skunkbreeder
Member
anyone have any comments on the henry survival .22 
henry survival .22
- Thread starter skunkbreeder
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bomb dropper
Member
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2009
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- 134
had one a about 5 years ago I sold it to a cousin but im trying to buy it back. Its not the most accurate but Its fun to shoot plus its great for kids or beginners to learn with. Just buy Its probably the neatest little gun made.
Sure I've had one for a year now. It shoots flawlessly with any high speed ammo. It will not function reliably with bulk ammo. When I got it, it had the heaviest trigger pull that I had ever felt. I called Henry customer service and they sent me a prepaid shipping label to send it in. I received it back after a week and they had gotten it down to four pounds. The barrel on this rifle is too light for me to shoot it accurately in a survival situation.
To sum it up, mine will run reliably with the right ammo. The customer service at Henry is the best in the business, but with that ultra light barrel, I just can't shoot mine accurately enough for a survival situation. I feel that this is inherent in the design of the rifle and no fault of Henry's.
I now carry my vintage M6 Scout back packing.
To sum it up, mine will run reliably with the right ammo. The customer service at Henry is the best in the business, but with that ultra light barrel, I just can't shoot mine accurately enough for a survival situation. I feel that this is inherent in the design of the rifle and no fault of Henry's.
I now carry my vintage M6 Scout back packing.
billybobjoe
Member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2008
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- 199
I would get a Marlin Papoose. It's really the balloon of a buttstock that turns me off. I don't plan on dropping my .22 into a lake.
billybobjoe
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- Joined
- Jan 13, 2008
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- 199
The Papoose floats when it's in the case.
Maverick223
Member
I have heard the new Henry's have horrible reliability. If I really wanted one I would hunt for an original Armalite, but none are terribly accurate.
704338
Member
Sorry, not really a Henry Survival .22 but I got a Henry lever action .22 that performs great! a jam here and there if I do the action too fast or wayyy to slow. All in all, It's dead on accurate, cheap to shoot, and they have great customer support.
bigfatdave
Member
Handle before buying! Ergonomics are unique, some shooters will be unwilling to trade traditional shape for the Henry Survival Rifle's advantages.
On the other hand, Henry has one of the best CS reputations in the industry, if you did happen to get a lemon, I'm confident they would make it work or replace it ... something you will not get with the older AR-7 copies on the market.
On the other hand, Henry has one of the best CS reputations in the industry, if you did happen to get a lemon, I'm confident they would make it work or replace it ... something you will not get with the older AR-7 copies on the market.
gearheadpyro
Member
I had one a while back, thought it was the neatest idea ever. I got it to take with me camping. Unfortunately....
The trigger is crap. very heavy, very rough. it's difficult to stay on target with that trigger. No amount of polishing seemed to help.
The stock is wierd to hold. Not bad or uncomfortable, just wierd. It's a huge plastic stock and takes alot of getting used to.
Put the above two together, along with the fact that the barrel is actually a very thin piece of steel coated with enough plastic to make it look thick, and the accuracy was horrible. At 25 yards hitting 24oz coke bottles was a challenge at best.
And last but not least, it tended to jam... alot. Sometimes mine jammed as much as 50% of the time. Something about the feed ramp never was right, their is some information out there about chamfering the feed ramp just a tiny bit to improve feeding. That didn't help on mine. After trying 10-12 different kinds of ammo and never getting one I could count on is what finally made me sell it.
When I was buying it I knew about the feed ramp, that the stock was an oddball, and that accuracy was poor. I expected that from it, but the novelty of the gun drew me right in. It just jammed so freaking much that I finally got sick of messing with it. I never did try the warranty, so I couldn't tell you if they could have fixed it or not.
Now when I go camping I take a single shot rossi break down .22lr. It's lightweight, compact, plenty accurate enough for squirells at 50 yards, and goes bang every time I squeeze the crisp 4 pound trigger. The other choice was a henry minibolt, but that was just too tiny.
The trigger is crap. very heavy, very rough. it's difficult to stay on target with that trigger. No amount of polishing seemed to help.
The stock is wierd to hold. Not bad or uncomfortable, just wierd. It's a huge plastic stock and takes alot of getting used to.
Put the above two together, along with the fact that the barrel is actually a very thin piece of steel coated with enough plastic to make it look thick, and the accuracy was horrible. At 25 yards hitting 24oz coke bottles was a challenge at best.
And last but not least, it tended to jam... alot. Sometimes mine jammed as much as 50% of the time. Something about the feed ramp never was right, their is some information out there about chamfering the feed ramp just a tiny bit to improve feeding. That didn't help on mine. After trying 10-12 different kinds of ammo and never getting one I could count on is what finally made me sell it.
When I was buying it I knew about the feed ramp, that the stock was an oddball, and that accuracy was poor. I expected that from it, but the novelty of the gun drew me right in. It just jammed so freaking much that I finally got sick of messing with it. I never did try the warranty, so I couldn't tell you if they could have fixed it or not.
Now when I go camping I take a single shot rossi break down .22lr. It's lightweight, compact, plenty accurate enough for squirells at 50 yards, and goes bang every time I squeeze the crisp 4 pound trigger. The other choice was a henry minibolt, but that was just too tiny.
Fat Boy
Member
I owned a gun similar to the Henry several years ago....seems like it was made by Charter Arms????
It was as described above; inexpensive w/a rough trigger...kind of a neat idea but not very refined.
It was as described above; inexpensive w/a rough trigger...kind of a neat idea but not very refined.
Armalite, Charter Arms, and Henry have all made an AR-7. Charter Arms even did a pistol version. There may well be other manufacturers, but I have not heard of them.
Largely, they suck. I'd buy almost anything else on the market before I'd buy an AR-7.
bigfatdave
Member
gearheadpyro, did it ever occur to you to contact Henry?
gearheadpyro
Member
It did occur to me to contact Henry, but I did not. I sold it to the next guy in line for almost what I had in it, and that was good by me. If I had kept it much longer I probably would have sent it in to them.
I did mention that in my post.
I did mention that in my post.
skunkbreeder
Member
i went on marlin's site & i couldn't find any info on the papoose. the novelty aspect of the survival .22 is interesting to me, but in reality, i usually hike with my mak 9x18 or h&r 22 revolver which i recently redid the hammer spring (the original one was plastic & it came out in pieces so i made a new end out of brass, works great now)
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/selfloading/70PSS.asp
Papoose link.
So, if you're looking for a takedown, survival .22 this is it. If you're looking for a general purpose .22 rifle, there are many excellent options in several action types (bolt, semi, lever, breakopen, a couple of pumps, and a falling block or two).
It seems the Henry AR-7 costs about $190 new. For that price, there are many, much better options.
Papoose link.
So, if you're looking for a takedown, survival .22 this is it. If you're looking for a general purpose .22 rifle, there are many excellent options in several action types (bolt, semi, lever, breakopen, a couple of pumps, and a falling block or two).
It seems the Henry AR-7 costs about $190 new. For that price, there are many, much better options.
Maverick223
Member
Plastic spring?
You left out the rolling block.
MCgunner
Member
Mine's an old Charter. It's got a poor trigger, put a different stock on it and a barrel shroud, put a scope on it. It'll shoot 2" at 50 yards for groups, good enough for hunting or survival. No, it's not a general purpose plinker, more of a specialty gun. I bought it to take along on motorcycle trips. I don't shoot it too often, have other .22s, but I have always liked rimfires and own 5 rifles and 7 handguns at the moment. One of 'em is an explorer 2 pistol. It shoots about the same as the rifle. I just bought it cause it was cheap, 70 bucks.
I don't know about Henrys, but the charters have spring steel hammer springs. And, one thing I do like about these guns, a complete idiot could tear it down and put it back together. About the simplest mechanism I can imagine for an autoloading .22.
I don't know about Henrys, but the charters have spring steel hammer springs. And, one thing I do like about these guns, a complete idiot could tear it down and put it back together. About the simplest mechanism I can imagine for an autoloading .22.
I have one. Probably would not buy it again if I had the choice. Very cheaply made.
The reciever screws into the barrel with a thumbscrew. Well, i took it to the range the FIRST time, and the reciever was VERY hard to screw down. I tightned it as far as i could and shot a few rounds, the entire reciever would move on the stock. Sooo....I got out the vise grips and tightned the reciever down with the "thumb screw". It shot well after that, and I mounted a cheap Bushnell rimfire scope on it and could get 4-5" groups at 100 yards. Well, i had had enough fun, so I got out the vise grips took the rifle apart. The next time I took it to the range, the thumbscrew BROKE OFF when I hand tightened it. Henry replaced it for free |(sent me the screw, the thumb handle and the roll pin), it STILL wouldn't tighten in by hand.
I was fed up, so I got out the tap and die set and re-tapped the reciever and ran a die down the thumbscrew rod. now it will tighten by hand to the proper tension and shoots about the same. Not great, but I could take small game with it if I had to.
So all and all, not my best purchase, but it is nice to have in my bug out bag.
madd0c
The reciever screws into the barrel with a thumbscrew. Well, i took it to the range the FIRST time, and the reciever was VERY hard to screw down. I tightned it as far as i could and shot a few rounds, the entire reciever would move on the stock. Sooo....I got out the vise grips and tightned the reciever down with the "thumb screw". It shot well after that, and I mounted a cheap Bushnell rimfire scope on it and could get 4-5" groups at 100 yards. Well, i had had enough fun, so I got out the vise grips took the rifle apart. The next time I took it to the range, the thumbscrew BROKE OFF when I hand tightened it. Henry replaced it for free |(sent me the screw, the thumb handle and the roll pin), it STILL wouldn't tighten in by hand.
I was fed up, so I got out the tap and die set and re-tapped the reciever and ran a die down the thumbscrew rod. now it will tighten by hand to the proper tension and shoots about the same. Not great, but I could take small game with it if I had to.
So all and all, not my best purchase, but it is nice to have in my bug out bag.
madd0c
Maverick223
Member
Seems like the ideal rifle to bury in the backyard. Waterproof (when in stock) and cheap.
Maverick223
Member
LOL, no experience (with the Henry), but I haven't heard all that much good about them from the folks that own them. FWIW, I have played with a few ArmaLites and they seem to do an acceptable job (not great but at least worthy of a marker at the burial spot
), but they come at a premium today.Marlin 45 carbine
Member
I have a Henry it is very ammo sensitive. use good ammo in it. I did a trigger rework on mine. it's my canoe .22 rifle and accurate enough for small game at 25 yds.
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