Hunting with a Henry

[El Vaquero]

I have always wanted a Henry lever action rifle and I am in the market for one right now, I also want something I can hunt with. Any recomendations on what caliber to go with or any general input?

 

[rule303]

What are you planning to hunt?

 

[El Vaquero]

I'm thinking deer, I am not an experienced hunter, I'm thinking about asking a freind to teach me but Im just wondering if henrys are practical hunting rifles

 

[Robert]

Not a Henry, but I took my Marlin 1895G on my first Elk hunt last year. A lever gun is a fine hunting rifle. Of the calibers listed I'd go with the 30-30.

 

[husker]

I hunt frogs with a Henry youth 22. Thats all i have :-(

 

[Kendal Black]

You can't go wrong with .30-30 as a deer cartridge. Millions and millions served.

I like the Henry, it is very smooth working. It seems a bit on the heavy side to me. The deal breaker, for me, is there is no loading gate in the side of the receiver. This is a problem because that's where I reach for it.

 

[CraigC]

Waaaaay too vague. Are you talking about a replica of the original 1860 model or something from the new, completely unrelated Henry Repeating Arms Company? Be specific.

 

[Kendal Black]

Ooops! I thought El Vaquero was talking about a contemporary Henry rifle, not an antique.

All right, cowboy, just what do you mean?

 

[Sunray]

"...are practical hunting rifles..." Certainly are in .30-30. Pricey things at an MSRP of $749.95 though. A Marlin 336 lists at $572.

 

[MATT .45-70]

one more vote for 30-30 its just a great round for deer as long as your not making long shots, also a .357 mag might not be bad, still capable for deer, cheaper ammo, and you can even shoot .38 special in it, even cheaper yet still. but not nearly the knock down power of the 30-30.
Definately a good choice with the Henry though, all of my henrys are the smoothest lever guns I own, and a pleasure to shoot, not to mention there pretty.

 

[Abel]

Get a Henry 30-30 with the steel receiver. But, if you want the same quality for half the price, look for a good condition used Marlin 336 lever action in 30-30. The 336 will usually turn up at pawn shops and used gun stores pretty frequently. A pre-2009 is preferable.

 

[Mecanik]

A henry would be a great deer rifle if kept within the 100 yd range. I just bought a 1873 Winchester clone and plan on hunting deer with it too. I wonder if there would be interest in forming a "togglers" club. Only toggle action rifles allowed. Henry, win 66 73 and 76. Would be a good way to meet other "togglers" Maybe a togglers forum would work too. I want to come up with a good hunting round for a .357 mag out of a 1873 clone.

 

[Tentwing]

I gotta friend who picked up a Henry in a 30-30. He always liked my Marlin 30-30, but He also liked the action and feel of my Henry's (22Mag and 17HMR)

His has the usual smooth Henry lever action. It also has good accuracy out of the box. it also came with a ghost ring sight which my old eyes like very much , so much so that I think I'm gonna put a Skinner apeture sight on my Marlin His Henry did have a little heavier price tag than the modern day version of my old Marlin does though.

Another thing that I like is Henry customer service..... far better than any other firearm manufacturer that I have ever dealt with.

Hope you enjoy your lever gun if you get one...they are addictive though , so you have been warned.............Tentwing

 

[El Vaquero]

I meant one of the modern ones, Im looking to pick up a big boy but I know nothing about hunting deer I shoot for recreational purposes, I was interested in the .357 model but like i said i also want a hunting rifle so I jus wanted to see what real hunters would suggest and so far everyone seems to concur on the 30-30...

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I've hunted whitetail deer for 40yr. with a marlin 30-30. I have no problem with the caliber at all except that the bullets seem to go clear through with little expansion. But, with the new lever-evolution series from Hornady I am very anxious to see how these improve the one shot kill that I seldem get from a 30-30 bullet. But for an all around hunting gun you still can't beat a 30-30 for hunting in the woods. I like what I'm hearing about the Henrys and maybe I'll have to try one.

 

[dewalt-2]

You may also consider .44Mag. I'm a Marlin owner, but have no qualms with Henry-just a little spendy.
This guy has taken caribou an black bear in Alaska, yotes and deer in NY and PA.
Marlin 1894SS, Nikon BuckMasters 3-9X40...

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I don't own a lever of any make but a shooting buddy has the Marlin .357 which with his admittedly hot handloads really whacks the steel discs at 100 yds, factory iron sights. I'd say it's plenty 'nuff for whitetail at shorter range - say inside 75yds or so - with good placement. a 30-30 granted is better.
myself I've assembled my Henry 'Survival AR7' and taken quite a few squacks and rabbit, just to keep it limbered. I had to do some practice to get used to the peep sight (the small aperture is what I use for precise shot placement) and the aiming position due to the bulky stock. but mastering that it's plenty 'nuff for a 'canoe gun' which is what I use it for haveing lost (and recovered in a cold mountain river after a half-hour diveing dern near froze lucky I had waterproof matches to get a fire going) a nice 10/22.

 

[ms6852]

Like every one says , marlin 336 in 30-30, 35 remington is good also and 44 magnum will do the trick on deer as well.

 

[Wicked1911]

30-30

Marlin makes some good looking guns (XLR series is pretty tight)

 

[GRAYRID3R]

I own both a Marlin 308 XLR and a Henry Big Boy 44 Mag. I would not part with either, and take them both Whitetail hunting. The Marlin was 3 months old when I used it to take 2 deer on opening day last year. DRT from about 80 and 65 yds respectively. I'm sure the Henry would have done the same at those distances, but I didn't have a scope on it. I'm down to my last few lbs. of meat and i'm looking forward to October. The only drawback I can see with the Henry, would be it's ease of mounting a scope. Henry sells a specialized scope mount.