Henry big boy accuracy

[anotherreloader123]

I used to hate cleaning lead out of my barrels so I started powder coating my bullets and now Montana Bullet Company has Coated bullets so you never ever have to clean lead out of your rifle again!
Infact you can shoot a barrel that has lead in it clean by shooting coated bullets in it.
Had a friend with a 45 LC so badly leaded it would not shoot accurately so I took it to the range and shot it clean with my coated bullets from Montana Bullet

Yeah, leading is definitely something that can be an issue.

 

[bpcrshooter]

That's what I am thinking, I would hate to shoot all lead bullets, but if it's the only way to get accuracy I will have to deal with it. The xtps do not shoot too good, so lead seems like the only option.

There are 2 sizes of XTP's .429 and .430, have you tried the .430?

Nothing wrong with shooting lead, most people just dont want to take the time to actually figure out what their rifle/pistol actually needs. Most commercial cast bullets are way to hard, no gas check and the lube is worthless. Lyman#2, with a gas check and a decent made lube, will give you very little problems. I've shot a few hundred and have not had more than a flake of lead come out. There is a decent investment but, some of it can be used for other calibers if you so chose to.


matt

 

[anotherreloader123]

There are 2 sizes of XTP's .429 and .430, have you tried the .430?

Nothing wrong with shooting lead, most people just dont want to take the time to actually figure out what their rifle/pistol actually needs. Most commercial cast bullets are way to hard, no gas check and the lube is worthless. Lyman#2, with a gas check and a decent made lube, will give you very little problems. I've shot a few hundred and have not had more than a flake of lead come out. There is a decent investment but, some of it can be used for other calibers if you so chose to.


matt

I've only tried the .430 xtp. I am trying to figure out what it needs, and it appears that a .431 cast bullet will have the best accuracy from what other people have said and what results that I have got.

 

[emp1953]

My dad has a 44 mag Henry big boy that I cannot get to shoot well at all, except for one bullet, the Berry's 240 gr flat point. The Berry's bullet can shoot around an inch at 80 yds, but any other bullet I shoot cannot get better than 2.5in at 80. The brass is starline for all of them and I put a factory crimp on all. Anybody else have a bullet that works good for their Henry?

Nosler 44 CALIBER 240GR JSP SPORTING HANDGUN[ part # 44868 using 2400 powder over standard CCI large Pistol Primers, I also exclusively use Starline brass. Off a sandbagged rest I regularly get 1 inch groups with a Lyman rear peep sight mounted on the tang, at 70 yards (that's all my backyard range allows) It also shoots good out of my SW 629 when I can tolerate the recoil. I've taken white tails with both. I never crimped until I started shooting them in my 629. I had some bullets jump forward so I now use a light crimp.

 

[anotherreloader123]

Nosler 44 CALIBER 240GR JSP SPORTING HANDGUN[ part # 44868 using 2400 powder over standard CCI large Pistol Primers, I also exclusively use Starline brass. Off a sandbagged rest I regularly get 1 inch groups with a Lyman rear peep sight mounted on the tang, at 70 yards (that's all my backyard range allows) It also shoots good out of my SW 629 when I can tolerate the recoil. I've taken white tails with both. I never crimped until I started shooting them in my 629. I had some bullets jump forward so I now use a light crimp.

That reminds me I forgot to mention that the Berry bullets that I reload i also use regular cci primers, I use fed 155gm for the other bullets I shoot, surely the primer doesn't cause bad accuracy. Yeah I will have to try some nosler projectiles, they seem to do well.

 

[emp1953]

That reminds me I forgot to mention that the Berry bullets that I reload i also use regular cci primers, I use fed 155gm for the other bullets I shoot, surely the primer doesn't cause bad accuracy. Yeah I will have to try some nosler projectiles, they seem to do well.

I have seen primers be the culprit. Especially if they are older and have been subjected to temperature/humidity extremes.

 

[anotherreloader123]

I have seen primers be the culprit. Especially if they are older and have been subjected to temperature/humidity extremes.

I might try the cci 300 and see if the results are, although I don't think it will be much better. The accuracy is bad with other bullets other than the Berry's, but I do get better sd and es with the mags.

 

[emp1953]

I might try the cci 300 and see if the results are, although I don't think it will be much better. The accuracy is bad with other bullets other than the Berry's, but I do get better sd and es with the mags.

Try feeding the rounds one at a time directly via the ejection port. Don't stuff the magazine tube. Shoot a couple of groups, carefully, that way. Have you handed the rifle to another shooter to give it a go?

 

[anotherreloader123]

Try feeding the rounds one at a time directly via the ejection port. Don't stuff the magazine tube. Shoot a couple of groups, carefully, that way. Have you handed the rifle to another shooter to give it a go?

I load them one by one most times I go to group them, I don't really notice any different between that and tube feeding them, just me and my dad have grouped it, we group similar but with a different point of impact.

 

[emp1953]

I'll be watching this thread to see where it goes. I haven't seen a Henry that doesn't shoot well. Give their customer service a call and see if they have any advice. Maybe they'll look at it for you. A lever action doesn't have very many options for accuracy problems, not like a bolt action.
1) Just to confirm, you don't have a scope on this rifle, correct? Original factory sights?
2) Does the brass come out with any strange scratches or dents on it?
3) Upon resizing your fired brass does it require extra effort to resize or does it resize easily?
4) Are these "regular" Starline cases or +P?
5) Is it the round barrel or the octagon barrel?
And you did say that you have run factory ammo through it.
See if you can get a box of factory.44 special and give that a go. Or has it already had a bunch of .44 special shot in it already?
Try running a Q-tip swap in and out of the muzzle.. See if any of the cotton grabs onto some burrs or imperfections at the end of the bore.

 

[emp1953]

I have thought about the nosler 240gr, but I saw some things online saying that they blow up and are too soft, and a rifle will only make that worse. I am using a Lee collet crimp die. W296 powder and federal large pistol mag matches for primers.

I've never experienced a bullet failure with these 240gr Nosler soft points in the Henry 44mag or any of their other bullets in other calibers. But then again I never challenge the upper bounds of pressure and velocity.

 

[Northkill]

It sounds like you got some options. If you're out to check off all the boxes you can, I'd suggest giving these a shot. The PDR bands seem to alleviate some accuracy issues due to bore inconsistencies. FWIW

.429 (44 mag) Archives - Hammer Bullets

hammerbullets.com

 

[anotherreloader123]

I'll be watching this thread to see where it goes. I haven't seen a Henry that doesn't shoot well. Give their customer service a call and see if they have any advice. Maybe they'll look at it for you. A lever action doesn't have very many options for accuracy problems, not like a bolt action.
1) Just to confirm, you don't have a scope on this rifle, correct? Original factory sights?
2) Does the brass come out with any strange scratches or dents on it?
3) Upon resizing your fired brass does it require extra effort to resize or does it resize easily?
4) Are these "regular" Starline cases or +P?
5) Is it the round barrel or the octagon barrel?
And you did say that you have run factory ammo through it.
See if you can get a box of factory.44 special and give that a go. Or has it already had a bunch of .44 special shot in it already?
Try running a Q-tip swap in and out of the muzzle.. See if any of the cotton grabs onto some burrs or imperfections at the end of the bore.

1 No, there is a barska Walmart scope on it. My dad doesn't like using the irons in the woods at dawn, he can't see them all too well.
2 Not any that I can see
3 It resized fairly easy, though it does resize it a decent amount from the chamber fireform
4 regular, I don't think there is a 44 mag +p
5 round barrel, I haven't shot any 44 spl through it, though I do have some factory and reloaded ammo for it that is used in a pistol

I will have to see if the q tip does anything

 

[anotherreloader123]

I've never experienced a bullet failure with these 240gr Nosler soft points in the Henry 44mag or any of their other bullets in other calibers. But then again I never challenge the upper bounds of pressure and velocity.

Max I would be running the 240s would be 1750+- do you think they would be good there?