Home Forums Lever Action Central Rimfire Levers How would you rank them?

A friend of mine is looking for a lever action .22 for his 12 year old boy. He's looking at a Henry which I have no experience with at all. I was able to tell him about how reliable my BL-22 has been but he's not sure if they're worth the extra money. He's open to other options as well (Winchester, Marlin).

So how would you rank the four more popular lever rimfires? I'm thinkin' the Henry is going to be at the bottom of the list.

I'd also rank the Henry in last place. After handling one, I'll never own one.
I'm verry happy with the Winchester 94-22 myself, although lots of people like the Browning and Marlin.
Virgil B.

I would get a 9422 just because its the last year of production. Marlin makes a good lever22 (if not better) also.

My Grandpa had a Winchester 9422 Mag that was incredibly accurate and a heckuva a nice gun. I have a Marlin 39 that is a tack driver, with Winchester Wildcats as its round of choice. The Henry just plain looks and feels cheap. The gun mags all say they shoot, but too much aluminum and plated parts to suit me. They just feel cheap. Pay the extra money. Ryan

Thanks guys, I'm going to email my friend a link to this page and let him be the judge.

I have a Marlin golden 39a that is about 30 yrs. old. It has had over 4,000 rounds thru it, and has never been to a gunsmith. They are a little heavy, but darned reliable.

maddog

I have a 94/22 I got it when I was 8 im 16 now. One summer vacation it had 21,000 rounds through it. It ussually gets 500-1000 rounds through it a month. It is incredibly accurate, and dependable. The marlins would come next and henerys shouldnt even be on the list. IMHO

Rank order:

Marlin 39A (costs like a centerfire 'cause it shoots, handles, and lasts like one, too. The cream of the lever .22 crop).
Winchester 9422 (a close second place and the last year they'll be made, which might make it more of a collector piece than a shooter).
Browning BL-22 (a very nice .22 lever, but not quite on par with the Marlin and the Winnie, IMHO, beats it out by a hair).
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oh, and then there's everything else WAY down here. Actually, they might be lower.

ditto, the henery don't do anything for me. i'm a big time 9422 fan, I beat that drum pretty hard. but I'm also very happy to contribute something here that nobody has hit on yet in this comparison as it pertains to your question. buying for a kid right? well I see the marlin 39A and the 9422 at a dead tie to be completely honest but i favored the winny for the slimmer fore end & the overall apearance aplealed to me more. But, the 39A has a feature that the other do not, something to consider especially when buying for a kid. Cross bolt safety. Kind of a nice feature if you are buying for a kid or introducing someone to the lever action world.

Well I was able to fondle all four rifles in question side by side today, and here's how I'd rate them.

The original question was for a 12 year old boy, he's about a 90 pounder.

#1 The Browning--
A couple of reasons for this pick. First off is the size, it's just a good size for a kid. Secondly, the very short throw lever and the trigger goes along for the ride. Okay thirdly, I really like the way the mag tube snaps in instead of push in and turn, just handier.

#2 The Winchester--
This and the Marlin are neck in neck, but the 9422 is a bit slimmer and a little lighter. Also it just feels better. Can't really explain that, it just does. I'm sure you all know what I mean.

#3 The Marlin--
For reasons already given. One thing I didn't like about the Marlin was the cross bolt safety. Ugly. I learned to shoot firearms without a safety at a very young age, shouldn't be a problem. If it is maybe the kid shouldn't be carrying it. No offence Dave, just my opinion.

#4 The Henry--
I'll agree with most other opinions here, the Henry is not even in the same ballpark. Lots of plastic parts, cheap feeling, bad sights...

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Now for my thoughts for if'n the kid is a bit bigger, mainly my size. All this snooping has stirred up a hankerin' for me to buy me a new .22 lever gun.

#1 The Winchester--
More specifically the Legacy. What a sweet handling gun, and purty too! Almost walked out of there with one. Need to run that one by the boss first though. I'm sure some of you know what I mean by that too.

#2 The Marlin--
Probably the main thing that seperates the 9422 and the 39A for me is that cross bolt safety, ugly and useless. I do like the Marlin's thicker forearm better than the Winchester.

#3 The Browning--
As stated, it's a great kid sized rifle. I've had mine for 25 years or so and have abused it terribly. It's had many thousands of rounds through it and the next time it malfunctions will be it's first.

#4 Or lower is the Henry--
For reasons stated above.

Thanks for all the input guys!

Well the hankerin' was just more than I could stand. I found me a 30 year old 39A that had my name all over it. It was born well before the ugly cross bolt safety days and has the thinner forearm. What a pleasure to shoot. Nice tight action, handles like a dream, and seems to be fairly accurate. I think this next winter when some time becomes available along with the newness and wanting to run through a couple hundred rounds a night wears off, I'm going to strip down the wood and give it a nice hand rubbed oil finish.

I'm a happy guy! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Good for You! Enjoy! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That sounds real good, especially the oil finish, nice touch.

Here is what one gunsmith had to say about the Marlin 39 -

I've had one on my model 39AS for 16 years. I recently retired this rifle as I have successfully wore it out. When it started malfunctioning, I figured no big deal, I'm a gunsmith, I can fix it.

I got under the hood and saw that almost every part and the two halves of the receiver had major wear to the point that fixing the gun would exceed the value.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads...p;page=0#278587


My brother is a gunsmith and has said the same thing about them - once parts begin to wear, the gun is too complex and expensive to repair. The number of small, hand-fitted parts that depend upon precise fitting to each other is very high. The owner of his shop will not take them in, as he says trying to fix them just results in the shop "buying" them, as they are constantly coming back with unhappy customers blaming the shop.

For what is worth, he doesn't think much of the new Winchesters, either - too many cheap, stamped parts! No satisfying the artisan, I guess.

He actually favors the Ruger lever action that looks like a 10-22.

For your friend and his son, I would suggest the Henry! I own one and have almost 15,000 rounds through it without a problem, except for running out of ammo every now and then. For the youngster, the Henry has probably the easiest lever throw of any of the before mentioned rifles, and with the youth/carbine rifle it would probably fit him better. In a strong second I would have the BL-22. I just think they are neat. Well that's my $.02. And muleshoe congrats on the Marlin.
Aaron

I will find out Tuesday, when I pick up my 1st 9422M. I have a pretty good feeling .....

Ric

I bought a 94/22 Classic back in the 80's. Actually had a used Marlin 39 on lay-a-way but the shop owners son sold it out from under me because the shop owner didn't tag it , he just put it in a corner in the back room. So to make it up to me he sold me the 94/22 at a great price. I haven't regretted getting the Winchester the first time. Excellent little fun gun.

I just traded in my savage semi on a bl-22 today.I like the looks of the win. better but they didn't have any in stock.Love that short throw on the browning.

Congrats on the Marlin. Mine dates from 1947 IIRC so it's a bit older than me. It has held up better than I have over the years. The Winchester 9422 is a fine rifle but I prefer the Marlins. Ward

.....I'd rate the Marlin tops,provided it's an early model with the 16" barrel and straight stock,slim forend. This little Marlin has the lightweight nimble feel I like in a .22 rimfire squirrel gun. The mass of Marlin 39's are to bulky for my tastes,and lack the better (for me) balance of the compact model. The 9422 is a superb little gun,just a fraction heavy for me,but generaly equaly accurate with the best Marlins. The Browning BL-22 is a great little gun as well.I like it's bal;ance,fit and short lever thrown,but the glitzy finish on Brownings,doesn't thrill the hunter in me,and I loathe a 'gold' trigger (I barely can put up with it in my Savage 99 featherweight in .284 winchester)....The Henry is a reject for me,poor balance,and poor metalurgy,along with plastic parts which will have limited durability.This gun doesn't deserve a comparison with these other fine lever guns.......If I bought a 'plastic' gun it'd be a Remington Nylon 66,which tends to be very accurate,super lightweight,and lots of fun for plinking.