Alexander Henry .360 Miniature Single Shot Rifle

CptCurl · Jan 15, 2023

Alexander Henry .360 Miniature Single Shot Rifle

This is a best quality Alexander Henry .360 Express single shot rifle. The records show it was finished on April 12, 1880, so it is now almost 143 years old. Fortunately, it has survived the years in wonderful condition. I am the current caretaker since buying it at auction in early December 2022.

The rifle resides in its original full-length oak and leather case, lined in pigskin. All the original tools and loading equipment remain. The bullet mould and its hollow point pin are numbered to the rifle. It has a 25" barrel and weighs a whopping 4 lbs., 12 oz. It has an absolutely beautiful, mirror bright, perfect bore. Henry rifling, of course.

It is astoundingly rare to find a complete cased set like this, still intact. I am fortunate indeed!

It makes a great "little brother" companion for my Henry .450 single shot rifle.

Well, maybe it's not a Smith & Wesson revlover. But it's a nice one to look at anyway! My cellphone photos don't do justice to this wonderful rifle.

Curly

Rpg · Jan 15, 2023

Beautiful examples of long lost firearm quality.

Imagine how much it would cost to try to make one today, assuming you could find qualified craftsmen to undertake the effort.

mtgianni · Jan 15, 2023

What a gorgeous piece of workmanship.

walter o · Jan 15, 2023

The QUALITY of workmanship jumps out at you
congratulations

walnutred · Jan 15, 2023

Great rifle! Is that 450 Henry really left handed or are my eyes tricking me.

LVSteve · Jan 15, 2023

I'm not seeing any M-Lok slots for a light and laser equipped foregrip. Are you sure it's complete?

(Very nice!)

CptCurl · Jan 15, 2023

walnutred said:
Great rifle! Is that 450 Henry really left handed or are my eyes tricking me.

Yes, the .450 does have a left-handed lock, but it is intended for right-handed use.

Henry made a lot of rifles like this on the idea that using a left-hand lock gets the hammer out of the way for loading and unloading by a right-handed shooter. It really does make a difference.

Curly

dwh · Jan 15, 2023

What a great example the British took and rabbit rifle. Not only did the entire package stay intact, but it avoided being bored or to 410.

CptCurl · Jan 15, 2023

Left-hand lock.

More about the use of left-hand locks:

Here is a shot of page 80 of Donald Dallas' work, Alexander Henry, Rifle Maker, in which he discusses the left hand locks (click the photo for a larger image):

And here is a photo of my .450 I just snapped:

The .450 is a real dandy also!

Curly

ISCS Yoda · Jan 15, 2023

$250,000 new in today's market, minimum. Wow! With all of the accoutrements maybe double that, now that I think about it......

Ivan the Butcher · Jan 15, 2023

Rpg said:
Beautiful examples of long lost firearm quality.

Imagine how much it would cost to try to make one today, assuming you could find qualified craftsmen to undertake the effort.

I believe H&H and Rigby will build any best quality rifle or shotgun for the same price. That was about $89,000 in the 1980's. The problem is getting a quality action to build the rifle on! Many companies used Ruger No. ! actions , but they aren't the same!

Ivan

By the way Curly, that is a great gun.

6string · Jan 16, 2023

CptCurl said:
Yes, the .450 does have a left-handed lock, but it is intended for right-handed use.

Henry made a lot of rifles like this on the idea that using a left-hand lock gets the hammer out of the way for loading and unloading by a right-handed shooter. It really does make a difference.

Curly

That's an incredible rifle.
But, it almost makes me sad to really, really look at it.
That sort of gunmaking is a lost art.

But, to the point, I understand and agree about the left lock - right lock issue. As a lefty, while the world of bolt actions is largely a total hassle ( except when shooting benchrest) many firearms, especially revolvers, offer many unintended advantages to the southpaw.
Maybe I need to look more seriously at the British side-hammers?

PS: fantastic that your new treasure comes with loading tools numbered to the gun!

CptCurl · Jan 16, 2023

Just for fun, here's a link to the full resolution photo of the package.

Click for big photo of the package. Really see what's in the box.

Curly

30-30remchester · Jan 16, 2023

It is always kind of humorous to get in these type forums and listen to the arguments as to who builds the best firearm. Remington or Mossburg or Henry. These people have never seen hand-built firearms like the above that may have taken up to a month to construct with files and chisels. The above rifle is in this class. Wow I would like to take that rook shooting just once.

sceva · Jan 16, 2023

How hard is ammo to get? Assuming you actually want to shoot it.

6518John · Jan 16, 2023

30-30remchester said:
Wow I would like to take that rook shooting just once.

I always think of these types of rifles in terms of African Safaris. But this one is basically a varmint rifle isn't it? A Rook is very similar to a Crow I believe. It would be a crow, fox, coyote, varmint rifle in practice wouldn’t it?

30-30remchester · Jan 16, 2023

6518John said:
I always think of these types of rifles in terms of African Safaris. But this one is basically a varmint rifle isn't it? A Rook is very similar to a Crow I believe. It would be a crow, fox, coyote, varmint rifle in practice wouldn’t it?

Without reading carefully I assumed it was a rook rifle which is the British term for crow. Upon reflection I believe the 360 Miniature was a black powder cartridge capable of smaller big game the size of deer. Either way I would enjoy taking it to the field someday and exercising it on game it was designed for. The construction and attention to detail embarrasses the modern plastic molded, stamped tin, MIM ingredients and painted stocks of the mass-produced firearms of today.

LVSteve · Jan 16, 2023

6518John said:
I always think of these types of rifles in terms of African Safaris. But this one is basically a varmint rifle isn't it? A Rook is very similar to a Crow I believe. It would be a crow, fox, coyote, varmint rifle in practice wouldn’t it?

Rooks are bare faced crows with a finer beak and shaggier legs, IIRC. We had lots of them in England. Farmers used to claim that they caused extensive crop damage, but more recent and rigorous research has cast doubt on this assertion.

Rook (bird - Wikipedia)

CptCurl · Jan 16, 2023

sceva said:
How hard is ammo to get? Assuming you actually want to shoot it.

Ammo is a reloading proposition. I have another rifle in this caliber and all the loading equipment necessary.

It's going to be a fun one to shoot.

BTW, This cartridge is a step above the British "rook and rabbit" cartridges. Basically it is equivalent to a .38-55.

Here's a photo I snapped just now to graphically illustrate the point. On the left is a .360 2-1/4" Express, and on the right is the very familiar .38-55. The .360 is actually 1/8" longer. Bullets are .366" in diameter.

So what's it good for? To answer that question, let me post page 51 from the Holland & Holland 1910 catalog. You may want to click the image to get the readable full size image.

It's a gem for sure!

Curly

6string · Jan 16, 2023

CptCurl said:
Just for fun, here's a link to the full resolution photo of the package.

Click for big photo of the package. Really see what's in the box.

Curly

That is really nice. It's a comprehensive package for a sophisticated and knowledgeable owner. Everything you need to keep that gorgeous rifle shooting for a lifetime and beyond, all matching in terms of functionality and aesthetic style.
And, I mean that comment in terms of both regular maintenance/repair and the handloading of ammunition. The sort if man who would've owned this type of rifle didn't consider it in terms dependency on others for every little thing.
(Certainly not whether "Walmart" was having a run on ammo!)

I really like how, as gunmakers transitioned from muzzleloading to cartridge use, that so many things were retained from the former to the latter.
The "pistol grip" style of the stock, not to mention the obvious things like the lock, are readily apparent.

Fantastic!

Alexander Henry .360 Miniature Single Shot Rifle

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