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Post by carbon on Apr 15, 2023 21:05:15 GMT
I've been wanting a 45-70 lever gun for a while but they've been nearly impossible to find locally. In fact, my LGS is a Henry dealer and couldn't even special order one from them. As it turns out I spotted a Henry X Model at a gun show a few weeks back and immediately jumped on it. I got my hands on it just in time, as while I was filling out the paperwork someone else picked the gun up with full intention of buying it. Getting it for roughly $100 off the retail price was nice too.
The action is nice, especially after a thorough clean and lube. During that cleaning I got a lot of copper out of the bore. I finally gave up on it that day but tomorrow I plan on giving the bore a good scrubbing with JB bore paste. For obvious reasons I'm going to do a thorough barrel break-in first time at the range. The trigger is pretty nice too. It breaks at a fairly crisp 3 lbs 9 oz on my Lyman gauge. The iron sights are adjustable buckhorn type with fiber optic inserts. I'm not big on fiber optic sights but I'll live with them. I have already purchased a LPVO for the gun, a Bushnell Elite 4500 1-4X, which should be a good match. Unfortunately the EGW base is out of stock until around the end of the month so mounting it will have to wait. Henry lists the weight as 7.4 lbs. By my estimate adding the scope and mount will put the gun at just under 9 lbs. Not a lightweight but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The loads I plan on using run in the 3000 to 3500 ft.lb. range so a lightweight gun would be less than pleasant to shoot.
I have a Friday off coming up in a couple of weeks and will be taking the Henry to the range to do the break-in and sighting in the irons then. Looking forward to seeing how it shoots.
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Post by eastman on Apr 16, 2023 15:11:40 GMT
looks like you used a scope mount made of the "transparent aluminum" they talked about in one of the Star Trek series.
I like that the newer Henry's have the convenience of the tube for loading and unloading with a side gate to keep the magazine topped up. I've never shot a Henry, but I like the side eject of the Henry and Marlin rifles better than the top eject of the Winchesters.
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tera
Moderator
Posts: 1,662
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Post by tera on Apr 16, 2023 16:38:19 GMT
Being a nerd: Transparent aluminum is real now, but doesn'r have the properties you'd expect.
Also, that threaded muzzle would be the first place I'd add an accessory if you live in a permissive State.
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Post by carbon on Apr 16, 2023 17:26:46 GMT
looks like you used a scope mount made of the "transparent aluminum" they talked about in one of the Star Trek series. I like that the newer Henry's have the convenience of the tube for loading and unloading with a side gate to keep the magazine topped up. I've never shot a Henry, but I like the side eject of the Henry and Marlin rifles better than the top eject of the Winchesters. The mount is transparent only temporarily. It will become visible in about three weeks ( Henry should have the bases in by then ). This is my first Henry and so far, I'm impressed. We'll see how it goes at the range. I'll add a range report to this thread when everything gets settled in. May take a few weeks though. Just for the record I am NOT looking forward to putting 50 rounds or so through this thing at one sitting during the barrel break-in!
I live in Ga. so pretty much anything goes. I'm thinking a muzzle brake might be a good idea. Only other additions planned are a nice sling, hammer spur, and lever shims (already installed).
As a side note I'd like to commend Henry on great customer service. I found out the rifle was on recall shortly after I got home with it. Long story short...Henry sent me a box and shipping label. The entire return process took a little over two weeks and Henry sent me a $50 gift card for my trouble. Also, I ordered a few small spare parts Friday ( ejector, locking block spring, and a few screws). The nice gentleman at Henry is sending them to me free of charge. Hard to beat that kind of service.
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Post by eastman on Apr 17, 2023 0:44:15 GMT
Being a nerd: Transparent aluminum is real now, but doesn'r have the properties you'd expect. Also, that threaded muzzle would be the first place I'd add an accessory if you live in a permissive State. don't really remember the Star Trek details, but that aluminum ceramic is cool. The usual transparent from of aluminum is the oxide (aka corundum) either in natural (expensive) mineral form or as transparent, colorless synthetic sapphire.
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Apr 17, 2023 3:40:05 GMT
This article is about the SciFi material but also real life material:
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Post by nerdthenord on Apr 23, 2023 15:39:31 GMT
Badass!
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Post by carbon on Apr 23, 2023 16:27:00 GMT
Thanks! It isn't a thing of beauty like a more traditional lever gun and I doubt I'll ever use the M-lock or pic rail, but I think it will be a decent gun for my use.
I'm hoping to get to the range next Friday, but it looks like rain in the forecast. Figures.
Edited to add: This is the ammo I've picked up to try so far. Power levels run anywhere from around 2400 - 3800 ft. lbs. Hopefully some of it will give decent accuracy.
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