Home Forums Lever Action Central Big Bore Levers Henry Big Boys any good?

I'm looking at a Henry Big Boy Color case-hardened, carbine loop with octagonal 16" barrel in 44mag. I've got an itch for a 44mag lever gun. The only Henry's I've shot are .22LR levers and they were more accurate than they should have been. The action was extremely smooth too. Aesthetics were a B- in terms of classic lever guns and workmanship, but for the price the .22s were great. $1100 is a lot more than what a .22 costs though.

Been a fan of the JM Marlins, and have a few, just not in 44mag. I want a 16" "trapper" length barrel, something Ruger doesn't offer, and probably won't for a while. I like that this Henry has some heft to it, as full power 44mags let you know, with authority I might add, that you just pulled the trigger.

It will be a Midwest deer rifle, and mountain camping gun, probably with a 1-8 or similar optic.

Thoughts on the Henry?

A friend of mine has a few Henry's. Pretty nice.

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I have the H012GL 20" large loop sidegate.
I'd get one of the newer models with the sidegate.
Nice rifle. I paid $899

DD, how accurate is yours? Can you get a 2" group at 100? That would be more than enough for me.

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I have a Skinner Alaskan peep on it, but if it was scoped I think it would do around 2" at 100.

That's perfect and good to know. Thank you DD. I'll scope it, easier to count antler points if needed.

.41 mag here and it is accurate.
I agree on the side gate model now.

Well made and smooth operating, but not sleek or light. To me their centerfires are just too clunky feeling, but others may like the looks and feel of the Henry. They did make a Marlin 1894 16.5" barrel 44 on a couple of runs, the 1894 Limited and 1894P, but both are hard to find and pricy. You can always buy a used 1894 44 and have it cut down.

I'd rather have a Rossi 92 in .44 Mag for less money . Not a fan of the Henry's , don't like the balance or looks either one. Before I'd pay $1100 for a Henry I'd save a little more and buy a Winchester 92.

I've got a love/hate relationship with my BBS 16.5" carbine (older pre-side gate model) in 327. It handles and shoulders slick, shoots very well, but it feeds like a complete dumpster fire. Getting through a magazine without a jam or hiccup is rare luck.

Got a Rossi 16” 45 in SS, fast and little, put a peep, if you want a scope buy the Henry, I have 30-30 and 45-70, they are good guns, I’m in my deer stand hunting with a JM 44 mag right now, wonderful gun, I like them all.

I had a Winchester model 94 Trapper & it was a sweet gun. Wish I had held on to it...

I have a Big Boy X in 357. My family enjoy it for plinking with 38s. Well made and fun to shoot with fiber optic sights. Company is great to deal with, as well.

I have a Henry X 44mag. Love it.

First went with a cheap Rossi 44, was a turd out of the box. Would consistently jam when cycling new round and if it didn’t have that issue, it would have issues ejecting a spent round. Every type of ammo I used. I Did all the usually break in, polishing up parts, etc found in forums and YouTube. Was still a turd and not much help from Rossi. Place I bought it from took it back.

Picked up a Henry x as I have had others and zero issues. If you put a rail on it, get the Rino rail as it is low profile enough to see iron sights without scope mounted.

I recently bought a new Henry Big Boy 44 mag. 20" with the big loop. I'm really liking it. I chose the big loop because I took a pair of gloves with me when I looked at it and I could easily get all 4 gloved fingers into the loop. Very smooth action and it cycled everything I ran through it as smooth as butter. I tried 240 grain SWC's, 240 Hornady XTP's, 250 grain Beartooth WFNGC's and 300 grain Cast Performance WFNGC's. I"ve always been a Marlin fan but the 2 1894 44 mags I had were never this smooth.
I scoped mine with a Leupold VX-Freedom 1.5-4x20 w/Pig Plex reticle on a Ranger Point Rhino 5" Pic rail and for me it's about perfect. Skinner, Ranger Point, Marbles and probably others make peep sights for them.

I had a .44 and special run, case colored .41 with a serial number of something like Tyler 005.

I don't remember the exact accuracy but don't remember it being bad, which is a good sign and probably means it was pretty good. Really nice rifles with great quality. I was pleased with both, including the beautiful colors on the .41.

Additionally, I have two of the .22s. I too wasn't impressed with the aesthetics of the earlier .22s. These newer ones are really nice with less plastic. Super happy with the rifles, function and accuracy.

I bought a .45 Colt X today. I really like the side gate AND removable mag tube loading options. That setup is definitely the best of both worlds. I'm planning to set this one up with a suppressor and a red dot arranged to co-witness with a ghost-ring rear and front sight. I'm thinking this will be a lower noise set up without a suppressor and super low-noise with a suppressor. Really excited about the .45.

I like my 41, works and shoots good. Just needs a big loop.

I have 44 Remington-Marlin, and a 45 Rossi.
Both work great. Like the Remington Marlin stock better than the JM Marlins I own or have owned. I don’t like the Rossi stock! The Remington Marlin is great in all ways - nice looking, good functioning and accurate. So is my 45-70 Remington-Marlin.

A friend collected Henry’s and loved them all. I’m not sure the total number he had - but he felt they were good looking, accurate and dependable.

I’m missing a 357 lever - might go to Henry this time. I have not seen a Remington Marlin in 357.

That would have come out of Bobby Tyler's shop.

Correct. It seems Bobby told me he built a handful of the case colored .41s and someone on here wanted one. Whoever bought it, ended up selling it in the 24hour classifieds so I bought it. Wish I would have kept it, though if memory serves, I sold it back to Bobby.