Help deciding on a Henry

If it were me I would get the steel carbine. A 16” barrel is plenty to maximize the velocity and my eyes aren’t great so I would be using an optic of some type so I would not be able to take advantage of the longer sighting plane of a longer barreled rifle.

I've got a Big Boy Classic with the 20" octagon barrel and large loop lever. Smooth action, reliable, and straight shooting. Fit and finish is flawless. Holds 10 rounds and empties in seconds . Make sure the action is closed when you load it or you will get a round stuck in the follower. I wish it had a side gate for loading but pulling out the tube is easy enough. MADE IN USA.

I have a pair of large frame "old" Ruger Vaqueros to go with it. While these pistols are rated for high power (TC/Blackhawk) loads, the rifle isn't. Just stick to the "normal" loads in your manual.

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I'd stick with Uberti and get one of their clones of the original Henrys.

2 of my 3 Henry's are carbines. When I get another one it will also be carbine length*. My brother has the 17 varmint express and the 44 magnum both with 20" barrels. He hunts with his and likes the extra barrel length. I shoot steel and plink with mine and like the lighter weight and shorter barrels. He uses iron sights. I have peep sights on one, a scope on another and a red dot on the other. If your using optics I don't think barrel length matters as much, especially with pistol calibers. So it's really personal preference. For me the 45 would be carbine length and steel.

* Unless I get the 24" Frontier model

Big D said:

Hey yall. I recently began reloading .45 Colt for two handguns I acquired, an Uberti Cattleman II and an Uberti 1875 Remington, both with 7 1/2" barrels......and absolutely love this cartridge. I have now been looking into a .45 lever gun. At first, I thought of Marlin, but I've heard they haven't completely recovered their previous glory, and probably never will. Then I set my sights on Henry, as I have yet to hear anything bad about them. I'm leaning towards one of their steel big boys, but can't decide on whether I want to go with their 20" rifle or 16.5" carbine, color case or standard steel. This rifle will be more of a fun gun, but I may use for hunting at some point. Any suggestions?

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I have the 20 inch octagonal barrel with the brass receiver and I chose that for the longer sight radius and I liked the look of the octagonal barrel.

I like it a lot, and if I could choose right now between the 16" and 20", I'd pick the 20" hands down. That's just my personal preference though. They're all great guns.

I am a fan of carbine length in a pistol caliber. If your arent planning to hunt, the carbine is designed for quick action.

I really like the ones with octagon barrels.

Have you considered the Rossi's? They seem to be available again, make a nice light gun.

I'd get a Henry and would not think twice. Get it in the length that you feel comfortable with. I'm not sure the added length will do much for velocity and may not matter for fun and paper punching. I might matter in how the rifle handles to you.

Short story about Henry CS. Probably a dozen years ago I bought a Golden Boy. At that time they came with a black barrel band and of course the brass colored receiver. Over time I noticed that the barrel band on the new ones was brass colored. One day for fun I was looking on their sight, and I thought I could probably order the brass colored barrel band. I could not find it anywhere. I sent an email to customer service asking how I could order one as I did not see it on their sight. In about 10 days I received and envelope with a brass colored barrel band in it and a note saying thanks for being a Henry customer. No charge.

I'll give them a chance if I ever want a lever action rifle in the future.

-Jeff

Marlin has recovered from their backslide to their former Glory and is presently carrying the company with new models coming out all the time. My 1894 in 45 Colt is sweet. Rumor has it the a new 39A is next. I also have a Rossi and Uberti in 45 Colt. Lever guns are fun.

Anyhow Henry's are fine rifles. I like the Golden Boy. My dad has one. Sure wish it had a side loading gate, but I'll take it. Just ordered a Henry pump 22 before my last trip. Should be picking it up (maybe) today. One day a Golden Boy will be mine. Oh yes, all mine.

Big D said:

Hey yall. I recently began reloading .45 Colt for two handguns I acquired, an Uberti Cattleman II and an Uberti 1875 Remington, both with 7 1/2" barrels......and absolutely love this cartridge. I have now been looking into a .45 lever gun. At first, I thought of Marlin, but I've heard they haven't completely recovered their previous glory, and probably never will. Then I set my sights on Henry, as I have yet to hear anything bad about them. I'm leaning towards one of their steel big boys, but can't decide on whether I want to go with their 20" rifle or 16.5" carbine, color case or standard steel. This rifle will be more of a fun gun, but I may use for hunting at some point. Any suggestions?

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Henry’s are quality rifles. Made in merica as well doesn’t get better than that I have 2 Henry’s and I love them dearly. They are also really fun to shoot.

Don't discount Marlin. I bought a new 1894 in 357 mag and so far its a much better rifle than the exact same model I bought used in the 90's.

I’ve got a bunch of lever guns, with barrels of 16”, 18.5”, 20” and 26”. (I had a Win 1894 Legacy .45 C with a 24” in the past)

I find the pistol caliber ones just fit me best with a 16-18” barrel; handy, well balanced and with enough barrel to have a good sight radius and burn the pistol powder to get plenty of velocity out of those relatively small cases.

Rifle cartridges like .30-30, .35 Rem, and .45-70 seem to work best for me with 18.5”- 20” barrels. Again, they’re handy and well balanced with a bit more barrel for the larger doses of rifle powder. It may be bias because that’s traditional, but I find it the sweet spot. (Which I’ll guess a lot of others did too so that combo became the standard.)

The 24” barrel on the Win 1894 .45 Colt Rifle was way too much barrel for the cartridge. I felt it cancelled out anything positive about the great blend of the .45 Colt and a lever gun, so I sent that packing and never looked back.

The 26” 1895 Marlin .45/70 is cool, and looks awesome with that big octagon barrel, but it also borders on unwieldy. When fully loaded there is a lot of weight out front, and it doesn’t carry like the 18.5” Marlin 1895 Guide Gun does.

I have three Henry’s, all rimfires with a 16” .22 youth, 18.5” .22 standard and a 20” .22 Mag.
These are great guns, I really like them all.

The .45 Colt is my favorite pistol caliber for rifles; big so they’re easy to load and with just enough oomph to smack steel plates without much recoil.

A Big Boy will be a nice addition for you in .45 Colt, try to handle (or better yet shoot) the different ones to see what best fits your wants .

Stay safe.

shafter said:

I'd stick with Uberti and get one of their clones of the original Henrys.

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If money is no object, then.... sure. Those Uberti replica Henries are much more expensive than the Big Boy.

Big D said:

I'm leaning towards one of their steel big boys,

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I would wait until Henry releases these with a loading gate. Right now, only the Big Boy X models (made for killing zombies) have loading gates. These are however just a variation of the Big Boy Steel.

Presumably Henry is holding off until dealers can get rid of their existing stock of tube-only loaders, and until they have used up their own factory stock of completed (but unsold) rifles.

After all, if they start shipping the new standard model Big Boy Steels with loading gates now, who would buy the old model Big Boy Steels, unless they were discounted considerably?

It would pay to wait and have the loading gate, or grab an old model at a reduced price.

Get the Henry. Order from Sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore in Sept. You can create your own serial number up to 12 characters but one must be a number. It will arrive before Christmas first or second week of December. I bought a 45 LC octagon large loop steel and a 22 large loop squirrel model steel octagon barrel with skinner peep sights. Is way cool and I will pass them down to my kids and they will pass it down to theirs with my name as serial number Info from last year but will be the same this year.
https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/category.cfm/sportsman/create-your-own-henry-heirloom/

I was a Henry skeptic . was. Their rifles are excellent and I'm hard to please. Only thing I could ask for would be better (prettier) blueing. That would raise the price and it's not required for a gun that's a shooter. Pick one you like and buy it. I'm partial to the 45-70 but a big boy in 45 colt is in my future without a doubt. I love my Marlins but regardless of others opinions, my opinion is that they are not back to former glory, not remotely close. But I'll be watching marlin, if I find one that's actually properly made I'd happily buy it.

I was able to shoulder a few samples at a LGS: Marlin, and Henry BB steel 20" and 16". I wasn't interested in the Henry brass; just personal preference. The Henry 16" shouldered, balanced, and just felt the best to me, and so that's the one that came home with me. Mine is chambered in .44 mag and will be used for range time and hunting. I reload and it is much fun to shoot! Noticeable but not at all unconfortable recoil, and big holes in targets. Many smiles result from that combination.

Love my Rossi 24" octagon rifle. Popping 16" steel plates at 200 is a doable challenge with her. Light enough to not hurt but hefty enough to tame hot loads.

Need to get peep sights for her. The buckhorn sights kinda suck.

Big D said:

Thanks yall for all the replies and input. I really like the overall look of the color case hardened big boy, and am leaning in that direction. Have any of yall ever had any problems with a Henry? My experience with them is limited to a Golden Boy I received about 20 years ago for Christmas (not long after they were released)......boy I was just like Ralphie on Christmas Story! Over the years, my only complaint with it was how low the comb dropped below the sight line when shouldered. I could only obtain a sight picture by using a "chin weld". Although I did enjoy that rifle over the years, I first learned to shoot with Marlin Model 60s. I will say that from everything I've researched and seen, Henry does an amazing job with fit and finish.....and their walnut stocks are gorgeous.

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Fit and finish is exquisite. I had a firing pin break on me, which was a disappointment. I sent it back to Henry (through scheels) and had it back in 2 weeks. Other than that I haven't had a single issue. It's probably the most accurate rifle I have.

Big D said:

Thanks yall for all the replies and input. I really like the overall look of the color case hardened big boy, and am leaning in that direction. Have any of yall ever had any problems with a Henry? My experience with them is limited to a Golden Boy I received about 20 years ago for Christmas (not long after they were released)......boy I was just like Ralphie on Christmas Story! Over the years, my only complaint with it was how low the comb dropped below the sight line when shouldered. I could only obtain a sight picture by using a "chin weld". Although I did enjoy that rifle over the years, I first learned to shoot with Marlin Model 60s. I will say that from everything I've researched and seen, Henry does an amazing job with fit and finish.....and their walnut stocks are gorgeous.

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I don't own one so my comments are second hand, but still valid I think.
I agree about the fit and finish 100% though, from the ones that I have looked at.
Quite exceptional.

The brass Big Boy is too damn heavy. At over 8 pounds, it is heavier by a pound than a Marlin 336 in .30-30. And no, I'm not fussy. It just is what it is. Just heft one and you will see what I mean.

I do very much like the carbine butt stock with the brass butt plate however.
That is my main beef about the Big Boy Steel.
They spoiled it by hanging that enormous rubber boot off the end of it.
I despise rubber recoil pads on lever action carbines at any time, but at least Marlin was able to restrain themselves and just use thin pads.
Henry has a kazillion specialty models, but they can't make the Big Boy Steel with a plain old flat plastic buttplate?

Big D said:

Have any of yall ever had any problems with a Henry?

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Reportedly, some earlier Henry Big Boys had a problem with the action popping open when a full load of cartridges was in the tube and the spring brass tube was compressed and locked.
Worse, once open you could not close it until you dumped out the cartridges.
This also meant that you could not open the action an inch or so to see if the chamber was loaded.
It turned out that when Henry reverse-engineered Marlin's action, they omitted or did not duplicate properly a dished cut on the tip of the lever extension inside. This cut pushes the first cartridge rim back into the tube, and allows the action to close.
A hands-on gun tinkerer compared the levers and discovered this and filed his Henry lever to match his Marlin lever. Problem solved.