Lever guns - hating on Henry

I began my Henry association with the basic H001 model. A nice light and handy little carbine, that worked well even with my "Bigger than the average bear" frame. Zamak alloy? Just look at all the old Savage/Stevens, Marlin and many other .22 rifles made through the decades with it and still going strong. If it doesn't NEED the strength of steel, why bother? They can cast the zamak parts less expensively, to meet their price point. Taken care of, it will last the ages just fine.
In a fit of madness I traded my beloved little Henry to a buddy for another gun.
I finally broke down and got myself the Golden Boy. I love it. Totally different feel than the H001, heavier, more substantial, and longer - a 'rifle' vs. the earlier carbine. The H001 did much more range time than my Marlin 39A, which itself is a good rifle. The Golden Boy does more range time than the 39A too. It shoots as well or better.
Been looking at the centerfires. I don't like the price of the Henry centerfire rifles, but am trying to see if I can justify it. Love the rifle, so I may get one.


I care not a whit about the 'historical' angle. A good gun speaks for itself. Today's Colt, Remington, Marlin, etc. are not very like the original companies either...... Things change, especially when the bean counters take over.

My hunting bud's 30-30 jams especially when levered slowly. At one point we had to disassemble the rifle in the field(at the truck) because a round was stuck in the receiver. It was stuck so hard the lever wouldn't budge 1/16'' either way.

My Winchester 94, in .45LC, does the same thing. You have to work the lever like you really mean it to make it work. Otherwise, a round creeps out into the receiver, and I have to partially disassemble it to clear it. Just have to remember to lever it firmly.

Most levers like to be worked crisply. I have the Henry Frontier model in .22lr. Super nice rifle; I have no complaints.

This is off topic but I saw a Henry commercial on TV last night. It blew my mind, I didn't think gun manufacturers were allowed to advertise on TV.

here is why I will not buy a Henry:
1. Price, too high for what you are getting.
2.front loading, hate it in a .22 so why would I want a center fire rifle with it.
3. too heavy

The Henry H001 got me started on lever guns but it didn't keep me ... It just didn't feel solid when compared to other levers.

Although I never had a problem with mine I branched out with a Marlin 39A, a Browning BL-22 and a Winchester 9422 ... then I rescued a 39A with a bad barrel, it was several years later when I replaced it with a octagonal 20" Century Model (100 year commemorative) I found on eBay back when they sold gun parts and refinished the rest of it.

Then 10-12 years ago I lost the love for lever guns and sold all but my Henry double deluxe Engraved (H004) and my rescued 39A ... I prefer the shorter 20" barrel, solid feel when cocking and shooting and the slender hand-guard that the Commemorative has, like the original 39 over the pot-bellied 39A ... Still, the Henry H001 is a good and inexpensive place to start.

kimberkid: Love that Marlin! The old 39s were special. If I ever run into one at a good price, it'll probably follow me home.

Re: Henry rifles and carbines: I like the looks, but haven't taken the plunge. I really love the '94 and '92 Winchesters, and I've really enjoyed my R92 in .45LC with octagonal barrel. It's a heckuva lot of fun!

I like that Henry is giving us another alternative. If their customers like the guns, great! There's always room for another GOOD lever action. I need to try handling one of them and see if I like the feel as much as I like the looks, especially the looks of their Big Boy Steel centerfires.

All my best,
Dirty Bob

Normandy, I suspect there's something wrong with your gun. Either that or if you're going slowly enough to cause the lever to halt at a few spots during the lever stroke that may be the issue.

They should not need to be cycled smartly. But they do need to move smoothly forward to the limit of travel and smoothly back. But speed itself should not be an issue. If it is then something is wrong inside.

Sight/barrel band absolutely, positively, without a doubt PLASTIC.
I've never seen a Henry with metal sight except a Yellow boy in .22mag. Magazine tube was secured to barrel by dovetail block and front sight was IIRC, a Marbles. I actually "liked"it. Owner had me remount a scope on it and sight it in. Wasn't accurate enough to justify a scope. I finally convinced the owner of such. He was convinced it was scope! NOT! It still stunk for accuracy, but was sufficient for average "joe" (1.5"@25 yds). He was amazed my groups with open sights were same size as his were with the scope at same range.

Two days after my earlier post, I bought a 99.5% Win. M94 XTR in .30/30 for $450. I have no need for the gun as I now have 3 .30/30's! But it's such a beautiful thing, and it's obvious Winchester went to extra effort on this rifle. Even loading magazine is so smooth and trigger pull perfect (4lbs crisp). No evidence of after market work except improper sling swivel installation on butt stock which I've corrected. Smooth as any Henry I've handled and only three shots I've fired from it went into 1.5" at 50yds.
It's a "keeper", you can have your Henry's!

Also at same shop, they had a new Rossi M92 stainless .44mag. It was the nicest Rossi I ever seen. Smooth as some custom M92's I've handled. Again, you can have the Henry's!

Sight/barrel band absolutely, positively, without a doubt PLASTIC.

Click to expand...

The 30-30 I'd shot was not plastic but the tubular mag was terribly flimsy. The band/sight was a bit loose, tightening the band caused a collapse of the mag tube

Goose,
Sorry, but I can't believe that.
I've had both guns here.

The front sights on the .30-30 & .45-70 steel guns with AO rear apertures were not plastic.
What makes you think they were?

As far as other Henry models go, there WERE plastic front sights/bands on earlier bottom-of-the-line .22 leverguns.
Those were changed to steel.

I've had probably 15 or so Henry levers here over the years & that entry-level rimfire was the only one that did have plastic up front, about 15 or so years ago.
Denis

Goose,
If you won't believe me, howbout Henry?
Just asked.
Never put a plastic front sight or band on ANY steel-framed levergun they've ever made.

Only levergun model that did have plastic front end was the H001 mentioned, and that model's had a steel front sight & band for 4 years now.
Denis

Okay, here we go. When my retirement came through I decided to treat myself to a present so I bought a brand new Henry 45-70 carbine. I thought that even though the wood finish looked like sprayed on plastic (probably is) and the 'bluing' was rather cheesy-looking, most new guns in the $750 price range have the same look, so what the hell?
The shop owner threw in a box of 325gr Hornady Leverevolution ammo so, gun and ammo in hand, off to my home range I went.
I set up my rest and target and proceeded to load the rifle. I pulled the magazine tube thingy out, slid four of the big sausage-sized rounds down the tube and replaced the magazine follower or ram or what ever you call that thing. It wouldn't go all the way back in. It felt hung up. I wiggled it around some and it slid part way back in. It also pushed the lever part way open, shoved the first round half way up into the chamber and jammed right there. After a lot of wiggling and trying to work the lever the round slammed home in the chamber. 'Hmm..' thought I, 'what am I doing wrong?' I proceeded to fire two shots at 100 yards. They were two inches low and three inches to the left. I took my hollow ground gunsmithing screwdriver - which was an exact fit for the peep sight screws - and tried to loosen the screw to adjust the rear peep sight accordingly. The screw wouldn't budge. The screw finally came loose, taking so much muscle power that the screwdriver slipped and buggered up the (obviously cheap-ass) screw. I adjusted the sight to what I figured was the right amount for elevation and windage (no new fangled micrometer adjustments on this baby) and shot the last two rounds in the magazine. Pretty close to right on. Time to reload! When I attempted to remove the magazine tube thingy I noticed that the magazine tube slot that locks the follower (I'll just call it that for now) in place was bent out of shape and I had to bend it back into the proper place with some padded pliers. ***? Did the recoil do that? I loaded four more rounds with the same problems I had when initially loading the piece and two out of the four rounds failed to fire. Examining the primers it became obvious that the firing pin did not hit the primers hard enough to set them off. At least on those two rounds. I was not happy.
To make this long story reasonably short, I took the rifle (and box and instruction manual and the remainder of the ammo) back to the shop and made known my unhappiness with this particular gun. The shop owner graciously offered to exchange the Henry for another rifle of equal value. I ended up with a beautiful Savage Mod. 99EG built in 1937. The Savage is wickedly accurate for a lever gun and loads and operates flawlessly. Go figure.

This has been my only experience with Henry Repeating arms and will probably remain my only experience with said firm.

I don't like them, primarily on aesthetic grounds. The low end 22's are really low end as others have discussed. On the high end: While they look good on the rack, I don't like the way that they balance, and the fit is wrong for me. They seem to be hard for me to mount smoothly and quickly. And they are way too nose heavy for my taste.