Several months ago, Henry Repeating Arms, well known for their American-made, slick-cycling lever-action rifles and shotguns, jumped into the handgun market by introducing the Big Boy Revolver chambered in .38 Special/.357 Magnum. For those new to hand-gunning, .38 Specials can be fired in a revolver chambered for .357 Magnum. The .357 Magnum is the same cartridge case as the .38 Special, just a bit longer. Lengthening the case keeps higher-pressure .357 Magnum rounds from being loaded in .38 Special revolvers.
Firing .38 Specials in .357 Magnum Revolvers adds to their utility. We can plink with cheaper, bulk .38 Specials with much less recoil and save the hotter .38 Special +P’s or .357’s for limited practice, personal defense carry, and hunting. They may shoot to different points of aim, but that will have to be determined by individual guns and loads. As you will read below, this Henry shot both .38 Special and .357 Magnum equally well.
The old-school look of this solid, double-action (DA) revolver got quite a bit of attention, both good and bad. There are always those on social media who cannot wait to interject their negative and unsolicited opinions. I wonder how many naysayers ever held the Big Boy Revolver in their hand, let alone actually shot one? Well, that’s the world we live in.
I’ll give you my unsolicited opinion; unless you fully trust the person critiquing a gun, especially on social media, try to gain experience with it yourself before coming to your own conclusion. I’ve found it to be good practice to draw my own conclusions from personal experience whenever possible. Having said all that, I was excited to look over the Big Boy Revolver the first chance I got and quickly found it to be a fine revolver.
As soon as it was loaded up and fired on the range, all the negativity was — pardon my pun — blown away! The Big Boy Revolver is stoutly built with good fit and finish. I was able to examine and shoot this gun at the Shootists Holiday that’s held at the National Rifle Association’s Whittington Center (nrawc.org) near Raton, New Mexico. If you’ve never been to the Whittington Center, you should certainly go there. It’s a fine shooting facility with a multitude of ranges set in the foothills of the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
This particular gun has the square Gunfighter-style grip frame that I found to be really good at offering a strong, full grip. Henry also offers the revolver with a Birdshead grip for those who prefer it. The Birdshead grip offers a bit less grip area to print against clothing for concealed carry as well. The fit and finish on the revolver were really nice and the brass grip frame adds a classy, custom look to the gun. The fixed sights offer a good sight picture and add to the sturdiness of this stout sixgun. I didn’t have my trigger scale with me, but the single-action trigger was crisp, and the double-action trigger was sufficiently smooth on the gun.
Shooting single-action (SA) on paper targets at 12 yards, the Big Boy grouped one of my preferred Buffalo Bore carry loads (19E) in a nice cluster, just over 1.5 inches in diameter. Firing DA at the same distance produced an equally good two-inch group with Winchester’s 158-grain Lead Semi Wadcutter (LSW) 38 Specials. Federal’s 158-grain American Eagle 357 Magnum Jacketed Soft Point (JSP) stacked them in at just over one inch. It’s obvious this revolver is accurate and will prove itself over with a variety of quality ammunition.
Later in the day, we set up a steel target roughly the size of a small cantaloupe at about 20 yards and multiple shooters had no problems hitting it consistently with a variety of ammunition firing both SA and DA.
The ample size and weight of the gun and good grip configuration made it easy for a variety of shooters to fire accurately with good recoil control. My friend Jeff “Tank” Hoover has bear-paw-sized hands, I have medium-sized mitts, and our friend and fellow Shootist Mrs. Nannette Wood has the petite hands of a lady. We all found the Big Boy Revolver’s grip to fit our hands nicely and handle well. Scotty Wood, recovering from a shoulder operation, could only fire one-handed, but that didn’t keep him from ringing steel with the Big Boy Revolver!
The Henry Big Boy Revolver is a great candidate for defensive carry and a good woods gun for the outdoorsman as well. This rugged revolver is perfect for carrying in a belt holster or chest rig while hiking and hunting and has plenty of power, with the appropriate ammunition, to take care of business.
I routinely carry a revolver with me while traveling. Oftentimes on a long trip, I will remove the holstered gun from my belt and place it in my truck’s center console. With a tough revolver like this Henry, one needn’t worry about rear sights being bumped or bent.
What’s next? Looking at this gun, which I’m sure will be an introductory model, lends one to contrive all sorts of future configurations. Adjustable sights, longer barrels, shorter barrels, bigger calibers, stainless steel; the possibilities are endless! For now, rest easy that the Henry Big Boy Revolver is an excellent choice to be added to your handgun collection. It’s tough, accurate, well-made, and just plain retro-cool! Check it out at henryusa.com
