I got the “Steam Punk” (AKA “All Weather”) Model.
Very fun, not bad ballistics with .357, and minimal recoil.
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It's a (Big) Boy! Range report post 41, See #59 for report with Skinner sight & new 44mag rifle!
- Thread starter Radtekk
- Start date
Very fun, not bad ballistics with .357, and minimal recoil.
I missed this before, and it doesn't matter to you, anyway, but the factory rear sight drifts left and right in the dovetail. There's a little set screw that you loosen before making the adjustment and then tighten when you're done. You may need to tap the sight with something non-marring (like a couple of scraps of wood, one to act as "punch" and the other as "hammer"--should be no need for a brass punch or anything like that) to move it if it happens to be a little tight in the dovetail. I think mine all moved with finger pressure (not that they lasted any longer on my guns than yours did). I couldn't use those factory sights well, either. I do better with a flat blade, but peeps are better. I understand the cool factor of period-correct sights, which is why I'd have installed a tang sight, probably, if I didn't have to drill and tap the tang on the Henry to do it.
I've posted a picture of my Big Boy Steel with the red dot, but I just ordered one of these SeeAll MK2 sights
Mk2 - Non-Tritium Open Sight for Rifle or Rail
to try on it. We'll see how that goes.
Well, I found a few hundred rounds of mixed 38 I bought a couple of years ago. Big "bag o' bullets" that I dumped in an ammo can and forgot about. Found it when I went to sell the cans and picked one up expecting it to be empty. Surprise! Around 500 rounds, 400ish flat-nose, 60 or so round nose, 30 or so 357. The round nose were flawless, as was the 357. Then today while reading the factory manual that came in the mail I learned they "recommend" 38spcl to be ONLY 158gr because OAL, no mention of flat vs round. They specifically state the smaller/lighter/shorter rounds WILL NOT cycle properly. So I fired off an email inquiring about flat vs round
We'll see... But since it was non-boxed I have no idea what weight and length it actually was. I do have assorted flavors of 38 and 357, so I'll experiment further, but I guess I'll save the lighter and F-N rounds for the SP101's.
That's purty too
I got the “Steam Punk” (AKA “All Weather”) Model.
Very fun, not bad ballistics with .357, and minimal recoil.
Love to hear how the SeeAll works out. I dropped $117 on the Skinner for the 357, so unless the SeeAll shoots the gun itself I don't see myself making a change. And despite my "traditional" tendencies, I actually kinda like the 1x3 Weaver on the 44mag. Probably just enough at 50 yards, should get me "minute of man" at 100. I think even with the Skinner I'd be lucky to hit the berm at 100 yards, I have so OLD eyes...
I still do have Skinner Express sights on my .44M and .45C Henry rifles. One has a Skinner front sight, and the other has a Lyman Globe sight. I usually wear +0.75 safety glasses so that I can see the front sight reasonably well (though I still can't bring it in focus). Otherwise, the slight astigmatism plus the presbyopia makes the front sight a distorted mess, way worse than either by itself. With that bit of correction +0.75, I do shoot clays on the 100 yard range's berm and hit them more often than not (with some support or other).
Mesatchornug
NES Member
I definitely found the 38spl had trouble cycling in my Big Boy carbine as well. I found that running the lever "with authority" helped a bit.
I don't mind the semi buckhorns as much as you seem to, but I can never make gold dot front sights work. Had the same problem on my 10/22.
I don't mind the semi buckhorns as much as you seem to, but I can never make gold dot front sights work. Had the same problem on my 10/22.
Henry is pretty definitive when they specify 158gr 38spcl, basically "other weights will NOT cycle properly because length". So since I found that out after shooting the flat-nose ammo, I'm gonna try the heavier ammo and see. But I figure they know what they're talking about
Re the sights... Old eyes + little gold dots = no fun. And trying to see a little gold dot on top of a teeny tiny blurry white diamond and then put that combo on target? HAH!
Not sure if they're still available at lowish prices, but Remington 38+P 125 grain SJHPs that come in the 100 packs are longer than most (due to the bullet profile) and generally cycle pretty well, in my experience. Ejection of 38 specials will still be anemic with this ejector design simply because the brass is shorter.
Mesatchornug
NES Member
I definitely found the longer 38s worked better. Then I bought a case of 357 - problem "solved," right?Henry is pretty definitive when they specify 158gr 38spcl, basically "other weights will NOT cycle properly because length". So since I found that out after shooting the flat-nose ammo, I'm gonna try the heavier ammo and see. But I figure they know what they're talking about
Re the sights... Old eyes + little gold dots = no fun. And trying to see a little gold dot on top of a teeny tiny blurry white diamond and then put that combo on target? HAH!
My eyes aren't even that old. I just can't see the gold dot. I switched to Tech Sights in the 10/22, and will probably do something about the Henry eventually.
I think the diamond is supposed to be less important than the horns, though. It ends up feeling busy either way. But I'm still new to these sights. Maybe with practice I'll get better. (I think that's the "acquired taste" excuse, though)
The white diamond is on a reversible plate, so if you decide you don't like it, just avail yourself of the reversibility feature. Sporting Rear Sights
Yes, 357 solved the feeding issue, right quick too
I have Tech Sights on a 10/22 and like them, made the Skinner easy to adapt to. Would it be sacrilege to put a dot of red nail polish on the front sight brass bead on the Henry?
Mesatchornug
NES Member
honestly considering black nail polish, but maybe I'll try the red first.Yes, 357 solved the feeding issue, right quick too
I have Tech Sights on a 10/22 and like them, made the Skinner easy to adapt to. Would it be sacrilege to put a dot of red nail polish on the front sight brass bead on the Henry?
Clearly, I should coordinate it to whatever I'm wearing
You put what ever you need to make it shoot!Yes, 357 solved the feeding issue, right quick too
I have Tech Sights on a 10/22 and like them, made the Skinner easy to adapt to. Would it be sacrilege to put a dot of red nail polish on the front sight brass bead on the Henry?
Black is best for a little dress, red is best for nails... But those are a different thread...honestly considering black nail polish, but maybe I'll try the red first.
Clearly, I should coordinate it to whatever I'm wearing
Yup!
I use Testors Flat White and Testors Fluorescent Orange, applied with a toothpick. Degrease surface. One layer of flat white. Keep it thin or wipe it off and start over if you put a blob down instead. Let dry. One layer of fluorescent orange on top of that. Some folks use multiple layers, but I don't see the point. Paint will probably need to be reapplied periodically no matter how many layers you use.. There's no need to make it a week long project every time. Hell, I rush the white layer dry with a heat gun and apply the orange an hour or so later. Done.
It has been my observation that some lever guns chambered for .38/.357 have a definite preference for one or the other round. I had an early model Rossi Puma carbine (Winchester 92 copy) that cycled fine with .38's (both 125's and 158's) but had big problems with .357's. I also have a Browning BL-92 that simply won't cycle at all with .38's, but performs perfectly with .357's. However, my Marlin 1894C works fine with either. I haven't fired my new Henry H012MR yet, but I'm hoping I don't run into issues with it because I have a ton of .38's in inventory.
This is the specific ammo Henry rep's have typed for anyone that answers the phone asking about this.
Winchester Ammunition
Winchester USA Cowboy 38 Special Ammo 158 Grain Lead Flat Nose
Winchester USA Cowboy 38 Special 158 Grain LFN This morning: $19.99 /$0.40 Per Round
Winchester Ammunition
Winchester USA Cowboy 38 Special Ammo 158 Grain Lead Flat Nose
Winchester USA Cowboy 38 Special 158 Grain LFN This morning: $19.99 /$0.40 Per Round
Got it on Thursday, mounted it, and took it to the range on Friday. I like the way it looks on the gun, as compared to the red dot. It's certainly a high-quality piece. The body appears to be machined out of a solid piece of aluminum. The lens looks high-quality as well.
Unfortunately, I can't say that I liked using it better than a red dot. It's kind of a strange thing. If you shoot with only the dominant eye open, you can only see the point you're shooting at with difficulty. When sighted in, the gun is always pointed towards the crosshairs, but the crosshairs are etched on to non-transparent plastic.
The system produces very good windage results. At 50 yards, I didn't have to try very hard to get the shots within 1" of vertical line I was trying to shoot. Elevation is another matter. To see where the point of impact will be, one moves the crosshairs as closely as possible to the top of the sight picture. In just the right spot you can see both crosshairs and what you're shooting at in the dominant eye, the crosshairs through the lens, and the target looking over the lens. But neither crosshairs nor point of impact is especially clear like that. It's like they're fighting, and to see one more clearly, the other has to suffer. My groups on paper ended up being vertical strings, in large part because it was hard to see the center of the target and the top of the crosshairs clearly at the same time.
If you try to shoot with both eyes open and use your other eye to to see the point of impact more clearly, you have to make sure your eyes stay aligned with each other. I found this easy with the Seall at 25 yards or so. I did some quick shooting, and it was fast and easy to acquire the sight picture, and easy to hit with it. It was doable at 50, but it was a lot easier to hit a target like a clay on the berm than to shoot a tight group on paper. It turned out to be a real challenge for me at 100 yards. A few times when shooting relatively quickly and trying to use both eyes, I got the elevation off by a few feet. Obviously my left and right eyes did not stay lined up.
It's a cool idea, and this would make a nicely compact set of backup sights for a tactical rifle, for older eyes especially. But I don't think it's my cup of tea for recreational shooting. I switched the gun back to the Holosun red dot.
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I forgot to update this thread back over the Summer.
I had the Henry H012 out to the sand pits twice, it feels good and shoots good, smooth action.
However, as others have noted, it's finnicky to cycle if it's tilted on its side.
I never did use it with the stock buckhorn sights because I installed a Skinner peep-sight prior to my first usage.
It was shooting high, and the rear sight was bottomed out, so I had to compensate by aiming low.
I just got around to ordering a Skinner front sight for it, which is taller, and should be the cure for the problem.
I had the Henry H012 out to the sand pits twice, it feels good and shoots good, smooth action.
However, as others have noted, it's finnicky to cycle if it's tilted on its side.
I never did use it with the stock buckhorn sights because I installed a Skinner peep-sight prior to my first usage.
It was shooting high, and the rear sight was bottomed out, so I had to compensate by aiming low.
I just got around to ordering a Skinner front sight for it, which is taller, and should be the cure for the problem.
