Drill and tap a Henry

[Mustang1911]

My father-in-law has a Henry lever action 17hmr which he is wanting to get drilled and taped for a standard Henry scope mount. And body have any recommendations on somebody they'd trust with a lever action Henry rimfire? I'm on the north side of Indy and my father-in-law is in northern Indiana but he's just wanting me to find somebody to have it done around Indy.

 

[GREEN607]

Is it one of the H001 models? Like the H001V or H001VL?

The reason I ask is, the 001models, both .22 and .17HMR.... are what Henry refers to as "entry level" models. Their receiver is made of a steel alloy, but all have a "receiver cover" which is Zamak (?), a fancy word for pot metal. They look nice enough, but are not sturdy. It is possible to drill thru the cover and drill and tap the receiver.... but it is not at all easily done, and even the best LGS can mess it up. It can ruin the value of your rifle, as well. But the main concern is getting the D&T'd holes 'level and straight'. If they are NOT, good luck with sighting in a scope.

There is a far better option, if 'Dad' wants to use Weaver-type rings and base. DIP makes a conversion base (3/8" to Weaver/Picatinny) that is well made and can be mounted securely to the grooved receiver cover. They make one specifically for the Henry rifles and they are rated top shelf by actual users.

Here's a link to that product.....
http://www.diproductsinc.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=1034044&CAT=9854

Good luck! -Lee

 

[Squirt239]

I can tell you, I would not drill and tap it. Can it be done, yes. Should it, no.

Mount must be square with the receiver cover which must be square with the receiver. Then, it must be drilled oversized for the cover, then tapped into the receiver.

Not a good plan...

 

[Mustang1911]

It's a H004V, the brass framed golden boy. It looks that that Weaver/Picatinny base is only made for the H001 and H003 models though.

 

[55fairlane]

Consult Mark Penron in N Manchester.....

 

[GREEN607]

It's a H004V, the brass framed golden boy. It looks that that Weaver/Picatinny base is only made for the H001 and H003 models though.

You are correct. The adapter base is only for those 2 models.

Actually, it being an 004, I am surprised it wasn't drilled/tapped from the factory. Sorry I couldn't help.

 

[M67]

Don't drill and tap it.

On those models Henry puts a protective finish on the brass, once it's broken the finish kind of flakes away. That being said, it could be under the base so as long as you "reseal" it, no one would probably know.

the barrel should be drilled and tapped, I'd use that mount.

That's on thing that bugs me a lot about Henry, they offer scope mounts and D&T their rifles, but once you throw a scope on them, even with low rings, they're still too damn high

 

[Mustang1911]

I didn't realize that Henry already drilled and taped the golden boys under the rear sight. I presumed they would have done it to the receiver like they do on the big boy models. Should be fairly easy then to just remove the rear sight for him over thanksgiving.