Henry Lever Guns Experience

[matrem]

Appreciate the updates folks.
Sure sounds like any potential customer service issues aren't likely to be a problem.

As for the wood on the stocks?
The rifle I'm looking at has nothing more than hardwood for furniture, and it's stated to be covered in some sort of industrial finish.(I imagine some version of relatively durable paint)

Though I appreciate good wood on a firearm, I've had to admit years ago that I'm just too hard on, and/ or too lazy to take all the necessary immediate steps to maintain a shiny blued, walnut stocked gun that's used for serious hunting.

 

[nifty1940]

Have a yen to DYI build 1860 Henry in 45LC. Love its looks and to be a club event shooter. been readying a project sheet to start and while got lots of general info, looking for actual dimensions of the action. had a few lever guns and as this'll be my last, I want to make it as sexy as I can but still shoot and perform well. Anyone help out and any advice greatly received? Bugga, just gotta have one before I kick it blokes.. yep, am an Aussie.

 

[DPris]

Might get a better response if starting a new thread.

The Henrys in this one are actual Henry-brand guns.
A build like you're talking can't be done at home with one of them, you're thinking of an original Henry 1860 pattern.
Denis

 

[nifty1940]

dennis. Appreciate the help mate. Am on old bloke not too familiar with forums and the way to get around. Will read up the guidelines to help out. I'll learn how to start a new thread. Nev.

 

[DPris]

Just hit the blue New Thread spot up near the top of the page & go from there.
Very easy.
Denis

 

[Steve51]

I own 5 Henry rifles (two .22lr, .22WMR, .44 Big Boy, & .45-70 steel). The Golden Boy .22lr is my least favorite because the angle of the buttstock doesn't fit me like the other rifles.

From the bench, all are very accurate.

The only one I had problems with was the .45-70. Henry customer service is the greatest. They redesigned the rifle and upgraded mine at no charge to me. Mr. Imperato contacted me personally in the upgrade process and sent me promo items free of charge (hat, coffee mugs, tin sign & decals).
The rifles with octagon barrels are heavier but most versions also come with round barrels that are lighter.
Some do not like the brass receivers but most models also come with steel receivers and some come with case hardened receivers.
I have a Rossi 92 in .357 mag. It was very rough when I got it. I did a Steve Gunz action job on it and it is much better but still not as smooth as my Henry rifles. I never had to deal with Taurus or Rossi customer service but I am a member of the Taurus Owner forum and many members there have had bad experiences with Taurus/Rossi customer service.
With Henry, if you are not satisfied they will replace your rifle or give you money back. The process of upgrading my Henry .45-70 took about 5 months (Henry engineers redesigned the loading tube bracket). Both times my rifle was sent back to Henry, it was returned in less than two weeks.
I had a recall on a Remington shotgun and a redesigned bolt had to be installed at the factory - it was six weeks before my shotgun was returned.

 

[C.R.]

Those henrys are smooth. mine is the plane jane .22 and my only problem is I have a hard time seeing the factory sights ,I put a decent little scope on it and that problem is solved. I made some speed loaders for mine ,I found some tubeing the approriate size and plugged one end,made a removeable cap for the other end pull mag follower out dump the shells in,put follower back in,probably quicker to do it than to type it out .

 

[sota]

I'm pretty sure I've posted before about my Henry's... I love 'em. All (except the youth model. 22lr) have custom serial numbers on them. As for Henry's customer service, I have no doubts they go the extra mile for their customers. There was a snafu during my first order a couple years ago, right around Christmas time. I wasn't ordering to get them in time for Santa Day, but they went even longer. As a way of saying "sorry" they sent me a pair of soft rifle cases and a pair of their 8x16 speed loaders. I didn't even ask for compensation and they insisted on doing it.

Goes to show you, not everything in NJ sucks.

 

[SSN Vet]

I've handled (but never shot) a Golden Boy, and the action is by far, the smoothest lever gun action I've ever cycled.

I would really like to get a Big Boy in .44 mag some day.

 

[thewillweeks]

I bought a used mares leg made by Henry, contacted them to buy a replacement rear grip (came broken from the previous owner) and they promptly mailed me a new one free. So, good customer service.

The little handgun shot great, accurate and smooth action. Had some extraction issues with hyper velocity ammo (22lr) but that was exaggerated by user error. Good shooting lil turd. Good sights.

The receiver was soft though, gouged it prying hyper velocity ammo out. So I sold it off, even made a little money since they gave me a free grip.

I like the company, I plan to own another from them, just not one with that style of receiver.

 

[Loosenock]

I have never owned one and I stand in shamed prejudice to make any comments about them.

Granted Henry firearms makes a style of rifle that is very close to the original legendary 1860's Henry rifles. It is called the "Original" model and cost $2000.00.

It appears to me that every model outside the "Original" is a clone of the Marlin right down to side eject. If there was a way to project shadows of a bunch Marlin and current Henry rifles on the same screen it would be hard to separate the two.

I just checked some prices before replying to this thread and Henry Big Boy rifles in .44 Rem. Mag are selling for $750. A Marlin 1894 in same caliber is selling at $650. Since I've never fired a Henry I'm not qualified to compare the two to see if there justification in the price difference.

Did/Does Henry firearms make the Original model to justify naming their brand Henry while making the rest of their offerings styled after existing brands? Are they hoping to have some of the legend of the 1860 original rub off on them? Why don't they pattern every model in their line after the original like they did with their "Original" model? That would make more sense to me.

Other companies have named models after legends but they also include their name such as; Shiloh Sharps, Thompson Center Hawken, Uberti Henry; Pietta LeMat and Pedersoli Sharps along with others.

I'm sure they make good products. I've never handled one. I just feel they are trying to capitalize on the name of one American legend while copying another.

I now accept the flaming I am surely to get.

 

[Tommygunn]

Did/Does Henry firearms make the Original model to justify naming their brand Henry while making the rest of their offerings styled after existing brands? Are they hoping to have some of the legend of the 1860 original rub off on them? Why don't they pattern every model in their line after the original like they did with their "Original" model? That would make more sense to me.

I'm not sure how close the Henrys are to the "Marlins" they (according to you) replicate, but one reason why they don't make the rest of their line like the original Henry is that those other "Marlin" clones are in powerful calibers that the toggle-link system of the 1860 Henry could never tolerate. In fact the 1873 uses the same togglelink system and I've seen repros in magnum calibers that I would not guess the toggles could handle .... but Uberti knows what they're doing.
Now the big calibers, like .30-30, .45-70 .... no, you need a Marlin - like design to handle those types of cartridges.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Did/Does Henry firearms make the Original model to justify naming their brand Henry while making the rest of their offerings styled after existing brands? Are they hoping to have some of the legend of the 1860 original rub off on them?

Howdy

I would have to say yes to both questions.

It is obvious looking at their web page that they put a lot of store in the Henry name, considering they devoted an entire page to the history of the original Henry rifle, produced by the New Haven Arms Company from 1862 until 1866, a company they have no historical connection to. The name Henry was in public domain and the founders of the modern Henry Repeating Arms company simply appropriated the name for their company.

Over the years it was suggested many times on various gun boards that HRAC produce a historically accurate replica of the 1860 Henry rifle. A couple of years ago they did just that.

Since then HRAC has taken every opportunity to publicize the the fact that they are now offering a mechanically accurate replica of he original 1860 Henry design.

So I would say the answer to both your questions is yes.

 

[Loosenock]

I don't know why I'm hung up on the name thing. Names like Kimber, Cooper, Wilson and Ruger et. al. standout and have made names for themselves.

I did not want anyone to think of not buying a Henry. Henry Repeating Arms makes fine firearms.

I visited their web site many times. On one visit I came across "Guns for great causes". I was moved on what they are doing to help true great causes. I recommend everyone to visit it.

https://www.henryrifles.com/guns-for-great-causes/

They have my respect and I would certainly buy a Henry firearm.

 

[entropy]

The Henrys do not have weak actions.
Denis

Correct.

I'll third that, but with this to add. I've replaced quite a few hammers in the .22's; I believe they are MIM.

 

[DPris]

They are MIM, but this is the first I've heard of hammers wearing out.
Denis

 

[entropy]

Maybe it was just a bad batch or something, but about six years ago I had about a dozen of them, all fairly new, come in with broken hammers. Most of them had the spur break off. To Henry's credit, they took care of all of them, sent out the hammers no charge.

 

[cat_IT_guy]

Very happy with my H010 (big boy steel 45-70). Nice and smooth, but seems not a ton of them around. Curious folks at the range generally impressed (not that you see a whole lot of 45-70s to start with). The action is smooth and the wood is very attractive, IMO.

I like it enough that I'll look nowhere but Henry when Im ready to buy my next lever gun - it will be the big boy steel .357 model - cheaper to shoot range toy - but hopefully every bit as nice.