Henry lever guns

[Charlie, AKA The Deacon]

I have been looking at these and was wanting some opinions on them, looking at the Henry Big Boy in the 45 colt what do you think of them good and bad?

thanks Charlie

[unclebill]

beautiful, accurate, fun to shoot.
smooth as butter.
can you tell i like mine?

prettiest gun i have ever owned.

[hickstick_10]

Heavy receiver,ridiculously heavy barrel (definite overkill for the calibers the rifle is available in) and magazine tube is low quality. Action is well made and smooth operating, exceptionally so. Plus no visible safety which I like. It also doesn't drop hot shells down your collar, which every Winchester I own has at one point or another.

The walnut on my stock is definitely softer then what I have on my Winchesters and marlins, it dings up pretty easy if I'm not careful, and the finish is delicate.

Accuracy in mine is good, the barrel is monstrous big and not tapered like a marlin octagon barrel, which makes a big difference in balance and handling. Try swinging road chisel around and thats about what a henry barrel feels like.

I shoot my marlin 1894 CB in 357 far more, but I still wont trade the Henry. If its to hang on your wall or shoot once a month at the range, the Henry makes a fine gun for the purpose, anything else that you would intend to shoot often and maybe hunt with I prefer a marlin 94 or a Winchester 92.

Henry makes a fantastic rimfire for the money, in their golden boy. I cant say enough good things about it. But the center fire model leaves a little to be desired. I think lawn furniture is made with better quality tubing then what they use for the outer magazine tube. Recoil from 44 mag has broken one mag tube on mine and loosened the retaining screw and battered the pin slot enough to push the replacement mag tube out. But their customer service is excellent and they will stand behind their product if you need replacement parts or repairs.

Other then the mag tube issue its a good gun, and I've shot a couple thousand 44 magnums and specials through it with no other issues.

[gon2shoot]

Personally, I think they're ugly as a mud fence, but some folks say they are good shooters.

[collyer]

Love my Henry 44 mag. Straight shooter at 50 to 150 yards. I have a Marlins 45-70 great gun but would trade it for a Henry 45-70 in a heart beat.

[dunkel]

A buddy of mine picked up a .22 Henry, whatever model that is. That thing has a wicked smooth action and seems to be extremely accurate. Not sure exactly how accurate cause we weren't shooting at paper targets...just plinking cans and a steel plate.

Anyway, if the other calibers are like this .22 he has, I'd say go for it.

[CLAYPOOL]

Better to scrach a Henry than a Winchester or Browning, Etc. They smooth out like a LOT of guns now - a - days after some use. Great buy for general use...

[unclebill]

i want the .44 mag to go with my .45 colt one.

[kliff]

Hate reviving an old post, but the Henry Big Boy, in .45LC cannot die! I just brought a new one home yesterday, to go along with a Marlin336, and Winchester NRA Centennial model, both 30/30.
I've wanted this rifle since it came out in 45LC, mow it's mine....now, I just need some re-load CB recipes...

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/kliffsbuggy/IMG_2636.jpg

[Boerrancher]

.now, I just need some re-load CB recipes...

Lee 255gr RNFP with 10 gr of Unique.

Best wishes,

Joe

[kliff]

Thanks Joe!

[Dorf]

I have one of the "standard" models in .22LR. It's a sweet little rifle, feels like a Winnie '94 but infinetly smoother action. Mine shoots Wolf Match Target best of all. The only thing I don't like about it, is that Henry doesn't have a tang sight for it. If ever a rifle cries for a tang sight, this is the one. Since my eyes are about shot, I had to mount a scope on mine, but it "Just don't look right". I suppose that a M94 tang would fit but haven't come up with the required dinero to make the attempt. Hope this helps---Stan

[jh45gun]

`Stan I have a Leupold MK 8 Compact 4x on my 22 Mag Henry and the small scope does not look bad at all.

[Dorf]

jh45gun: I still have the scope on mine but it just messes up the balance/convenience of wrapping a hand around the action when carrying-- tang sight just seems to be a "natural" for that application. Guess I'll just have to spring enough "beans" loose to purchase a M94 sight. Shouldn't be too much of a problem to drill any required holes to make the installation. Now, whar's that 3# hammer to pound it to fit? :-)

[missionary5155]

Greetings
I do not have one but I do know the owner was very helpful & open to ideas. Some years ago I was hunting a 44 lever rifle that would function with 44 Russian. Contacted Henry and the owner had no idea but decided to find out. He purchased 2 boxes of 44 Russian from Old West Scrounger and ran then through a just finished 44 off the line. Wrote me and told me the results. That says alot to me about that outfit.
Mike in Peru