Henry H006 swelling cases

[TheSinfulSaint]

I’ve had this 44 magnum Henry H006 brass frame lever rifle last two years but never noticed it before as I was not reloading. All cases fired have a noticeable bulge towards the rim as seen in the images attached. This is the same for factory ammo and soft reloads. Middle two are the fired cases from the rifle and the other two on either ends are not.

Is this normal behavior or should I contact Henry customer service?

-Saint

 

[Tnhawk]

I haven't fired a large number of rounds in my H006 but I didn't notice any bulge in the brass.

 

[Sam Colt]

Normal pressure ring. Straight wall cases deform farther back than bottlenecked to seal the chamber, and if they didn’t seal you’d be getting burnt powder in your eyebrows. :

ETA- they came out of your gun, so they’ll go back in once reloaded.

 

[Texasjack]

I've had a rifle before with a bad chamber and had to return it to the factory, but looking at your cases, they look very normal. There always is a slight bulge in cases, and that's all I'm seeing. Those would easily process for reloading. The cases I had (.30-06) were so bad that I couldn't resize them even with a Rock Chucker.

 

[TheSinfulSaint]

I’ve tried to address the bulge but the resizing die does not seem to fix it. Is there a way to remove the bulge or just reload the cases as they are and not worry about it too much?

I have RCBS carbide die set all the almost touching the shell holder.

-Saint

 

[benenglish]

I’ve tried to address the bulge but the resizing die does not seem to fix it. Is there a way to remove the bulge or just reload the cases as they are and not worry about it too much?

I have RCBS carbide die set all the almost touching the shell holder.

-Saint

If the bulge really bugs you, you can try sizing with a steel die adjusted for a "cam-over" sizing stroke. Different folks use different terms but the way most die makers used to direct their customers to adjust a sizing die is to put the ram at it's highest point, screw the sizing die down to contact the shell holder, back off the ram, then screw the die down just a bit more. I've never gone past another 1/8 turn. Then you bring the ram back up all the way; you'll feel the bit of extra force required to push the press handle all the way down. That's the "cam-over.". And now that the shell holder is holding the die in place, tighten the locking ring.

With carbide dies, you don't want the shell holder impacting the die and it sounds like you're adjusting your carbide die correctly. Plain steel dies can (sometimes!) reach a tad further down the case when adjusted slightly past shell holder contact.

Since it's a rimmed cartridge, push-through dies or a rollsizer won't work although they can both be a blessing when dealing with rimless cases.

My take? I've never let it bother me. I just shoot the ammo again in the same firearm and never give it a second thought.

 

[TheSinfulSaint]

Just to update everyone in case anyone has similar issues. I did call Henry and they replaced the barrel and inner tube.

I have not taken it to the range yet. Whenever I do, I will update on the findings.


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[XLR8R]

What was their turn-around time?

 

[TheSinfulSaint]

Don’t remember the exact days but roughly 2 weeks.


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[hornetguy]

Those didn't look too bad, but I've had two Rossi 357's that bulged really badly. My current 357 is a Henry, and it doesn't bulge much at all.

@benenglish has the right solution, if the new rifle does the same thing. Steel dies allow you to size further down the case, which irons it out.

 

[hornetguy]

said in my best Crocodile Dundee voice..... ha... that's not a bulge..... now THAT'S a bulge....

 

[Gordo]

Just start recording if there is a continuing growth in the bulge size, and keep one case from each outing.
Just remember, those are not brass receivers, they are electro-plated aluminum.
None of my other lever action .44 mags ever had that problem (several Marlins, and a Browning).

 

[hornetguy]

The receiver is aluminum, but isn't the chamber a part of the steel barrel? I would think that a steel chamber would not increase in size.... I could be wrong on that, though...

 

[Gordo]

Yes it is, but what is the wall thickness at the chamber?
36,000 psi will stretch steel.
I've seen even 10,000 stretch steel hydraulic cylinders, lines, and fittings.
All I am saying is that the OP should keep track of this, and beware if it's getting worse over time.

 

[hornetguy]

Yes it is, but what is the wall thickness at the chamber?
36,000 psi will stretch steel.
I've seen even 10,000 stretch steel hydraulic cylinders, lines, and fittings.
All I am saying is that the OP should keep track of this, and beware if it's getting worse over time.

I agree on keeping track of it, but I think it's sort of moot at this point, as Henry has already replaced it for him....
Haven't heard anything about whether the replacement bulges the brass....

 

[TheSinfulSaint]

As amazing as it sounds, I haven’t been back to the range since. I’ve been waiting on a deal for magnetospeed chronograph so I can test my loads. So far no deals. Seems like I might have to take some factory loads and test. Whenever that happens, I will post my findings.


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[TheSinfulSaint]

So I did manage to get to the range yesterday. I did notice the swelling was considerably less than before but the case walls were not completely straight. I can live with that and having said that, I would have liked for Henry to test fire it and made sure they fix the correct lining/barrel to spec.

Not sure I’ll be buying another Henry anytime soon.


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