Big Boy first impression

[doulos]

I took delivery today of a Henry Big Boy in .44 mag.  To say that I was impressed with the wood on this rifle is a mild understatement. The wood is just plain nice!  And I haven,t seen too many lever guns with wood like this.  The fit and inletting was very good.  The pictures on their website don't do this gun justice at all.  The pictures they use look almost cartoonish and make the gun seem clunky.  But it really isn't.  It is a little hefty but it isn't heavy by any means.  Maybe its just me because I routinely hunt with muzzleloading hawkens that weigh 10lbs. I didn't want a rifle that light any way because they are just not fun to shoot at the range and this is where this gun will probably see most of its time. 

   I had about 40 rounds of ammo to play with today.  20 rounds of 2 different handloads and 20 rounds of Magtech 200 grain hunting ammo.
   The gun functioned well with all ammo. None of it hung up or jammed.  Recoil was almost nil from the bench(my pickup tail gate). After  moving the sights up a little the gun was still shooting about 2-3 inches right.  I didn't have anything to drift the sights with so I just kept shooting.  The gun put about 5 Magtechs into a 2.5  inch group at 50 yards.  At 100 yards it put 6 Magtechs into a 3.5 -4.0 inch group.  I ant shoot any better than that with those type of sights.  I actually shoot better with buckhorn and a blade type sights.  I'm used to them from my Hawkens and they cover much less target at 100 yards.  they just aren't as fast as these Marbles sights.
I also took 2 shots at a posted sign that was in a burn pile over 200 yards away.  I missed the sign low by about 8 inches but both shots were only about 4 inches apart just low.  With a marbles tang this would be a easy shot.
  I also liked the fact that the gun deposited the empties right at your feet.  NO searching for your brass.
   All and all I think the gun is well put together and accurate.  I think its going to be fun

[.450Marlin]

 Nice report doulos. These Henry's are indeed nice rifles; I'm on my second one and am looking at another in .17HMR. I've handled a few Big Boys in my time, and have always been impressed by the heft and appearance of these rifles. I love the smooth action, but I do wish they would have put a half-cock safety feature in these, like the ones on their rimfires. I just bought a Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk, so perhaps a Big Boy in .44 Magnum will be in my future 

Kind Regards,

~450 Marlin~

[Oldtimer]

The Big Boy is a big rifle, but then so were the 86's and 95's.  A friend and I were shooting his Big Boy and my 94 Trapper.  He was using 240 grain bullets and I was using 180's.  His grandson preferred shooting the Henry because it had less felt recoil than my rifle, even with the difference in bullet weights. 

[doulos]

Yea, the Big Boy is not a lightweight but I'll be using it mostly at the range  any ways.  The recoil with full house 240 grain bullets is almost nil.  And the action is very smooth.  So far I've fired a variety of bullets out of it and no jams.  Allthough bullets that are a bit more rounded seem to cycle smoother.

[.450Marlin]

 Speaking of the big Henrys, I handled one of the new blued 30/30 Win. models the other day. This one was just as hefty as a Big Boy, but equally well balanced and solid feeling. The action was much smoother than any Marlin or Winchester I've used (to say nothing of the Mossberg 464, which I find unimpressive in the action department), though it's tough call between it and a Browning BLR, which I currently own. Those two are rather hard to compare, since they are completely different action types, but the Henry is definitely easier to cycle and has a shorter bolt throw (my BLR is a .450 Marlin). Considering how little I shoot the Browning, I've almost convinced myself to trade it in towards one of these new Henrys  The price on the one I saw was lower than I expected at $619, as this store is one of the more expensive ones in the area, so perhaps one could even be had cheaper than that.

Kind Regards,

~450 Marlin~