Henry 357

[bandit1250]

I have been looking at the Henry 357. I have zero experience with them. They feel nice but I would rather have a pistol grip one if they made it. Is the center fires all steel? Do they feed reliable and how is your accuracy if you have one.? I see them here local for in the lower $600 range but may shop around for a nice stocked one instead of the first one I look at if I decide to get one. I have owned about 5 Marlin 1894C 357's and they just aren't my favorites in the Marlin line. My Marlin Cowboy was the best shooter by far but my Marlin 336 SC 35 Remington loaded down to 357 velocity with 158gr. pistol bullets would out shoot the 357 easily. The problem with the 35 loaded with the pistol bullets is reliable feeding due to the overall length being shorter and throwing the timing off. I have had some work fine but the SC is finicky with the shorter length. I also have a bunch of 357 components so that makes me want one again.

[Vaquero]

Can't help ya much on a 357 Henry.
Mine is a Rossi, and is a darn good shooter.
Will say I saw one a couple years ago, not long after I bought the Rossi that I should have bought.
Man that thing had some of the nicest lumber I'd ever seen on a rifle.
Good luck in your search.

[PT7]

I have the H006M .357 Bronze Big Boy now, and regrettably had to sell my H012M .357 Steel Big Boy last year (finances).

Both chamber very smoothly & reliably, especially using .357 ammo. There was an occasional glitch (FTF) when I used shorter .38 Special ammo in the H006M. Honestly, I think I contributed to that with my handling of the lever action. I finally overcame "tilting" my Henry to the right when chambering it.

Also both are very accurate, although I'm not the greatest marksman by any means. But a friend of mine is a former Marine sniper. The first time he shot my H006M with the stock sights, he placed a 5-round group of .357s, all rounds touching at 50 yards. He knows he is an excellent shooter, but the Big Boy surprised him as to how accurate it is.

The H012M was lighter and didn't have the octagon barrel like the H006M has. It was fun to shoot, and I might say even slightly more accurate.

If I would get another .357 rifle, it would be the Henry H006MR Carbine. No hesitation and no doubt about this choice. I think Henry makes excellent .357 Magnum rifles. For me, the .357 Henry in any model is a double thumbs up!

[JEBar]

In August we plan to order a Henry 357 as a birthday gift for our grandson ... he will turn 8 and be eligible to take NC's Hunter Safety Course .... it will officially become his when his father (our son) believes he is ready .... we've pretty well narrowed it down to either the Big Boy Steel or Big Boy Steel Carbine .... I'm happy to hear such positive reports on the Henry 357's

[CT_Shooter]

I bought one after I bought and fell in love with the Classic H001, which was the first firearm I ever purchased. I wanted a center fire, pistol caliber rifle to pair with a Colt .38 Special Official Police revolver that I inherited, but it had to be a Henry! Mine is a brass rifle in .357 and it is an absolute joy to shoot! It looks like a piece of art and it shoots straight. The action is smooth and reliable. Mine cycles .38s, even in a magazine of mixed .38s and .357s; something I tried just to see if would feed them. It did.

[clovishound]

I bought a .357 Big Boy Steel last year. It was my first lever rifle. Paid more than I was looking to spend, but the Henry build was superior to the other levers I looked at. I was hoping that my daughter and I would like it.

I was wrong.

We don't like it.


We absolutely love it!

Seriously, this is one really fun weapon. The big problem I have with this rifle is loading enough .357s to keep my daughter happy at the range. I had a little problem at first with feeding. With a few cleanings, a couple hundred rounds through it, and a minor change to my reloading routine, it now feeds slicker than snot on a doorknob. HPs, RNFPs, TCs, and SWCs, it feeds them all. You do have to keep the rifle upright. You do need to operate the lever with a little authority. I rarely have a feed problem these days, and the rare ones I have always clear with a quick run back of the lever.

The Big Boy Steel has a steel receiver, and a lighter round barrel than the octagonal barrel, brass receiver model. I like the balance better on the steel. The price is a little lower as well.

I have also taken this rifle hunting. A 158 grain soft point American Eagle off the the shelf round chronographed at 1800 fps. That works for me as a hunting round for the 150 lb or less hogs and deer that are in the woods in my area. I haven't taken anything with it yet, but I'm not a serious hunter. I mainly enjoy getting out in the woods. Some free range, organic pork in the freezer would be a bonus.

Daughter and I were talking last night about how much we love this rifle. YMMV, but I would be very surprised if you were disappointed in the .357 Henry.

[PT7]

Very nice write-up on the .357 Big Boys, clovishound! Especially that you noted, "There won't be any disappointment in having a .357 Henry."
I 100% agree with you -- and with your daughter!!

As you reminded me of deer hunting, I thought I would add a blip on my "go-to" ammo when I do my yearly deer blind excursion. One of my favorite ammo brands is Black Hills. Here is what I load in my Bronze Big Boy:

Black Hills_357 Magnum 158gr JHP.jpg

Ballistics Information:
•Muzzle Velocity: 1250 fps
•Muzzle Energy: 548 ft. lbs.


BTW, cool picture of your steel .357 Henry! Thanks again.

I bought a .357 Big Boy Steel last year. It was my first lever rifle. Paid more than I was looking to spend, but the Henry build was superior to the other levers I looked at. I was hoping that my daughter and I would like it.

I was wrong.

We don't like it.


We absolutely love it!

Seriously, this is one really fun weapon. The big problem I have with this rifle is loading enough .357s to keep my daughter happy at the range. I had a little problem at first with feeding. With a few cleanings, a couple hundred rounds through it, and a minor change to my reloading routine, it now feeds slicker than snot on a doorknob. HPs, RNFPs, TCs, and SWCs, it feeds them all. You do have to keep the rifle upright. You do need to operate the lever with a little authority. I rarely have a feed problem these days, and the rare ones I have always clear with a quick run back of the lever.

The Big Boy Steel has a steel receiver, and a lighter round barrel than the octagonal barrel, brass receiver model. I like the balance better on the steel. The price is a little lower as well.

I have also taken this rifle hunting. A 158 grain soft point American Eagle off the the shelf round chronographed at 1800 fps. That works for me as a hunting round for the 150 lb or less hogs and deer that are in the woods in my area. I haven't taken anything with it yet, but I'm not a serious hunter. I mainly enjoy getting out in the woods. Some free range, organic pork in the freezer would be a bonus.

Daughter and I were talking last night about how much we love this rifle. YMMV, but I would be very surprised if you were disappointed in the .357 Henry.

[clovishound]

That 1250 MV listed on the box is about the same as that listed for the American Eagle. However, when chronographed real world from the 20" barrel of the BB Steel, I got 1800 fps. I knew I would gain velocity from the longer barrel, but was surprised it was that much of a difference. BTW I went with the soft points as they may have a little better penetration on tough hogs than a HP bullet. For deer, I would probably go with the HP.

[Whaler]

I have the Henry Big Boy 357mag carbine and love it. The fit and finish is flawless and the action is the slickest that I have ever operated.

[Deadwood Dutch]

For you guys that hunt deer with a .357 magnum, what is the maximum distance at which you would consider shooting a deer, for a clean kill? Shot placement and ammo type, of course, being important.

[JEBar]

For you guys that hunt deer with a .357 magnum, what is the maximum distance at which you would consider shooting a deer, for a clean kill? Shot placement and ammo type, of course, being important.

both of our sons have taken deer (one shot clean kills) at 50 +/- yards with their Ruger GP100's w/ 6" barrels .... they were using our reloads which were made using a max load of W296 pushing 158 gr Nosler bullets .... given that the longer barrel of a Henry 357 will add considerably to the muzzle velocity I would anticipate the effective range to being considerably longer .... I'd be inclined to let my maximum range be determined by the results of spending time punching paper to determine accuracy at 100 yards (just to pick a number) and additional penetration test

[Deadwood Dutch]

Thanks.

[PT7]

I'd say a comfortable max for me would be 75 yards. Out to 100 yards, I think it is stretching it too much.
You mentioned shot placement being important, Dutch. My good friend I hunt with suggests to me that a headshot is the way to go, but I've read several articles/commentaries on that, and most folk don't like that approach. The preference of more hunters is the body (heart/lung) shot. But wouldn't the head be a really clean kill, although maybe a little tougher shot? The deer would surely drop fast...

How have you humanely taken your clean harvest, Dutch? I know from your excellent hunting stories that you've had much experience in the woods!

[Deadwood Dutch]

I have shot deer with my Remington 760 Gamemaster .30-06 using both 150 and 180 grain Remington Core Lokt and most, but not all were shot in the heart-lung area. I would estimate that none were taken past 75 yards. I have been fortunate to not to have tracked any that I shot with the .30-06, as far as I can remember. The nicest buck that I shot with it was shot on the run, from a tree stand, with open sights. It was a nine pointer. I missed with the first shot, but got him in the spine with the second. This was at about 35 yards. As far as the Marlin 1894 .44 magnum I have shot deer with both Hornady LEVERevolution 225 grain and the Remington 240 grain. All taken at under 50 yards. All but one dropped in it's tracks and that one ran in a circle and fell over. I have also missed my share of both buck and doe, for various reasons. Some, I couldn't pick up in the scope. I have actually killed more with open sights in the Pa. woodlands and the terrain where I have hunted since 1969. I lost count but I think it is somewhere around 34. I have missed more buck than doe. One time the rifle jammed on the first shot and the deer just walked away before I could get another shot off. Also, one time after shooting and walking up to where a deer had been, I saw where I had shot a nice hole through a young maple tree. And some I just missed because of being in too much of a hurry, I suppose. Buck fever? I actually started in 1964 with a Winchester Model 94 .32 Winchester Special but I never hunted that hard back then until I got out of the Navy in 1969. I have never made a head shot, either heart-lung area, dead center in the chest as the deer was coming towards me and one right up the rear and into the vitals as it was walking away from me. I don't push like I did when I was younger. And, the deer are not there in the numbers in the area where I hunt as they were years ago. But that is another whole story. I'm just glad to be there and enjoy the woods.

[clovishound]

I would have to qualify that with what sights you had on it. With non magnifying, I would be reluctant to exceed 125 yds with a stationary target. I missed a shot (as in didn't get the rifle up quickly enough to take the shot) on a hog at the end of the special hunt season in March. I was glad I didn't have the chance to take it, as the distance was over 150 yds, and I was using a non magnifying red dot scope.

[bandit1250]

I'd say a comfortable max for me would be 75 yards. Out to 100 yards, I think it is stretching it too much.
You mentioned shot placement being important, Dutch. My good friend I hunt with suggests to me that a headshot is the way to go, but I've read several articles/commentaries on that, and most folk don't like that approach. The preference of more hunters is the body (heart/lung) shot.

The head shot may sound good if "EVERYTHING" goes just right. It can turn out very bad if the deer moves it's head just as you shoot and you take off the jaw area and it gets away to die a very hard death from starvation and no water. We put a deer down in muzzleloader season one year that had it's lower jaw area blown off from rifle season that had got away from some one. That deer looked like a skeleton with hair on it from not being able to eat. This was 2 weeks after rifle season had ended so imagine what that poor critter was going through. These guys that say they shoot deer in the head to save meat are taking a chance losing a whole deer to get a couple more burgers from their harvest. I have more respect for the animal to take the chance on something dying a slow painful death. Some people only talk of the successful shot and not the ones that failed. The right cartridge with the right bullet for deer size game in the lung area and you will be dragging out your deer and not lose any meat to talk about. A hundred yards with a good 158 or 180 JSP would not be out of the question if you picked your shot well and you know the accuracy of you and your rifle. I don't like hollow point or plastic tip bullets on deer and only use JSP. A good cast lead bullet would be good also. A rifle picks up a lot of velocity over a 6" barrel hand gun.

[JEBar]

A rifle picks up a lot of velocity over a 6" barrel hand gun.

as I've noted, in August we plan to order a Henry 357 for our grandson .... I look forward to getting out our Chronograph and seeing just how much difference in muzzle velocity there is between it and a GP100 with a 6" barrel

[bandit1250]

A rifle picks up a lot of velocity over a 6" barrel hand gun.

as I've noted, in August we plan to order a Henry 357 for our grandson .... I look forward to getting out our Chronograph and seeing just how much difference in muzzle velocity there is between it and a GP100 with a 6" barrel

I don't remember the exact figures when my brother clocked his 44 Mag. Marlin 20" carbine with the 240gr. loads for his S&W 29 with a 5" barrel using a stout load of H110 but it was almost 500fps higher. It was even more difference with his 3" 29 Smith. Quite a difference in energy with a gain like that.

[JEBar]

I don't remember the exact figures when my brother clocked his 44 Mag. Marlin 20" carbine with the 240gr. loads for his S&W 29 with a 5" barrel using a stout load of H110 but it was almost 500fps higher. It was even more difference with his 3" 29 Smith. Quite a difference in energy with a gain like that.

500 fps can make a significant difference in trajectory and impact force .... I plan to do the same with our Henry 44 mag and Ruger Redhawk .... the Ruger has a 7.5" barrel .... it will be interesting to see the difference