I just got a Henry actrion made by Steve Earle last Saturday. THe thing is a work of art and built with the precision of a Swiss watch!

Here are some pics of the action (not my pics, but it is just like my action):

action pics link

Here is an article on Steve Earle:

Earle article link

Our very own GLenn Fewless had a couple on his table at the Guild Show this year. I have soem pics of it if he does not mind me posting them.

If anyone is looking for a target or stalking rifle built on a hammer Alex Henry action, then I can heartily reccomend this one. And Steve is a nice guy to boot, and extremely helpful with phone calls and email. I do need to warn you though, lead time is long. If you think you want one, it would pay to get your name on a slot right now.

And just for the record, most folks refer to this as a "Wesson" action. Mr. Wesson, of Smith & Wesson fame, shamelessly infringed on Henry's petent. I refer to it as a "Henry" action and am going to weld, file, and mill on it to make it look even more like an AH rifle from the 1880's.

Marc,
that is some really beautiful looking work. I'm not familiar with how that action operates. Is the safety a simple half cock of the hammer or is there a separate safety I've missed?

cheers,
- stu

They have a rebounding lock, so no safety is needed. I am going to add a "stalking safety" though. It is not really to make it safer but more because it is period-correct and found on almost all higher grade Henrys.

Marc, If you don't mind, is the price mentioned in the article ($1100) still in the ballpark?

Hey Marc, Is this one for yourself or are going to have to hand it over when it's done? Looks like a very nice action.

Terry

The $1100 price is an old one but is still in the general ballpark. Not 100% sure what one ordered today would be. I ordered one awhile back, but pretty sure it has gone up since then. Then I got this one in a trade and it will be made into a personal rifle

Not a bad price at all. Be sure to post pics when you're done.

I agree that Henry is a more fitting name for that type quality. It is just awesome! Fun tring to visualize what your finished rifle will look like. Please keep us updated with photos of the work as it progresses. also, perfect choice of caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by Marc_Stokeld:


And just for the record, most folks refer to this as a "Wesson" action. Mr. Wesson, of Smith & Wesson fame, shamelessly infringed on Henry's petent. I refer to it as a "Henry" action and am going to weld, file, and mill on it to make it look even more like an AH rifle from the 1880's.

And just to correct the record, The action was designed by Frank Wesson, and was stolen by ol' Alex. You just can't trust them foreigners!

Yes, you can post it the pictures of my rifles. I have Mr. Mann's rifle here for final assembly and will have pictures of it next week. If anyone happens to be going to the Northbrook shotgun thing next weekend it should be on display there at the Guild table.

They look kinda like this when they are done...



Glenn

I figured that would draw comments from at least one peanut in the gallery.

Here is a pic of Glenn's rifle:



Glenn is pretty modest and does not toot his own horn, but he has done some very good work with this rifle in matches. He also used this as one of his rifles for getting in the Guild in January

Please post pics of Doug's rifle when finished. I have only seen the pic with th ebutt stock on it that was posted on gunshop.com

Mark,

Beautiful rifle!!!

Don

Wow! That is a classy rifle.

Oh trust me, it will look a lot different when I get finished with it. It will require a little milling and a lot of filing to shape it up as I desire. I already have a pretty extensive list of mods to it, and am still bouncing a few more in my head

I see what looks like a spanner wrench, what is it used for and what is the other fixture in the photos used for?


Thanks, Rob

Rob:

The little spanner is for the firing pin bushing and the other is a spring compressor, needed to assemble the lock.

Glenn

Its going to be nice to see some of these come together. I agree with Steven about the trigger gaurd, that damn screw is going away on mine. I have started the file work and finished what mill work I'm going to do on my action. Big changes to the Hammer, really looks Un-Henry as it is. I'm going to make new screws that properly index for mine too. It gets barreled to .450 NE, next week if time permits, that may be optimistic though. I had a 28" custom Krieger barrel made for it and just recieved an excellent stick of English for it. Pictures when I get a chance.
Steve

Gentlemens:

The action looks, and is constructed, as it is because it is a nearly exact replication of a Frank Wesson #1 Long Range action. Specifically serial #3. The only significant change is the diameter of the firing pin.

One could make a case for certain cosmetic improvements, if one were commissioned to do so. Making one into a Henry-esque rifle would be great fun. On the other hand lots of folks like the ideal of having a faithful reproduction. In fact, the rifles shown are competition rifles and are required to be a faithful reproduction of an original American single shot rifle.

You pays your money, you make your choices. Is this a great country or what?

Glenn Fewless

Glenn,
That is wonderful craftsmanship.

Personally, I was never complaining about it, just saying I was going to change it. It is no different then how I do with a M98 or M70 or whatever. I rarely leave anything the way it is when I get it. I am VERY grateful that he is making them, even if they were put out with a ton more metal on them.

I still stand by my original post here that I think it is an awesom action and heartily reccomend it to anyone looking for a hammerd falling block action.The engineering that went into Earle getting set up to make these is incredible, as is his final product he puts out. Remeber my post up at the top of th epage, I was giving the action my endorsement!!!

Thank you, Chic.

If anyone is interested there are pictures of another Wesson we just finished on the doublegunshop.com board in a thread labeled "Pink Flamingos"

Glenn