Bolts being machined on a CNC station that does nothing but bolts.

The smoothness of the action presents itself as an interesting phenomenon: You should have the hammer down when you shove the magazine tube down over a stack of 10 rounds. If you don't, the super-slick action will open slightly as the stack of rounds presses against the carrier/lifter. Lowering the hammer is a good idea and a good habit to get into anyway since you'll have your hands up near the muzzle to load.

The saddle-ring carbine buttplate had me concerned when I first fired the Big Boy. The rifle isn't a featherweight, but it isn't an anvil either. I expected it to thump me. After Dave and I had polished off that carton of ammo, we went on to shoot other firearms as well. My shoulder did not bother me as a result.

At the range to assist me I had an old friend and shooting buddy, Mike Clare. Mike is not a lever-action kind of guy. He's spent his time fussing over bolt-action rifles and 1911 pistols. We started by running a few various loads over the chronograph to see what a 20-inch barrel does for velocity. Basically, what it does is get the velocity up to where the published ballistics of the .44 Magnum were when it was introduced.

If you want your rifle fancy for your CAS ensemble, Henry can engrave your rifle for you. And put on fancy wood, too.

Even with a 240-grain bullet leaving the muzzle at 1,500 fps, the recoil is not exactly stout. Firing .44 Special-level reloads makes the recoil positively sedate. Just for grins we ran some Black Hills cowboy .44 Special ammunition through the Big Boy. Two-hundred-ten-grain lead flatpoint bullets at 838 fps are enough to make Major for a handgun or Minor for a rifle in USPSA competition. The recoil is so soft that anyone who has strength enough to hold up the rifle has strength enough to withstand the "recoil." The action is so slick that Mike is starting to come around about lever-action rifles.

If you are having problems with a particular brand or type of .44 Special ammunition, Henry can tune your rifle for it. Apparently, the company has some experience with fussy competition shooters and are more than happy to solve their problems. The accuracy the rifle delivered didn't hurt for Mike's conversion either. Since the ammunition I used at the writer's conference was Magtech 240 jacketed softpoint, that was what I used to shoot for groups.

The rear sight is a traditional semi-buckhorn--great for looks, OK for accuracy and a must for CAS competition. When Dave and I were battling for supremacy, we got the Henry Big Boy rifles so hot we couldn't even touch the barrelband. And they never quit on us.

As they are made in Brazil, I have found Magtech rounds to exceed my expectations for imported ammunition. At 50 yards, from the bench, I would regularly put four shots into an inch, with the fifth one spoiling the group by half an inch to an inch. Benchrest shooters will not quake in terror at groups like that. However, with buckhorn sights, a big bead out front and a lever-action rifle as the launching platform, that's just short of bragging-group performance. With a little fussing on loads, I think I can turn those into one-hole groups. My impression is that the fault lies more with me than with the rifle or ammo. And the accuracy is plenty good enough to make the club's 100-yard gongs ring out in pain at every shot.