magazine. You need four hands to do it and you feel like a ruptured orchestra conductor, trying to hold the tube under your arm like a baton or something. It's very awkward.

There are some other 22s that used the system, but the Spencer deal that XL refers to made me think of the little Browning 22 auto, which loads through a stock tube like the old Spencers did. Those old Spencers had an interesting action that works a lot like the Browning 1887 and 1901 lever action shotguns and a little bit like the Savage 99 -- the breechblock drops down and then it can pivot out of the way for loading.



The thing with the Henry/Volcanic action is that it is a simple toggle action that allows it to be very smooth:





When the lever is opened, the inside end slides in the slot and breaks the toggle link of two pieces in line, which keeps the bolt locked. It can then operate quite smoothly. It isn't a strong action at all, which is why Winchester had to move to stronger Browning actions like the 1886, 1892, 1894, and 1895.

But for a 22, not even that much strength is needed. Here is how the Marlin 39a locks:



There's a nice big photo here, but it won't display on the site, if it helps: http://www.leeroysramblings.com/Gun%20p ... in97TD.jpg

The thing here is that the lever pivots on the frame, and you see the end of the lever that sticks in to the action? It does EVERYTHING! It prys the bolt back and open, which also pulls the firing pin back, too. When the lever is closed, it pushes the bolt closed, and it also raises the carrier to feed the next round in front of the bolt. It pushes the round out of the carrier. Then it hits that stud on the carrier and knocks the carrier back to the bottom of the action. Finally, it locks the action by having the end of that extension rest against the angled tab that sticks down from the front of the bolt. And that's all that holds the bolt closed!

As best as I can tell, XL's Henry works somewhat the same, except that it locks the bolt by pushing a bolt block into a notch in the bottom of the bolt, like the big centerfire Marlins do. At least, that's what the pictures seem to show.

Back in the good old days, I'm sure Winchester, like Smith and Wesson before him, found that machining the receiver out of brass was a lot easier on his machine tools. Brass has that self-lubricating property, too, which makes the parts slide very slick in the receiver.

I will confess, you do have me wondering whether a brass receiver would make a 22 lever even smoother than they are!

[xl_target]

At the end of the magazine tube that's against the receiver, they could have a short sleeve around the magazine tube that would uncover a loading port when twisted. What I don't like about the common method with the removable tube is that, when you are out in the field, you have to hold that silly tube, hold the gun upside-down, hold the box of ammo, and then drop the ammo into the magazine. You need four hands to do it and you feel like a ruptured orchestra conductor, trying to hold the tube under your arm like a baton or something. It's very awkward.

You do have a point but there are a couple of advantages of the spring loaded mag tube coming completely out of the outer tube. One is that it facilitates the use of a quick loader. Some guys use Aluminum arrow shafts. The other is that it holds a lot of 22 LR or short ammo. At close range there is a negligible POI difference between the two.
Since the only small game I will hunt with a .22 is squirrel, when actually out squirrel hunting, its rare for me to shoot even ten rounds. Most of the time it is under five rounds. The other possibility is rabbit but I don't really care that much for the taste of rabbit. Fox or Coyote would get the .223 or larger. Coyotes, I'll gladly dispatch anytime but Fox only get it if they're after the chickens (and I don't have any of those). I think the Fox is a rather good looking animal and I don't much feel like taking one without adequate reason.

A removable tube also facilitates the cleaning of the mag tube. They do get dirty occasionally. oil mixed with rimfire powder makes a mess.


arrow shafting used to make speed loaders from HERE

[TC]

XL and CK da, that's a great post on the Blakeslee speed loader for the good old Spencer rifles. The pic from the enactment was a bonus I must say.

The video on the modern transparent speedloader is neat and simple but using an arrow shaft is really ingenious. Thanks again.

XL, if I had a Henry I would have got myself half a dozen arrow shafts of different colours and load them with my choice of ammo, each colour telling me which shaft holds what, and keep one of two shafts filled with shorts or maybe shorts and LR s arranged at random.
I do agree with you. The stick makes cleaning the tube easy.



TC

[TC]

Timmy,

Your idea sounds fine and could work. The old Browning .22 auto (there is one in great shape in the family and happens to be a favourite of my wife !) also has a stick that has to be pulled half way out of the butt and the rounds fed one at a time through a hole in the cheek piece area (or the right side of the butt in newer models). The other alternative would be to pull the stick all the way out, place it under the armpit and look like a ruptured orchestra conductor (really liked that one ) and feed the rounds through the butt end. Often, it is the fear of reloading that makes me go slow during pinking sessions

I will confess, you do have me wondering whether a brass receiver would make a 22 lever even smoother than they are!

Tell me Timmy, is it the shiny brass receiver that made Henry come up with the name Yellow Boy ? I have a wild guess.

TC

[timmy]

TC: IIRC, the Winchester 1866 was referred to as "Yellow Boy," a name supposedly picked up from the Native Americans. Native Americans were devoted reloaders and, as the 1866 was a favorite of theirs, I wonder if their methods were more amenable to the Henry rimfire cartridge. Of course, by the time the 1873 with its centerfire 44-40 would have started to become available in larger numbers, a great deal of the Northern Plains wars were drawing to a close. (The Sioux in 1876 and the Nez Perce in 1877)

Native Americans were known to decorate their weapons with brass tacks and such, but I do wonder if the popularity of the 1866 also had to do with reloading the rimfire ammo over a campfire, in addition to the bright brass receiver.

XL: The tube magazine isn't a big deal now, but in my younger days, all methods of 22 magazines were not at all convenient. The Winchester 72 I gave to my older Son is a pain, with its 5 shot capacity. With my Marlin, my habit was to head out and shoot all day. I never shot a complete brick, but sometimes got to the last box and usually over 400 rounds. I was pretty much afoot, with the Marlin, a water bottle, a handgun, and whatever ammo could be stuffed in my pockets. The empties from the handgun had to be carried back. I did look at those plastic things -- they were around at the time, but I would have needed to carry a couple of them to equal the 4 or 5 boxes of 22 in my pockets -- not convenient or cheap for me at the time. with those two loaders hanging from my belt, I think I'd have felt like a medieval tinker coming to town. The real solution, I think, would have been a 10/22 with large magazines, as the Ruger and its accessories are really the only serious answer to this sort of problem.

With the arrow shaft solution, I calculate it would take at least a dozen of those arrow shafts to equal 4 or 5 boxes. To have all that stuff hanging from my belt would make me feel like I was wearing some sort of hula skirt, clattering along. I suppose one could keep them in an archery quiver…

Someone ought to develop a belt fed 22!

[xl_target]

A belt fed .22, you say?

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[xl_target]

Tim,
To me the mag on a .22 LR rifle is not a big deal. Like I said, when hunting, I don't use much ammo.
At the range, I've got all the time in the world to mess around loading stuff.

If I was a soldier going into battle, then I would be seriously interested in how fast i could reload my rifle.
If I was a gamer, doing three-gun or something like that I would want quick reloads too.
I do pin shoot but in that game, if you have to reload, you've just lost the match.

In my case, being just a casual shooter, it's not a big deal, especially with a .22 LR rifle.

[timmy]

Ha! The "brick belt" sounds good to me! Get the thing so one could carry it in the field, and away we go! So what if it takes a long time to load the belt? Do it the night before! There are plenty of old WW2 films where people are making up belts of ammo for aircraft, so this must have always been a labor-intensive thing. (those old 50 caliber belt loaders always reminded me of a tortilla press!)

There's no good reason why this could not be perfected. Being able to go all day without futzing with loading would be a dream!

Like I said, I would go out all day in the field and shoot, and normally fire 400 to 450 rounds. I found this house for sale where I used to go: http://www.cabelastrophyproperties.com/ ... l?id=54277

Sad. Now the area is full of a bunch of absentee owners, dudes from out East and California, no doubt. I could go out there and shoot all day, never seeing another human being. I could hear insects flying around, but couldn't see them, because it was so quiet, and the sound of that creek would waft in the wind.

Sometimes, I'd just get a book, sit and read, while waiting for the ground squirrels to come back up. Other times, I'd go wreak havoc on them with a handgun for awhile. A day out there would really rearrange my head!

Sometimes, we would go in a friend's truck. It was an old Chevy with a granny gear, and we'd jump out and shoot for a while, as the truck lurched around without a driver, moving slowly. Then, we'd catch up and go over to another area.

<sigh!> I miss that!

[xl_target]

Beautiful place, Tim, but I bet it would be a bear in the winter.
My inlaws had a place like that in Northern Minnsota. 40 acres on the edge of a State Park.
I used to love going out there.
I've hunted those woods, have gone for walks in them.....
There was Bear and Deer on the property and they have even seen Wolves in the yard.
Unfortunately, they sold it and moved into town as it got to be too much for them.


A rifle, a warm coat, a good dog and plentiful game. Not much more needed.

[timmy]

Great pic, XL! It has a nice feel to it!

Your caption made me think of this song from one of my favorite Westerns:

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Beautiful place, Tim, but I bet it would be a bear in the winter.

Yes, but it didn't seem like it at the time!

[xl_target]

You put me in the mood for some western's with that video and I had to go and watch an old John Wayne movie on YouTube.
"Blue Steel". Not a very good movie but enjoyable, nevertheless.

[timmy]

Nothing like a good John Wayne movie!

[mundaire]

Great write up and congratulations on your new rifle XL. Very pretty & a tack driver to boot, am sure you're well chuffed!

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[TC]

XL and Timmy,

Thank you both for such great posts and making this thread so rich.

Thank you Timmy for the input on Yellow Boy and the trip to Rio Bravo, one of my favourite Westerns.

XL, love that picture ..... I have a somewhat similar swede jacket and once the project I am working on is over I plan to try out a retake



TC