Source for Henry rifle blanks

[Lt5thGaCav]

Re: Source for Henry rifle blanks

Off subject a little, When I have used henry's I have found that the steel frame sims to work alot better. Is there a reason for this?
The brass frame after firing 75 rounds or so starts hanging up and the action gets tighter, where as the steel frame I can fire 200 and never have a problem.

How common if at all were the steel frames over thew brass?

Thanks
Greg Geisel Jr.
7th Ga / 12th Ind

[weed]

Re: Source for Henry rifle blanks

Try these two places.

http://www.joeswansonsmotionpictureblanks.com/

http://gunblanks.com

Both make great black powder blanks for Henrys (44.40 cal and 45 cal.) and Spencers (56.50 cal.)

John Wedeward:)

[44 Henry]

Re: Source for Henry rifle blanks

Henry Blanks:

Starline .45 Colt blank brass cost $156.56 per 1000 and are not long enough to feed through the Henry rifle unless the carrier has been modified. These cases have the enlarged flash hole for loading blanks. These take large pistol primers, not 210 shotshell primers. Again these cases will not work in your Henry, they are too short, unless the carrier has been modified. The cost per blank would be 16 cents for the case, 3 cents for the primer, around 5 cents for the powder for a total of 24 cents per blank or $24 per 100. This is if you load your own and have the equipment to do so and you also must have the carrier modified and probably the bolt depending on what modification you are using. I should mention that these will only work if you have a .45 Colt Henry.

Starline Brass for making 5 in 1 full length blanks for the Henry cost $321 per 1000. These can be loaded with black powder and crimped however the crimp should not be closed all the way bringing it to a point for obvious reasons. If you are using these to load your own blanks the total cost for a blank round will be 32 cents for the case, 3 cents for the primer and 5 cents for the powder depending on the cost of the powder per pound. That is 40 cents a round or $40 per 100 blanks. You will need the loading press and the crimp die to load these. these will work in both a .44-40 or a .45 Colt Henry.

To buy 5 in 1 brass blanks from Swanson’s with paying postage would be an estimated $60 per 100 or very likely more. Even plastic 5 in 1 blanks are going to be around $40 per 100 plus postage. As I have mentioned in previous postings the plastic blanks have several problems and some of these involved safety related issues. I would not use plastic blanks. Some places are chargine $1.00 per brass full length blank or $100 per 100 blanks.

The cheapest way to go is to buy once-fired .44 Magnum brass, modify your Henry and load your own. Once-fired .44 Magnum brass will cost 10 cents each, 3 cents for the primer, and about 5 cents for the powder for a total cost of 18 cents per round or $18 per 100. That is a big difference in buying brass 5 in 1 blanks at over $60 per 100 but probably more. A savings of over $40 per 100 is a very real thing. A Henry had a large appetite during the Civil War. One example was at Allatoona Pass, GA where the 7th Illinois Veteran Volunteer Infantry went through 31,000 rounds of ammunition in about 2 hours of fighting and that was for around 190 Henry rifles.

So there is a break down on how to feed your Henry rifle. Just remember the old saving, well maybe not so old, “When a man on a horse meets a man with a Henry rifle, the man on the horse looses”. It is an interesting saying but I have witnessed this several times even when there were 50 men on horses and only 6 with Henry Rifles, LBL Tactical 1991.:D:D:D:D

Andrew . Bresnan
National Henry Rifle Company
7th Illinois Veteran Volunteer Infantry
66th Illinois Infantry WSS
ICSS

[Dan Wambaugh]

Re: Source for Henry rifle blanks

This may potentially be a stupid question, but why are Henry blanks so much more expensive than say, .30-06 blanks. I seem to remember at WW2 events the standard for .30-06 being around 25 per 100, or unit purchases could push that as low as $18/per 100 for really decent blanks.

Is the demand much lower, the black powder more expensive compared to smokeless, or the brass harder to come by? It has been staggering comparing the prices of WW2 era blank rounds to the CW era blank rounds, and definitely a bit of a buzz kill. Anyone who could shed some light on this would be much appreciated!


Best,

[44 Henry]

Re: Source for Henry rifle blanks

Dan first the price you quoted for the .30-06 blanks is not correct. .30-06 blanks will cost around $29 per 100 plus postage for the cheapest blanks or over $40 for Swanson’s blanks. The .30-06 brass in the past had been a cheap brass because of the military selling off ammunition and companies taking them apart and selling off the brass and bullets. We are talking millions upon millions of rounds of brass out there at cheap prices. Therefore cheap surplus brass verses expensive .44 Magnum brass(non-surplus). New .30-06 brass will run over $70 per 100 depending on the brand. The war in Iraq has changed the price of all reloading components. I used to pay $15 per 1000 for primers a few years ago, now they are over $30 per 1000.

So in short, surplus v non-surplus added in the war in Iraq and you have high prices. If you want to feed the Henry Rifle and do it without breaking the bank you will need to load your own. On a side note, I could load Henry blanks for less than 10cents a round in the 1990’s but that is past history. It is like everything, the price keeps going up. Wool is not a $1.00 a yard anymore these days.:D:D:D:D:D

Andrew L. Bresnan
National Henry Rifle Company
7th Illinois Veteran Volunteer Infantry
66th Illinois WSS

[Dan Wambaugh]

Re: Source for Henry rifle blanks

Andrew,

Thanks for the clarification, I had not considered the surplus factor, but it certainly would make all the difference.

And yes, the price I quoted is correct. Through a bulk buy with a local Michigan supplier our unit was for a time able to get .30-06 blank ammo for around $18 per 100. This was 4-5 years ago, mind you, but it was definitely good stuff.


Best,

[44 Henry]

Re: Source for Henry rifle blanks

Dan,
My apology as I was thinking you were talking in current time. 5 years makes all of the difference. I have no doubt that you could buy for $18 per 100 five years ago much the same as you could buy wool a lot cheaper 5 years ago but will not sell it today at 5 year old prices. The prices I quoted are current prices for .30-06. I load my own .30-06 and .30 Carbine blanks for WWII reenacting. 2009 prices for .30-06 are $29 per 100 plus postage and .30 Carbine are $40 plus postage. Sorry for the confusion.
Andrew L. Bresnan

[shooter13]

Re: Source for Henry rifle blanks

Wow, prices are up for components. I used to get match grade .357 mags for 30 dollars per 100. i can only imagine what they would cost now. You may be able to check with B.E.L.L. brass company they used to make long cases for different calibers and then use a crimper to "roll your own". I believe they are still in business, but you can check with one of the suppliers of reloading supplies to make sure.

[MarkTK36thIL]

Re: Source for Henry rifle blanks

Has anyone used the 5 in 1 blanks from Kennessaw Cannon Co? I was digging through my old stuff and found one for a spencer rifle. Looking to use then for a .44-40 Henry.

[44 Henry]

Re: Source for Henry rifle blanks

Has anyone used the 5 in 1 blanks from Kennessaw Cannon Co? I was digging through my old stuff and found one for a spencer rifle. Looking to use then for a .44-40 Henry.

http://veteranarms.com/ReproductionMuzzleloadersandFlintlocks/Blanks.html