Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Does Henry really make a quality rifle?

Maybe it's been all the fake brass receivers they do. Maybe it's how friggin ugly the steel Big Boys are. Well actually most of the stuff they make look like the the car designers for AMC in the 70's finally found new jobs. I have a hard time taking them seriously. But do they make durable, quality stuff?

I had an early Goldenboy in 22 mag for several years and never had any issues with it, other than the brass wanting to tarnish, accuracy was very good and it was smooth as butter.

I've had a BBS 16" carbine in 32 for a few years now, and I have love/hate relationship with it. The accuracy is good, and it handles/shoulders extremely well, but it feeds like garbage... really hiccupy and prone to jamming.

Tell me one manufacturer that does not have any issues at some point with one or any of their firearms?

My BBS has a very nice stock and fit and finish is fine. Works quite well, maybe the newer versions are a little better than older ones.

I don’t own one. But I think I would like the tube magazine loading access by the muzzle. That they have in the 45/70 .

Wonder if I guy could modify a marlin ?

I have a lawyer friend with a dozen and he swears by them. And I see them all the time at my club range and the owners say good things about them. Henry customer service is supposed to be really good. And yet, I can't get past how damned weird looking they are.

I'm right there with you

They be made in Wisconsin.

The state that gave us the cheese heads!

Fit and finish are good one mine, as well. The wood isn't bad at all, and the bluing is fine, and wood to metal fit is very good.

The problem with mine is mostly the cartridge, or more the fact that the action isn't scaled down to the cartridge at all. The feed tube and elevator are absolutely huge for that skinny litttle case, so it has a habit of them getting fed cockeyed onto the elevator, then it picks them up crooked and hangs up or jams.

It's deadly accurate, though, and absolutely levels squirrels and rabbits without tearing them to shreds using cast loads, so like I said earlier, I'm very love/hate with it. If it fed better it would probably be my favorite rifle.

What cartridge is yours chambered in?

32 - 327 Fed, 32 H&R Mag, and 32 S&W Long all work through it. I do most of my shooting with 32 S&W Longs, but it shoots all 3 cartridges very well. I mostly shoot cast with 32L and 32H&R Mag, and jackets and monos in 327 Fed.

Surprisingly 327 Fed feeds the worst; usually it's opposite with pistol cartridge levers and cartridge lengths.

Like you, I can't take them seriously. Then again, I can't take any Wins/Marlins with safeties on them, seriously either.

I have a 22 mag that is not accurate at all. Don’t much care for it. Then, for some reason, I decided I needed a 45-70. A gun I never even considered until now.

won with a good price (on GB) a Henry X and now I’m all in on this gun. It shoots. I mean, this thing is accurate! 325 grain Hornady shoot well, 350 grain Berrys are incredible. 1.5 down to .88” with a 4x scope.

Subsonic is where it’s at though. I have a Hybrid 45 on it and the 415 grain Hornady Sub-X are the best thing since pockets on a shirt! (They just arrived at Midway last night, so I bought more).

This gun is the real deal.

Oh cool. Gives you a lot of choices

i still sell afew new rifles with my FFL license some people really like the 22 LR levers ,i won one also and its pretty and does shoot ok but this 22 LR just is not as accurate or functions as nice as my Marlin 39 A`s do . i would like to get a S.S. PLASTIC Stock all weather 357 Henry lever rifle someday to play with. i own a Marlin 45-70 s.s. guide gun but that rifle is just miserable to shoot so i think a 357 /38 would be much more fun and cheaper to shoot also.

Yeah I have the Guide Gun too. I love it but I love it best with Trapdoor loads

Henry is a great company but I am not a fan of their centerfire rifles but I love their rimfires.

I have never owned a Henry that didn’t have a problem. The Big Boy Steels I fixed myself but it’s frustrating as hell. I had a single shot 30-30 that the trigger weight and pull was so bad I had the gun less than 24hrs. I had an Evil Roy 22 that I beat to death on an iron beam.

No more for me.

I’ve had the 410 lever, Big Boy Steels, single shots, and 22’s.

I will say the 44 Big Boy Steels I had after they were fixed, they were reliable. I actually like them better than a marlin 94.

I just purchased a BBS carbine (16.5" barrel) in .357 Mag. It feeds .38 Special well as well as .357. Accuracy wise, it cuts holes at 50 yards with a 158 XTP and 16.7 gr H110 for 1,710 fps. I haven't found a complaint based on the function of the rifles.Fit and finish is good. My only complaint is that I wish they did a better job on the bluing. It does not have the rich bluing that Marlins came with back in the day.

My .22 mag shoots really well for a lever gun and has given me no trouble.

which rifle, they make quite a few models. I haven't owned one, but I prefer winchesters when it comes to 30-30's just because they are trimmer and weigh a half pound less. the henry is basically a 336 type action. the loading gate was a huge plus for them to add to their guns. the rimfires I am not interested in because the receivers are pot metal. yeah I get it, it makes them cheaper, I wish they offered a machined steel option like the 94/22's in which case that is what I ended up buying.