22 Mag Leverguns - Henry or Winchester?

[Mattole]

I am considering the purchase of a 22 mag levergun and am wondering how the quality and accuracy of the Henry stands up to the Winchester 9422m. I don't want to spend the extra hundreds of dollars for the Winny if the Henry can shoot just as well. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

From what I'm told the Henery has a smother lever but Winchester will last forever.

 

[WoofersInc]

I've got several of the Henry's. They are good guns. The action is very smooth for factory and accuracy is good. I would buy any one of them again.

 

[chad1043]

Um... Marlin 39A... There is no substitute... For a lever action 22... Believe it is the oldest lever action... Might be wrong though...

Chad

 

[rbernie]

I do not own any 22LR leverguns, but based upon my handling/cycling a couple of late-production 39As, a handful of 9422s, and several Henrys - I'd get the Henry. It has a solid feel to it that the Winnie and even the 39A lack, and it can be had in 16", 18", and 20" barrel lengths.

 

[glockman19]

I like the Henry and expect to get a .38 big boy later this year so I can use it as a combo with my S&W 686. Don't rule out the Marlin.

 

[Old 112]

I dug out my Henry22 mag. and(1977 vintage) 9422 in lr to refresh my hand to the lever smoothness. The Henry is a bit smoother. That means the Win. is smooth enough. The Henry mag. gives me consistant 1"-11/4 groups at 65 to 70 yards. That is as far as I can shoot in my backyard. The 9422lr does that at 50yds. So, both are acurrate. Experimenting with differnt brands and weights could improve on that a little. But, for best acurracy for me, my old Savage 65M bolt 22mag.,even with its' very hard trigger, delivers 11/4" groups at 100yards(Fed 50gr jhp). All three guns have 4x scopes. I would think that a Marlin bolt 22 magnum would be capable of that acurracy, also. Just sharing what I have experienced. Old 112

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Having owned and shot my winchester 9422m since I purchased it new in 1976 I can tell you that she has been relailable to the bone. For many years she was my "truck" gun and bears the scars to prove it. She was very accurate, smooth and just shouldred like a dream. I still have her and she shoots as well now as she did back then. Buy the winchester, if you can find one at a decent price or if you can't I'm sure the henry will do you well.

 

[MilsurpShooter]

I own one Henry .22 and have handled and shot a few others in the higher calibers along with the Marlins and Winchesters. Out of personal preference I'd go with the Henry. The throw on the lever from the Henry is amazingly smooth and easy. As far as accuracy goes, they've all outshot me. I've had to "dispose" of a few groundhogs in my friends yard. I've probably taken seven or eight 40-80 yard shots from prone and all have been in the head and neck region, only two required a followup shot. Unscoped, Iron sight with Remington ammo.

There's also something to be said about the ease of disassembly of the Henry. I don't know if it's different in the mangum but in mine all it takes is 4 screws to remove and the rifle pretty much is in 2 major pieces, barrel/action and trigger, then the bolt.

I love mine, best $110 I spent

 

[ArmedBear]

Henry has a lot of drop. Some people don't like that. I think it's fine.

Depends what you want it for.

If I got a Winnie in good shape, I probably wouldn't shoot it. They're going up, not down, in value. I wouldn't use a 9422 as a truck gun any more, unless it was already in truck gun condition.

For a shooter, the Henry is a great little gun.

Does Browning make a WMR version? I'm not sure. It's sure worth a look if they do. The BL-22 is nice.

AFAIK Marlin does not make a WMR lever gun. Ruger does, but I've never seen one, and I'd probably puke if I actually did.

 

[buck460XVR]

I've been lookin' at Henry's lever .17HMR with the cantilever scope mount.....I'm thinkin' you guys have talked me into it......

 

[ArmedBear]

I've been lookin' at Henry's lever .17HMR with the cantilever scope mount.....I'm thinkin' you guys have talked me into it......

What I'm pondering, though, is once you put a scope on it and shoot a long-range but tiny bullet like the .17HMR, isn't a heavy barrel bolt gun a better option? Or .22WMR in a lever gun?

If you look at the ballistics, .22WMR will hit harder and shoots plenty flat enough for anything you'd want to do with a lever gun.

Or is there some purpose for the gun that I'm not thinking of?

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

If you find a Marlin 39 of any stripe in .22 magnum, buy it. But first, check to see if it's a factory original, not a conversion. If it's factory, it's one of the rarest guns in da whole wide world.

Marlin's designation for it's .22 magnum lever gun is the model 1894M. The bolt is not exposed as it is in the 1895 series or the 336 series. However, unlike the pistol cartridge centerfire 1894's, it does not have a loading port on the right hand side of the action, it's tube fed ala the 39 series.

900F

 

[gezzer]

Henry is alive! Foreign made or not.

Winchester is gone out of Business unless you think a foreign made Winchester will be fine.

It’s too bad for the American workers laid off by a foreign company anyway..

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

Last I knew, Winchester has not gone out of business. True, they've stopped making guns in the New Haven plant. Those guns were the model 70's, 94's, and 1300's. That one plant closed, not the entire company.

900F

 

[buck460XVR]

What I'm pondering, though, is once you put a scope on it and shoot a long-range but tiny bullet like the .17HMR, isn't a heavy barrel bolt gun a better option?

I guess that's what the Savage 93R17BTVS I have on order will be for..........but then, I'm sure some will ponder on that choice also......eh?

Or is there some purpose for the gun that I'm not thinking of?

Yeah, just for sh*ts and giggles and fun. The scope is cause my old and tired eyes prefer them. Hope that's okay.........might not be the correct reason for the experts here, but then, they ain't buying my guns.

 

[JNewell]

If you find a Marlin 39 of any stripe in .22 magnum, buy it. But first, check to see if it's a factory original, not a conversion. If it's factory, it's one of the rarest guns in da whole wide world.

Even if you find one, skip it - it'll *never* feed. Unless someone's got some significant magic to apply, the action's too short.

I've owned a 9422M since the year it was introduced - '72, IIRC. It's a wonderful rifle. I've never shot the Henry, but I don't think rimfire levers come *better* than the 9422/9422M. (Marlin fans, please note "better" - not saying the 39 isn't as good!)