The reproduction Henry Rifle made by Aldo Uberti & C.,S.r.l. in Italy has been with us for several years. The arms are imported by Uberti U.S.A.,Inc., 362 Limerock Road, Lakeville, CT 06039. The rifle sent for testing is in .45 Colt caliber. It has been available for several years in the .44-40 caliber. When received, it was apparent that the rifle had only been test fired. It had been shipped to the San Francisco Gun Exchange to meet all regulations. Opened the box, back at the office to be sure that correct one had been sent. Removing the rifle from its fitted foam box, the lads in the office gasped, our secretary happened by, took a glance and exclaimed, "Oh, A Danny Glover gun!". That was a fitting introduction to this fascinating piece of history. The secretary is not a gun or western history buff. Able to figure the reference to the popular and talented actor by his role in "Silverado" in which he carried a Henry. This lady had only seen the movie one time, several years prior and had remembered the rifle from the film.

As a youngster growing up in San Francisco during the late 40's and 50's, some of my fondest memories were going to the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park. There assembled in one large room was a collection of arms and armor going back about 500 years. From suits of armor to several WWI tanks. There were very few items of the war just fought. There inside the cases were hundreds of arms from the move West. A fabulous collection. I remember seeing my first Henry Rifle there. So I was not amazed that the secretary had remembered the Henry from one viewing of a film.

It is apparent that the brass frame of the rifle draws attention. Even the most non-interested person will stare. This particular rifle was sent with a polished steel finish. No blue anywhere. The stock is walnut, straight grain with a reddish hue. Hammer, lever, sling swivels, trigger all in polished steel. The crescent butt with trapdoor in brass, of course. Not adorned with any engraving, only markings being of the manufacturer and required proof marks. Perhaps it is the combination of the polished steel, the brass and the wood. Without any doubt, it is the most handsome rifle I have had the pleasure to fire.

I have a habit that I can't seem to break while at matches. Between stages, I roam about checking on the choice of arms of fellow shooters. Seen some very educational things. Seen some very odd combinations of sights. Many examples of both great and poor gunsmithing. Always finding something new and interesting. I always keep thinking of the history of some of these guns that folks have gathered up from dusty closets, old guns, important guns. Seems that old guns are just plain more interesting. With that thought it may be the right and appropriate time to give all readers a bit of history on the Henry. You know that you are going to see them at matches, so just take a bit of time and read on. As a Cowboy Action Shooter, you must appear wise, knowing and humble in all matters. You sure would not want to be the only one in your posse without a basic knowledge of the importance of the Henry. We all shoot lever guns of some type. Might as well know a bit of the background of how we arrived at the more modern types.

First let me say for those, historically correct folks. Is is OK to own and shoot a reproduction. We shoot them a lot. Might be nice to own and shoot a real one. Not practical. The Henry ammunition is no more. Simple. The original caliber when produced was basically a .44 Rimfire. Repeat, RIMFIRE. You know, like a .22 Rimfire. No Primer. Primer compound inside the rim. About a 200 grain bullet pushed with 26-28 grains of black powder. So with that out of the way, let us give thanks to the companies that make the rifles in calibers that we can load and shoot.

HISTORY

Without getting real specific relating the politics and dealings of old companies, let us get to the point where Oliver Winchester is getting out of the shirt making business. Mr. Winchester gets involved with a partner and they make some investments in a sewing machine company. Some of those investors in turn make some investments in the New Haven Arms Company. That company was previously known as the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company. Gun sales were poor. The problem seemed to be that ammunition had to be improved. It had to be made quicker and cheaper. In 1857 Mr. B. Tyler Henry, was in charge of ammunition development, he was one of those kind of men that sleep 2 hours at a time, on a cot, at the shop. The problem was making the cases. All sorts of things were tried, but it always came back to the individual cases being made on a lathe. The process was slow, about 100 cases per hour. Mr. Henry finally got a good rest and awoke with an idea. A simple idea, that changed it all. He would make cases the same way that percussion caps were made. He would start with a copper disk and form them into cases. Within a month the plans were done. There were many problems with finding the correct alloy for the forming operations. Another problem, of how to get the fulminate priming compound in the right place. Another great solution, rather than the compound being spread all over the bottom of the case, he gave it a spin and thus the compound found its way to the rim. Shame on Mr. Henry for this one, just a bit, to make the priming paste a bit thicker, he had to mix it with ground glass! But,it worked! He obtained a patent to the whole thing on a most important date of Oct. 16, 1860. The patent covered the improvement over earlier guns, due to the moveable breech pin, the firing mechanism and the rimfire cartridge. This same mechanism was to remain in use on the subsequent models of the Winchester 1866, 1873 and 1876.

One has to think what the gun owner of the day must have thought. In essence, they are living in a time, where you used a muzzle loader. The operation consisting of pouring a measured (hopefully) quantity of black powder down the barrel. Then forcing a patched ball down the barrel to contact the column of powder with a ramrod. Yes, there were clever pre-packaged charges in paper and silk, etc. Then placing a percussion cap on the nipple, that cap makes the spark to set off the chain of events. Maybe 4-5 shots a minute at most for the most experienced? Here comes a gun and ammunition that allows the shooter to load with 15 rounds in the tube plus one in the chamber! Lever one, shoot one, lever one, shoot one! The advertisements of the era let it be known rather quickly the rifle was "The Most Effective Weapon in the World". Pretty bold! The advertisement went on further. "A resolute man, armed with one of these Rifles, particularly if on horseback, CANNOT BE CAPTURED" Curious indeed. I think that folks saw a war coming in their direction. Of note, on another poster is reference to the Henry Rifle. "A man armed with one of these Rifles, can load and discharge one shot every second, so that he is equal to a company every minute, a regiment every ten minutes, a brigade every half hour, a division every hour." Interesting and romantic to be sure, picture that one soldier with his Henry, his wagon load of ammunition, unable to change his position because he can not carry the load of ammunition, just taking shots at the enemy division while none of the opposing force bother to take a shot at him. Early Madison Avenue?

OK, so we have the stock holders of the companies in control. Sales are poor, Government not interested. Big time Generals saying we don't need it, don't want it. Alas, and to our ever lasting shame or glory, depending on your ancestors choice of geography, we have a Civil War. Sensitive to all, I will only comment what the common man has known all along. Those involved in the fighting, suffer tragedy forever. Those involved in the supply of things needed for war and the stockholders make a lot of money. The War Department does not award a big contract. The only documented sales to official agencies are less than 2000 rifles. Weak points are pointed out. There are many sales to State units and local volunteers and militias. Perhaps At least 12,000 or so are made. Maybe as many as 10,000 actually see service in the Civil War. During the first year of production in 1860, fewer than 300 guns were made. In 1861, less than 30 guns left the plant! In 1862 both production and sales grew. Some 4.5 million rounds of ammunition are produced. Mr. Winchester makes assurances that no Henry or ammunition would be sold to Southerners or Southern sympathizers. Favorable reports pour in from the owners still living, engaged in the conflict. Great publicity. The dreadful war ends. The New Haven Arms Company is renamed in 1865 to the Henry Repeating Arms Company and a new charter is granted by the State of Connecticut. On May 30, 1866 the company is renamed to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. So it seems that we all owe a bit of thanks to Mr. B. Tyler Henry.

You know the rest of the tale. The War is over. Folks are restless. Let's go West and find our fortunes. Leave the big cities and poverty behind. And West they come and their Henry Rifles with them. Folks laying waste to the land and its native population. Gold and silver discovered, timber and mining, all the way to the where we are today, and a few of us trying to think of the way it must have been.

The Henry was a part of it. Yes,to be sure, new and improved models came down the line. Easier to load, bigger cartridges. Some really big ones, game was plentiful, the reasons for having a firearm obvious.

So the next time you see one, at least you will have an idea of its history. They do what they are designed to do. They shoot smoothly, quickly and are accurate. A person could not ask for much more. Real ones are rare. Most in collections. You will not see one in local gun shop. The reproductions are available. That will lead us naturally into the impressions of shooting one.

FIRING THE HENRY

Being that I had an ample supply of .45 Colt already loaded, I chose to use some of the existing stock. Due to the weather in the last five weeks, I was amazed to see a break of a few hours from the endless rain. I usually head to the range with a truck load of neat things. Spotting scope, chronograph, etc. Knowing I would be in at least 4" of mud, I left the "trick" stuff behind. We have already stated our position on reloading data for THE SHOOTIN IRON. We can give the reader an idea, bullet weight, velocity. We want the reader to consult at least one reference source on a particular smokeless powder charge. Kind of assuming that most of you will reload. Know up front that the Uberti factory manual says No Reloaded Ammunition. Most manuals do. I told them that I was going to do the test with hand loaded ammunition. If all you are going to be shooting is factory ammunition, go ahead. Stick with lead bullets. Please keep in mind that this is a reproduction made of modern materials. Hey! how modern can brass be? The design of the rifle is over 130 years old! Just because it was made a few months ago, does not make it much stronger. Sure you will have an idea, that it has been proofed. You will know that it wasn't abused. You will have a clue. This is not a newer design built to handle much greater pressures. It is not even close to what you can do with an old Winchester Model 1886. Just because it has a lever, do not get them confused with newer designs. It was designed for Black Powder. This rifle was in production 30 years before smokeless powder was even commonly available! It is a black powder rifle. Yes, you may shoot smokeless in it. BUT, and that is a real important BUT, when loading your own, load to the pressures generated by the typical black powder load. Are you lost? Don't want you to be. Here is the clue. Yes, it is safe to fire a smokeless load IF you do not exceed the pressures generated by a FACTORY lead .45 Colt. Most important, not just any new factory load. There are some whiz-bang .45 Colt factory loadings out there that will turn this into a pile of junk as well as turning your great-grandfather's favorite Colt Single Action, "I got this from Wyatt or Virgil or Bat, I'm not sure" type of collectors piece to junk. Plus giving you the scare of your life. I will give a general idea. With 250-260 grain bullets, keep it about 850-900 fps maximum. You will not have problems with that. It will be plenty fast for what we do in CAS. The plates will fall down. The stop plate will activate. The crowd will be happy. Your posse will stand in awe. If you want to get into the reloading game, please take a look at other articles on reloading in this and past issues. Did old "Tioga" have black powder loads with him? No. Shame on me. Didn't load them up in time. Most of you are now aware of all the great information coming our way from the likes of Charly Gullett and his great book "Cowboy Action Shooting". Get some of these sources. Read them. Follow the sage advice.

Back to the shooting bench. Asked "Bodie Bob" to come along and try some of his loads made up for his Trapper. Needed a witness to this event. Beside he was just as anxious to fire the Henry as I. Hang some standard 50 yard pistol bullseye target centers at 50 yards. The concern always being to get some holes on the paper. Bodie Bob started banging some rounds from the bench with the Trapper. I take the Henry out of the case. All shooting stops around within a minute. Folks are gathering around. Grown men in fatigues, put their rat-zappers down and wander over, the muzzle-loading lads take off their coonskin caps and get in close. Most have the jaws on their boot-tops. I am loving every single second, until I realize that I have never fired this rifle. Could prove an embarrassing moment, if I can't get it loaded or hit the target with all these witnesses. Bodie Bob diverts their attention by firing another group with the Trapper. Most of the on-lookers had never even seen a Trapper before especially in 45 Colt. OK, we convince two of the mob to at least witness the next local CAS match. I announce, "Here we go" the mob grabs their hearing protectors the rest jam puts their fingers in their ears. I had loaded with five. Levered the first round in the chamber like butter. Good sign. Had the folding rear in the down position. Bang! The mob murmurs.." I thought that was a .45-70!".." That was not loud!", the mobs begins to dwindle away. I continue to fire the last three and take a peek with the under-powered binoculars while keeping an eye to the sky for the first sign of another rain cloud. Still sunny. I see a group at 11 o'clock high in the 7 ring of the pistol center. Grab that little brass hammer and give of few well placed taps to drive that folding rear over about 1/8". Five more are fired. They come to the right a bit more. Groups are about 3". A few more taps and make a bold decision to aim at 6 o'clock on the bottom of the black so that I can see the sights. Got to keep in mind that the front post is standing .311 above the top of the octagon barrel and the post itself is .087 wide. No folks, because of the design, you can not drift this front sight from side to side. So all adjustments must be made from the rear sight. Now is the time to get serious. Not being one to keep the reader in suspense. Upon firing the third group and getting kind of familiar with the trigger, here comes a group about 2" with a nice round shape. just touching the top of the 9 ring. A few more taps to bring them over a bit and another decision made to really pay attention and hold about 1" beneath the black. Rewarded for my quick thinking. The group begins to form in top of ten ring. Two groups are fired at same target. Silly thing to do, as I should have fired two separate targets. Because after doing the loading drill, you will never get your elbows back down on the same spot. Thus, you will have fired from two different positions. But the results are in, one hole about 1/2" away from its neighbors, the other nine shots that go into one ragged hole of about 3/4" wide and 1" high between the centers of widest holes. A fluke? Perhaps. When I shoot, I do pay some attention. I did some bench rest several years back and would yawn at 1/2" groups at 100 yds. Shot some high-power in the 190's at 600 yards so I know what it is supposed to look like. Bodie Bob picks it up, I tell him where I'm holding. His first 5 go into a bit more than 2". I fire a few more. they go about 1.5". We are both pleased. Should have had the cleaning gear by this time, I know the bore must be getting a bit dirty. Forgot to tell you that the Mob wandered back over, the semi-SWAT types were mumbling, "No way" and such. The muzzle loaders were nodding in approval. Had to tell them that I would do it for real with black powder. The women in the crowd stop their swooning over the brass frame. The old timers stop telling their stories about a distant relative being in the 7th Cavalry and breaking his leg, just about two weeks before George took many green troopers towards the upper reaches of the Rosebud. Most of the troops had the fine Springfield 1873 in .45-70. Fine, accurate cartridge. Slow to load, fouled easily. Bit tough to clean in a gunfight. Kept thinking that some, if not most, of those gallant lads in Army blue; their command separated, fighting for their lives against thousands, must have thought even if just for a moment; while the sun reflected from the brass frames of the Henrys and Winchester '66's carried that day back in June of '76 by so many brave warriors; that they also were armed with one of those repeating rifles. The ones the Generals said they didn't want or need. May not have changed the result. So you see, the owner and shooter of one of these rifles is doing a bit more than just shooting it, while putting holes in paper and knocking down steel plates. It is a part of history, romantic? Perhaps, in your own mind. If you have an interest in the older guns, the Henry certainly deserves you attention.

Plan to shoot it more. Do some black powder with it. Would like to get the sights adjusted correctly. Next time you are at a match or gun shop and you spot one, take a good look. Kind of squint your eyes and go back about 120 years, imagine the way it must have been. Not hard to do when holding a Henry.

Evaluation:

Well made reproduction of a classic rifle. About 9.2 pounds of one of the best combinations of and metal and wood that you will ever see. Available in .44-40 and .45 Colt. List Price about $900.00. 24 1/4" Octagon barrel. 10 shots in the tube. Available blued or polished steel. Instant crowd appeal. Instant conversation piece. Not for the shy! People will be keeping an eye on the shooter. Magnet for media types!

Practical application: Shoots just easy as other more modern types, maybe a bit more accurate due the great trigger, weight and sight radius.

Possible problem areas: Loading is slower. No fore end to grab. In extreme heat /cold conditions this would be a factor. Shooter must work on how to hold it. Same comments since the 1860's. The loading tube is subject to damage and dirt clogging the tube.

Think of the loading process as on a typical tube fed .22 rimfire. The rounds are slid down the tube beneath the barrel from the muzzle end. Once loaded you are an equal to most anything out there at a match.

Advantages: Now available in 45 Colt, In Long Range Pistol Cartridge Events, you have the weight, longer sight radius, less recoil.

I enjoyed it. If I were living in the 1860's, I would have been standing in line with my $40.00 for one. Shooting it was great fun. Was able to add my imagination. Maybe you will never win a speed match with it. It will most certainly clean any stage I have ever seen. Feed it good ammunition and it will keep you grinning. Probably all those standing around will be grinning also. Isn't that what it is all about? Having a good time. Enjoying yourself. Being in company with friends and strangers alike enjoying a common thing. Doesn't get much better than that mis amigos.

Promised myself to shoot some black powder and will. Won't bore you with the saga, but will let you know how it went. Sure would like to try a '66 and '73!

Until we meet again..good shootin!

Tioga
Duane Otis
Walnut Creek, CA

Back to the Shootin Iron