Hello to the forum

[cyclerambler]

Greetings to all from Northern Alabama. About a couple months back my son bought a Ruger American 22LR and a PC Carbine, two that I
had been eyeing. First time we had firearms in the house so now it was my turn. After looking high and low, doing tons of research, with
a glance at my budget, I brought home last Friday afternoon a Henry Single Shot chambered in 223. Fabulous rifle and so we took
them all out to the range yesterday and had a great time. I did have a couple nits though and wanted to run them by the forum
for experienced thoughts....

1) Since I wear progressive lens glasses both sights are blurry when aiming. Tried turning them upside down without success. This isnt
new, as it was the same when firing my son's guns. He recently picked up a red-dot scope thing and, after a short learning curve, I
find it helps. Am also considering a scope for >100yd targets (not quite into hunting yet). Any thoughts/comments?

2) After about 30 rounds the barrel was not opening as it should...I would press the lever to open it and nothing would happen...until
I smacked the barrel end with my palm then it opened up. So I thought I would give it a good clean and oiling (did that last evening)
before I asked for help...so I'm hoping this fixed the problem....

Anyway thanks for the opportunity to participate...looking forward to many good years ahead.

[brm4450]

Welcome to the forum from Dacotah. I have the same problem with glasses and sights so I have went to the scope. The scope i like is the Leupold VX-Freedom 450 Bushmaster 3-9x40 Riflescope. I have several and really like them.

[BrokenolMarine]

The front sight should be your focus when aiming. The rear sight should be blurred, or fuzzy, as should the target. Most of the competitive shooters I shot with, who wore glasses, had prescription glasses FOR shooting, with the focal plane set a their front sight distance, or bifocals. A portion of the lens set up for the front sight and the other portion for downrange. Our optometrist would have us bring the unloaded firearm along, cased, and buzz us in the back door. That way we didn't upset the Karens in the waiting room. He would measure the prescription using the rifle or handgun of choice.

You could also bring a dowel cut to the length of your sighting plane.

As for hard opening, a good cleaning, or simply twist a brass chamber brush in the chamber when it starts to bind. When shooting competition, we would brush out the cylinders between relays as a preventive measure.

If that doesn't help, call Henry Customer Service and pose your question. They are there to serve.

[BigAl52]

Welcome to the forum. I have a single shot 357 and I have a red dot on it which I like. But I know if I had a 223 I would scope it for sure. As far as a scope goes most guys here will recommend a Leupold. Im not against Leupold but I think there is other scopes out there for less money that are just as good. After you cleaned the gun does it now open without smacking it?

[Hatchdog]

Being a single shot your rifle is the perfect platform for a scope. No fast follow-up shots so no fast sight re-acquiring needed.

Also .223 is a caliber that can reach out and be very accurate at mid-range distances, 400 - 500 yards easily with your rifle. A good quality 3-9x40 or a 4-12x50 would be perfect. .223’s can be picky with bullet weight, check your twist rate (should be stamped on the barrel (ie1-9 or 1-8, etc) or listed in the specs in the manual or on the Henry website. The faster the twist (1-8 is faster that 1-9 which is faster that 1-10, etc) the heavier bullets will perform better. 69 - 80 grain. The cheap 55 grain .223 ammo is designed for AR platforms more so than bolt or single shot .223’s.

Welcome to the Henry forum and Henry ownership as well. Great people here.

[cyclerambler]

Appreciate the input guys...thanks...
It does open now without smacking, though I havent shot anything since the cleaning/oiling.

[leverjc]

I also wear progressive lenses and have to adjust them on my nose when shooting. If I keep them all the up 0n my nose it appears that my front sight is bent to the left. I use peep sights when I am not using a scope so it is easier to just concentrate on the front sight as BrokenMarine advises. Play with position and see what works for you.

[The Wiz]

Welcome!

[Vaquero]

Hello & Welcome aboard, not much help here, as I don't wear glasses nor do I own any of the Single shots.
As to the 223, I'd say scope it.

RP

[Ernie]

Welcome to the forum. I too have the glasses problem and prefer a scope.