Iver Johnson .22 Lever Action

[Mr. D]

Hello!

I purchased this .22 a few years ago, and curiosity suddenly struck me. It has no model name, just "Lever Action," and the serial number is very low - in the 0007** range. BTW, the peep sight is my addition - a Skinner.

Does anyone know the history of or any trivia tidbits about this great shooting .22?

Thanks!

~D

 

[rcmodel]

Here is the owners manual for a .22 WMR version.

I believe they were made by Erma in Germany and imported by IJ.

rc

 

[Mr. D]

RC: link, attachment?

 

[rcmodel]

Dang! :banghead:

http://stevespages.com/pdf/iverjohnson_ew22mhbl(erma_eg73).pdf

rc

 

[jmr40]

Same gun as the Henry that is in current production. They have been made since the 1960's I believe, maybe early 70's, under several different names.

 

[Mr. D]

It feels a LOT better than the Henry, though. Heavier, more solid, and the action feels tighter (in a good way).

 

[BigSteveInAZ]

I have one of these, I got it in about 90-91 near as I can remember. I was young, but my parents let me have it if I could pay for it. Cost about $110, it was my first gun(that didn't shoot BB's anyhow). Mine is a little older, with a 0046XX serial #. Great little rifle, I did treat it like a kid often will. In '01 I refinished the stock and fore end as well as re-blueing with the cheap do-it-yourself stuff. It doesn't look great, but still shoots well.

I found this thread, by searching for the model # like you said isn't on the gun. Still searching, thanks for showing yours here! I knew there had to be some out there.

-Steve

 

[Mr. D]

Hey, Big Steve,

Welcome to THR and thanks for sharing!

 

[Red Cent]

That is exactly like my Henry. Did Henry copy the IJ?

 

[bigfatdave]

the Henry design is derived from previous models, with some changes in materials and exact details

it is a pretty simple action, there's only so many ways to do it, and Henry is doing it right as far as I'm concerned, exactly where they got each part of the H001_ schematics isn't a big deal (the somewhat recently deceased Mr Imperato was a gun-industry name with a few manufacturers through the years)
Modern "Henry Repeating Arms" isn't the real "Henry rifles" of the civil war era, either, but they're still a good company.

I'd be surprised if parts swapped, but I bet it looks much the same on the inside as well.

Do you guys run .22short through? I've read of early Henry models and pre-Henry models not eating shorts reliably, but mine run shorts without trouble.

 

[mijenrob06]

i have just got one of these with a serial number of 00015xx. Can anyone tell me anything about it age and so forth. Thanks