The Firearms Forum banner

modern cartridge lever guns with brass ( gun metal alloy ) receivers

7K views 51 replies 17 participants last post by  Kweeksdraw 
#1 ·
How well do these hop up?

I've been looking at a Henry golden boy, but the gun metal receiver always made me wonder
 
#7 ·
Henry, under specifications lists the receiver as 'brass'.

I dont know enough about Henry's to know if that is electroplated steel, really -brass-, or ' gun metal alloy ' which is brass+, etc..

44mag is alot of cartridge, and i have reserves about a cheek weld on a stock with a levergun bolt aimed at my face, AND, a yellow metal receiver :)
 
#9 ·
Soundguy, My nephew just bought Bigboy in 44mag. But so far has only put a few rounds thru it. I think he told me 50 rounds. so not much of a test there. He said he can't afford any more right now. I told him save his brass i'll get a die set and load them for him. so far i haven't heard back yet. When i see him this spring i'll give his rifle look see. But that isn't much help to you right now.
 
#14 ·
If I were looking into a center fire lever action it would certainly have to be steel. Brass looks 'cool' - but brass is not as strong as steel and does tend to stretch over time. There are some pretty nice Italian made lever guns out there. I only have two lever guns - a Model '94 .44 Magnum and a Marlin 336 in .30-30. I can shoot those with full power loads all day long and not worry about them stretching.

But Henry is a USA company and I'd hate to bad-mouth them.
 
#46 ·
"Cowboy Action Loads" - at least in .45 Colt - are very accurate and not too rough on a gun's action. I try to duplicate them with my 250 grain cast loads in that caliber. They are very accurate and pleasant to shoot in my 7 1/2" barrel Cavalry replica. I cast mine with a Lyman Keith-style mold, and use Unique powder. As far as stopping power it IS a .45 Colt....... (I know I'd not want to be on the wrong end of it);)

I just don't know about full power loads in a lever rifle .44 Magnum with a brass frame. Seems to me that heavy loads would batter and stretch the brass frame a lot faster than steel.
 
#16 ·
I cannot imagine a company with the good reputation of Henry Rifles producing a rifle that wasn't intended to provide years and years of use. I don't own one so I can't say from personal experience weather their centerfire rifle are worth a salt. That said I've never heard a bad word about them and I'd think by now, if there was an issue, it wouldn't be a secret. I say if a Henry Bigboy catches your fancy and go for it. As I recall they have a lifetime warranty just an FYI.
 
#17 ·
I Haven't owned or fired anything other than my Golden Boy in .22 LR, the quality on it is very good and I would imagine it will be as good on it's larger brethren. Now having said that I'm reasonably sure that if it's chambered for .44 magnum, it's been tested and safe to fire .44 magnum, but I'd stick to factory loadings and pressures, I'd have concerns about feeding it a steady diet of hand loads loaded to the high side of the loading tables.

Just my two cents worth, it's probably only worth two cents, perhaps less. ;)
 
#19 ·
I would not buy a brass version, hardened or not. Brass is no where near the strength of steel.

Lever guns are renown for stretching during firing even when made of steel. The problem is the bolt is normally held closed by a lug(s) in the rear of the bolt and the thin side plates of the frame take most of the recoil force.

Perhaps 30 years ago an old idiot was shooting an Italian brass framed Henry clone 44-40 next to me at the range. This stupid old guy loaded the 44-40 cartridges to 44 Mag levels. It took him three shots to recognize this as a problem. The third had a case head separation, leaving the body of the case in the chamber. He was done for the day. The next time I saw him with the gun he was single loading it. Seems the frame was so bent it could only be single shot loaded. This was a brand new gun he got as a gift. Admittedly the real Henry design that the Italian clone was based on with a toggle mechanism is probably weaker than the modern Henry design (??). But brass as a material for the frame is no help at all for frame strength. Even the predecessor of Winchester in the black powder days abandoned brass for frames after only a few years in production.

If is a lever in 44 mag you want the best choice I think is the Browning (Winchester) Model 92. it easily handles 44Mag. It is not cheap but you get what you pay for. I have a bunch of Winchester levers and Winchester lever clones from Browning. They are Model 1886, Model 92, Model 94, Model 95, Model 71 and Model 53. All are excellent guns with the Miroku versions having a better fit and finish.

LDBennett
 
#20 ·
I have a 44 mag Marlin 1894. I have shot hot 44 mag loads out of it with no issues. I shoot it every chance I get. Very accurate up to 100+ yards.

I want the Henry in 357 and my son wants one in 45 Colt. We will probably buy them some time next year. They will be the steel version. Brass looks nice but we shoot our guns. Don't want a rifle that will scratch easy or maybe stretch out.
 
#22 ·
They are pretty rifles saw one at the base exchange the other day and almost walked with the 22 magnum with the octagon barrel. Than I also so their 30/30 but was disappointed that they are tube fed like the marlins for the 22lr some how for me that rubbed me the wrong way. I'll stick to the Winchester and the 336 in 35 Remington.
 
  • Like
Reactions: joe45c
#23 ·
Well, I emailed my concerns to Henry this weekend, and got a reply:

:::

Thank you for your interest in Henry rifles.

Big Boys chambered for .44 Magnum can use any reputable brands of the standard or +P factory loads of .44 Magnum or .44 Special which conform to SAAMI specs, with standard profile bullets (round-nose, flat-nose, and hollow-point), and with up to a maximum projectile weight of 260-grains.

With .44 Spl, be advised that some smaller loads may not cycle well due to shorter overall dimensions.

Factory-loaded +P ammunition that conforms to SAAMI specs is fine, with up-to 260 gr. bullets. Our rifles are not designed to handle over-260 gr. bullets, as feeding/jamming, premature wear and failures could result. Also, the twist rate was designed to stabilize bullets up to 260 gr., but heavier bullets will suffer accuracy issues.

We recommend that owners experiment with various reputable, higher-quality brands of the appropriate type and caliber of SAAMI compliant cartridges for the rifle to see which works best, and then try to stay with it. These would include, but not necessarily be limited to, brands such as: Winchester, Remington, Federal, Hornady, and CCI.

Avoid using wadcutters and semi-wadcutters, and ballistic-tipped Hornady LEVERevolution ammunition. They are known to cause feeding/jamming issues in our magazine-fed rifles, due to the non-standard profile bullets.

We also do not recommend hand-loaded ammo due to greater risk of possible variations/errors and safety issues, in the case of improper reloading. If you choose to use hand-loaded ammunition anyway, make sure the resulting ammunition conforms to SAAMI specs for that type.

Regards,
 
#24 ·
Watched an ad By henry for the centerfire "Golden" rifles. They stated that their hardened brass was as strong as steel. But which steel? Mild steel? Chrome-moly steel? Tool steel? It has to be mild steel which is not a durable enough steel for any gun with pressure anywhere near 50,000 psi. The 44 mg pressures are just about 40,000 psi. Is that too much pressure in a brass lever gun for long term durability? Maybe or maybe not. Only time will tell.

Henry has two reasons to use brass. The first is the historical record of the original Henry being made of brass and the "Flash factor" of its appearance. The second is it is a much cheaper material than Chrome-moly steel normally used in firearms and it is much less expensive to manufacture. Brass casts easy and machines easy. That's win-win for Henry.

But hey, we all get to choose.

LDBennett
 
#25 ·
Hey soundguy,
That is a good reply from Henry. But just a heads-up. There are +P loads that aren't SAAMI.
Buffalo Bore comes to mind. There are others also. Their ammo is not defective, it's just that their +P loads exceeds SAAMI pressures. They list the specific arms that can use their ammo. Just wanted to post this up because it's easy to overlook.

I don't own a 44mag Henry. But own a 22lr, 357mag, and 44-40 Henry, as well as Marlins, and Winchesters. I like em' all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: joe45c
#27 ·
Sounds like typical "legal speak" from Henry. Same thing any firearms company does. The only Henry I've ever owned is a lever action .22lr and it's not the brass receiver. The blue finish wore off it in a hurry. I use it as my "trapline gun" for dispatching critters. It has some dings and scratches, but it's a "working gun." It's accurate and runs anything I feed it.
I, personally don't care for the yellow finish/brass on their guns, but that's just me. If it was going to be a gun I hunted with and used stout loads, quality steel makes sense to me. Milder fodder for Cowboy Action might be different. The lever guns I have in centerfire are all Savage model 99's.
 
#28 ·
The Henry 22's I have seen with the "golden" finish are a metal frame covered by a highly polished thin brass cover. I suspect the frames are a Zinc alloy (???). This is how you make an inexpensive gun.

Using brass as the frame for a centerfire is also a way to make an inexpensive gun.

Henry's are flash guns. That is, styled to make a big first impression. The ones I have handled were what they were meant to be: adequate inexpensive guns.

I am of the opinion (and experience having many Browning and Winchester lever guns) that a bit more invested gets you a stronger more durable quality gun. But everyone gets to choose and some are budget limited. The Henry allow them to play too.

LDBennett
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top