Question on lever action operation

[planenut]

Hello all I'd like to get some input from those that know better if I may ask. I'm a new shooter in general so I'm not entirely sure this is normal or not. It seems that my Big Boy Steel in 357 intermittently doesn't want to completely eject the spent casings. It seems to not want to eject it from the chamber all of the way, matter of fact ejection sometimes seems anemic due to the fact it doesn't completely clear. I shoot mainly 38 SPL of Winchester and Remington brands mostly. I was wondering if the problem is in the rifle or maybe some thing with me the shooter since I am new and still learning. If it is the rifle I wanted to know if I should try doing a deep cleaning first (like they show in the videos on the Henry site) before consulting Henry or will this void the warranty at all? Thanks in advance for any input, it's greatly appreciated.

[RanchRoper]

Based on some of the issues I've seen posted on here you can't go wrong contacting Henry direct. They don't like it when you're not a happy customer. Give them a call.

[clovishound]

A good cleaning couldn't hurt, but a call to Henry wouldn't either. The only other thing is you need to operate the lever with authority. Don't slam it, but don't baby it either. My BB steel in .357 definitely smoothed up after a couple hundred rounds through it. Of course, I didn't have any real issues with it. Just had the occasional feed hangup. I switched to .357 almost exclusively, changed one thing with my reloading process, and operated the lever a little faster. I feeds flawlessly now, even with .38s.

If a cleaning and lever operation don't fix it, Henry will.

[JEBar]

A good cleaning couldn't hurt, but a call to Henry wouldn't either. The only other thing is you need to operate the lever with authority. Don't slam it, but don't baby it either. My BB steel in .357 definitely smoothed up after a couple hundred rounds through it. Of course, I didn't have any real issues with it. Just had the occasional feed hangup. I switched to .357 almost exclusively, changed one thing with my reloading process, and operated the lever a little faster. I feeds flawlessly now, even with .38s.

If a cleaning and lever operation don't fix it, Henry will.

agree

[White Squirrel]

Let me echo my agreement with clovishound and JEBar and don't mean to be insulting, but make sure you are racking that lever with some authority. I have found if I short stroke the lever or baby it, I sometimes get a failure to eject the spent cartridge.

[tractortad]

planenut - I've got a brass 357/38 Big Boy and a brass 44mag Big Boy carbine that eject similar to yours. The big boys just don't spit out ejected brass like the Henry rimfires (I've got a Golden boy that flings brass out about 5 ft) or most any other rifle that I've tried. The brass just of kind "dribbles" out and usually falls within a foot or two under the rifle. I think it just boils down to the size/strength of the ejector and the weight of the casing that it has to eject. I agree with the previous posts about being "snappy" with the lever. You also have to make sure you don't tilt the gun to the left when ejecting - keep it plumb or tilted to the right. You can also help it out by making sure the ejector and the groove it sits in is clean and without any machining burs. If it still doesn't work well enough call Henry CS - they'll probably replace the ejector for you.

[RanchRoper]

Agree on the lever comments. My rifle likes me to be all business when I cock the lever.

[JCN]

From videos I've watched on YouTube, not personal experience, it seems the 38s eject less enthusiastically that 357s. Have you experienced the same issue with 357 casings?

[planenut]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I did suspect rotten technique most of the time (so I'm not insulted in any way, shape, or form), but I figured I'd ask since I had a couple of friends of mine (more experienced with firearms than myself for sure) duplicate it with my rifle when they were shooting with it. As far as whether it happens with 357 I can't really remember as don't run it through that often due to price and range restrictions (no magnum loads at mine). I did have a problem once with nickel coated Remington ammo not going into battery, but I found it was the ammo itself. I'll have to check and see the next time I use it.

[JCN]

Not sure if you are into internet gun channels at all but check out hickok45's video on the big boy 357. He describes similar ejection issues with 38s but shows the ejection is solid with 357s. Same with a video posted by mrgunsngear. Both are great channels by the way and you can see a couple Henrys on both.

[Squatch]

Shoot some 357 and see if it ejects better. It seems the 38's can be a bit balky for many.

[clovishound]

I don't remember having ejection problems in the occasional .38s I run through my Big Boy steel. I did have more feed errors with them when the rifle was new.

[White Squirrel]

Usually when I have a problem with my Rossi 92 it is not related to whether I am shooting .357 or .38, but more likely because I have a tendency to tilt the rifle to the left when I am racking the lever. Sometimes I have to really concentrate on keeping it level.

[Steve]

I don't hold my 45 Colt Big Boy near level to operate and don't have trouble. I will go check it now and see.

Confirmed: Held it every way except upside down, worked perfect. Canted to the left, chamber high, the eject was the worst and dribbled out trying to clear the side, but it did.

[Jon4ta]

I've fired about 70 rounds through my BBC 357. It has definitely gotten better as far as casing ejection goes.

[JCN]

Shot some .38spl over the weekend out of my Big Boy Steel 357. It chambered and ejected better than I anticipated. I posted a report in the range report section if you are interested in the load I used.