Henry Model 1860

History of the Henry Model 1860

While not the "perfect" lever action rifle, the Henry rifle was the revolutionary culmination of two major early attempts at lever action and paved the way for the successful Winchester firearms line. Henry rifles had limited service in the American Civil War and Indian War, and were produced in limited quantities.

The rifle fired an entirely new cartridge from the massive amount of ammunition that was loaded under the barrel at the time, and had some famous gunsmith names associated with its origins, including Horace Smith, Daniel Wesson, and Oliver Winches special name.

Henry's origin

To trace the origins of the Henry rifle, we must visit some of the lives of the aforementioned gentlemen, beginning with Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson. Horace Smith took the fundamentals inherent in the sophisticated Lewis Jennings rifle (which itself was based on the failed lever-action Walter Hunter 1848 Volition repeating rifle and its caseless "rocket ball" ammunition), And with the "Volcano" rifles and guns produced improved form lines.

Jennings purchased the Hunter patent in 1849 to add some maneuverability to the system and owned a small batch of rifles made by Robbins and Lawrence of Vermont. In exchange, Smith and Wesson then acquired the Robbins and Lawrence Jennings patent and perhaps most importantly poached their factory foreman, inventor Benjamin Taylor Henry.

Tyler Henry, 1821-1898), the rifle was eventually named after him.

Enter Winchester, exit Smith & Wesson

Now that the Foundation is in place, this emerging group needs funding to further their Vulcan firearm work. They formed the "Volcano Burst Arms Company" with several of the stable's investors - chief among them the clothing merchant Oliver Winchester. By the end of 1856, the company was in trouble, and the Volcano line proved to be a commercial failure with limited output. Winchester was the first to move in and acquire the rest of the company, relocating the manufacturing plant to New Haven, Connecticut, and changing its operating name to the New Haven Arms Company in April 1857.

Horace Smith left the restructured company and was rejoined shortly after by Daniel Wesson to form the Smith & Wesson Revolver Company. Despite this, the New Haven Arms Company, led by Benjamin Henry, continued to produce Volcano rifles.

Henry encouraged the development of a new rimfire cartridge and corresponding lever-action rifle (based on the Volcanic, retaining only its tubular magazine and breech mechanism) to fire it. The new cartridge became the ".44 Henry" and the new rifle became the "Henry Rifle" released in 1860.

Production spanned from the 1850s to 1866, with approximately 14,000 examples circulating by the end. In 1862 alone, 900 Henry rifles were produced.

Henry Rifle Reach and NHAC are gone

Henry rifles were discovered by Union soldiers during the American Civil War (in limited unofficial service). More importantly, however, both it and the comparable Spencer rifle would bring a new "lever burst" breech-loading firearm to the mass market, disrupting the popular tradition of single-shot, muzzle-loading rifles.

The Henry rifle would eventually become the starting point for the legendary Winchester Model 1866, only a few years later, after the Civil War, the New Haven Arms Company was renamed the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

Leverage and .Chapter 44

The heart of the Henry rifle is its lever breech-loading design. Lever action, the operator simply pulls down/forward on the integrated lever handle to insert a new cartridge into the chamber (this action also simultaneously removes any spent cartridges) while cocking the hammer to initiate fire; cartridge The breech loading is from the rear of the receiver, not the muzzle-loaded gun from the front of the barrel.

The chosen caliber is custom. 44 caliber rimfire cartridge, known by many names including ".44 Henry", ".44 Rimfire", ".44 Long Rimfire" and "11x23R" - the "R" stands for "rimfire".

. 44 Henry is a new 200 grain cartridge design with a (initially) flat tip and 25 grain powder on the back. It gets its name from the firing method in which the firing pin hits the bottom of the rim of the cartridge rather than the bottom of the center (as in centerfire cartridges).

The Henry rifle uses a long, spring-fed tubular magazine with fifteen ready-to-fire rounds. It was this trait that forced the unfortunate Confederate soldier to confront Henry any day, joking, "That damn Yankee rifle they loaded on Sunday, fired all week!" and was often referred to as the Union's "Sixteen Shooters".

The Henry rifle reportedly has a rate of fire of around 24 rounds per minute, which of course requires an experienced and well-trained operator.

Henry rifle walking around

Externally, the Henry rifle was similar in appearance to much of the soon-to-be Winchester lever-bolted line. The receiver's lines are solid, with very little detail, save for a few screws. Early frames were made of iron, while later frames switched to more refined-looking brass.

The trigger lever forms the trigger ring/guard and has an elongated ring with a wide opening for a good firm pull with the trigger hand. The receiver is finely molded into a wooden walnut stock that forms the grip and covers the curved shoulder with a brass plate. The 24-inch octagonal barrel protrudes from the front of the receiver, and the bottom is reinforced with a tubular magazine of almost the same length, but without the foregrip. Over time, this missing feature can make hot tubs a problem for operators. The hammer protrudes noticeably from the rear of the upper receiver and easily reaches the trigger.

Sights include a standard front post and a flip-up stepped rear. The Henry rifle has no associated safety features, making it an unsafe weapon when loaded but not in use.

American Civil War

During his civil war, Henry rifles were the price to pay for both sides of the conflict. It was easily obtained by Union soldiers willing to pay with their own funds, as the rifle was never officially accepted for service by the Army.

The operation was repeated for fifteen rounds, and the Northern Army had a distinct advantage against single-shot, muzzle-loading Southerners. Confederate soldiers were happy with whatever was on display or available - so that rarely meant dealing with Henry rifles. Even if Confederate soldiers were lucky enough to catch the Henry, there was still the problem of finding a supply of ammo large enough to feed the gun - the .44 Henry cartridge was basically common for the rifle itself, more so in the North where it was made. Despite its limited presence in warfare, the Henry rifle still fell into the hands of "experts" such as scouts, scavengers or looters.

However, it was not part of those large, concentrated troop formations so common in conflicts.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes