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Old January 3, 2013, 11:41 PM   #1
tonymazz
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Buying a Henry Big Boy .44 mag

Hello -

So I am saving for my second Henry lever action....(have the GB .22LR already and I love it). I want to get a Henry Big Boy .44 mag rifle....

Trying to scope out some basic good-to-highend factory ammo brand / grain and just started looking around....I ran across the Hornady LEVERevolution Ammo which is .44 Rem Mag 225 gr @ 24.99/ 20....so that's over $1/round...is that ridiculous or is that what I can expect for a good to premium .44 mag round

Primary Use: Coyote, skunk, possum, wolf protection on a farm and target shooting on my land approx 100-150 yrds etc.

Any suggestions are appreciated....

Thank you
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Old January 3, 2013, 11:57 PM   #2
militant
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Remington makes some "hot" factory ammo for around 33.00 a box of 50.
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Old January 4, 2013, 08:24 AM   #3
ejb69
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I shoot winchester's white box 240g sp. Works well in my rugger carbine.
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Old January 4, 2013, 08:32 AM   #4
spacecoast
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Learn to reload your own, you can make hard hitting JHPs or JSPs for less than 20 cents a round. Until then, SAVE YOUR BRASS.
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Old January 4, 2013, 09:15 AM   #5
sundog
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What spacecoast said, plus cast your own bullets. I load 44 Mag for pennies and have complete control over what I want.

High side everything:
Primer - .02
Powder - .06
Case - .02 (prorated over the life of the case)
Bullet - .00 (scrounge your alloy)

I can shoot a lot of 44 Mag (45 Colt, 40 S&W, 45 acp - you get the idea) for .10/round (or less), and there's nothing wrong with cast.

Granted, initial setup costs something, but at some point it pays for itself.
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Old January 4, 2013, 01:30 PM   #6
Guv
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Them some big skunks ya got there!
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Old January 6, 2013, 12:13 AM   #7
tonymazz
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thanks for the replys....

So since I don't have reloading equipment yet.....reminton or winchiester are good for my practice loads on my henry ?
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Old January 7, 2013, 05:11 PM   #8
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Also American Eagle and Fiochi are good ammo for less-than-premium prices.
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Old January 8, 2013, 01:19 AM   #9
Niantician
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the leverevolution rounds are amazingly accurate out of my 1894. But I think they're a bit pricey for skunk duty. WWB 240gr soft points are a good all around round. I'm not sure if Henrys have the same problem as Marlins, but I'd stay away from unjacketed rounds. They dont feed so well.
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Old January 10, 2013, 12:00 AM   #10
Win73
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Quote:
Primary Use: Coyote, skunk, possum, wolf
Yeah, I think the .44 mag is a little much for possum also. The last one I killed was with my .22 pistol.

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Old January 11, 2013, 01:01 AM   #11
Murauder
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My henry is a great gun. Got it as my first gun. Its the 22with octagon barrel. Iron sights were dead on at around 50 yards from the factory. Never had an issue. I too hope to have a henry big boy some day. Only in 45lc
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Old January 11, 2013, 01:05 AM   #12
therealdeal
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Original Post

Hello -

Quote:
So I am saving for my second Henry lever action....(have the GB .22LR already and I love it). I want to get a Henry Big Boy .44 mag rifle....

Trying to scope out some basic good-to-highend factory ammo brand / grain and just started looking around....I ran across the Hornady LEVERevolution Ammo which is .44 Rem Mag 225 gr @ 24.99/ 20....so that's over $1/round...is that ridiculous or is that what I can expect for a good to premium .44 mag round

Primary Use: Coyote, skunk, possum, wolf protection on a farm and target shooting on my land approx 100-150 yrds etc.

Any suggestions are appreciated....

Thank you
I own a 44 bigboy henry lever. It is my favorite rifle. I think you are picking a good caliber too because, at least where I live, 44 is the lowest you can go to use the rifle for deer hunting as an example.
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Old January 11, 2013, 01:06 AM   #13
therealdeal
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of course you might have other rifles for that as the bigboy is heavier, but the 44 is nice. not sure what you are doing with the 'kills' but yeah 44 might be a little large if you're eating
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Old January 13, 2013, 06:57 PM   #14
tonymazz
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Bought it and love it....

Well guys I bought my Big Boy 44... a floor model and only one around my area of western Wisconsin.....took it home and oiled it up and made sure the action was in working order, etc...not as smooth as my Goldenboy but works just fine....Loaded up 10 rounds of Win 44 rem mag and cycled them through...

240 gr has a pretty good kick with a brass butt plate....I suspect I don't want to go higher than 240 gr ...

Took her back in and cleaned up and oiled and good to go........

For those that own this rifle ....is the cycling of the action suppose to be smooth like a goldenboy or should it be smooth but a bit clunky....
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Old January 13, 2013, 07:09 PM   #15
mxsailor803
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Have fun with it! I just recently picked up a Ruger Deerfield in 44 and it also loves the high end ammo. I'm waiting for my dies to come in to do some custom loads but mostly its whole lot cheaper to re-load. I'm actually thinking about a Big Boy to sit beside my Ruger. Maybe I should think about a Superblackhawk for my hip lol.
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