First shoot with the Henry Big Boy and my hand loaded ammo.

I took today off from work and hit the Blue Trail Range* with 125 rounds of 44 magnum and my new Henry Big Boy. This was a first time shooting the Big Boy and my hand loaded ammo. If you read the posts below, you'll see that I've been loading with Accurate #9 and Allient powder with 200 grain Hornady hollow points.

I began the morning by shooting some store bought ammo so I'd have something to compare my loads to. The Remington shot high and to the right, and the groups were spread out at 50 yards. This concerned me because the rear sight was already in the low position. Next I loaded my loads charged with Accurate powder. These rounds were loaded on the light side, since this was my first time loading. I had the camera running because Mike Adams wanted to see my face when I discovered that my ammo didn't blow up in my face. I guess that wasn't in my head because I brought safety glasses to wear over my perscription glasses but I forgot to put them on.

I was very pleased to discover that the recoil was a bit less (not that the Remington was bad) and the bullets were hitting about 4" low and to the left of the Remington, which put them right on target! I then fired the Allient loads and had similar results. I couldn't tell the difference. The groups were substantially tighter than the store-bought Remington, so I doubt I'll be buying much more pre-loaded ammo in the future. It was also very expensive, going for around $35 for a box of 50. I was thinking that at 100 - 150 yards, the Remington cartridge would have the correct elevation, but the windage and pattern will likely only be worse at an increased distance. I'll likely continue to load for longer range shooting, and simply increase the load.
One problem I noticed is that I need to increase the crimp. I'm seeing black soot on some of the cases which indicates that they are leaking. I'm finding it difficult to know how much to crimp, because I don't want to over crimp and damage the case. I'm sure I'll be working on this over the summer and in time I'll have a feel for it.

So today was a fun day all around and I was pleased the way everything turned out. The new Henry shot flawlessly without a single jam or misfire. Recoil was light and the rifle's balance is beautiful. It only took a few light taps of a hammer to the rear sight to get the rifle on target. The handloads turned out better than expected and now I'm geared up to load another hundred rounds. I'm pleased with the powder / bullet combination I chose so I'll stick with that for awhile.

When I was done shooting rifles, I moved over to the handgun range and shot next to a guy shooting guess what? A 44 magnum revolver! I asked him if he reloaded and he said "no" and then donated his brass to the cause. That was a nice way to end the day.

*Blue Trail Range has undergone a great deal of changes. Check my 2009 Range Page for that story.

PROBLEM SOLVING WITH DIRK

DIRK: "I think the reason for the soot on your cases is you are a bit light on the powder. The data that Accurate sent you recommends 20.9 grains of #9 and you started at 19.7. What you are seeing is the case not expanding quite enough to completely seal the chamber. You are right at the point where this happens. The reason you need a good crimp with a lever action is to keep the bullets from being pushed into the case from recoil in the magazine. If that happens it can raise your pressure well over the limits and that is dangerous. It is a good feeling loading your own that shoot better than factory… If it were me I would try 20.9 and you will most likely get better accuracy because your loads will be more consistent without the small amount of leakage you are getting."

BOB: "Thanks Dirk. Now if I increase the load, won't I raise the shot? I see a potential problem at 50 yards because my rear sight is already as low as it will go. A guy at the range last year gave me a bunch of old 38 that he loaded VERY light and I'm not getting soot."

DIRK: "With your 38 you were using hollow base wadcutters. They seal the bore better than a fmj and have to be loaded light. Now with the 44, yes, more powder should make it shoot higher. All the rifle data I have seen, they don’t even list anything below 240 grains. So that could be why you don’t have the sight adjustment you want. Seems most people use the heavy bullets for hunting. I think I read somewhere that the rear sight on the Big Boy can be flipped over for a different sight picture. If it were me I would zero it at a 100 yards then try some different charges to see what shoots best. In my experience the so-called sweet spot is never max. I would also try 240 grain bullets or the or the soft tips Hornady makes for leverguns."

BOB: "I'm thinking about this Dirk, and I'm sure I'll be playing around with various loads over the summer. I guess it will depend on what I'll be doing and where I'll be hunting. If I'm shooting at the range, a lighter load will be more fun because the recoil will be less and the price will be cheaper per round. I'm shooting with open sights, and for a nearsighted guy in his mid 50's, 100 yards is a long ways out to be accurate. At 50 yards I can easily see the red dot. If I'm hunting coyote, a bigger bullet will do a real number on it considering that most shoot them with a .223. Also, there aren't a lot of big fields around here that I know of and I think most shots will be at around 50 yards (the one I shot at Roraback was only about 20 yards out). I do want to try the Hornady LEVERevolution bullets, but I'm sure they are expensive so I won't be shooting them often. Don't forget that the 44 mag is a handgun bullet and they don't come to a point like a 30-30, so I'm not worried about them going off in the tube. I think that's what the new Hornady bullets were created to prevent, though I know they must be accurate (with their ballistic tip). If extreme accuracy was critical I would have gone with a different caliber. This is a great plinking and brush gun, so I would rather keep it rather close and inexpensive. Does that make sense Dirk?...

I was looking up the bullet weight, and my book lists starting loads for Hornady bullets:

• 180 grain bullet uses 17.1 gr of Accurate #7 for 1700 FPS.
• 200 grain bullet uses 19.7 gr of Accurate #9 for 1600 FPS.
• 240 grain bullet uses 17.3 gr of Accurate #9 for 1400 FPS.
• 265 grain bullet uses 14.8 gr of Accurate #9 for 1200 FPS.

I think the 200 grain with 19.7 gr at 1600 FPS is a good combo, though I'd increase it for 100 yds to 21.1 gr (23.9 is max. allowable). You said that the 1.3cc scoop = 17.5 gr., so I'm loading about 2 gr. low. I think I'll just buy a scoop set and try increasing the load to where it should be. Then I'll look into flipping the sights and I might be good to go. Thanks for your help with this Dirk...

...I'm sure I could do OK at 100 yards, but after about 150 rounds my eyes go screwy; I think it's the bifocals. I have more fun shooting at 50 yards anyway, though I'm sure I'll be shooting at 50, 75 and 100 yards. I'll be creating a bunch of different loads over the next two months. I'll mark them and start a book to see which work better at various distances. It will be something fun to do over the summer at the range. For now, if Arne asks me to blast coyotes with him I'm confident that if I match the load I shot this weekend I'll hit them at 50 yards. Thanks Dirk!"