"It's surprising how often you start wondering just how featureless a desert some people's inner landscapes must be."
-Maple Syrup Actual
Does the above offend? If you have paid to be here, you can click here to put it in context.
First, the bad news. You guys may know already that Ruger PCC has the magwell adapter that is too constrained for anything but a pistol magazine. Henry made a far more generous magwell, and their proprietary magazine is upright. So I hoped for an SMG magazine such as MP5 or CZ Scorpion. Well, no such luck. The underside of the bolt conflicts with a wide, dual feed magazine. The only thing that anyone can count on is STEN magazine (and I'm not doing that).
The good news is, the design of the platform is sound overall. I had my doubts about the mating of action bars to the bolt, but in the event it looked okay. You need to watch out for the wear though, and lubricate the rails on the aluminum receiver.
The FCG is a medley of AK family design. Very simple and robust, although the overlap in the transition from the disconnector to the sear is tiiiiiny. Can't wait to hear if it goes binary on people down the road or not. Safety blocks the trigger. Because of that, you cannot charge the gun while on safe. Not my preferred design, but AK works the same way, and millions of them were made.
Like on the Ruger, the administrative bolt hold is separate from LRBHO. I don't know why gun designers choose that either. Surely there's a reason.
Finally, one extremely strange feature is the charging handle slot: it is too long by about 8 mm. The extra length is not used when shooting or disassembling the gun. AND, it is exactly the size of the hole behind the bolt. If they made the slot just a little shorter, they would eliminate the opening for the dirt to get in. Why is the slot this long? A mystery!
I have been piecing together the function of this carbine from arm's length, and the more I dig, the less enthusiastic I am. I wish it were otherwise, but so far it seems like - and I emphasize that this is only MHO - just another 9x19 carbine... with a clever idea here but a counterbalancing WTF idea there until it is just a more traditionalist's alternative to a Ruger PC or a Beretta CX4, not a slam-dunk game changer.
Too bad there was never a Ruger Deerfield in 9x19 or .357 Magnum.
gn
"On the internet, nobody knows if you are a dog... or even a cat."
Wait. Why would think it was ever anything but a traditionalists PCC?
When has Henry ever done anything ' game changing'? They make lever 22s, copies of the Marlin lever action(and it took how long to even have side gates) single shots, and a copy of a takedown survival rifle.
Everything is a copy of something else.
And now a generic revolver.
Their market isn't competitors, LE, military, or even the average gun owner.
It's hobbyists who like a retro aesthetic but aren't concerned with actual reproductions.
Thanks for that clarification. Yes, I had to install the new style base plates when I got the Wilson grip modules.
IIRC, I got them from Wilson.
https://shopwilsoncombat.com/BASE-PA...uctinfo/NW736/
"It's surprising how often you start wondering just how featureless a desert some people's inner landscapes must be."
-Maple Syrup Actual
That is probably pretty accurate.
Personally, I couldn't have cared less what it looked like (up to a point), but the replaceable magazine module was intriguing and I followed the news - so to speak - until it became clear that it wasn't what I have been looking for.
gn
"On the internet, nobody knows if you are a dog... or even a cat."
One more funny tidbit. Before I disassembled the Henry, I've read the manual, but perhaps I didn't comprehend it properly. So I started by pushing the magwell pin, then the next one and finally the last one by the stock. I was sitting at my desk at the time, and unfortunately I don't remember exactly how I was holding it, but the rifle exploded. Parts flew left and right, and the barrel with the receiver made a whirl and landed on a steel leg of my desk, gouging the receiver straight through the anodizing. Parts were not spring-loaded! Perhaps I tried too hard and was awkward. From then on, I kept a solid grip with one hand by the receiver and other hand by the stock, and nothing like that happened again. What the heck was that :-)
P.S. I disassembled it for tinkering. Here's a preview:
Last edited by zaitcev; 05-15-2023 at 10:20 PM.