Initial report BBSC 41mag...

[TNman]

Picked up BBSC 41 today at noon at my dealer...rifle looks really nice with dark straight grained walnut and a linear knot on left side of buttstock which looks nice to me...some character. Fit and finish are very good/excellent and the lever/bolt cycles very smoothly. The rifle has noticeably more heft/weight than my .357. After cleaning the bore, the woodshed was the next stop where I have an 18 yard set up for pistols primarily. One of my loads was fired first-offhand and it stuck a bit right with obvious punch and authority; the 30# ar500 plate emitted a big clang. This carbine has some punch; recoil is no problem at all imo. I loaded it with 4 more Rem HTP rounds and they landed in the same general group. The trigger pull is very nice too; seems a bit better than my .357 but that is probably subjective and luck of the draw. After that first 5 round group I shot more of my loads using Hodgdon Lil’Gun and Starline brass. Function is perfect with smooth feeding, firing, extraction, and ejection. There were no feeding hiccups or stalls etc. The .357 is one of my favorite handy woods rifles but this 41 will edge it out I’m thinking...it really is nice. And the 41 cartridge doesn’t leave any room for questions about power up to black bear imo. Anyone on the fence will find zero discouragement from me at this early assessment. It is best for a handloader imo but with the Internet, ammo is just a few clicks away. Tonight I mounted a Vortex Venom on a shortened Henry rail and it looks great...identical in appearance to my .357. Supposed to rain a lot tomorrow but with my covered firing point sighting in the Venom should be no problem. Hopefully it will hold decent groups to 100 yards; if so it will be the cat’s meow. I will try to attach some pics.

[TNman]

Here are a couple more pics...I hope...

[Mags]

Good report! Thanks for sharing. Good looking Henry there. That little knot gives it personal character that in only yours. How about a picture with the scope mounted? Looking forward to tomorrow's report.

[PT7]

That beautiful wood on your rifle stock sure dresses up the woodpile! Sharp-looking rifle, and the stock knot is exceptionally nice.

Only one thing. Because I own and thoroughly enjoy my BBS .357 magnum carbine, I was "sad" to read your statement:

The .357 is one of my favorite handy woods rifles but this 41 will edge it out I’m thinking...it really is nice.

At least it is one Henry surpassing another Henry. Good to keep it in the family.

Great that you can shoot to steel. Enjoyed the Range Report.
PT7

[ESquared]

Great looking Henry there, congrats on the acquisition. Like Mags, would love to see a pic with the scope, just because.

Love that little knot in the stock! My SGC has one, but not nearly that eye-catching! More luck of the draw in furniture than there is in trigger pull, huh?

Great report and photos, thanks for sharing!

[JEBar]

nice .... very nice indeed .... looking forward to your coming range and hunting reports

[TNman]

Ok, got the Venom mounted last night and took the 41 out to the 25 yd range where I have a bench. As mounted, the first shot hit low and left but it dialed in perfectly with 3 more shots. After zeroing, busting 3-4” chert cobbles at 25 yards was child’s play and generated a lot of pleasing dust and rock fragments. I shot about 15 rounds with three of my different handloads. They seemed to have the same poi at least at that range; rifle function was perfect. The rains began again and that postponed shooting at longer ranges. This evening about 2 hours before dark under a threatening sky I went to the 104 yard range; I intended to shoot from the 53 yard bench first but a wasp nest under my shooting seat cancelled that plan! No stings and they are destroyed now but I moved back to the 104 bench. My target is a 10” square steel and it is hard to be real precise with the red dot even at it’s lowest brightness in the dim forest light and I wasn’t even sure it would hit it at all since I didn’t fine tune it at 53. First shot was a satisfying clang. 2nd was the same and they looked to be near center. The 3rd was off to the left about 2” but the first two were near touching and centered! Awesome! Now the red dot and glare was making it difficult to aim precisely in the dim light and I had to keep aiming off and then back to the target. Heck I was pleased to hit it at all but this rifle is going to be a real shooter it appears. It will be easier to aim and evaluate group size capability in better light. Here are a couple of pics of the 41 with the Venom mounted; the bit of cut off rail is shown too. I didn’t like the rail cantilevered over the front of the receiver ring and carry is much better with the shorter rail. I sawed it off with a hacksaw, smoothed the cut surface a bit and blackened it with aluminum black and it looks great. There is also a pic with the rubber sight protector that just snaps on for storage and etc.

[ESquared]

Great looking set-up and great results clanging the steel @ 100+ yds. Congrats and keep 'em coming. Haven't read much on this forum about this caliber, so interesting to hear your tales.
Thanks for sharing!

[JEBar]

very interesting, I most certainly appreciate your reporting .... what interest me the most is your experience with a red dot sight .... I have had one on a Ruger Redhawk 44 Mag revolver for decades .... depending on lighting conditions, I find it to be very effective for hunting or range shooting out to 50 or so yards .... not so much at longer ranges .... for that reason, I've literally never considered mounting one a rifle .... hence the reason I'm highly interested in following your reports

[BigAl52]

Nice job and the gun looks great. I love the wood as well. Good to see some 41 action on here. I as well like my 41 and have often wanted to get the carbine model in the brass version. I have the full size version as well as several pistols in that caliber.

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Here is mine and I need to get her to the range its been a while. Al

[TNman]

I started using a red dot on my BBSC .357 last deer season. My thoughts were that these pistol cartridge carbines are a handy woods rifle where ranges are generally inside a 100 yds and sometimes well inside. The red dot should and does work within these parameters. I killed 3 whitetails with a single shot each at ranges of ~50, 60, and 70 yards. In the interest of full disclosure I shot a buck down at about 75 yards, he fell to the ground and started kicking with his white belly toward me. I watched him a bit and then got up to go down and field dress him; as I moved closer he staggered to his feet and went over the crest of a holler and I couldn’t get a shot. Where he fell their was lots of leaf disruption but I couldn’t find any blood nor hair. I tracked him just via leaf disruption and direction of travel for ~200 yards crossing a deep holler. I jumped him on the flat on the other side, he flagged and ran away...no shot. I presume it was the same deer but couldn’t see his head. What happened? All I could figure was the bullet struck him somewhere along his top line in the neck or head area briefly stunning him...anyway that happened. I don’t blame the .357, rifle, or red dot...I just didn’t make a good shot. But a red dot is perfect for these little woods carbines at woods ranges imo as it doesn’t impair their handiness and clean lines too much. I have several scoped centerfire bolt and semiauto rifles that would be more appropriate for longer ranges. I would encourage you to try a red dot on a rifle for woods hunting; heck you have lots of experience with one already and I think you will find it easier to use on a woods carbine than on a pistol. They are much faster to use than irons and both eyes open shooting is a big plus.

[TNman]

Nice rifle BigAl... I had never shot a 41 of any kind until yesterday...but I really like the cartridge.

[BigAl52]

I have quite a bit of Red Dot shoots well in the 45 colt at about 6.5 grains. But when I load hunting loads for 357 I use 2400. It performs well with the bigger bullets and is very accurate. Im not using my 357 for hunting out here or for that matter the 41. Mine are mainly just target guns.

[TNman]

Ok continuing to shoot the 41 at increasing range in better light today. Used some paracord to wrap the loop lever and it seemed to turn out well...before wrapping a good coating of RIG and then Johnson paste wax was used to deter rust. Started shooting at the 71 yard mark and fired several 3 shot groups using my reloads and Remington htp factory ammo. The group size varied from 3” to 1 1/2” or so; I was very pleased. Moved back to the 104 yd bench and shot a 3 shot group with my loads which landed into 1 1/2” or less! I adjusted to the right a tad and called it good. Really I can’t aim any better than that with a 3 moa red dot...this rifle is a shooter. And the 41 earned a name today...Elmer, in honor of Keith. Now waiting for mid November deer rifle season will seem like forever! Elmer is ready! First target is group at 104 which is a bit left, next target is the best group at 71, rifle on bench at 71,...and then cartridges fired today reloaded and ready to go.

[JEBar]

nice .... Elmer clearly should serve you well

[Mags]

Very nice results. Thanks for sharing and including pictures.

[Frontiersman]

What a fine lever rifle the .41 makes.

[Slugnut]

The 41mag. is a sweet, fun to shoot, accurate, hard hitting short range caliber. My Henry 41 is more accurate than my Marlin 44mag with less recoil..all things being equal. It's perfect for NY whitetails/black bear were I hunt. You did good, my friend

[ESquared]

Very interesting and fun to watch your story being told, so thanks again. Learning a lot about the caliber, so keep it coming.

Now, I have to think about a name for my BBS .357. Great concept! The first name that jumps to mind is my late mother, may she rest in peace. Have to think about that...

[Oksrt]

Congrats! You have some nice wood on yours. I love shooting mine. H110 & 210 xtp, 1.5x5 scope.