Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Henry long ranger- educate me

Howdy all- my dad just bought one of these in .243 and I’m about to get peppered with questions looking for advice. Problem is I’m not a lever guy and I know even less about this particular one.

Scope mounts/rings recs? Any particular type of scope better than another? Thinking a 4x M8 might be good here.

Anyone reload for one of these and have a load they like? Main targets will be deer/hogs. I have a .243 bolt gun I reload for and a pretty good variety of projectiles on hand. From the 5 minutes of googling I did on this thing I see a box mag so I don’t think I’m limited in my choices there.

257, I will jump in. I had a Long Ranger in .308. The factory ring spacing is rather tight, so I went with the Talley Picatinny style and allowed me to get the proper eye relief.

Mine functioned fine, accuracy so 1.25" or so with factory or handloads. I sold it to one of my co workers who fell in love with the wood. I seem to prefer the balance and feel of the old John Browning designs 1886 and 95 Winchesters over the Henry so let I let it go. I think your Dad will be happy with the gun.

+1 above and...

Tally 1 piece work great. See the Henry website.
Don't take the action apart until you/he finds a video on disassembly/assembly. The gear timing of the bolt is critical.
There is no half cock. There is a transfer bar system so learning de-cocking is different from other levers.
Will need a steel hammer extension if he puts a scope on it.
Always tighten the screws prior to taking it out shooting or lock-tite the screws.
A 3-9x would be great. Remember, it is a 243.
The chamber could be very tight so a small base sizing die could be required for reloading fired brass.

Good luck.

Only advice I have it I would go 3-9 or more. Should be able to stretch out that gun and a 4x would limit you.

I set one up in .308 for a friend. He won it at raffle. He wanted a 1.75x6 Leupold on it. I used Warne bases and rings. Nice set up. Really great wood on it. They are a rack and pinion system very similar to the BLR's. It's a smooth working action but more complicated than other designs. It really liked Core Loct 165's IIRC. Shot sub 1" no trouble. I emailed Henry a few times in regards to offering it in 358 or 338 Federal. They replied that larger bore chamberings for it were in the plans; further, IIRC, they stated that they were looking into 35 rem or 356 offering for their other lever style. So, I plan to pick one up, but I'm waiting for a big bore option. With the trend going smaller these days, I might be waiting a long time.