Henry Big Boy Revolvers

[Rothdel]

Anyone seen one in person or better yet handled one yet?

[The Happy kaboomer]

Please don't offer me one for free.......I won't accept it.......Butt ugly design.

[stuckinthe60s]

korth had pull forward rods too. but at 5 grand a gun...henry wins. lol.

and if I may.....for 200 bucks, id rather have an old double 9 hi standard!

[44caliberkid]

I’ve watched a few videos of reviews/ tests. One guy shot it with 38 Specials but never showed the target, just said it did pretty good. Another one shot a group at 7 yards that was like four inches, again 38 Specials. It always bugs me that most people testing a 357 Magnum shoot 38 Specials, with maybe one cylinder full of 357s. All of them seemed like they were not trying to say anything bad about it.

[Webleymkv]

Originally posted by The Happy kaboomer
Please don't offer me one for free.......I won't accept it.......Butt ugly design.

Ok, you think they're ugly, got it. You made your thoughts on the aesthetics crystal clear in post #25... and again in #47... and now again in #52

[44 AMP]

It always bugs me that most people testing a 357 Magnum shoot 38 Specials, with maybe one cylinder full of 357s. All of them seemed like they were not trying to say anything bad about it.

Sometimes, .38 Specials do better....

One time a fellow I was shooting with had an SAA clone (I forget the brand), in .357. Shooting standard .38s, (158gr @ 850fps) it was dead on and very accurate. 4 different shooters, identical results. Switching to .357s, every shot was 2 feet low and left. 4 different shooters, identical results.

As for the Henry, I think if they had chosen ONE historical style and gone for the nostalgia market, they might have something. They didn't, the gun is a blend of styles, and that just doesn't work for me.

[cc-hangfire]

I like it. One day I’ll buy one. Just cause I like firearms, both to shoot and to accumulate (can’t really call the assortment that I have a collection).
I’m particularly glad to see an American manufacturer designing and introducing new designs. If nothing else, it agitates the anti-2A crowd.

[Wheel-Gunner]

Ok, you think they're ugly, got it. You made your thoughts on the aesthetics crystal clear in post #25... and again in #47... and now again in #52

Yeah, really!

I like it. One day I’ll buy one. Just cause I like firearms, both to shoot and to accumulate (can’t really call the assortment that I have a collection).
I’m particularly glad to see an American manufacturer designing and introducing new designs. If nothing else, it agitates the anti-2A crowd.

EXACTLY! I just don't understand the hate and borderline animosity. I don't think I'd own one, but who cares? Options are nice, especially when it comes to revolver's for heavens sake. I'd definitely like to handle and shoot one, and would temper my opinions (especially publicly) until I do so.

[Cosmodragoon]

Look, I applaud Henry for doing something new. I think that's cool. This looks interesting and I can see some people liking it. Sure, the price seems a little high but that's true for lots of things these days.

At least for me, I don't love brass, I don't like exposed back straps, and I want my grip lower for double-action shooting. So I'll pass on this one. (I do plan on picking up their new Homesteader.)

On the plus side, I don't see an ILS or big safety billboards.

[44 AMP]

Buy one, if you're curious, better yet, buy two. One to shoot and discover what it is, and isn't and the other to keep in the box. Put it in the safe for 25 or 40 years.
Then,
it will be in new condition when you take it out, and people will be enamored of its look, remark on how far ahead of its time it was, lament on how long it has been out of production, and offer large amounts of whatever we are using for money by then, to get their hands on it. (provided it is still legal to do so, that far in the future)

[Siggy-06]

I picked up mine 3 weeks ago. Went with the gunfighter grip. Paid $750 plus a transfer fee. After handling it a bit I ended up ordering some checkered grips from Henry as the stock ones are smooth/slick. Overall, the bluing is nice and even, the brass is beautiful and shiny. I put 50 rounds of 158gr .357 mag through it, no issues to report. Accuracy was good at 15 yards, all in a 6 inch target. Henry did a good job with this one.

[JohnKSa]

How is the trigger?

[CajunBass]

I doubt I'll get one. I've already got a couple/three 38/357's and I'm sort of past the point of trying something just to try it. I don't think it looks awful. It's no Python, but it sort of reminds me of some older Colts.

I'm just glad there is a company that has enough "faith" (I suppose that's the right word) in the revolver market to bring out not just a new revolver, but something that's outside the five/six shot J-frame box. I wish them well.

[Siggy-06]

The way I can describe the trigger: In DA, better than a GP100, but not as good as a 686. However, there’s no grit at all and SA breaks light and crisp. It just needs more range time instead of a trigger job.

[JohnKSa]

Sounds very functional. At $750 street price, that's going to be in the general price range of a new GP100. I guess we'll see if it can compete.

[Jim Watson]

At last, a report from a paying customer.

Do you think if we wait long enough they will put on better sights, like they finally gave in and put loading gates on their lever actions?

[RoyceP]

Originally Posted by Jim Watson

Do you think if we wait long enough they will put on better sights, like they finally gave in and put loading gates on their lever actions?

Well I hope they do and get rid of the brass parts. Then I might buy one. Until then not interested.

[44 AMP]

Accuracy was good at 15 yards, all in a 6 inch target. Henry did a good job with this one.

Everybody has different standards, I suppose, but for me, 6" at 15yards is not "good" accuracy.

Went back and took another look at the pictures, re-read the posts (over half of which seem to be about what rifles Henry isn't making but should...), and it occurred to me that Henry seems to have "Missed the boat" in about everyway possible, making me wonder if it wasn't deliberate.

The comment was made about how it is good to see a new revolver that's not in the snubby/CCW class, and I agree it is good to see that. But what Henry did??? IT might not quite reach the level of "abomination" but its a long way from the smartest thing they could have built.

First off, its a medium size revolver. Nothing wrong with that, but it does put it outside what most people today consider concealable and so they won't be interested in it as a carry gun. And, being a medium size revolver today, puts in direct head to head competition with sporting/service revolvers, both current and historical.

There is essentially no longer any significant "service revolver" market. Very, very few police carry revolvers these days (indeed, some of the younger ones don't even know how to operate them ), so where is the market for a FIXED SIGHT medium frame DA revolver, today??

That market in the realm of collectors, who like and enjoy the old police guns, which are virtually all S&Ws or Colts, and the Henry just doesn't fit.

Since the Henry misses out of the primary nostalgia market, despite an "old timey" look its not enough to pass muster with lots of us, let alone the purists.

I'm sure they will sell a number of guns to the curious, but after the novelty factor wears thin, then what?

Medium frame DA .357, is fine, but fixed sights (and from the picture, pretty small ones) and a free standing ejector rod, in the 21st Century??? Its not aimed at the police revolver market, because there isn't one any more. Its not in the small, light, easily concealable class, so that only leaves the sporting market, and those looking for a "nightstand gun" something for home defense without being carried in public.

For hunting, or even range use, I consider adjustable sights to be a requirement. I happily accept fixed sights on guns which are period pieces, and where the fixed sights are the only "correct" option, but I cannot understand why anyone would intentionally handicap themselves with them on a new gun intended for precision use (hunting and target) Of course, that's just me. But if the choice is an adjustable sight gun or a fixed sight gun in the same approximate use and price range, I'm not buying the fixed sight gun.

Free standing ejector rod? Ok, its a bit quaint, this one looks pretty beefy, shouldn't be an issue in practical use, but why? No one else is doing that much, these days, even Colt dropped the free standing ejector from its main models long ago. Last folks I recall hearing about demanding a free standing rod were some British gentleman who ranted about the shrouded rod getting jammed with mud in the WWI trenches....I don't think that really applies much these days...

I think the choice of caliber is fine, 38/357s are great rounds. But the rest of the gun seems a kluge of the least desirable features of the past century plus...

I am not, and do not judge a gun design on the trigger pull of a single or only a few example, particularly guns from the early part of the production run.

There is simply no way to know if the trigger (good or bad) of the gun in your hands is typical of all or just the individual gun you have.

Get a few hundred (or at least several dozen) examples where all, or nearly all exhibit the same trigger traits, then you have a sound basis for judging the merits of the design,


TO me, the Henry Big Boy misses the historical replica market, misses the bulk of the nostalgia market, and is inferior in the sporting market, combining that with its price point says to me that it won't have much in the way of selling points once "the blush is off the rose".

[Recycled bullet]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

Everybody has different standards, I suppose, but for me, 6" at 15yards is not "good" accuracy.

I hear that! My standard is 6 in at 50 yards if I can't do that then I have to revisit the choice of shooter guns and ammunition. 6 in at 15 yards is for rapid fire practice bang bang bang bang!

[Jim Watson]

I would be ok with 6" at 15 yards... fast DA.

[Recycled bullet]

When will Henry release the revolver model that will take the trijicon RMR electronic gun site?

[JustJake]

Not a Colt SA, that’s for sure.

[Sarge]

Originally Posted by Siggy-06

I picked up mine 3 weeks ago. Went with the gunfighter grip. Paid $750 plus a transfer fee. After handling it a bit I ended up ordering some checkered grips from Henry as the stock ones are smooth/slick. Overall, the bluing is nice and even, the brass is beautiful and shiny. I put 50 rounds of 158gr .357 mag through it, no issues to report. Accuracy was good at 15 yards, all in a 6 inch target. Henry did a good job with this one.

Thank you for the first hand report and please keep us posted. I'm particularly interested in 25 yard rested accuracy, shooting single action, and how close the point-of-aim is to the point-of-impact with 158 grain 38/357.

[reddog81]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

so where is the market for a FIXED SIGHT medium frame DA revolver, today??

It will be interesting to see how this experiment goes over...

A small carry gun would make sense. A larger adjustable sight range gun would have some buyers. Something that is too large to easily carry and not really a good range gun will have limited appeal. I wonder what they have planned to introduce next and if it will ever see the light of day?

[44 AMP]

I'm particularly interested in 25 yard rested accuracy, shooting single action, and how close the point-of-aim is to the point-of-impact with 158 grain 38/357.

Other than general information of what THAT gun, ammo, and shooter did, the information has very little value.

Perhaps one owner's experience with his gun and his ammo will prove consistent across the entire production run of guns, but perhaps not. get a few reports from a few dozen owners and then you might have a valid sample to make a judgement on.

However, even that is no guarantee that the gun you get in your hands will do exactly what the others do.