Poll: Henrys, Yea or Nay?

[CountryGent]

So, up until recent years, I have had zero interest in Henrys because:

• Originally .22s. (Mega Meh)
• No loading gate. (Pew)
• Unlike Winchesters, Marlins, and Rossi, no experience. (Insufficient data)

The first two are no longer a thing. And I find myself interested in their big-bore threaded for a silencer.

So, what say you, offerings from Henry work the investment? Or not? And why?

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[Brownsalamander]

I got one of their new side gate loading 30-30s. They are a great gun, high quality, and I have zero regrets.

 

[CountryGent]

Thanks @Brownsalamander.

 

[FullMetalJerk]

 

[CountryGent]

View attachment 744742

 

[Wombat of Doom]

I own 4. .22, 357 lever, .357 single shot that Reno customized, 45 colt with octagon barrel. I really like all mine. No issues, except my .357 lever is not as smooth with .38 specials. never had an issue, its just not silky smooth. I really want a .327 and a .45 x series. (suppressed 45 colt makes me smile to think of.)

 

[ZigZagZeke]

There was a time in my lifetime when the top tier firearms makers were Winchester, Colt, Browning, and Remington, with a few high end, more or less custom guns thrown in. Buying a Marlin was getting into iffy territory, and Savage and Mossberg were definitely second tier quality, kind of like Hi Points are thought of today. Henrys weren't being made at that time that I know of, and the only Henrys you saw were the original antiques.

That has since changed drastically. We now have Ruger and Savage in the first tier, and Marlins are premium brand name guns. These days I think Henry has established itself as an acceptable quality, first tier maker. I wouldn't hesitate to own one, and have been seriously contemplating a Henry in .357 Mag/.38 Spc to satisfy my lever action craving.

Mag

 

[Nibbs]

Big Boy X model...
WIN WIN WIN

 

[s1xty7]

I bought one of their special edition 22s for my wife. Beautiful gun and very smooth. It's almost a little too polished. At least on the 22s, the fact the shiny part is a cover kinda takes some of the specialness away. And the wood is so polished and coated, it almost looks plastic. Personally, I prefer my older Winchester 9422 for 22s and I feel my Marlin 1894CSBL is more sincere in the fit and finish. The Henrys are like a woman who is beautiful with makeup on and a push up bra. The Marlin and Winchester are like a woman who is a natural beauty. I wouldn't feel bad about buying a Henry, but I'd more than likely buy something else instead.

 

[orygun]

Long story short, I bought a Henry 22 lever action for Mom in 2005. It wasn't used to chew up ammo, but to give Mom a chance to shoot. 72 year old lady, never shot before, shooting reactive targets from a rest at 15-20 yards and grinning like a kid. My family would all shoot Mom's .22 at family gatherings. My family isn't really a bunch of shooters but everyone had a blast.
A POS gun that won't work and won't shoot worth a crap will not do this.
After 10 years of the leisurely life I borrowed it from Mom to teach my grandson to shoot. We've chewed up a bunch of ammo in the last 5 years.
The only time it doesn't function perfectly is operator error (short stroke).

The only downsides, so to speak, are that it's not made the way we expect. A 94/22 or a 39A would NEVER have removable sideplates and a plunger tube mag...

My experience is limited to this one gun, but my experience tells me to recommend Henry. This kid obviously agrees.

 

[Mark W.]

Being a huge fan of Winchester and Remington pump .22's the tube feed/loading port is of no concern to me. My son (37) has a Henry Frontier .22LR he uses for Jack Rabbit hunting along with other stuff and its been an excellent firearm and he really likes it.

 

[mag00]

I have a golden boy for the grand kids and a big boy in 38/357 for myself and they both function flawlessly and am very happy with both.

 

[Greenbug]

If they made a pump or lever 22 that loaded from the butt stock tube magazine with a threaded barrel I would be all over it.

I would love a pump or lever 22 suppressor host that you could load without having to remove the suppressor!

 

[ScottInPDX]

I definitely prefer the side gate loading of my Marlin 30-30, but I took out my Henry Octagon Frontier in .22 for the first time a couple weekends ago, and had a blast with it. I'm new to lever actions so I don't have a great frame of reference for what a "quality" one feels like, but it was definitely good enough for me. The lever cycled smoothly and firing and ejecting were both 100% reliable. No regrets here.

I didn't respond to the poll because I didn't think any of the responses quite matched my thoughts. I would say yes to Henry, just not quite as enthusiastically as the first option because my experience is limited.

 

[drstrangelove]

22's have a cheaply coated Zamak frame.
Front loading is retarded. Don't try to change my mind. I have a couple 22 levers (WINCHESTER AND BROWNING, ahem) and don't like it, but I sure don't want to put up with it in centerfire.
Their Brass framed guns are too darn heavy.
My buddy has a 357 big boy with a 15+lb trigger and a crunchy action. RUKM?
Overall, Just NO. I'd rather have a Rossi. In fact I have a Ranchhand and it's a better smoother action than any of the 5 Henries I've cycled.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

I've had a 4-5 of their rimfire guns over the years. I usually take one camping, it gets shot by a family member, and it ends up going home with them. They are really fun guns to shoot and a definite crowd pleaser among new shooters. I don't mind the front loading in a rimfire gun, and in some instances prefer it. I still have a goldenboy and it is too heavy to hike around with, but it's a great range toy.

I would not hesitate to buy any of their offerings, though I don't have any experience with their center fire guns. With that said, I'd wouldn't trade my Rossi 92 in .357 for Henry, or a Marlin for that matter.

 

[Medic!]

Maybe if I was 12 I'd want a new gun, made a new way?


But I'm old.
And want an old gun, made the old way.

 

[solv3nt]

I had the cheap 22lr, and it started rusting in the safe after being put in dry. Rust was on the reciever and lever.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

I especially like their single shot rifles. I wish they would make one in 5.45x39mm.

 

[RVTECH]

I bought a BBB .357 in 2014 after losing out on a Miroku Winchester 1873 Sporting Rifle that was GONE from Sportsman's when I went to BUY IT!

A short time later I found it in LaPine Bi-Mart and gave it a good look over.
Not a scratch on it, wood to metal fit was excellent, probably a 4 # +/- trigger and action very smooth with just a slight 'bump' in cycling (which smoothed up later and I eventually removed completely) Anyway after about a 30+ minute look over I bought it but had to pick it up the next day as they were about to close.

In my own 'traditional' way of thinking I was expecting a WInchester (pre Miroku) or Marlin (JM) but it was neither, but a new design & concept and I accepted this.

A couple things I did not like right away - the rear sight for one. Literally the worst Buckhorn I have seen on any lever action - even worse than a late model US made Winchester. Kind of cheap and cheesy and hard to adjust but my thought is Henry was thinking it would probably be replaced anyway but it was still a 'black eye' on an otherwise nice rifle.

I was initially unsure about the tube load but then after actually loading it I realized the tube feed was an advantage with PISTOL caliber cartridges. The tube feed eliminates the 'finger pinch' one gets with pistol caliber rounds in a side gate (many report this and I know as well having owned a WInchester Trapper in .357) HOWEVER I will say a side gate is advantageous over the tube feed with rifle sized rounds.

I did experience the dreaded inner load tube hangup/lever kick out problem reported by MANY Henry owners, however after studying it I discovered the cause as well as a simple fix for it and suggested it to many owners. I as well as many others no longer have the problem after accomplishing it.

I was also disappointed Williams does not make a rear receiver peep sight specifically for the Henry. I did however discover a Williams WGRS rear peep (designed for a Marlin) will work on a Henry and if installed in reverse with the windage slide reversed, fits well and does not hang off the rear of the receiver.

I initially did not like the exterior 'peaks' of the octagon barrel not being sharp and well defined (like my WInchesters) but realized later it was probably intentional to fit with with the rest of the rifles somewhat 'melted' lines and appearance.

Most everything else about the design I like with one thing in particular - the spring ball detent for the lever lock. Henry also made a major improvement in the load tube twist lock in that it is now incorporated in the forward external tube support. Much cleaner and eliminates the cracking some experienced in the end of the tube in .45-70 and some .44 mag.

I really don't know why so many are adamantly opposed to Henry and call it junk.
While some have experienced problems I have never heard of a manufacturer with better customer service and quite frankly many of the problems I have heard and read about are common to many new guns of any manufacturer and could easily be resolved by the owner. Also some new owners simply overlooked other problems they should have noticed during their initial purchase.

I will admit (in my opinion) Henry started making some real blunders in about 2015 and that has compounded problems with them but that is another issue.

In conclusion? I would recommend a Henry without question. Give it a GOOD lookover when buying to include a patch down the barrel and if all nice and clean you should be good to go!

New front globe I recently installed.