Henry Rifle Forums

For the first time, today, I took my Henry BBS 357 Mag and my Rossi R92 357 Mag to the range at the same time. I was able to compare the two rifles with the same ammo, targets and conditions. I also had my chrono with me to see how each performed with the two different loads I had. So here are my observations.

The Henry wins hands down for smoothness of operation. Right from the box I've done no internal work or removed any rough edges in the Henry. It has been great from the beginning. The Rossi, although it now runs very well, I had to get rid of the rough edges internally to achieve this. I spent a good amount of time smoothing the load area going into the magazine tube. Pushing rounds into the loading gate and magazine tube was very difficult. This is now working well. I'm feeding them 38 Spl. +P loads and they both cycled perfectly, but the Henry's operation is still so much nicer.

Over the chrono, the Rossi produces about 40 fps more velocity than the Henry. This was consistent with the two different loads I used. I have them both zero'd at 35 yds. and they both seems to produce similar groups. Moving the target out to 50 yds. the group size is still equal.

The Henry is a little heavier than the Rossi, but that extra few ounces gives the Henry a better feel. The Henry is very consistent with ejecting spent brass. It produces a nice pile about 18-24 inches away from my right foot. The Rossi on the other hand throws brass all over the place - mostly over my head or right shoulder. I spend a considerable amount of time finding my brass when using the Rossi.

The triggers on each rifle feels about the same. I have no preference of one over the other. Both are a little heavier that I would like, but I can still manage them with out complaint.

Both are so much fun the shoot and plink with. I just love the fit, finish and overall feel of the Henry. The Rossi is light and swings around very quickly and would be a great rifle to carry in the field all day long. With the Henry, after awhile you might want to have it on a sling over your shoulder.


Paul

well thought out comparison .... you draw contrast in areas that would interest me if I was in the market

Great comparison and I really like the picture with the two rifles in the case. Very classy.

Very nice review of both rifles. Yes the Rossi takes a bit of work to smooth it out when you get a good one first time around.
I have the Rossi Ranch Hand .45 Colt and after deburring and polishing the sliding surfaces and adjusting and deburring the load gate it is a fine little piece for the price and it is forgiving on longer COL of the ammo and feeding of bullets with large flat nose.
The Henry of course is made with better wood and finish and great right out the box coupled with fantastic customer service!

Nice job on the review. I owned a Puma in 357 one time and should have kept it. It was a good running 357.

fortyshooter wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 6:53 pm

Very nice review of both rifles. Yes the Rossi takes a bit of work to smooth it out when you get a good one first time around.
I have the Rossi Ranch Hand .45 Colt and after deburring and polishing the sliding surfaces and adjusting and deburring the load gate it is a fine little piece for the price and it is forgiving on longer COL of the ammo and feeding of bullets with large flat nose.
The Henry of course is made with better wood and finish and great right out the box coupled with fantastic customer service!

From everything I read, I expected to receive finger cutes from load gate area. Mine was good to go, but getting the rounds into the magazine tube was another trip altogether. I worked the area, inside the receiver where the nose of the cartridge first touches down, after passing through the loading gate. Then smoothed all the way into the magazine tube. That made such a difference in loading. It's a great little rifle it just needs some TLC to be what it should be.

Paul

Headhog wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:29 pm

fortyshooter wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 6:53 pm

Very nice review of both rifles. Yes the Rossi takes a bit of work to smooth it out when you get a good one first time around.
I have the Rossi Ranch Hand .45 Colt and after deburring and polishing the sliding surfaces and adjusting and deburring the load gate it is a fine little piece for the price and it is forgiving on longer COL of the ammo and feeding of bullets with large flat nose.
The Henry of course is made with better wood and finish and great right out the box coupled with fantastic customer service!

From everything I read, I expected to receive finger cutes from load gate area. Mine was good to go, but getting the rounds into the magazine tube was another trip altogether. I worked the area, inside the receiver where the nose of the cartridge first touches down, after passing through the loading gate. Then smoothed all the way into the magazine tube. That made such a difference in loading. It's a great little rifle it just needs some TLC to be what it should be.

Paul

Great report. Have you trimmed the tube feed spring? I did that on mine and it helped big time.

Great review.
Several years ago, I had a Braztech Rossi R92 in .357. I had to do a Steve Gunz action job which included replacing many springs, including the ejector spring. After that it did not eject cases over my shoulder. Also refinished the stock. After all that, it still would not feed ammo that exceeded 1.54" OAL. All of my hand loads had to be 1.54" or less and it absolutely would not feed factory magnum ammo. When I got my Henry .357 BBS I sold the Rossi and I have never regretted it and I have no plans to buy another.

Good review Headhog. Liked all the comparisons. With the chrony, what was the results there? And loads?

Sir Henry wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:39 pm

Headhog wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:29 pm

fortyshooter wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 22, 2020 6:53 pm

Very nice review of both rifles. Yes the Rossi takes a bit of work to smooth it out when you get a good one first time around.
I have the Rossi Ranch Hand .45 Colt and after deburring and polishing the sliding surfaces and adjusting and deburring the load gate it is a fine little piece for the price and it is forgiving on longer COL of the ammo and feeding of bullets with large flat nose.
The Henry of course is made with better wood and finish and great right out the box coupled with fantastic customer service!

From everything I read, I expected to receive finger cutes from load gate area. Mine was good to go, but getting the rounds into the magazine tube was another trip altogether. I worked the area, inside the receiver where the nose of the cartridge first touches down, after passing through the loading gate. Then smoothed all the way into the magazine tube. That made such a difference in loading. It's a great little rifle it just needs some TLC to be what it should be.

Paul

Great report. Have you trimmed the tube feed spring? I did that on mine and it helped big time.

Thank You. I have not trimmed the magazine spring yet. I wanted to leave that stock, for now, since the rifle feeds rounds well and I was afraid that might change. With the internal smoothing I can now load 10 into the magazine tube without issue. I might just pick-up another spring and experiment.

Paul