doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Alex Herny 450 Takedown Single Shot Rifle w/ Tools

NO, that rifle needs to be MAKING stories!

Buck, great set from a great maker. The numbered tool you are unfamiliar with is a hollow pointing tool for a bullet mold. Not compatible with the pattern mold you have so it may have had a different or an additional one originally. The wood 450 marked tool is a wad tamper and possibly the blade is for cleaning the mouth edge of the brass case. Sometimes there is a separate tool for this purpose. The 3 part tool is for case sizing as you note. The leather travelling case looks to have been relined at some point.

I shall join everyone else in their envy, I'd happily give it a home!

Regards,
John

Hello John,

Thanks for the reply. I learned about the bullet point tool also, and I figured out the combination wad tamper and case mouth chamfering tool while reloading.

I've now test fired about 60 rounds with this rifle since I posted the info, with less than consistant results. I'm learning that loading and shooting such a thing, is a far cry from a modern afair, and requires some new learning.

If I get every thing figured out, I hope to use it for hunting the dangerous "Odocoileus virginianus" here in the Dark Continent of Wisconsin.

Buckstix,
Whatever you paid or traded for that rifle you got the best of the bargain. You don't see even a few cased items like that.

By the way, I was talking to the bookshop lady of Kynamco here in England last week and she informed me that Tom Rowe had reprinted some, if not all, of the first six volumes of Wal Winfer's books on British Single Shot Rifles.

Now, I already have a full set, and I was after the latest volume no.7. the first of two volumes on British Rook Rifles which has been published but is not in stock anywhere here in Britain. I saw two advertised on Amazon in the USA for $72.00 each, but the postage to the U/K was almost as much again.

Harry

I'm glad to see you are hunting with that rifle. It deserves it. Certainly, I'd hunt all over with a gun like that. The paper patched slug will get the job done easily. Cast them in pure lead and load them over a good cookie and you are good to go. Working up a load for that rifle should be fairly simple I would think.

Will the bullet patch up to bore diameter or groove diameter?

Any chance you could get a good chamber casting or swaging of the throat area for this rifle?

Brent

Harry,

I'd be happy to mail one to you.

Brent

Hello Brent,

I did a chamber cast and best as I can measure, I get about a .460" dia groove. A Paper patch bullet from the rifle's mold is .450" dia so a couple of wraps of a thick paper should do it.




However, I'm not using the paper patch bullets. I don't I have have enough time before the hunt to properly learn the technique and test loads. Weather is turning bad very quickly.

After trial-and-error testing of several different powder levels and a few different bullet weights, I've settled on using a 293g 2-groove 45 cal express bullet from a mold in my collection. I'm loading it with 42.0g IMR 4198 and a foam backer rod as a case filler.



A 100 yard 10-shot group this morning resulted in a group that measured 3" wide by 4" high. I think I might have done better were it not for the bad weather. A cold 34 degree temperature with spitting snow and 10 - 20 mph wind gusts coming from left to right.

Chronographed velocities for the first 5 shots were: 1711, 1694, 1689, 1725, 1698 = 1703 ave.

I'm thinking that's good enough - I'm ready for the hunt.

John:
Great looking rifle indeed. If you've already talked with Tom, you're a head of the game. I've head that Henry original ledger (owned my Dickson & McNaughton) is no longer available for photocopy. You may want to inquire as I've done mine over the years and it's a fun to do some research on the original owner if possible.
You may be surprised that although the engraving is plain like on a lower quality gun, the original ledger might indicate otherwise. Today quality lower grades guns are quite noticeable, but I find the quality of workmanship that Henry put out is GREAT at all levels.
Also, I notice you measured the grove at .460", his is not quite correct as the rifling is odd in number, most likely 7 for this 45. This makes it hard to determine the actual grove diameter, but it's more like .464". Based on your smokeless load, but it might help with BP.
I see someone has answered your questions on accruements.
I don't get on this sight much, but someone told me about your post today.
Thanks for sharing.
Rick

If it is a .460 groove diameter and a .450 lead bullet, I would try a certain art paper that will bring that .450 up to .460 in the traditional two wraps. At the moment, the name is slipping my from my memory but I have some in the basement I can find when you are ready. The load development is really quite simple and straight forward, but it seems you have until Saturday as I recall and it does look like you are adequately good to go for now. But give me a holler if you want some suggestions down the line.


When you kill something with that rifle, you really need to take pictures right there in the field "as it fell". Good pictures! That rifle deserves good pictures (and we here would love to enjoy them all after Thanksgiving.

Brent

Brent

Hello Rick W,

Would you have any suggestions as how one might inquire as to information about the original owner? When you say the original ledger is no longer available for photocopy, is there any chance that only the information is still available? I would dearly love to find out for who this rifle was built and where it was shipped.

As for measuring the chamber cast, it is a 7 groove barrel and if I slowly roll the cast within a digital caliper, I get a low reading of .4575 inches, and a high reading of .467 inches. With a bore / groove this large, I'm a little surprised my .459 bullets shoot as well as they do. I typically use a soft, 30:1 lead tin mix for schuetzen bullets, and have used the same here.

As to being plain, yes, this seems very plain by comparison to all other Alex Henry rifles that I have seen pictured. In fact, I've yet to find another plain one. But the quality and condition of this one is "absolutely superb", retaining nearly 99% blue and vivid color on the cased parts. I really like the delicate edge border engraving.