Does sour weather ruin your hunts?
Henry Arms has All Weather Rifles to put you back in the game.
Here is my review of the Henry Arms Big Boy All Weather Rifle.
As hunters we have all been there. Driving rain, sleet and snow landing much to our horror while out hunting on our hunting firearms. Visions of surface rust forming on the fine blued barrels and the nice wood stocks swelling cause us to break out garbage bags and rain coats to cover our prized firearms. Many days I walked back to my vehicle or cover while cradling a long gun covered in a cheap plastic poncho. When the weather turned into rain, sleet and wet snow my hunt was mostly over as I worried more about my weapon than the hunt. Moisture is a danger that can and will ruin a good firearm without quick action. It’s just not worth the risk right?
A trip over to my good friends at Silverado Arms held the solution: Henry Arms Big Boy All Weather model number H012MAW Rifle. Before me was such a rifle chambered for the popular .357 magnum and .38 special cartridges. Here in Ohio the .357 magnum is a legal straight walled cartridge allowed for deer hunting along with other game.
The 20″ round hard chrome plated steel barrel along with the matching receiver industrial hard chrome satin finish and magazine tube really caught my eye. The hardwood stock finished with a highly durable industrial grade coating with a black solid rubber recoil pad is all beauty and function. Sling swivel studs with the same matching chrome finish add an easy way to sling this sharp looking rifle.
First look of this rifle I found the lever action to be extremely smooth. This I have come to expect from Henry Arms and have not been disappointed as of yet on any Henry firearm I have handled. The capacity is 10 rounds and the weight is 7.00 lbs. with an overall length of 37.5″. The barrel has a 1:16 rate of twist and the rifle is supplied with fully adjustable semi-buckhorn with diamond insert rear sight and a brass bead front sight.
The receiver is drilled and tapped for a BB-RSM scope mount. Length of pull is 14″ and the safety is a transfer bar design. Yes no cross-bolt or tang safeties to get in the way are on this rifle. Anyone that really knows me well knows my hatred of such lawyer ordained abominations. This lever gun has the smooth lines that all lever actions should sport but many lack from the competitors.
With the initial 25 yard sight in and functioning tests complete I was anxious to see what this tough little rifle could do way out at 100 yards.
First round up was the Hornady Lever Evolution 140 grain FTX .357 magnum load. From a bench rest the first shot went to the left of the target. Making a quick drift adjustment to the rear sight the next five rounds went into the center of the target. Counting it as a four shot group the size would be 2″ and adding the fifth shot the group opens to 3″ overall. Not bad for factory iron sights on a bright sunny day at 100 yards.
The next 100 yard distance cartridge to be tested is the Federal Hunting 180 grain Castcore .357 magnum cartridge. I have always been a fan of heavyweight bullets and wide meplats projectiles and this cartridge sports both. The average drop compared to the lighter and faster Hornady FTX cartridges was 6″ low on target. The overall length of the group is 3.75″ wide. That still certainly is a tight enough group for a big buck or a sneaky coyote out at 100 yards.
In my longer range testing I found the winner indeed was the Hornady Lever Evolution FTX 140 grain .357 magnum cartridge. That cartridge with the polymer tip just seems to shoot excellent in all rifles I have tested it in at 100 yards. That certainly includes the Henry Arms All Weather Big Boy supplied for this review.
While testing this rifle I found the open sights to work well for closer ranges and for quick shots. For longer shots adding a scope or Skinner Peep Sights would tighten of even that group. The original factory sights do indeed get the job done as the above bullet group proves.
During my testing of this sharp looking made in America rifle I had zero malfunctions of any kind. Fit and finish of the wood to metal was well done. The weatherproof finish on both the stock and metal surfaces was complete and very durable. Bumps and scratches were also shed easily by the tough finish. Better yet is this rifle really functions and shoots well with all the different varieties of .38 special and .357 magnum cartridges that I could find to test in it.
For hunting this rifle would be a winner for deer sized and under game. For home defense you can’t go wrong with 10 quick shots from a lever action rifle loaded with hot .357 magnum ammunition.Obviously this rifle is also quite a joy to shoot leisurely or competitively at the range.
If you hunt in bad weather, just want to stand out at the gun range or need a sharp looking rifle for your collection the Henry Arms All Weather Big Boy Rifle is certainly a win-win. Be sure to check out this great rifle and the other firearms on the Henry Arm’s website.