Henry Rifle

[coltshooter1]

I saw a Henry at a local dealer and wondered how much blanks for reenacting are for one in the cal. of 45 LC. I would be interested in the cost and where they can be purchased, if anyone has that knowledge.

 

[johan_steele]

Dixie gunworks used to sell the blanks but I don't have any idea if they still do or not. I've known some people to load their own blanks.

For me a Henry is at best a novelty appropriate for a 7th IL impression or the DC Cav that carried them. Kind of a nifty rifle but not all that useful for Living History. I always preffered the Spencer for some reason.

 

[sf46]

Cheaper than Dirt and Sportsmans Guide has (or had) 5-in-one blanks that can be used in the Henry and several other guns.

 

[The Tourist]

If you cannot find five-in-one blanks through firearm suppliers, try movie or film supply stores. It's a popular prop.

 

[gary]

Best to "roll your own" as it reduces the cost of having blanks.

 

[coltshooter1]

I cant afford the Henry, but was just curious. Five men carried these at a reenactment about two months ago and I noticed they were actually firing less than we were with our Enfields when the "fire at will' commands were issued. I was interested in comparing the costs of firing the repeaters (including the Spencer.)

 

[sf46]

Here's a link:

http://www.9thnycavalry.webeditor.com/henry_article.html

to an article about a guy that reenacts with a Henry, and makes his own blanks out of .44 magnum casings.

 

[Poor Private]

5-in 1 blanks are still being sold by Dixie Gun Works. Thier catalog #158 2009 on page 298 has the listing for them.
25pk---$14.50==.58 each
50pk---$29.00==same price each
100pk--$58.00==same price each
Way more expensive than the basic cartridge used in an Enfield or Springfield. Also these buggers are 1 time use. If your going to go into Henry's your best bet is to get yourself a couple boxes of .45LC cowboy loads and reload them your self- Of course then you have a length issue because without the lead they are shorter and will tend to jam. Though I did hear of a company who will make a replacement receiver that will accept the blank .45LC but then your talking an added expense of the receiver.
And By the By Dixie also sells Spencer blank cartridges. cost 50pk-$20.00, 100pk(2 boxes) $36.00 but you have to buy the primer for em at a cost of $3.95 per 100 (thats if the primers are in stock and available).
Cris Westphal
17th S.C.
2nd Kentuck

 

[44 Henry]

Those of us that use our Henry Repeating rifles in reenacting make our own blanks, at least most of us do. It can be done for around $25 per 100. The plastic 5 in 1 blanks have several problems with them in sound of the report, safety and authenticity. We will have a company of 22 Henrys at Bentonville in 2 weeks. The Henry is very usefull for living history and reenacting as there were several units that had Henry rifles in them and even some complete regiments being armed with them.
http://44henryrifle.webs.com/index.htm

 

[coltshooter1]

Well I guess I will see you there. You will be shooting at us. Might see you if the smoke from firing 22 Henrys clears away.

 

[44 Henry]

We ended up with 23 Henry Repeating Rifles at Bentonville. That kind of firepower was the first time in reenacting history that many Henry rifles have been together. The orders for the event was to take aimed shots but then with a Henry rifle an aimed shot comes about every 2 seconds especially when shooting at a mass of men. People have been critical of the rate of fire but then they do not know what the Henry is capable of. The subject of rate of fire of rapid bursts of fire is supported by the research on how men armed with Henry rifles were used in combat in fact there are multiple sources that mention the rapidity of fire of the Henry. I think our 23 man company fired an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 rounds. Just think what a company such as the 66th Illinois, 7th Illinois or the 64th Illinois who had hundreds of Henry Repeating rifles would have sounded like. The use of the Henry rifle in mass added a new deminsion to the hobby which was liked by some, hated by some but no matter how you look at it, it was historical correct and authentic. Check out the company picture at Bentonville http://44henryrifle.webs.com/bentonville2010.htm
Andrew L. Bresnan

 

[johan_steele]

The effect of the 7th IL @ Allatoona Pas was devestating and horribly effective. A lot of noise and a lot of lead going down range made the attacking force think twice. IMO the presence of those Henry rifles was a strong factor in driving French off sans objective.

More telling was post war during the Turko Russian War at the battle of Plevna where Turkish troops had a Peabody & Henry each. they engaged the Russians starting at 1000 yards w/ the Peabody and when they closed to w/in 100 yards they opened up rapid fire w/ their Henry & Winchesters. Absolutely devestated the Russian attack.

 

[coltshooter1]

OK, I heard what sounded like loud firecrackers coming from a cloud of smoke. I think that was your group. Those things are wicked in an event when they are used en mass. Nice job! Our group was the last to come out of the tree line on Sunday, so we were only on the field for about 20 minutes. We teamed up with the Florida guys in the Straw Hats to form the 6th company. To bad the organizers did not ensure more Federal troops came to make the event look better.

 

[44 Henry]

OK, I heard what sounded like loud firecrackers coming from a cloud of smoke. I think that was your group. Those things are wicked in an event when they are used en mass. Nice job! Our group was the last to come out of the tree line on Sunday, so we were only on the field for about 20 minutes. We teamed up with the Florida guys in the Straw Hats to form the 6th company. To bad the organizers did not ensure more Federal troops came to make the event look better.

Event organizers always have a problem when trying to get the numbers right for a reenactment. It is not necessarily their fault. The battles of the Civil War took place mostly in the South so most reenactors from the South want to be rebs, I understand that. I live in Illinois so to drive South for very many events get expensive. To go to Bentonville it was over a 2000 mile round trip. The answer as I see it; is to get more rebs to portray Union soldier, recruit more Henry users to off set the firepower, or offer a bounty for Union reenactors. I have reenacted since 1980 and every time I have gone south for a big event we northerners are always outnumber at least 2 to 1 and more likely 5 to 1. Organizing a Henry company for events where Henry repeating rifles were present has always been welcomed by event organizers. My hope is to have a large Henry Rifle Company(20-30) for many of the 150th events, probably starting with Chickamauga in 2013 and then on to the Atlanta Campaign, Franklin and Bentonville in 2015. http://44henryrifle.webs.com/
Victory thru rapid fire,
Andrew L. Bresnan
National Henry Rifle Company

 

[Nathanb1]

Well, darn....shame that didn't happen during the war (just kidding). I watched the videos--are you guys in one of them?

 

[Southern Son]

Why is there no Confederate Henry Rifle company?
Here is a list of Confederate regiments were Henry Rifles were used in part:
1st Arkansas Cavalry
Jeff Davis' Bodyguards
7th Virginia Cavalry
11th Virginia Cavalry
12th Virginia Cavalry
35th Virginia Cavalry
21st Virginia Cavalry
8th Texas Cavalry
5th Texas Cavalry
29th Texas Cavalry
10th Kentucky Partisan Rgr.
Jesse McNeill's Rangers
Camp Ferguson's Guerrillas

 

[johan_steele]

Why is there no Confederate Henry Rifle company?
Here is a list of Confederate regiments were Henry Rifles were used in part:
1st Arkansas Cavalry
Jeff Davis' Bodyguards
7th Virginia Cavalry
11th Virginia Cavalry
12th Virginia Cavalry
35th Virginia Cavalry
21st Virginia Cavalry
8th Texas Cavalry
5th Texas Cavalry
29th Texas Cavalry
10th Kentucky Partisan Rgr.
Jesse McNeill's Rangers
Camp Ferguson's Guerrillas

Because it takes the term "Far Be if for me to criticize his impression" to a whole new level, the ammo was available only through capture and Henry rifles and ammo stores were rarely captured in numbers enough to arm more than 3-4 men w/ a Henry. I've been at an event where a Reb Cav man came on the field w/ 2 Walker Colts & a pretty Henry. The man was studiously ignored as he played cowboy off in a corner.

 

[coltshooter1]

Well at least he was smart enough to use a horse to carry around those two hand held artillery pieces. Seriously, I would like Colt Dragoon. How frequent was the use of these pistols?

 

[44 Henry]

Why is there no Confederate Henry Rifle company?
Here is a list of Confederate regiments were Henry Rifles were used in part:
1st Arkansas Cavalry
Jeff Davis' Bodyguards
7th Virginia Cavalry
11th Virginia Cavalry
12th Virginia Cavalry
35th Virginia Cavalry
21st Virginia Cavalry
8th Texas Cavalry
5th Texas Cavalry
29th Texas Cavalry
10th Kentucky Partisan Rgr.
Jesse McNeill's Rangers
Camp Ferguson's Guerrillas

It is estimated that of the Henry repeating rifles used in the Civil War the Confederacy used about 10% of them. Ammunition was a problem at times. Those Virginia cavalry regiments that took part in the "Great Beefsteak Raid", captured over 200 of the 1st DC Cavalry's Henry rifles, they also captured a supply of ammunition. During the capture of Clarksville, TN in 1862, Captian Lorenzo Fishers Company B of the 10th KY Patisan Rangers were armed with over 50 Henrys with ammunition to support them. No, I do not portray any of the CS units but portray Federal armed Henry troops. The facts remain that the CS did get their hands on a good many Henry repeating rifles and ammunition. In KY in 1861-1862 they were not particular who they sold Henry repeating rifles to, Union or Reb. So it is not out of place or unauthentic for a reb to have had a Henry repeating rifle, depending on the battle and timeframe that is being portrayed. http://44henryrifle.webs.com/
Victory thru rapid fire,
Andrew L. Bresnan
National Henry Rifle Company

 

[ole]

Bottom line. A confederate might get his hands on a Henry and a box or two of cartidges but, when the cartridges were gone, it became quite useless. Same with the Spencer. One might make do with a Sharps, but metallic cartridges were quite beyond the ability of Confederate supply.