Henry 1860, .45 Colt

[Ray Newman]

Colleagues: am seriously thinking about a Henry Repeating Arms New original .45 Colt Henry rifle (model Ho11C). I selected the .45 Colt calibre as I am set up to load .45 Colt and a .44-40 would mean buying dies, brass, etc.

I have a good supply of Berry copper plated lead 250 grain .45 Colt bullets, IMR 4227, Unique, and Trail Boss powders. Has anyone here reloaded a .45 Colt rifle with these powders and bullets?

Any insights or reloading/shooting experience would be appreciated. Cheers and all the best.

[44shooter]

Lol Tail Boss!

I haven’t but it shouldn’t be difficult. I would probably go with Unique for a traditional power load, crimp enough that youbullets don’t get pushed in and off you go. Trail Boss would be fine if you want a lighter load. I don’t know about 4227 in a 1860.

[2ndovc]

I've had really good results with 6.3-6.5 grains of Titegroup and 250 gr. jacketed bullets in my Miroku/ Winchester '73. That load gives me nearly the same POA in both the '73 and my Ruger Bisley.

jb

[Griff]

I load 45 Colt for about 6 different rifles and 4 handguns. I've had my best luck with both Unique and RedDot. As you know I'm generally involved in cowboy action shooting so I'm not pushing anything real fast. I load from 160 to 255 grain bullets, both cast and jacketed. I generally cast my own, but do buy both 160 & 200 grain cast from a couple of different suppliers. I also load a great deal of mine with BP. Over the nearly 50 years I loaded for this cartridge, I've nearly always used WLP primers, but have loaded a lot of CCI also. I like both. In my stash of cases, I have at least a few of every brand on the market, now or in the past. For the past several years I've purchased mostly Starline. I find they have very good quality control, and generally the best prices. I usually buy direct from them, even to the point of passing thru Sedalia, MO and picking up an order in person. the handguns are Colt SAAs or clones thereof. So they're kept to no more than what's safe. I have 3 Uberti toggle links, 2 1873s & an 1860. They kept to that same specification. The other 3 rifles are a Miroku 1885, Marlin 1894 & a Rossi 1892. I've run some pretty hot numbers thru the Miroku & Rossi and neither shows any effects. The 240 grain HP Sierra is a treat to load and slams coyotes into the ground. I don't load as soft as some guys in cowboy action do, and while I do get some soot and fouling back to the carrier block, I can shoot all year and never have enough to concern myself over. Make sure you have a good crimp, it helps with not only keeping bullets from collapsing into the case, but improves ignition and cleanliness at nearly all load levels.

[GunnyMack]

I have a Henry in 41 mag, when I first got it the only bullets I had on hand were Berry plated. Can you say 'copper fouling ' out the wazoo!? I've since run a bunch of JB Bore paste to clean up the rough bore and now it's only jacketed or cast, never had an issue with the plated in my Blackhawk but I wasn't getting 1800 fps either!

[Ray Newman]

Colleagues: thanks for the information and not so veiled “encouragement” to spend my money. Believe it will be an enjoyable rifle to shoot paper at 50 yds or so.

.44Shooter: Lyman #50 has a 250gr jacketed load for IMR 4227, which sort of surprised me. I think the old tried and true Unique will be a good starting point. I load my Ruger .45 Colts with light loads of Trail Boss, but never loaded Trail Boss in a rifle.

Again, thanks.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I’ve pretty much settled on 8 gr of Unique under a RNFP and my favorite is the Hornady Cowboy 255 gr slug. Shoots clean in all of my guns.


8 gr of Unique is a very good load for a .45 Colt revolver and I trust it to do anything I use a revolver for.

Out of a carbine (specifically my Japanese 66 and 73) it does take a bit of a step up and it matches my sights out to 100 yards. I’d like to play with it at longer distances with the ladder sight but frankly I can’t see that far in this South Texas brush country.

[Bill in Oregon]

Ray, since you don't appear to want to shoot black powder, the .45 Colt has to be the most flexible chambering you could get in a Henry.

[Walt]

Ray, .45 Colt is indeed versatile and easy to load for. I know that Hank Williams Jr had a favorite load utilizing a 250 grain lead bullet and 20 grains of 4227 but I would reduce your loads and work up to that. My most frequently used load is the 250 gr cast bullet over 6.2 gr of Titegroup but 8 gr of Unique makes an excellent load as well. That Henry you're eyeing is certainly a fine rifle and recoil is very manageable with almost any load you shoot in it.

[KWK]

You might ask the guys over at CAScity. If you plan to shoot BP, guys there will tell you to first anneal 45 brass, which is a step not needed with the thinner 44 brass.

I've only handled the HRA and Uberti Henrys. The HRA are more heavily buffed than the Uberti. The magazine sleeve bound on both the HRA I handled. To my eye, the lines of the Uberti are closer to the originals. The HRA use very nice wood, but the shape isn't correct. The original Henrys had a nearly straight butt stock. The lower part of the HRA sweep upwards quite a bit, reducing the drop at the heel. The last Uberti 1866 I saw also had noticeable upsweep.

[Ray Newman]

Gents: thanks for your responses. Right now, the 1860 henry is on hold. The imports are "unavailable". Dealer was able to locate a Henry Repeating Arms rifle and when we figured out the selling price, shipping, sales tax, etc., it was over US $2800.00! Hopefully this year Buffalo Arms or Cimarron will have the brass and iron frames imported 1860 Henry rifles back in stock.

[Griff]

You might ask the guys over at CAScity. If you plan to shoot BP, guys there will tell you to first anneal 45 brass, which is a step not needed with the thinner 44 brass.

I've only handled the HRA and Uberti Henrys. The HRA are more heavily buffed than the Uberti. The magazine sleeve bound on both the HRA I handled. To my eye, the lines of the Uberti are closer to the originals. The HRA use very nice wood, but the shape isn't correct. The original Henrys had a nearly straight butt stock. The lower part of the HRA sweep upwards quite a bit, reducing the drop at the heel. The last Uberti 1866 I saw also had noticeable upsweep.

I've shot my steel framed Uberti 1860 Henry in 45 Colt for many years. I've competed for several years in the "Frontiersman" category, that's BP in all arms and cap & ball revolvers. I've shot several multi day matches, and don't worry about cleaning or much of anything except shooting. I've just taken the carrier out and using 150 grit sandpaper taken about .005-.010 thousandths off each side. This leaves the carrier a little "sloppy" in the mortise, but... it's not a critical function that it be tight fitting, just close enough. That space between the sides of the carrier and the mortise will hold fouling, usually just about 1/8"-1/4" back from the breech. I haven't ever bothered to anneal any brass.

[Grizz]

Ray, what is the barrel length and twist rate? just curious, but it filters results . . .

looks like a really great project . . .

[KWK]

I've just taken the carrier out and using 150 grit sandpaper taken about .005-.010 thousandths off each side... That space between the sides of the carrier and the mortise will hold fouling, usually just about 1/8"-1/4" back from the breech.

I can see that working well enough.

After annealing, the guys report blowback no worse than with the 44-40, which is to say hardly any at all. Others blow out 44 brass and use it in their 45s.