Finally got a 357 levergun

Very nice looking rifle! I love the color case hardening. Been looking for a 38/357 myself, and for what they get for an older JM marked Marlin, I can live without a sidegate. Is the Henry as smooth as I've been told? If it is, I may have to make that plunge myself. Good luck with your new rifle.

Very nice looking rifle; like that color casehardening!

I have a Rossi in 45 Colt. It is light and runs pretty well, but it took some work to get it that way. I think that Henry will be my choice as well.

I have a bunch of lever guns from .22LR (3 Henry’s) to .45/70 (2 JM Marlin 1895’s). Also Win 94’s, Rossi 92’s, 336 Marlin, I used to have a Savage 99F...I guess you could say I like lever guns. I must say that is one fine looking rifle, happy anniversary .

As for the Henry’s lack of a side loading gate, who cares? My Savage didn’t have one and even with the action having to be cracked open to load, it wasn’t a handicap at all. Folks make waaaay too big a deal about them. If the gun is smooth functioning, fits well and is accurate, that’s all that really matters. In fact in the 40-odd years since I was given that Savage by my Dad on my 13th birthday I can’t recall one time needing to load on the fly because I was out (or even running low) of on-board ammo.

Could it be necessary? Maybe if I was holding off a marauding hoard and my AR, 870 and Glock had run dry. Other than that unlikely scenario, tube loading and unloading a lever gun is fine by me.

You’ve said it’ll hold ten in the mag tube, that’s a lot of shots. I wouldn’t worry one bit about how it’s loaded, just enjoy the ride .

Again, that’s one handsome Henry, congrats .

Stay safe.

Very Nice !! Small , light weight straight forward carbine. Have fun !

Congrats and happy anniversary. What a great looking rifle. Have fun!

Henry does make a nice looking rifle that takes a flat top scope mount. I have a few lever guns when you include the Martinis, #1s, #3s and the Marlins, including a 94c in 357. With the 357 rifle, load it like a rifle, not a handgun and it will surprise you. Just use a 357 revolver cylinder for your OAL gauge. I prefer the 200gr Remington RN with 296/H-110 with SR primers. The 200 RCBS works well also. A taper or profile crimp over the ojive holds the bullets.

leverguns abound here too. Congrats on your new rifle, it looks great.
What a great partner for a nice .357mag revolver! (Hint)
(I hear mrs @Shak3s1977 is having an anniversary in about a year)

That is a pretty rifle. The wife likes her 357 Marlin. Lots of fun and adequate for deer.

I can't see why everyone has a fit about no side gate. My brother is one of the people who insists it is a huge problem because you cannot top off the magazine laying down. I keep asking him when has needed to top off the magazine and cannot do it standing. He is 69 and if it was a huge issue he should have at least one example!

You should be buying your wife flowers and candy at random times throughout the year to show her that kind of love. I have a Henry 357 too but I think I will share the love and give it to my son. I have one also in 45LC (case hardened and octagonal barrel) as well as some 22s. They are great fun.

You should try some of the Federal HammerDown in .357 since it looks they are releasing it in that caliber. Im kinda interested if they do load better. I have some for my .30-30 but haven't tried them yet

Mars5l said:

You should try some of the Federal HammerDown in .357 since it looks they are releasing it in that caliber. Im kinda interested if they do load better. I have some for my .30-30 but haven't tried them yet

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From what I've read on the net, that ammo was developed in coordination with Henry Arms' release of their side loading gate lever guns. That chamfered rim ought to allow ammo to slide through the gate, through the receiver's innards, and into the mag tube a bit easier.

Shak3s1977 said:

Well for my 20th anniversary my wife let me pick this up last Thursday. I didn't get to the range till today, with all the rain around here. The Henry ate everything we put in it, except the 170gr Keith style bullets.( I honestly wasn't expecting them to work anyway, but got to try them to make sure).

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Congrats on the anniversary and congrats on the new lever gun.

how is the accuracy? i had a henry steel big boy in the past. looked great but it wasn't accurate. the sights had to be drifted quite a bit to zero and even then I couldn't shooti ti consistently. i suspect the groove diameter may have been too big for my bullets( but i didnt slug the bore). it was just so consistently inconsistent. i ended up trading it in. i was using 158 swc or rnfp powder coated bullets from sns casting and not jacketed.

Nice looking rifle. I think it looks better without the loading gate. I didn’t know they did that finish and I really like it. Now I’m off to their website.

Dang! That's the SECOND Henry rifle I've seen on this website with a rough chamber problem!
Henry has a great reputation for making things right .... but geeesh, I'm beginning to wonder about their Q. C. to begin with!!

Nice Rifle! Henry is a solid product and will make it right. I’ve had issues with brand new Ruger’s. It shouldn’t happen but it does. There’s Winchester’s and Marlins sitting next to Henry’s in the safe. Shoot all day and the shine will wear off a loading gate after your thumb starts to hurt from feeding rounds through it. I’d give up the gate for color case hardening like yours on a couple of my rifles. Guess I need to look a little harder in the chambers of my Henry’s now even though I’ve not noticed any issues. Let us know how it all ends when you get it back.

I too love the case hardening. We had a henry 22 about 13 years ago that came with a bent barrel or something. it shot about 3 feet to the left at 25 yds. We couldn't drift the sights enough to get the barrel and sights on teh same plane. Henry replaced the barrel. They should take care of you too. But now they're on my list of guns to check over INSIDE as well as outside.

Dissing the Henry centerfires for being front loaders "like a .22" does not resonate with me. Even tho all my leveraction centerfires have been side loaders.

Marlin introduced a side gate loading .22 rifle lever-action tube magazine in 1891. By 1892 they changed it to front loading. There were advantages.

I can see where a front loading centerfire tube would have appeal to a shooter wanting the same manual of operation for their .22 and centerfire lever-action rifles.

Edit: my tiny phone keyboard and screen let typos slip thru (see quote below).

Carl N. Brown said:

Even tho all my keveration centerfires have been side liaders.
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Me too! Finally, someone who understands.

Man, that this is pretty. I love the color case hardening and octagonal barrel. Sorry to hear about the chamber issue, though. I just had to bump one of these up to the top of my "want" list. I think it would pair nicely with my walnut/blue Gp100 in 357.