Henry Big Boy .44 recoil

steven · Post by **steven** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:53 pm

HI

Looking at Henry Big Boy in .44 magnum--have read/heard differing opinions on the recoil.....is it that bad given extra weight of the rifle? I have a Nighthawk .45 1911 that has a good kick but would not consider that bad......Thanks

Opinions on rifle itself welcome---not going to use in competition--just defense when in deep woods camping etc---at range etc

.45colt · Post by **.45colt** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:29 pm

Steven,Welcome. I don't have a Henry but given the weight I don't think recoil would be a problem. for the use You decribe It should be just fine.Jim.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:55 pm

My light Marlin 44 Mag carbine is LOUD, but as far as recoil, I don't perceive much at all. I'm skinny and not particularly 'tough' in the bear-wrestling, football-playing, haybale throwing way, so if it doesn't bother me, I don't think it would bother most adults. My petite 13 year old son who loves to shoot doesn't mind it, but my slightly taller but petite 15 year old daughter who doesn't like to shoot that much prefers the .357 chambering.

Remember, you can always get or reload lighter loads for it.

Out of my Super Blackhawk, the 180 grain factory loads are MUCH less recoil than the 240 grain ones, so presumably the same should hold true in a rifle. Some say "only 180 grains" but then that's 180 grains with a big front end, and going as fast as a hot .357 Mag's 150 grains...

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:21 pm

I used my son's for a couple of silhouette matches. 240gr LRFN @ 1600fps had very little felt recoil, but a very loud report.

Birdman · Post by **Birdman** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:00 pm

I shot my brother's a year ago. Didn't seem any different than my 94AE.

ursavus.elemensis · Post by **ursavus.elemensis** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 8:39 am

I have a Henry Big Boy .44 Mag lever rifle. It is a nice rifle. I like shooting it, but with .44 Mag loads it does have more recoil than I'd expected it to. Depends how much shooting at one time you want to do. If it is winter and I am wearing a coat over a warm shirt, I can shoot about 75 rounds and just feel a little sore, noticable but not painful or disabling or anything like that. But when I was trying to sight in a scope on it last summer, wearing only a t-shirt, I was hurting so much after about 15 rounds that I could not make myself stop anticipating recoil. I switched to .44 Special loads, and was fine for the rest of the summer and could shoot 50 to 100 rounds without a problem. Once it got cold this winter, i tried switching back to .44 Magnum and have been fine. I got a wrap-around recoil pad for the butt end of the rifle, and I did not like the way it looked, and with a t-shirt this past summer, it did not help enough anyway. On Saturday, I was shooting my Winchester model 94, .30 WCF and it does not kick nearly as much as the Henry in .44 Mag.

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 8:46 am

Perceived recoil's more a function of stock design and shouldering methods, when dealing with these relatively small capacity cartridges.

Squared-off combs at an angle against the shooter's cheek, and/or a square-edged hard buttplate mounted against a hard spot on the shooter's shoulder can make a relatively light recoiling gun hurt.