How does the Henry Lever action .22 compare to others

[Quilbilly]

So I wanted a .22 for some cheap plinking and I came home with a Henry Arms lever action .22 (http://www.henryrepeating.com/h001_leveraction.cfm). I bought it cause it was cheap and I did not have a lot to spend. I have a cheap Bushnell 4X32 scope on it. I am very new to rifle shooting but I can easily make about 1" groups at 100 ft and I had no problem hitting cans at 100 yds. I am wondering about how accurate this rifle could be at 100 yds with the right scope. How does the Henry compare to the Marlin or the 10/22 in terms of accuracy? Thanks.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

A good .22 rifle would shoot a 1" group or less at 50 yards (150 feet.) But that assumes quality ammo and a skilled shooter. If you're new to the rifle, you can expect groups to shrink if you practice and experiment with different brands of ammo.

I would consider a 1" group at 100 feet to be excellent for squirrel hunting and general plinking.

 

[Quilbilly]

Just for clarification, I was shooting from a bench.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I figured you were. A 1" group at 100 feet from the offhand position is too good to believe.

 

[Deus Machina]

I did a write-up of my Henry and different, mostly cheap, ammo here.

Keep in mind each gun is different, each likes different ammo, you may be a better or worse shooter than I, and any Bushnell scope is certainly higher quality than my $16 BSA, which I still find acceptable.

Those tests were at 50 yards, too--half again your 100 feet.

 

[CZguy]

I am wondering about how accurate this rifle could be at 100 yds with the right scope. How does the Henry compare to the Marlin or the 10/22 in terms of accuracy? Thanks.

The Henry falls right in the middle, with the Marlin being more accurate than the Henry, but the Henry is much more accurate than a (stock) 10/22.

The Henry has the best customer service in the industry should you have a problem.

As stated above accuracy with a .22 is a matter of trying different ammo until you find the one your particular rifle likes.

 

[Quilbilly]

Thanks walter, that is very interesting. I was using Remington sub-sonic .22lr rounds and Stinger .22shorts. There was no difference in grouping that I could see at 100ft. I thought that was interesting.

 

[TCB in TN]

Agree with the others. The Henry is a good little gun, a big step below the Marlin 39, but a good deal for the money. I let mine go a while back, just didn't shoot it enough, like my Marlins better, but it was a very good little gun.

 

[FMJMIKE]

The Henry is a fun gun but the receiver is painted. The finish comes off very easily. The stock sights aren't great either. Triggers vary from good to average on the two I owned.