fortyshooter wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:31 pm
Good shootin' wolfman! How big of a barrel diameter do those single shots come with? Looks much larger than the lever rifle.
Quick & dirty measurements:
- ~0.84" roughly an inch in front of the rear sight
- ~0.78" where the forestock ends
- ~0.74" at the muzzle
Think they're using the same barrel blanks for most if not all calibers. Listed weights for the 44 Magnum, 45-70 Govt & 450 Bushmaster versions are ~0.3 - 0.4 lb lighter than for the 357 Magnum version, all 22" barrels.
Random thoughts concerning complaints I see/hear regarding the Henry singles:
Too heavy: I get this one; a single shot certainly could be made lighter, especially in the pistol calibers. I personally wouldn't want to give up more than a few ounces from this rifle for a couple reasons. One, I don't find ~7 lbs to be at all objectionable, and two, experience has taught me that if all else is at least kinda sorta equal, my standing offhand results will be a helluva lot better from a 7 lbs rifle than a 5.5 lbs rifle. That said, I really do see how this could be a valid complaint for some usage scenarios. Vast majority of my shooting is standing offhand (for many folks, it isn't), my rifle isn't carrying 1-1.5 lbs of scope/rings/rail (many/most would scope it), and I'm not hunting mountain goats in Kentucky
.
Bad trigger: This was about as universally agreed upon as anything gun related that's ever been discussed on the web, but is moot point since the recall was initiated. My first was very, very heavy out of the box, like ~9 lbs. Spring change helped some, but not all that much & led to light strikes with CCI primers. After recall work was ~3.5 lbs & crisp, & no light strikes. 2nd one was good at ~3.5 lbs, and this one has settled in at ~3.25 lbs after 300 shots fired. Bench rest "pros" will recoil in horror, but for most of us this is a very good hunting/general purpose trigger pull.
Too expensive: This one I'm gonna just flat call BS. Even before the pandemic &
Great Shortage of Everything Gun Related and Most Things That Aren't & these could be had for $375, saw & heard a lot of griping along the lines of "no way I'm paying that much for a single shot". Partially fueled by the presence of a still fairly new breed of inexpensive but very effective bolt rifles like the Ruger American & Savage Axis, but always considered that apples to oranges- if you want a repeater, get a repeater. Single shots have been a rather niche item for many decades; those who want them don't care that they're less efficient at getting lead downrange in a hurry. But more than anything, it was pining for the return of the $200 New England Handi-Rifle. I was among those who hoped for a comeback, but knew that even if it did happen, it wouldn't be at 1992 prices! And that's before you consider the substantial step up in quality of the Henry singles. Had a couple of them back in the day, and really did like them, but they weren't in the same league for fit/finish & materials.
Dadgum, somebody kick this soapbox out from underneath me
. And it's more to show the rifle off than to report on rifle or ammo performance (though both were quite good). 
.. nice shooting
