Due to Iowa changing its laws making rifles for straight-wall cartridges legal for deer hunting I am looking at Marlin and Henry lever rifles. I am acquainted with Marlin guns but not the Henry's though I see a general $300+ Increase in cost over the Marlins.

Anybody care to share information of the Henry's mostly as regards quality but really any info would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Henry's are high quality but homely looking. I can't get past the looks. Marlin's look sharp on the other hand.

Henry has GREAT Customer service if you ever need it and make a great product I think they look alot better than the newer Marlins the fit and finish on a Henry is better than the newer Marlins with out question the checkering on the Marlins looks horrible at best. Now the old Marlins are a total different story those are great guns.

Own 3 Henrys, never had an issue with any of them. Also own a new Marlin but havent shot it yet. Fit and finish is good, action seems smooth. The only "bad" levers I have owned were 3 JM Marlins built around 2000-2007.

Henry Rifles have a Customer Service Dept that cares.........

Along with the CEO Mr. Imperato.......

https://www.henryusa.com/

Will a Henry 44 Mag handle cartridges length = cast bullets?

My last lever action 44 went down the road because it would not.

I'm about this close to pulling the trigger on a standard blued .30-30 Heny. I've looked at several examples of Henry's, both the .30-30, .45-70 and the pistol caliber "Big Boy" models, and they are all very well fit and finished - excellent wood to metal fit and a nice uniform dark brown on the wood. Speaking of, the wood on all I've seen ranges from good to very good, no 2x4's in the bunch. The somewhat fish belly profile of the forend in pictures goes away in person and it is nice and narrow in the hand; the 50's era Marlins and now some of the latest ones have very fat forends. The actions all operate very smoothly and the triggers generally break cleanly at about 4 pounds or so. The transfer bar ignition lets you leave the hammer down on a live round and it's as safe as a Ruger SA revolver.

I know a lot of folks are turned off by the loading port in the magazine tube but after thinking about it feel it is a superior loading system that won't catch the thumb of your glove (I have two pairs of wool gloves with the right thumb torn up from just that) or try to pop the last couple of rounds back out at you. Some folks like the side port for a quick reload but I've never really needed to top off my lever actions in a hurry. The tube port also allows you to fully unload the rifle without having to run all the rounds through the action - not a big deal for anyone with half a brain but nevertheless it's there.

They take down just like a Marlin for cleaning from the breech - remove the lever screw and remove the lever, pop out the bolt, take out the ejector and you're done.

If there is one drawback I've found it's that the lever doesn't snuggle right up to the bottom of the grip like a Marlin or Winchester, there is a small gap. It's noticeable right at first but after working the lever a few times you notice it less and less, at least that's how it was with me.

They are a kind of non-traditional traditional lever action and I used to turn my nose up at them for that reason but once I gave them a fair and unbiased look and actually examined several, they definitely impressed me as a well thought out and well made rifle.

George, what caliber are you thinking? I've had a hankern for a stainless lever for a while.

I don't own a center fire Henry but you ask about quality so I can tell you that I've owned a Frontier model 22WMR that I beat the snot out of chasing Cats with my Cur dog for about seven years and it still runs like a top and is the most accurate 22WMR I've ever owned.
As usual....I think you'll find that the people that like to rip on Henrys have never owned one.
Yea...they're not as classy as my old Marlins but they're good solid guns from a good solid US manufacturer.

I actually prefer the loading tube on my Henry 45-70 over the side port of the "Remlin" I own. Like Jim, I never had to reload on the run and always found it cumbersome to load from the side.

Big Boy, 180 gr .357 @ 100 yds

Shot 5 then adjusted up (Leupold 2-7 X 33)

Shot ten pulled one...

14 gr H -110


Loaded 15.5 gr H -110, shot 5



Definitely "Minute Of Deer" !

I was just thinking 44 mag but I'd like another 22 also.

Jim, I handled a synthetic-stainless Big Boy in the local LGS and I was I impressed as to perceived quality over the late model marlin with the fat forearm next to it. It had almost a finished plywood look -- kind of cheap-looking but it was much lighter than the Big Boy and much less expensive too..

That is a fine shooting lever gun.

Henry's, Winchester's, and Browning's leverguns are expensive. So Marlin is doing what makes good business sense by filling the budget end of the spectrum. If you want the fancy wood and better fit and finish, you have to pay for it. But if you want a no nonsense, functional levergun that won't break the bank then Marlin is there. It's all in what you want and there's no right or wrong answer just personal preference. I'll take Marlin.

If it were I
I would look for a nice pre-remington made Marlin,it's still a crap shoot with the Remington made Marlins.
Just my opinion.

I owned 3 Marlins built in the 2000's before Remington took over. 2 were 45-70's and a 450 Marlin. Had feeding and ejecting issues with all 3. Fit and finish sucked. The "Remlin" I bought a few months ago is vasty superior to any of the 3 Marlins I owned previously. Maybe the quality was better before 2000.

A little bit off subject, straight walled rifle cased ammo legal for deer, could one use a 5 shot M1 Carbine then? Autos? I got a 44 Ruger Carbine.

Actually they specify which straight-walled cartridges they will allow and I don't remember seeing the 30 cal carbine cartridge mentioned. I wouldn't choose it if they did however. IIRC, the cartridge boots a 110-grain bullet at some 2k ft/sec -- there would be much better choices.

I hear ya. It is pretty wimpy. My only straight walled shells are 30 carbine. 44 mag. 500 Nitro. Well if I get charged by a 6000 pound deer with rabies I will be covered. I do need to get a nice lever action for fun. Maybe a 375 Win.

I got the cheapest model 22lr, I love it.

The only complaint I heard about a 44 mag was years ago. The guy said it jammed a lot, but Henry fixed it.

Lots of youtube videos out there showing Henry big boys in both .357 and .44 with weak ejection and rough/balky feeding if you pay attention. Henry needs to work on that.

I know they've been having issues and a lot of new owners have to send theirs back. But Henry's excellent, Remlin sucks.

I was looking at a Henry in 45-70 yesterday, realy liked it, a bit diffrent from the Marlins, think id like the tube fed mag. Iv been with out a 45-70 for 7-8 years nowand think I my go back and put the Henry in LayAway!

I sold my Henry and bought a Marlin 1894 stainless 44 mag. I like the Henry, however, I didn't like the fact it was tube fed. I like how Marlins are loaded on the side of the receiver. As far as quality, I still love my JM stamped Marlin, I would highly recommend.

I've had every kind of lever gun made and the Henry's are the smoothest lever action on the market IMHO