Henry .30-30 Rifle.

[W.R.Buchanan]

People have been talking about the Henry rifles in .30-30 and .45-70. All I had seen until today was pictures.

Well I saw a .30-30 at a LGS today and I have to tell you it was a damn good looking gun!

The metal work was flawless. and the wood was really nice and especially for a generic class gun. I tend not to care too much for the brass receiver covers for Henry rifles and this gun was all blued steel and done very well. It was a little stiff to operate but shooting it would have definitely taken care of that. It was new.

The wood was a cut above generic walnut and the wood to metal fit was very good, not absolutely perfect but once again it was well up in the generic gun classification. Easily as good a Marlin's wood fit. It would not have held me back from buying the gun. I just don't need another .30-30.

This one also had nice checkering on the pistol grip and fore end. Looked like hand done work.

Also the lines of the gun were very nice. It looked like a levergun should, but not exactly like a Marlin or Winchester. It is a tube fed gun with the loading done like a tube fed .22.

I have to tell you guys,,, This gun was nice! and you wouldn't go wrong getting one for a deer rifle or whatever else you'd use a .30-30 for.

The pics of the .45-70 look identical except for the hole in the barrel.

Randy

[junkpile]

I've been thinking about a Henry 30-30 or a 45/70 for a while now. I've looked at the new fake Marlins, and was very very unimpressed. I hope the fit is better than current "Marlins". I also was not aware that they were producing pistol-gripped 30-30's. The only thing I had seen was the straight grip version.

I haven't decided if I want to have the front loading tube magazine, though. Probably the only thing really holding me back. Some of the country up here is pretty rough, and I'm paranoid that I'd lose it. My old man dropped one out of his 22 without even realizing it a few years ago.

I'm still considering one. If I can't ever find an older Marlin in 45/70 or a decent Winchester 94, I'll probably go for one. Hard to say. What was the price on that gun? I've never seen one in a store.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

You can't go wrong with a marlin #1 imho, 2nd win. You don't have to debug these weapons ...imho

[Ramjet-SS]

Not sure what de-bug means but I have the brass 30-30 and have run over 350 rounds through it without a problem and it shoots like house a fire. That said the brass with the octagon barrel is a heavy gun for a 30-30 but the lighter version have been just great to carry and shoot and they are accurate My Big boy 45 LC is tac driver with the 310 lee. So ones mans opinion is not the reason to buy one or not buy one if you liek what you see scoop it up and take it home. its what you like not what i or anyone else likes but my experience has been great with the rifle I own. The 45-70 is my next gun to purchase that thing is awful nice at the weight and that they put the XS sights on them.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Junkpile: The gun has a strait grip I used the wrong terminology when I described the checkering.

As far as the tube feed, I don't see that as a big problem for a hunting rifle. It would be different if you were using it for a defensive gun, it could be a real problem. That's why they changed that feature from the original Henry rifle to the Win 1866 with the side loading gate.

This gun also uses a "Transfer Bar" type of safety. There is no half cock. It took me a while to figure this out on my sons Big Boy. You can carry the gun cocked and loaded, or with the hammer down without fear of it going off.

Make no mistake, these are high quality guns, but they are generic guns, IE; they compete directly with Marlins. I'm also sure that like Marlins they could benefit from some internal deburring and polishing.

I was duly impressed and fi I needed a .30-30 or a .45-70 I would surely consider one of these guns.

The one at the gun store was $795 however that store has always been open to negotiation'

Randy

[DeanWinchester]

If the Henry had a side loading gate it'd be the bees knees.
I just can't hack that tube loading.

[jmort]

I don't mind tube magazines as you can always insert one directly in case of an emergency. Probably faster than trying to use the loading gate.

[junkpile]

I got a look at a Henry 30-30 today. It was the basic steel version. Price was $600 at Sportsman's Warehouse.

It was significantly better than any of the current Marlins that I've seen. The action was extremely smooth. Fit was very good. Not perfect, but much better than Marlin. The couple of 1895's I've looked at had steel to wood gaps big enough to drop credit cards in, and the actions were ridiculously gritty. Anyway, I was pretty impressed with the Henry. I may be picking one of these up before long.

[starmac]

I don't own a henry, but I'm not sure I would call them generic guns. They have been around with good reports for awhile especially on their customer service.

[**oneshot**]

I have a Henry 3030, It shoots awesome. I'm shooting AccurateMolds 170gr gas checked with a .299 nose over Reloader 7 have proven devastating to water jugs and bowling pins out to 150yds. This gun can really shoot. The trigger breaks clean and the action is solid.

[MDC]

I don't consider the Henry to be generic at all. I've not shot the larger bores but their little 22lr and 22WMR versions I've shot have all had about as slick an action as you'll find and all shoot great.
I'm just waiting on one of each to mysteriously appear in my safe.

[W.R.Buchanan]

All guns that are mass produced in large numbers are essentially "generic guns." Generic guns are guns that you go to the local gun store or sporting goods store, and they are on the rack. Generic guns are not usually made as special runs or custom guns, all though there are some special runs made, normally they are sold in large quantity.

In doing so there are large numbers of the same gun available and there is virtually no difference between any two guns of the same model run except for the grain in the wood. With newer materials and synthetic stocks there is no discernible difference at all.

Examples of Generic guns. Marlin, Winchester, Mossberg Remington, Glock, Ruger. and many others including Henry's.

There is nothing wrong with the term "generic." it is what it is.

The main difference between a generic gun and a non generic gun is usually the amount of hand labor that goes into the product. Every year less and less hand work needs to be done due to the evolution of the use of automated machine tools and the tolerances they are capable of delivering.

Soon guns will be able to be made completely by the machines. in which case all those guns will be "generic."

Randy

[Ramjet-SS]

Just added a Skinner peep site to my 30-30 brass Henry. Pulled the scope it looked out of place on this rifle. Now I just need to get a good WFN 150-170 grain boolit mold.

[olafhardt]

It is my ppinon that putting a telescppe pn a lever action islike putting saddle on a hog

[Ramjet-SS]

I was thinking more like a camel.

[junkpile]

Putting a camel on a hog? or a camel on a saddle?:kidding:

[Lead Fred]

If Id not bought a 1895 GG from Marlin, I would have bought a Henry 45/70 in a heartbeat

[Wayne Smith]

Gentlemen, I have a camel saddle. Don't got no camel, though. Don't have a Henry, either.

[Ramjet-SS]

Henry is a decent rifle and it would look in scabbard on any camel Wayne. I did remove the scope though and put a nice Black Gold Skinner peep sight on it now I have to put taller front on it and we are good to go. Well I need to get good 150 grain WFN GC mold for it. Looking at an Accurate 4 cavity copy of the Lyman mold.

[380AUTO]

Ain't got a Henry 30-30 but I do have a pump 22 from them. I shot it so much (when ammo was cheap) I wore out the spring in the magazine tube. I contacted Henry arms and they sent me a whole new tube free of charge. GREAT customer service.

[Crash_Corrigan]

There is nothing better than a fast handling and slick action lever rifle in a decent caliber. I have a Cowboy Model 38-55 by Marlin and I love it. I can carry it all day and bring it to bear on a target really fast. Loaded down with a light boolit it makes a fun rifle to shoot bunnies and squirrels. Loaded up to a 300 gr boolit it will take down an Elk or Moose pretty well. The one I bought from a member had the chamber bored out to accept a .380 caliber boolit and he had somebody do some magic on the trigger. The trigger pull is about 3 lbs and it breaks very easily and has little creep.

With a decent tang sight by Williams and a Lyman globe front sight it is really a very accurate rifle if I do my part of the deal.

[birch]

I have the H-009 blued version and it is a real tack driver. The only downside is the lever "pop". If you have any in the tube, the lever will pop open a little. When this happens, the only way to relclose the lever sit to rack another round in the chamber. I have not figured out why Henry did not fix this in the design phase of production as it is quite annoying. Since I mainly shoot holes in paper, it is no big deal, but I really don't think it adds up to a good brush gun since a "pop open" requires another round to be chambered.

With that being said, it is very accurate and handsome if I do say so myself!

[W.R.Buchanan]

There is a pretty good article in the new American Rifleman (NRA mag) abut the Henry guns and specifically the .45-70 version.

It's a good read. It just came yesterday.

Randy

[LarryM]

A Henry .45-70 followed me home just this afternoon.
Only put about 25 rounds through it I'm very pleased with it so far.

[micky_blue]

Likely my next two guns will be Henrys. 22 mag frontier for me and a 30/30 I am buying for one of my kids as their first deer rifle. I hope I have quashed my case of mosinitis for noe.

[John Boy]

Henry Repeating Arms has come a long ways is a short time expanding their product and their Service is par excellence! I'm not in the market for another 45-70 or 30-30 but if I was, the barrel would be stamped Henry ...
I bought their Golden Boy 22LR when they first came out and it has the slickest action of any lever rifle I have in the safes. Plus their barrels can be called 'match grade' because they are that accurate.

As for their Service, here's my experience:
I reload 22LR's with black powder and a custom mold of the old UMC Match bullet. I couldn't get the rounds to feed properly in the chamber because the ogive of the bullet is wider and the COL is longer than the commercially made smokeless 22LR rounds. So I sent them my 22LR BP reloads and the Golden Boy that were being shaved on the bullet noses going into the chamber. Was asking them if they could modify the Golden Boy to properly chamber these rounds.

The rifle was sent on a Friday with the BP rounds. I received the 'modified' Golden Boy with a new lever, modified ramp and the front of the chamber recut so the rounds chambered with no shaving of the BP rounds. The rifle was received back on the following Saturday (one week turn around)... shipping at their expense and the modification for FREE! Never have I received better Service from any firearm manufacturer! Henry Firearms is a Class Act company and would believe they make quality firearms for all rifles in their product line

[starmac]

Wow John Boy, that would be hard to beat with a stick.

[pls1911]

I've managed to survive a few years of marlinitus, but maybe now will at least look at Henry.
Reports of fine quality and supurb customer service are rare these days.
It sounds like Henry folks adhere to the same "Customer's Bill of Rights" Mike Dillon publishes for his reloading equipment.
Gauranteed. Period.

[Ramjet-SS]

Class act and both the Henry Rifles I own are tac drivers. The 30-30 brass and the 45 colt shoot better than I would have ever imagined that 45 LC loves the 310 grain cast bullet from the Lee mold. I have been shooting most jacketed bullets from the 30-30 but today I received my new 4 cavity Accurate mold 170 grain FP GC and will cast and load some up this week.