41 Mag BBS Range Results

[Highway41]

Took the 41 BBS to the pit today to get it sighted in. At the same time that I ordered the BBS I went ahead and ordered the Skinner pee sight for it because after handling other Henrys I knew right away that the factory buckhorn rear sights just would not work for me.

I had loaded up both 225gr Keith LSWCs over 8.0gr Unique and some 200gr JHCs over 17.5gr of 2400.

I decided to set up the target at 25yds to start. I shot 10 fouling rounds. With the peep sight screwed all the way down I shot 3 rounds of the LSWCs and got a ragged one hole group centered perfectly along the horizontal but 5.5" high. I double checked that the peep was as low as possible then fired three more rounds with the same results. Switching to the 200gr JHCs I shot two 3 shot groups that were centered horizontally but about 5" high.

Next step is ordering a taller front sight from Skinner, more than likely the brass one just because I like the looks of the brass. I used the information on Skinners technical page to figure out the front height I need but shot an email off to Andy with a question about which front sight height would give me the maximum adjustment vertically over a variety of loads from cowboy light to full magnum. Just waiting on a response before I order.

Overall I am very impressed with the BBS. Although when I function tested with dummy rounds loaded with the Keith bullets I had no difficulty as long as I worked the lever with authority I noticed today that feeding was a little rough with these same bullets. The JHCs fed smoothly and easily. I am going to see if I can get my hands on some RNFP around 225gr and maybe some of the 220gr Rainier RNFP to try out.

[CT_Shooter]

I used the information on Skinners technical page to figure out the front height I need but shot an email off to Andy with a question about which front sight height would give me the maximum adjustment vertically over a variety of loads from cowboy light to full magnum. Just waiting on a response before I order.

Thanks for the report. Please keep us posted on your progress.

[ditto1958]

Nice report!

[BigAl52]

I will be waiting for your test of the 220 rainer. I have so many 41 bullets right now to use up I cant quite justify buying anymore 41. Im bettin that bulllet will be a shooter. Al

[Squatch]

Good stuff. Very accurate round from a revolver. I expect even better in a rifle.

Take a file with you to the range. Raise the Skinner about 1.5-2 turns from bottom. Pick the distance you'll shoot most often. Then file a few strokes off the top of the front till you get it there. That's what I did on all 3 of mine. If you decide to move to a different front sight down the road you'll know what height to buy by measuring the Skinner. The thin Skinner front is a huge improvement in accuracy over the old bead on post sight. It doesn't obscure the target.

[Highway41]

Good stuff. Very accurate round from a revolver. I expect even better in a rifle.

Take a file with you to the range. Raise the Skinner about 1.5-2 turns from bottom. Pick the distance you'll shoot most often. Then file a few strokes off the top of the front till you get it there. That's what I did on all 3 of mine. If you decide to move to a different front sight down the road you'll know what height to buy by measuring the Skinner. The thin Skinner front is a huge improvement in accuracy over the old bead on post sight. It doesn't obscure the target.

That Was Andy's exact answer to my question. I wanted to achieve maximum potential adjustment over a range of loads from cowboy light to full house magnum with bullets from 170 JHPs to 255 cast. Andy recommended the .750 front, which I got in the brass version, and that I raise the rear peep 2 full turns.

Unfortunately I got sick on the way home from seeing my first grandchild and was down and out for a week. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to the range again hopefully soon.

My intention is to sight in at 50 yards and see where that puts my POI with the different loads. My only quandary now is whether to file the front to POI for my plinking load of 8.0gr Unique under a 215-225gr cast or my magnum load of 18gr 2400 under a 210gr XTP or JHP. Any thoughts on that?

[Squatch]

Which do you shoot the most? In my 44 mag the difference between very light loads and factory stuff is about 4" at 50yds. The Skinner adjustment will pretty much cover that.

Also remember that Skinner sells a tall peep stem if needed. With 3 differnt Skinners I have a couple of them. Andy also made me a lock ring for my tall stem on the Golden boy. It adds support.


If you need lower in the rear you can file the bottom of the peep stem. NEVER over tighten the peep stems. This can warp the windage plate on your Skinner or scar the base under it.

Here is a thread on what I've done with my Skinners. Unfortunately I lost the pics a while back. But the read may help.
http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=711

[tractortad]

Which do you shoot the most? In my 44 mag the difference between very light loads and factory stuff is about 4" at 50yds. The Skinner adjustment will pretty much cover that.

Also remember that Skinner sells a tall peep stem if needed. With 3 differnt Skinners I have a couple of them. Andy also made me a lock ring for my tall stem on the Golden boy. It adds support.


If you need lower in the rear you can file the bottom of the peep stem. NEVER over tighten the peep stems. This can warp the windage plate on your Skinner or scar the base under it.

Here is a thread on what I've done with my Skinners. Unfortunately I lost the pics a while back. But the read may help.
http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=711

That's one nice looking Skinner Receiver Sight - did you round off the corners and smooth the edges out yourself?

[Squatch]

Thank you. Yes I've done it to all of mine. The brushed brass just didn't match the polished receivers to me. Some file work, a little Dremel shaping, then sand with 200-600 grit and final polish with a buffing wheel in a Dremel and some compound.

When done they look like they were meant to be there.

[Highway41]

Finally made it to the range this morning to sight in my 41 BBS. All my rounds were handloads of 225-230gr Keith LSWCs over 8.0gr of Unique. And I was shooting at 25 yards.

When I initially installed the receiver mount Skinner peep I left the factory front in place. With the peep all the way down I was still shooting 5-6" high.

I ordered Skinners .750 brass front and replaced the front and raised the rear peep 2 1/2 turns. I also picked up a .070 aperature and installed it for this session. The Skinner standard rear peep has 5 full turns before it comes out of the base. Andy recommeded the .750 front and 2 full turns off bottom for the rear peep, I went with 2 1/2 turns up to allow just a little more adjustment for full magnum loads which will shoot lower. At the range today my first shots were 5" low. I filed the front sight a few strokes at a time until I got closer to POA and then filed more carefully between groups.


This was the next to the last group, ignore the single upper it was a flyer from some pistol shooting after sighting the BBS.

I gave the front about 3 strokes with the file and my last group for the day was this one.


Then I was out of the loads I was using to sight. I'll get some more loaded and when I can get back to the range get the sights more finely tuned then see about extending the range. So far my filing of the front sight removed .045" from its height.

The BBS is one of the funnest to shoot firearms I've ever owned