Upon his passing my Dad left me several of very nice weapons. A Savage over/under single shot in 22 LR over 20 gauge. A very handy camp weapon. An original Winchester Model 94 John Wayne rifle in 30-30. To this day it has never been fired. I myself, have had a novice level proclivity for some collecting. I own an Italian Side by Side flint lock shotgun, and an original US Army M-1 Garand Tanker Model (never been fired). Unfortunately, several others I had were stolen during a break in our first winter south in 2014.
I have always had a passion for the 'Old West' and it's weaponry. I was probably a cowboy in a previous life. My handgun of choice for hunting is a Ruger Blackhawk Single Action in 45 Long Colt. I have taken deer, bear, and wild hog with it although it can be admittedly a borderline caliber for larger big boned game. Shot placement is critical. I decided recently to pursue another weapon. I have always admired both the Sharps and Henry Rifles. No longer made except for replicas (and there are some fine ones out there) the Sharps BIG FIFTY is a classic. However, it was Benjamin Tyler Henry who conceived the first practical, lever action repeating rifle.
Patented in 1860, the Henry gave a single man the firepower of a dozen marksmen armed with muzzle-loading muskets. A pioneering design in a reliable and practical lever action repeater, and adopted in limited numbers by Northern forces during the Civil War, the Henry was the 16-shot rifle enviously, and angrily referred to by Southern soldiers as “That damned Yankee rifle that loads on Sunday and shoots all week long!” Henry Rifles was resurrected in their New Jersey factory with the same commitment to quality. Henry Repeating Arms is the leading lever action manufacturer and one of the top-five long gun manufacturers in the USA. Henry is a family owned business and it’s company motto is “Made in America, or Not Made At All”. Read the roll mark on the barrel of any Henry and it is going to say Made in the USA. The company’s headquarters are based in Bayonne New Jersey. A second manufacturing facility is located in Rice Lake Wisconsin. Henry has over 400 employees and builds over 300,000 Henry rifles annually. www.henryusa.com/
I really loved the clean, original lines of the original Henry Rifle, but it only comes in 44-40 and 45 Long Colt calibers. Looking for a larger caliber I wanted a little more OOMPH. The 45-70 Government caliber has been in existence just as long as many others, but not many modern manufacturers except Marlin have continually produced it. I remember hunting with my uncle when I was young and he always referred to his 45-70 as his "Pumpkin Lobber". It was a hell of a gun, but it had to be. My uncle was afraid of nothing. From Black tailed Deer, to Mule Deer, Black Bear, Elk, and Moose he killed them all without a loss. This is the caliber I was looking for. I wasn't planning on venturing out after Cape Buffalo or Alaskan Brown Bear, but for Black Bear and Big Wild Hogs this would be the ticket. Talk about 'upside down'? A 350 grain jacketed flat nose bullet with a muzzle velocity of 1800 fps and muzzle energy of 2517 foot pounds will do that. Whether busting through the shoulder of a big black bear or wild boar, this is it. As with my 45 Long Colt, Buffalo Bore Ammunition is my load of choice. They make this caliber in bullet weights up to 430 grains, but the 350 is the best all around fit. Tim Sundles and his crew manufacture a quality product in Salmon, ID.
Henry Rifles offers a selection of rifles in this caliber, but my choice of staying with the authentic style was the Big Boy Wildlife Classic in Engraved Bronze. www.henryusa.com/rifles/lever-action-brass-wildlife-edition-30-30/ (page shows both) The 45-70 undeniably provides it and the engraving, black-filled to bring out detail as it is on both brass Wildlife models, reflects that with American vine scroll and braided border again; surrounding on the right side a detailed depiction of a moose head in a circular setting, and on the left, a bear in an oval outline. This model also adds a larger lever loop for gloved use to the package. There is no concern about the strength of a brass receiver as Henry engineers a safety factor into the brass frame well above the relatively mild 28,000 psi specifications set for the caliber by SAAMI, and that includes loads up into the heavyweights that specialty outfits like Buffalo Bore and Garrett produce. You can safely run the gamut from lead rounds at 1,200 fps on up to jacketed rounds at 2,000 fps. Beauty and the The BEAST.
The barrel is 22" of octagonal blued steel with fully adjustable semi-buckhorn sights and a total weight of 8.1 pounds. I special ordered this through Lake Effect Guns n Gear, a local outdoor specialty store in our town of Kalkaska, MI. http://lakeeffectguns.com/ A special thanks to Scott, Cindy, and Aaron at LEGG for all their help. I also ordered a custom sling through Lever Gun Leather of Athol, Idaho. www.levergunleather.com/p_rifle_slings.htm. Dark brown stained leather engraved with simply "Pumpkin Lobber". Keep the tradition going.
I sighted the "PL" 1.25" high at 50 yards which provides a 100 yard zero. Using my new Caldwell Lead Sled the groups right out of the box were at 1.8" and sighting was fairly straight forward. I consider this to be a functional collectible, which is exactly what I wanted. It will challenge many a beast before it's day ends on the wall. First up for us will be Wild Hogs this winter in Texas.
"A vote is like a rifle; it's usefulness depends on the character of the user"
Theodore Roosevelt
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