# The Henry Repeating rifle **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 27, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856 "2007-02-27T07:33:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/1 "2007-02-27T07:33:53Z")
I think thats what its called. Anyhoo if its the weapon that I think it is, appearances in rooster cogburn , the rifleman an so forth. It looked like it had a linear tube for a magazine , so my question was the cartridge a pistol cartridge ? Declan ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/2 "2007-02-27T07:47:31Z")
It fired a .44 rimfire cartridge if memory serves (the .44 Henry). It was a pistol-class cartridge, and many of the Colt Peacemakers were chambered for it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/3 "2007-02-27T08:44:01Z")
The Henry wasn’t used that much, it was quickly replaced by the Winchester. But yes, most of these carbines used a pistol class cartidge, such as the .44-40, etc. From Wiki: \*“The Henry repeating rifle was an American .44 caliber lever-action breech-loading rifle designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in the late 1850s. The Henry rifle was an improved version of the earlier Volcanic Repeating rifle. The Henry rifle used copper (later brass) rimfire cartridges containing 25 grains (1.6 g) of gunpowder to a 216 grain (14 g) bullet. 900 Henry rifles were manufactured between summer and October 1862; by 1864, production had peaked at 290 per month. By the time production ended in 1866, approximately 14,000 units had been manufactured.” "The original Winchester rifle was famous for its rugged construction and lever-action mechanism that allowed the rifleman to fire a number of shots before having to reload: hence the term, “repeating rifle.” The first model, the Model 1866, was nicknamed Yellow Boy because of its brass receiver. The Model 1873 was Winchester’s next design. The 73 was much more popular than the 66 because of the iron (and later steel) frame which allowed it to take the newly designed and more potent centerfire .44 WCF (Winchester Center Fire, also known as .44-40) cartridge. The 1873 is often called The Gun That Won The West. The 1866 was only available in the rimfire .44 Henry. The 73 was available in .44 WCF (.44-40), .38 WCF (.38-40), and .32 WCF (.32-20), most of which were also available in Colt, Remington, Smith & Wesson, Merwin & Hulbert, and other revolvers. Having a common centerfire cartridge in both revolvers and rifles allowed the owner to carry two firearms, but only one type of ammunition. The original 73 was never offered in the military standard .45 Colt cartridge; only modern reproductions are offered in that caliber. … Winchester continued to dominate the American rifle market for decades with the introduction of Models 1876, 1886, 1892, 1894, and 1895 (which featured a box magazine, rather than the tubular magazine found on the previous models). The '76 was a heavier-framed rifle than the '66 or '73, and was the first to be chambered for full-powered centerfire rifle cartridges, as opposed to rimfire cartridges or handgun-sized centerfire rounds. … …the majority of lever action rifles seen in classic Hollywood Westerns are Winchester '92 carbines chambered in .44-40 and .38-40 (to utilize the “5-in-1” blank cartridge), which John Wayne famously carried around through dozens of films set in periods from the 1830s to the 1880s."\* They made millions of Winchesters, likely more than 1000x as many Wichesters as Henrys. A few Henrys were used in the Civil war, giving them some claim to fame. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/4 "2007-02-27T11:34:55Z")
I thought the Duke used a Winchester Model 1892 most of the time. I believe that is what he used against Ned Pepper anyway. A Winchester Model 1892 was used by the Rifleman. The Rifleman: [http://rifleman-branded.com/thisnthat/thisnthat5.htm](http://rifleman-branded.com/thisnthat/thisnthat5.htm) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/5 "2007-02-27T13:29:34Z")
In _The American Experience_ timeline, they honor it’s technological import with a spot inbetween the 1859 oil well at Titusville and 1862’s Battle of the Ironclads. ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/6 "2007-02-28T00:29:29Z")
[QUOTE=Declan] the rifleman [/QUOTE] The Rifleman used a modified Winchester. [/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/7 "2007-02-28T03:20:04Z")
[QUOTE=Declan] It looked like it had a linear tube for a magazine , so my question was the cartridge a pistol cartridge ? [/QUOTE] Um, is the question related to the statement? It doesn’t follow that a tubular magazine necessitates a handgun cartridge, although the Henry did. At the latest, by 1895 Winchester had a rifle round developed for a descendant of the Henry design (Win mdl 94). I suspect **Martini** will eventually show up and correct my dates and history, but the blunt nosed .30-30 round is a true rifle cartridge that has been loaded into tube mags since 1894 or so. The trick is the blunt nose, the sharply pointed .30-06 would never work with the nose resting directly on the primer. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/8 "2007-02-28T04:18:51Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] Um, is the question related to the statement? It doesn’t follow that a tubular magazine necessitates a handgun cartridge, although the Henry did. At the latest, by 1895 Winchester had a rifle round developed for a descendant of the Henry design (Win mdl 94). I suspect **Martini** will eventually show up and correct my dates and history, but the blunt nosed .30-30 round is a true rifle cartridge that has been loaded into tube mags since 1894 or so. The trick is the blunt nose, the sharply pointed .30-06 would never work with the nose resting directly on the primer. [/QUOTE] The Winchester lever action rifle was[first made in 1873.](http://armchairgunshow.com/WinLever-info.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/9 "2007-02-28T04:33:29Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] The Winchester lever action rifle was[first made in 1873.](http://armchairgunshow.com/WinLever-info.html) [/QUOTE] Yes, but not in .30-30 which wasn’t introduced until 1895. The mdl '73 fired handgun cartridges, didn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/10 "2007-02-28T05:05:40Z")
Slight hijack: speaking of the 30-30, anyone try the new LEVERevolution cartridges? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/11 "2007-02-28T07:05:40Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] Yes, but not in .30-30 which wasn’t introduced until 1895. The mdl '73 fired handgun cartridges, didn’t it? [/QUOTE] Yes, see my post above, it wasn’t until the '76 that the Winchester came in rifle cartridges. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/12 "2007-02-28T14:57:02Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] The Winchester lever action rifle was[first made in 1873.](http://armchairgunshow.com/WinLever-info.html) [/QUOTE] The [Winchester Model 1866](http://www.rarewinchesters.com/gunroom/1866/model_66.shtml) came out in 1866. The Henry rifle was manufactured by the New Haven Arms Company, which was renamed Winchester Repeating Arms Company with the introduction of the Winchester 1866. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/13 "2007-02-28T15:26:45Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Yes, see my post above, it wasn’t until the '76 that the Winchester came in rifle cartridges. [/QUOTE] Right… um, exactly my point! Thanks. :smack: **CynicalGabe** I’ve not tried LEVERevolution yet, but it’s on my list. My poor old 94 has been sadly neglected the past few years, time to get it back in action. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-henry-repeating-rifle/393856/14 "2007-02-28T15:30:22Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] My poor old 94 has been sadly neglected the past few years, time to get it back in action. [/QUOTE] I need to exercise my Model 1892 (which was built in 1897) rifle (not carbine). The .32-20 is a little expensive though.