Henry rifle

Henry rifle
patent drawing of the Henry rifle
Type	Lever-action rifle
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	United States (Union)  Confederate States
Wars	American Civil War, Indian Wars
Production history
Designer	Benjamin Tyler Henry
Designed	1860
Manufacturer	New Haven Arms Company
Produced	Early 1860s to 1866
Number built	14,000 approx.
Specifications
Weight	9 lb 4 oz (4.2 kg)
Length	44.75 in (113.7 cm)
Barrel length	24 in (61 cm)
Caliber	.44 Henry rimfire
Action	breech-loading lever action
Feed system	16-round tubular magazine

The Henry repeating rifle is a lever-action, breech-loading, tubular magazine rifle famed both for its use at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and being the basis for the iconic Winchester rifle of the American Wild West.

Designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1860, the Henry was introduced in the early 1860s and produced through 1866 in the United States by the New Haven Arms Company. It was adopted in small quantities by the Union in the Civil War, favored for its greater firepower than the standard issue carbine. Many later found their way West, notably in the hands of the Sioux and Cheyenne in their obliteration of Custer's U.S. Cavalry troops in June 1876.

Modern versions of the weapon are produced by A. Uberti Firearms and Henry Repeating Arms. Most replicas are chambered in .44-40 Winchester or .45 Long Colt.

The original Henry rifle was a sixteen shot .44 caliber rimfire, lever-action, breech-loading rifle patented by Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1860 after three years of design work. The Henry was an improved version of the earlier Volition Repeating Rifle, and later Volcanic Repeating Rifle. The Henry used copper (later brass) rimfire cartridges with a 216 grain (14.0 gram, 0.490 ounce) bullet over 25 grains (1.6 g, 0.056 oz.) of gunpowder. Production was very small (150 to 200 a month) until the middle of 1864. Nine hundred were manufactured between summer and October 1862; by 1864, production had peaked at 290 per month, bringing the total to 8,000 manufactured. By the time production ended in 1866, approximately 14,000 units had been manufactured.