Connecticut Preparedness 

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Anything to do with rifle shooting, plinking, target, benchrest etc
#5431
Hey guys and gals, sorry I haven't been around in a while, been in Florida and lots going on at home, but its good to be back to the forum.

Just thought I'd check with you guys, I'm wondered if you guys can direct me for technical assistance.

I purchased a new factory Bushmaster M4A3, had problems with that, the factory corrected it after two screw ups (thanks for getting that resolved Andy!); now, I bought a new factory Henry Big Boy 357 and during firing about 100 rounds of low and high pressure 357 Mag and .38 Special cartridges (all new brass Federal, Fiocchi, Winchester and Hornady ammo), I'm having jam ups with the carrier and maybe ejector not throwing the empty shells out, twice it tried chambering a new round at the same time. Happened 6-8x and I notice the carrier is not popping up smoothly, I need to jiggle the handle a couple times for the carrier to spring back up even with the rifle empty, and I'm sure I'm moving the action quickly enough.

The gun store told me to keep shooting a few more times, it'll work in, well, thats rediculous. I removed the lever, bolt, ejector/spring and did a good cleaning and lube of the reciever housing and bolt assy with Hoppes #9 and their lube oil, still no good, I'm suspecting something wrong maybe with the carrier Dog spring or something related. The lever seems to have a lot of loose slop before it engages the action. I have nothing to compare it to though.

It took 5 months to get this rifle from Henry (and it IS absolutely gorgeous and little recoil or noise at all, and dead nuts accurate!), I know they'll want it back like Bushmaster did which led to further troubles getting it right.

The only thing I did with it "prior" to loading/firing, without removing the lever or bolt was I ran a *KleenBore Phosphor bore brush through "one time", did a gentle clean and lube with Hoppes #9 and lube, put one drop of oil on the bolt and worked the action several times, then gently wiped the exposed parts.

Henry says I could use a wide range of 357 Mag, .38 Spec. ammo, +P+ as well. They say brass works better, and thats what i used. No where can I find a break down procedure from Henry and the owners manual is very basic at best, even regarding cleaning, nothing like the Bushmaster owners manual.

Seperate from that, another thing I notice is all along only one flat upper right side of the octagonal blue barrel, from breech end to the barrel tip is heat spot shading every 1.5 inches, normal? If so, why only along just that flat edge of the octagon? The only thing I did to the exterior was gentle wipe down with a Rem oil cloth.

Do you guys have any clues whats going on here? I though maybe I was babying it while working the action during shooting but I know enough I don't need to baby it, its a heavy rifle and can take a beating, at least thats what I'm led to believe.

Guys, gals, if you want a dead nuts accurate heavy rifle with a lot of firepower without the kick and noise, and its brass more highly polished than gold bullion, and woodwork nicer than top shelf furnature, this is the gun for you...at least until I get this situation resolved. How silly of me.

Where can I post photos of my 12 y/o daughter shooting for the first time? She had a blast! No punn intended.
User avatar
By PaiN
#5438
Hey KSODA....I know you don't want too but get it back to Henry.
User avatar
By KSODA
#5445
PaiN wrote:Hey KSODA....I know you don't want too but get it back to Henry.
Nope, I sure as hell don't but what choice do I have? Spoke to some guy there @ 9:30am who obviously just rolled out of bed and felt the need to constantly inturupt me. He said I might get it back in a month or so.

Are these gun manufacturers so busy that they're cutting corners on quality control...and simple politeness?

Certainly not what I expect from Henry RA! I've emailed and spoken to Anthony (the owner) and he's been great to talk to and exemplified the positive Henry immage, was really helpful in speeding up getting me this Big Boy a little faster. Everyone I've talked to in the office too have been great...until now that I have a problem. Isn't that usually the way it works with anything consumers pay for?

He refused to email me the shipping lable, instead will mail it, something Bushmaster was great with, there was no waiting for lables.

I wonder what a gunsmith would charge to look at the carrier and ejector for me?

And YES CTSixhot, it would be a lot faster to walk to them!

Really disappointed...but I have to say, it is an absolutely beautiful rifle and shoots like a dream...virtually little or no recoil at all even with heavy loads. I couildn't believe how quiet it is too. As smooth as the lever action is (as advertized), I notice a lot of loose play before engaging or disengaging the bolt, maybe about 3/4 of an inch either way.

Cabela's in West Hartford has a couple .45 and .44 big boys two weeks ago, maybe I'll go check the action out on those if still in stock? Had I known they had some back in February when I bought this 357/.38, I might have just bought from Cabela's, it would've been much cheaper too, but on the flip side, most of my decision was ammo availability and I like that I can use heavy +P+ .38 Special in this one.

Too bad I can't take a few more days to rub her down like Judge Smails and his "the old Billy Baroo".
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