Henry Rifles: is it true?

[oneounceload]

Wow, if everyone thinks all these brands stay exactly the same, look again - how many have Woolrich, Danner, L.L. Bean or any of a hundred names that were US-made and family-owned and are now Chinese made and some corporate conglomerate.

It's called MARKETING, and why you see so many knock-offs for name-brand products, gun industry included.

Original family members sell off the company, including the name.....Look at the British gun trade and you'll see even more of that, folks thinking they're buying some hand-crafted gun made by gunmakers with 100's of years of experience, only to find it was machine-made in Italy or elsewhere and "finished" in England

 

[chicharrones]

I was watching a youngster at the gun range a few weeks back shooting his birthday present. It was a Henry .22LR. He looked to be having the time of his life and I'm sure wouldn't have cared less about the pedigree of his rifle. . . . Whatever the case it made a memorable day for one father and son. That's pretty cool in my book.

+1

I bought my Marlin 39 new in the early '90s with a low income job since I was still in my 20s. If there had been anything other than Marlin, Winchester, or Browning available (brand new), I would have looked at it. I'm pretty dang sure if a half price Henry would have been around, I would have bought it instead.

 

[Hoppes Love Potion]

I have a Henry and like it a lot - it's a heck of a good shooter for the money. It does have a painted alloy receiver cover instead of a blued steel one, but the cover is impressively strong and heavy. I have no complaints about the build-quality. This same design has been in use for about 50 years, in rifles by Henry, Ithaca, and Erma.

I agree that the ad copy is deceptive, especially stuff like "est. 1862-2010". I understand why they've "adopted" the Henry name, but they went too far with some of the claims. This is something I really don't understand because they make an honest product, and they have outstanding customer service.

 

[MCMXI]

Marlin's 1894 is a "lie", too, in case you didn't know that. It's a more modern gun than its namesake.

If you look at Marlin's website, they don't hide the truth about the company's history.

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/about/history.asp

When describing the 1894 that you say is a "lie", they state the following ...

"Built in the tradition of one of Marlin´s oldest lever-action designs, the Model 1894 is an elegant carbine chambered for pistol calibers."

I don't see Marlin lying about anything. I own five Marlins ... two 1894s and three 1895s, and I'll be adding another '94 soon. It doesn't bother me at all that the modern iterations of the '94 and '95 are based on the 336. They still share many of the salient features of the original '94, but are without question superior versions, and that's a good thing in my book. Marlin is one of the best company's I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with and I support them by buying their products.

 

[conhntr]

My Henry 22lr shoots very accurate and cycles 100%. However the "blueing" on barrel is very thin and rusts very easy. The black paint on the reciever chips and looks really ugly (similar to the grip on my single-six). If I was in the market again I would buy a similar priced savage or marlin bolt gun and if I needed a lever would step up to the marlin

 

[SaxonPig]

Is it possible that the current Henry bought the rights to the Henry name? A trade name and the rights to use it can be bought and sold and if they paid for it they can claim connection back to the creation of the marque.

 

[bigfatdave]

Lots of wharrgarble about the use of the "Henry" name, not a lot of rational discussion of the quality of (present-day) Henry products.

Quite simply, Henry Repeating Arms puts out a pretty good rifle for the price, keeps them in stock at the shops, and offers some exemplary customer service & product support. I'm quite happy with my Henry (H001L lever carbine) for what it is, a small lightweight plinker that can take a modest optic if desired.
If it had a better or more easily changed front sight and a peep rear, it would be perfect ... if I decide the budget finish on the receiver cover is unacceptable it isn't hard to refinish, and any mechanical troubles are covered by the factory, although the materials are rather over-engineered for a gun in .22lr.

I suppose people need something to get worked up about, but Henry has a long line of satisfied customers, check the Henry sub-forum over on rimfirecentral, you'll find a great deal of praise from people who buy guns to shoot and enjoy them, and very few complaints about the name stamped on the side of those pot-metal receivers.

 

[Art Eatman]

Okay. Leave the poor old horse alone. He 'bout daid...