Ahh, Christmas, that magical time of the year. Nothing beats the joy and pride a parent feels when they pick out that perfect gift and see their offspring open it up on Christmas morning. Their first bicycle, a well-oiled baseball mitt, a … Who the hell am I kidding? The latest edition of “Call of Duty” plus a live internet link for the X-box. Done. However, there’s one old-fashioned present that still rocks – their first rifle! A finely crafted, bolt-action single shot .22 rimfire will be a prized possession for years to come, or until they’re old enough to want something else. So . . . then what? What do you get your progeny some years down the road?

A second .22 rimfire rifle, full-sized this time. Oh sure, they’ll want a deer rifle, a shotgun, an AK-47 and a Glock (well, my kids anyway). But there’s a simple calculus available to help settle the issue. A 12-year-old boy, a .22 rifle, and an all-day outing will cost less in ammo than a movie and popcorn. Try that with any other firearm.

Since the “first rifle” Christmas was done years back, I worked the grandparents this time around and suggested they send cold hard cash. Armed with Grandpa’s loot, we set out the very next weekend (New Year’s) for a very conveniently timed gun show. After forcing my off-spring to at least look at some other (slightly used) rifles, I relented. We stood at a dealer’s table to examine a Henry.

My son had burned up the internet on rifle research, and plainly wanted nothing else. So, Henry it was. Now there are more than a few horse-traders in my lineage and certain things are expected of the men in my family. So I stepped up and brought my mad bargaining skills to the table. After furious negotiations, I managed to obtain this fine rifle for . . .  full list price.

Bear in mind that this was roughly three weeks before the presidential inauguration, 2009. Apparently no one was discounting prices. I forget the final tally, but it was in the neighborhood of $300. It currently goes for $325 and change today.

After agreeing on price, I reached for my wallet, only to be handed a clipboard and pen, and told to go stand in line. Say what? I’ve been hitting gun shows since the 1980’s. I’ve never had to stand in line to make a cash purchase. But there we were, me, my brother, and my 12-year-old with an itchy trigger finger, cooling our heels for another 45 minutes. Instant criminal background check my rear end.

So what did we (he) get for ~$300? A very handsome, western-styled level action rifle. Any fan of John Wayne will immediately recognize the profile and Winchester influence on this piece. It has a nice heft and solid feel to it, enough so that it will never be mistaken for a toy. Wood quality was good, fit and finish acceptable. Action a tad bit rough, but hopefully it will smooth out over time.

Still, there was just some tiny bit of something nagging me. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, other than to say “it’s not a Winchester.” Am I being a brand snob?

Well, the Henry website does talk at length about the origin of the Henry rifle, way back during the War Between the States. This implies a true link between a company in operation back in 1865 and today’s Henry Repeating Arms. Not so fast. Not so fast!

Back in my youth, I lusted after a Ruger 10-22, followed by a Winchester, a Remington, and (if nothing else) a Marlin 925 (as above) for my Christmas present. That Marlin currently resides in my parents’ closet, a bit worse for wear. Henry just didn’t make the list. As far as I can remember, they might have made a weird little .22 survival gun back then, but certainly no lever action.

I think there’s some remnant of the old Ivers Johnson company in their lineage, but the current lineup of lever-action rifles only dates back to the early 1990’s. Still, they claim to be 100% American made, so, okay then

Our first outing saw my son consistently keeping all rounds inside a 5” target at 25 yards. I managed one 3” group before he insisted on getting his rifle back. A little disappointing to me. I was shooting tighter groups with my Savage, so I don’t think it was me.

I then compared the sights between the two rifles and saw that the Henry went with plain flat steel with a notch in back, and a thick square post up front. While certainly functional, the sights just didn’t give the finely detailed sight picture I wanted. Plus, come on, this is a Wild West piece. How about some fancy buckhorn on the back and a post with brass bead on the front?

I did get another chance with the rifle, at 50 yards, and also got a rough 3” grouping. I think the gun will shoot better, I just didn’t have the groups at the time to prove it. One year later, with scope, 1.5” at 50 yards.

I also noticed the boy had more than several failure to feed issus. I had zero, so we discussed moving the lever with more authority. Once he started racking it with force, the failures went away. Otherwise a perfectly functional rifle that has probable sent close to 1500 rounds downrange so far.

Safety note, it’s very easy for young ones (and older guys too) to place hands, arms, and other body parts over the end of the barrel while reloading. I had to issue several reminders before we settled on dropping the lever to leave the action open before reloading the tube. Never reload one of these with a round still in the chamber, and pay attention dammit to the muzzle direction.

The Henry Repeating Arms Lever Action .22 is a very nice piece and a fair value. But there are plenty of other .22’s for the same price (or less). You’d pretty much have to want a lever-action to pick it over, say, a Ruger 10-22. Assuming that, you got a good rifle that’ll last a lifetime.

For myself, I’d probably spend some time searching the used market for a real Winchester. Or maybe cough-up some extra cash and get a Browning. Both are admittedly at a much higher price point. But I already own multiple .22’s and multiple lever actions, so my Jones has already been covered.

You ask my now 14-year-old and he’ll tell you: the Henry’s the best rifle in the gun cabinet. And I think plenty of other 14-year-olds would agree. After all, I’m still planning on getting that Marlin from my parents’ house someday and cleaning it up. Turns out that was a pretty fine rifle, too.

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66 COMMENTS

    • Priced any 66s lately? I’ve not shot a Henry, but I’ve been enamored by them. Upon picking it up I was disappointed by how crude it appeared. My 66 is 40 something years old and a little worse for the wear, but I’m not ready to replace it yet. When I do buy another .22, it won’t be a Henry.

  3. In 1931 my grandfather bought a Winchester Model 60 for my father. I've had it since I was 12. "A prized possession for years to come" indeed; 79 and counting in our case.

  4. Twenty years ago I managed an auto parts store and I had a customer who wanted to trade a Nylon 66 for some needed parts. The problem was the '66 had a destroyed stock. It looked like someone had beat it against a curb to prove a point that anything can be broken. I gave the guy $30 for it and shipped it off to Remington. A month later I got it back with a beautiful stock mounted to it. No charge and they paid the postage one way. A great gun that feeds great and shoots straight. It is without a doubt the best gun value I have ever scored. And I am E. Zach Lee-Wright

  5. I have a full size Henry 22 with an octagonal barrel. Anyone who shoots it comments on the action. It is as smooth as glass! The sights might leave a bit to be desired, but I can't see them well with my 62 year old eyes anyway. I am considering (choke, choke!) putting a scope on it. I had a Winchester Model 94 that I gave my son, and I find that lever actions are not the most accurate rifles to begin with and most of them have sights that leave a lot to be desired. I can tell you one thing about the Henry 22 Lever Action, it's a kick (and I don't mean recoil wise) to shoot. Bill T.

  6. Apparently you bought the base model Henry .22. I too own a Henry .22 levergun, but in my case I opted for the Lever Octagon Frontier model. It's also blued, with the octagonal barrel, and it has a gold bead front sight.

    $349 plus tax at Cabela's.

    Nothing wrong with the action, either; mine too is smooth as glass. I haven't handled a Henry levergun that didn't have such an action out of the box. And accuracy with Winchester PowerPoints and CCI MiniMags is superb. It also handles bulk-pack Federal nicely.

  7. Why doesn't the gun have a safety…after all, it is marketed as a "Youth Model". Have there been any accidents that you are aware of?

    • It does have a safety. It’s called the half cock safety. YOu can do some looking and find out how that works.

    • I’m sorry sir but I am 13 and i have a henery lever action 22 and to say the most I would consider myseft to know more than average about guns and i can tell you yes, the Henery does not have a safety but… with a bullet with a bullet in the “chamber” all, you have to do is slowly bring the hammer down and you should be fine as long as you dont pull the hammer back and shoot. All you have to do when your ready is pull the hammer back and shoot because there is a round already in the chamber.

  8. I love my Henry .22. Of course, I was at least 18 when I got mine (Maybe Older. I don't remember.). Also, I got it when You could get them for $185.

  9. I have a Henry Golden boy .22 mag. At the time I was looking for a rat gun (we live on a sheep farm & had a problem with rats). I was using a single six pistol which worked okay when close but what the hell rats are smart and learned to keep their distance. I liked the fact that it is made in the USA. I own a manufacturing company & we pride ourselves on delivering Made in the USA products so that is important to me. As for the gun, I liked it at first and killed a number of rats straight off. After putting a couple hundred rounds through it I liked it less. The main reason for this was the sights. Being in my fifties doesn’t help but I couldn’t for the life of me get a consistent group outside 50′ on targets and I found when I went to the barn to do some hunting I was tending to grap my single six instead. I really didn’t like the fact that there is no safety either. The gun I had as a boy was a Steven’s Favorite which I loved and this rifle is no Favorite. I purchased it for under $300 so I don’t feel it’s a rip off but it just isn’t the gun I go for when I want to use a rifle.

    • The issue with the sights can be easily rectified. You can peep sight your rifle or scope it. If your eyes are an issue, I don’t see how you can say the sights are at fault as they are the same as any other open sights you get on any other 22 off the shelf.

      • I disagree with sam I also have a Henry 22 Mag Golden Boy and out side of 50′ it won’t hit the paper to save my life. I have been shooting for 35 years and own many lever action firearms and have never seen this before, Rob is right the open sights on the Henry need a lot of improvment. I didn’t purchase this rifle just to have to change out the sights, it should drive tacks right out of the box.

  10. I have had 3 Henry 22LR Golden Boy rifles. The first one I bought becuase it was the NRA small bore rifle of the year in 2001. This rifle cost about $325 not only was it deadly acurate out of the box it was a show peice. I had a friend from Canada visit and he just had to have it. He did all the paperwork required and took it home a few months later. I replaced it with a new one I then gave it to a friend who was retiring from the Air National Guard in a case with all his awards. The crowd gasped when I presented this masterpeice to him. I now have another one I am determined not to let anyone get there hands on it. This is not a rifle to take to the dump rat plinking. I would recomend the S&W AR15-22 for this I would highly recomend the S&W becuase 223 ammo is so expensive and this gun is loads of fun and durable.

  11. You forget the best lever .22 of all, the Marlin 39….from the 39a to the golden 39m like mine, a fine piece…breakdown at the receiver, it actually splits in half for ease of cleaning and maintenance, though with many thousands of rounds of every type, it’s never needed more than a brush down…heavy and well made, feels like my model 94’s not like a .22, only 12 oz lighter fully loaded than a Marlin 1894s in 44 magnum also fully loaded, and the most accurate snapshot rifle ever in mho…..predators looking to get my hens don’t stand a chance against it with the 60 grain Aguila SSS ammo loaded 15 in the tube….25 if you load shorts…..

    Not quite as glass slick as the Henry action which iirc is patterned on the 92 Win action design but much better than the clunky 94 Winchester actions that always feel like something is being ground away with every rack…..

    The Henry is a fine starter lever .22 but when the time comes for quality, nothing touches the Marlin 39

    • You are sure right about Marlin 39..I had 2 over years(wish I still had either)..Most accurate 22’s I ever owned “cept Marlin bolts in .17..Can’t afford one now…

  12. Here’s another viewpoint
    I have the Henry Frontier. Beautiful rifle. The Walnut on it would rate fancy and is normally found on rifles you have to pay a lot more for.

    Some quick points:
    Balance: superb, everyone that’s used it loves the way it feels
    Action: smooth as butter. has drawn some “wow’s from other lever users.
    Accuracy (I have a peep sight on it): have shot the bullseyes out of targets at ranges of 25 to 40 yds. Need I say more?

    Rifle can be scoped with standard pinch rail rings.
    There is a Henry section on the Rimfirecentral forum. I’d suggest looking there and you’ll find a LOT of extremely happy owners.

    • Oh forgot to mention, I’m a Marlin owner. Model 60, model 795 (wife’s), 336, 1894c, and 338MX. The Henry I have is as good of quality or better than the Marlins.

      In fact my 60 rarely gets used after I got the frontier

  13. I have a basic Henry H001 (blued round barrel) 22LR. I will start with the negatives… (1) The receiver cover and barrel band are painted. The paint will scratch off. I took the paint off mine to expose the silver Zamac alloy and have allowed it to haze up over time. I think it’s quite fetching now. (2) The sights (especially on the base model) are not the best. I spent $20 and replaced the rear with a Marbles Bullseye sight. HUGE difference.

    Now the positives… (1) It really is smooth as glass. Unbelievably fine/smooth action. (2) I have shot many thousands of rounds through mine (long rifles, longs, and shorts) I have never, I repeat never, had a failure to fire, failure to feed or failure to eject. That simply blows my mind as anyone who shoots rimfires knows failures to fire happen. They never have with my rifle. The rounds all go bang and they all eject smartly to the side. (3) It has great wood on it for such an inexpensive gun. Most Henry’s do. Trigger pull does have a bit of creep but it is very consistent and not a problem. (4) Accuracy is very good. Off hand, tin cans become Swiss cans at 30 yds. At 150 yds off of a bench rest with open sights, no apple is safe.

    If you can’t tell by now this is my favorite rifle. I shoot it in my back yard regularly. It is so smooth, easy, accurate, reliable, and fun to shoot. A total gem. Henry, unfortunately does not get the kind of love they deserve.

    I used to have a Marlin 60 for several years and have used a Ruger 22 as well. While I really loved my Marlin and it was a great shooter. The Henry just simply doesn’t have any significant faults. The sights can be corrected and the paint on the receiver cover and barrel band have no effect on the function or accuracy of this wonderful firearm. I have become smitten with Henrys due to the excellence of my little H001.

  14. 5 Years ago I bought my son a Henry H001 22lr. It looked fabulous, the action was like silk, but after trying all known brands of ammo, no way would that Henry deliver a group better than 18″ from 25 yards. I even put a scope on it as I thought the iron sights must have been off. It was no better. By using subsonic ammo we were able to get a group of about 6″, but our Bunnies were going to laugh at us if we fired those subsonic things at them! My son was very dissapointed so I bought him a CZ 452 Bolt Gun which delivered
    consistent groups the size of a Nickel from 25 yards. 5 years on I have just bought another Henry, this time a 22WMR, refusing to believe that an American made Rifle could shoot so poorly. Due to bad weather I have not yet been able to try it out. But I’m really hoping that this one will be better than the first, or it will be going back to the store where it was purchased. And Henry will get a letter.

  15. My husband just brought me home a Henry 22 repeating rifle and I am in total love with the LiL’ beauty! Been shooting it everyday for a week! Its small and light enough to carry on my horse without alot of extra weight… And its a little quieter then other 22’s I’ve shot. Which my mare appreicates! AND>> So accurate! Its a joy to own and shoot!

  16. Bought a standard .22 lever for my son, and best groups we could get with factory sights were 6″ groups that were high by 8″ and to the left by 5-6″. After putting a scope on it was able to achive 3″ groups ( at 40 yards) on target. So, if your thinking of buying one of these .22 rifles, plan on doing something different with the factory sights, because they just don’t work.

  17. I don’t know what ya’ll are complaining about. This is a fine rifle and I’m not just saying that because it was my first. My action has been smooth since it was given to me when I was 12 and even still i oil it and its even smoother. The accuracy is exceptional, I drilled a quarter from 25 yards on the first shot. And if you don’t like the finer details by all means Henry makes the Golden Boy, Frontier model, and the pump-action which all feature beaded sights and octagon barrels. My only complaint is that she heats up quite fast after firing 100 rounds through her which isn’t the best thing if you are plinking.

  18. Dont not buy a henry if you want a gun that looks good.I ordered a frontier from my local gun dealer. Wanted one just to put up I have other guns that i use. I looked on their website and loved the wood on this gun….when I got it ….it was nothing like the gun i seen.It was a darker stain and dull. I emailed them about it . He emailed me back and wanted to give me a gun case.I told them I didnt want their gun case i wanted to know if I got the right gun. I never heard nothing from them after that. I sent pictures of my gun the model number and a few more emails.No RESPONSE. So that was my first and last with henry arm.

  19. My Dad and I purchased a Henry Lever action 22 with octagon barrel (black version not the Golden boy). After two times to the range and trying different 22LR rounds from Remington, Federal and Eagle we are still having issues when it chambers the next round. Id say out of 200 rounds so far it has jammed during reloading about 10 times. I can see the shell leaning to the left of the barrel hole. I did read on the net that shells with more rounded nose seem to work better. We are keeping the gun level in all directions and not forcing the level action excessively. Dads shot most of his life and I am pretty new so I thought I would ask for help. If this is not a place for this I appologize but would really be happy for directions on where to go or what to try?
    We did email Henry and are waiting for a reply.
    I plan to try 22L shells and see if that is better.
    Overall I really like the rifle, could be mine is just out of adjustment for the LR shells.
    Thank you

  20. I bought my wife a Henry full size 22. Her first time shooting. At 50 yards her first 3 rounds (after a lesson on how to use a rifle), had about a 3 inch spread in the 9 ring at 9:00 position. Adjusted for the wind and the other 97 rounds where all in the 10 ring.
    Boy I’m a good coach…or maybe it’s the Henry. I have never seen a 22 rifle out of the box with iron sights do that before. Next payday I’m buying me my own Henry.

  21. my frist 22 was bolt action single shot it was so old that all of the makings were gone exspect for remington. I was 8 years old when i got and it is way more acurret then the henery i have know. i drop a squrrile at 75 yards with my old 22 and with my herny i miss by a mile at that. I love my herny though it is realy accurte at short range so i use it for racoons. And i am 16

  22. I recently received the standard Henry H001 .22 Lever Action. It turned out that it had never been fired by the original owner (a relative) who bought it NIB 11 years ago. I really enjoyed firing it at the range. But, after about 200 rounds it started “failing to eject”. A friend at the range offered to “fix” it. But, I had read so much positive stuff about Henry on other forums that I emailed the company and got a response from the President of Henry in about four hours!

    He sent me a mailing label to send in the rifle. As I track all my shipments I saw that they received it on a Thursday and sent it back to me on Friday. The carrier and extractor were replaced and it works fine. My total cost: Nada, Zero, Zip, Nothing.

    It works fine, is very accurate and I am so happy with Henry that I now also own the Henry Lever Action .22 Magnum Octagon Barrel and am super happy with both. Hope this helps…..

  23. Several years ago I bought a henry 22Lr. the fancy 1 with the fake brass receiver. It’s shoots okay not deadly accurate but just okay. It has a smooth action but jams occasionally, Still enjoy that gun as it has beautiful wood and looks nice, Good price too. I just bought 1 of the new 30-30 Henry’s lever rifle for my grandson to begin deer hunting with. Hadn’t fired the rifle up until last week. This gun will not cycle a round in to the chamber at all. Once in a great while it will if you use lightning speed racking the lever. Hard to imagine something from this company That doesn’t even chamber a round. if you put more than 3 rounds in the tube the liver pops open

  24. I don’t even know how I finished up here, however I believed this submit used to be great. I do not realize who you are but certainly you are going to a famous blogger when you are not already. Cheers!

  25. Just purchased a Henry Lever Youth today. It has a 161/8 barrel. I got this because it’s the same length as the Marlin 39 Mountie. I’ve had the 39A & I still have a Winchester 9422 XTR.. Can’t shoot the 9422. It’s new & unfired. The value should go up. I purchased the Henry Youth to shoot. Everyone is scaring me about accuracy but I have friends who own several different models & they swear by them. I have shot theirs with out any problems.
    I only use CCI Mini Mag, 333 Winchester or Federal 525 Box.
    Have to go to the range next week. Wait & report.
    R.

    • I just took it out of the box. Looks very nice. On the Side it says it shoots Short, Long or Long rifle. The Sale person at Gander Mtn. said it would only shoot L.R. I put several Snap Caps thru it & No Jamming or ejecting Problems.
      What a bunch of Clowns.
      got this today on sale at Gander Mtn. Auora Colorado. It was $339.00 & a Free Bucket of bullets. Now the rest of the Story.
      I had a $50.oo credit because the day before I was asking about a Range finders on the phone & the sales person told me he didn’t know what they had & couldn’t look because there were too many customers & hung up the phone on me. I called the manager & he gave me the Credit.
      The Henry’s are $299.95 everywhere else in town. The problem many dealers are out of stock & Gander Mtn. Jacked up their price by $30.. I also had another $20.00 credit.
      So when I made the purchase they were out of the Remington Bucket of Bullets. He wouldn’t substitute. Monday I will be calling the C.E.O. of Gander mountain. I know they want to make it right?
      I told the so Called Manager about it & he Said it was too bad. If it wasn’t the last one & the $70.00 off I would of told him to Pound Sand.
      Until Monday.

  26. I have been doing research of lever action rifles and have been checking out the physical products. What i have determined that the Harvey felt the best when held. it was nicely balanced and i really liked its looks. The reviews have been very positive and I was impressed that it was totally American made. I went to buy one for my son for Christmas (he’s 40) and i liked it so much i bought one for myself.
    Merry Christmas everybody.

  27. I have 2 Henry rifles, .22 H001, S. L. LR., and H001T in .22 mag. both are great shooters. All you guys that are complaining about accuracy, jamming, ect. Read the lifetime warranty, and send it back to Henry. They will fix it. I had a problem with the .22 mag. of misfires. Sent it to Henry (they paid shipping) and it came back repaired. That was about 4 years ago, been perfect ever since. I also have a Ruger 10-22, and Marlin 39-A (Late 70’s model) but the Marlin is too heavy and length of pull too long for the grandkids. They prefer the Henry for making potatoes splatter!

  28. I bought a new golden boy in .22lr, the rifle shots way high. I adjusted the rear sight all the way down, still shoots high? Any body out there that had this problem?

    • Yes i have. Email or call henry and ask them for the mag front sight. That should fix the problem.

    • I recently bought a Henry in .22 Magnum. At 50 yards I can shoot a 105MM howitzer more accurately. (yes a retired artilleryman) So I was quite surprised when the first time I could not print a target at that range. Moved back in to about 15 yards. Windage was perfect but it shot about 2 inches high. So I moved the rear sight all the way down and moved to the 50 yard range, excited to try again. I finally gave up trying to shoot the target and tried shooting at objects so I could see bullet placement. Yes it shot about 5 inches high at that range. So from zero to 50 yards the rifle is to me not acceptable.

      Sent their service tech a email yesterday but of course no answer as of yet. NOT HAPPY!!!!!

  29. Just got one of these today. $280.00+tax. I couldn’t wait to shoot it with my girl (10yrs). We rushed to the gun range and commenced to cut out the center of the target. It was shooting to the left a bit at first. With a tap from the back end of a screw driver on the rear sight it was “ON”. The carving began.

    I had never been a Henry fan before and am not attracted to their big bore lever actions due to the lack of side loading gate. But in this model, I am fine with the tube. It actually reminds me of the lever action BB gun I had back in the 70s as a kid. I once shot a fly off a blade of grass and wasps on water with it and this little rifle feels like it can do the same.

    As far as the safety issue. Sorry fellers. In my opinion, safety is in your own awareness not a gadget on the side of the rifle. You really cant knock this rifle for the lack of a safety just because you want to be lazy about your shooting practices. Be aware and don’t take any short cuts with any firearm.

    I’ve shot the 10/22. Nice semi-auto rifle. But this Henry is a lever action and totally fun to shoot. It depends upon what you are into. The lever action with a drop or two of oil is a smooth running machine right out’a the box

    I find that this is a very fine lever action at a decent price. I plan to shoot the hell outa it until I can hit wasps on water and wear off the paint and blueing.

    Short story,
    Don’t knock it until you have tried it.

  31. Hell, I’ll be 51 years of age in August and I just bought the Henry frontier. Buckhorn rear sight- brass bead at the end of the octagon barrel. Pretty wood, smooth action, and made in the USA. Can always throw a scope on for these old eyes if I have to. I have 22 pistols but not a rifle – and if you think about it, it’s just downright un-American NOT to have a 22 rifle. And this is a great one.

  33. I purchased my Henry Lever Action 22 Rifle on August 23, 2013. My reasons are that I liked the look of it because it reminded me of when I was 12 years old and started to hunt. My first rifle was a Winchester Lever action 30-30 Rifle. I hunted with that rifle for many years and then I graduated to Remington 30-06 760 Gamemaster Pump. One day I was looking at a magazine and happened to see the Henry 22 Lever action 22 Rifle so I decided to go to the Sporting Goods store to see one. I waited several days before I could make up my mind to purchase the gun. I finally decided to purchase the Rifle. Before I even went to the Rifle range, I put on a scope. After getting the gun shot in, I was able to shoot a penny at 50 yards. The gun works superb, the action is smooth and I would recommend this gun to anyone. I am 74 years old and I love shooting the Henry Rifle! Also, worth mentioning, it is a lot cheaper shooting 22 long rifle shells than 30-06 or 30-30 shells.

  34. I bought a Henry lever action .22 several years ago during the Wisconsin Sesquicentennial. The store I bought it from, Safari Sporting Goods, had several that he sent out for engraving. The engraving was for the Sesquicentennial. Very beautiful. Here’s the the thing, since the rifle is very beautifully engraved, I have never shot it. Looks good though. I think it has the octagonal barrell, not certain though since it is safely tucked away in the gun safe.

    For plinking purposes, I have an old Savage 6A that, according to my father, belonged to granddad that he learned to shoot in the late ’30s and dad learned on in the ’50s. I also have Winchester .22 pump action that I have dated to 1907. Cool that one. If I ever decide to shoot it, then it will have to live up to the Savage and the 10/22 I owned.

  36. I have the base model henry .22 . Beautiful gun . At 68 with fading eyesight its hard to get a good sight picture. Rear sight is always a bit out of focus; i have trouble with rear sight. cannot adjust it to shoot any lower. At first it was 5 inches to the left and 6 inches high at 50 yards. Got the windage corrected. so at least on line . After 100 rnds and rear sight as low as i could get. finally just decided to aim a bit low an then got groups of 3 that would fit under a nickle in the bulls eye. love the feel of gun prefer to shoot it over my 3 AR 15s. I also shoot a Rossi .357 lever action and a Winchester 94. all good guns but like the Henry best despite the lack of acuracy

  37. got this henry lever action and i love it, i am 64 yrs old never had a lever action 22, got several rifles ,but this one is my first choice, love shooting this rifle,and its american made.

  38. Henry offered some .22s at a discount for NYS Hunter Ed Instructors. I purchased 2 and gave one to my best friend. We got the H001 and really enjoy them. They were almost on out of the box and just a slight adjustment had us shooting the X ring at 25 yards. They hold tight groups. As we are both retired and enjoy the outdoors, no squirrel is safe in upstate New York.

  39. bought one of these. did not shoot right straight out of the box. now at the factory for a month for repair. wished I had not bought this gun. no ammo at stores anyway. save money and throw knives.

  40. I dunno where all this talk of inaccuracy is coming from. I’ve never heard of these guns having that kind of issue. My Henry H001 will put 3 shots into a cloverleaf pattern at 25 yards and do sub-1/2″ groups at 50 every time — if I do my job right.

    The factory sights have been upgraded a bit since this review was written. The front sight is now a slimmer, taller, more standard post. And the rear leaf sight has a convenient white line that helps to visually center the post in the notch. They’re still rather a blunt instrument for precision work, but they’ll get the job done; I set up a piece of spent 9mm brass against a contrasting background at 25 yards and put a bullet right through it with the standard factory setup.

    As for the safety, it’s the good, old-fashioned hammer at half-cock. Pull the hammer back about a half-inch and it’ll click into the half-cock position, where it locks the trigger. When you’re ready to shoot, just pull the hammer back or rack the lever, and you’re ready to roll. Simplest safety there is.

    • You right buddy, %90 of shooting is the shooter…… Once you figure a firearms sights out its on!! After 4 days I can hit spent shotgun shells accurately at about 40 yards or so

  42. I had a Rossi Puma Stainless carbine in 44mag that I wished I never would have gave up! 16″ short barrel and well balanced. I hand loaded the 265 grain lever revolution bullet into a 44 special case because it was too long to cycle in the 44mag case. And with the peep sight I installed on the rear that round would shoot 2-3 inches at 100 yards with mild recoil. You could hear the round SMACK downrange after shooting that thumper. Nice for brush hunting at short range. Looking at a Henry 22 for Christmas this year and enjoyed all the insights and tips from above comments. Again looking for a short barreled carbine model, maybe with the large hoop! I also like the fact that it can shoot short, long, and LR as I have a lot of shorts leftover from a six shooter I also sold. I would definitely replace or work over the front sight and get a peep sight on the back to enhance accuracy with the open sights. I have a Ruger 10/22 all decked out for target but it likes Wolf ammo best and I can’t seem to find it anywhere.

    • I had a Henry in .22 Mag and got rid of it like a “Hot Potato”. First off it’s iron sights are terrible shooting 6 inches high at 50 yards with the rear sight in the lowest possible position. Yes a 63 years old the front sight was a little hard to acquire even after corrective eye surgery. Also not happy as Henry advertises solid brass receivers, but does not quantify only on their big bore rifles. The receiver on their .22’s are only coated to look like brass. My next .22 lever will not be a Henry. Very disappointed!

  43. I got rid of my Henry .22 Mag like a “Hot Potato”. The rifle shot 6 inches high at 50 yards with the rear sight in the lowest possible setting. Also the front sight was very hard to acquire even after corrective eye surgery for my 63 year old eyes. Last Henry advertises solid brass receivers. They forgot to disclose only on their big bore rifles. The .22’s have only been coated to look like a brass receiver. My next .22 lever will be from another manufacturer!

  44. I really looked forward to getting my new Henry with Octagon Barrel H001, NIB. I had to remove the paint from the receiver and polish the metal alloy. It looks good as everyone says and I think that is the best part. I found the one problem is that, with this Henry, there is a recoil vibration the makes in way through the top side of the lever. It is very noticeable and makes shooting it no fun.
    I can deal with the thick front bead and the fact the feed ramp is made from pot-metal. I accept that the price point is low and they have to make the receiver from a cheaper alloy mix. But when a gun is not fun to shoot it’s time to sell it. I have ordered the Browning BL-22 at a bit under double the price of the Henry, through gun broker, as Made in America cannot compete. What a sad state of affairs for our country.

  45. just purchased a Golden Boy H004 a week ago. Got it home and looked it over a bit closer only to find a very small defect in the gold finish near the trigger. Called Henry at 12am expecting to leave a message and they have an answering service. In the United States!! Got a call back early the next business day. I told them about the small problem and without asking any questions said that they would ship a replacement cover right away. I was shocked at the customer service! Wow. A Great Company that stands behind their products. Bill P

  46. I purchased my base model Henry 22 last Friday and after 1000 rounds or so I can say that I’m impressed with the little gun. Shifts like greased owl shit and is as accurate as the shooter behind the gun. The only complaint that I have is that the rear sights are semi sorta “cheap” but the gun is a sure shot out to about 60 yards. Sights work decent until you’re shooting at about 120 yards then it’s Kentucky windage time….. Even though there’s no practical use for 22 that far…… It’s still fun to play. Like I said guns are only as accurate as the shooter….. I’ve got a heritage rough rider 22 and can totally hit beer cans at 30 yards on out.

  47. I bought a Henry .22 two years ago. I’ve fired many lever action guns in my lifetime (78 yrs), but have never had a rifle that jammed as much as my Henry. The 1st gun I sent back for repair 3 times in the 2016 summer.Parts were replaced each time but to no avail. Finally, the 4th time they sent me a new gun. After only 3 shots it jammed. Now I shoot it as though it is a single shot rifle, loading one bullet at a time which prevents the jam from the second bullet entering the chamber which would be blocked by the shell casing failing to eject. And ,no, I did notshort stroke the lever.I will note that Henry’s customer service is terrific, but its product is unreliable.I will sell or give away this gun and buy another from a different manutacturer.

  48. Hi there, this weekend is good designed for me,
    since this moment i am reading this wonderful informative article
    here at my home.

  50. I just purchased a Henry H100 lever action 22 L/S I would like to know more about what the parts are made of. I surely hope the trigger is not made of pot metal. I have fired about 35 rounds of 22 LR so for and it was very accurate at about 30 yards. Can I get a reply.

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