Over at ammoland.com, Major Van Harl reports that Henry Repeating Arms is struggling to keep up with demand for its Lever Action .410 Shotgun. Henry’s website says the gun’s shipping now. And a company rep tells TTAG the company’s “building to capacity.” And that’s it, really. So . . . can someone please tell me what this popular new rifle is for, exactly? The Major confesses . . .

I have to admit I got one of the first Henry lever action 410 shotguns when Henry began shipping the new lever guns out. I can tell you it is one of the most expensive plinkers on the market today.

You load up the 410 shotgun and since it weighs seven pounds there is very little felt recoil when you start shooting it. You shoot and then you reload and shoot again and reload and shoot yet again. After going through boxes of birdshot, buckshot and slugs, all while having a great time you realize you just shot up a lot of ammo.

410 shotgun ammo is not the cheapest shotgun ammo on the market, but shooting it out of a Henry lever action is a heck of a lot of fun. Everyone I handed my Henry 410 to, loves to shoot it and reload and shoot it some more.

Cocaine is expensive fun, too. (Or so I’m told.) Equally, I never met a Henry Rifle that didn’t make me want to buy stuff to perforate, detonate or otherwise eliminate. But at the risk of seeming a killjoy, what about a practical case use? When is less more?

Some of these new 410 defense loads that are manufactured for revolvers that shoot 410 shells, are supposed to be fired though a rifled barrel. They are alleged to not work as well in a smooth bore shotgun. I am here to tell you after shooting lots of them, if a “walker” is charging down the hall of your home at two in the morning these new defense loads will meet your needs on a dark and stormy night. The 410 buckshot that is on the market will also delay evil that might show up on your doorstep.

Bipeds? No. Snakes? Hell yes! But then, are snakes evil?

I’ll let the herpetologists and biblical scholars hash that one out. Meanwhile, I’ll put it to you, TTAG’s Armed Intelligentsia. The Henry Repeating Arms Lever Action .410 Shotgun. $850 msrp for the 20″ barrel, $902 for the 24″ barrel. Want one? If so, what for?

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37 COMMENTS

    • Thank you for beating me to it Nanashi! Dang right, because this is American and I can if I want to! No other reason needed, ever! Why? Because I want to waste ammo by the semi load. Why BECAUSE I CAN! That’s the problem I have with the left. They always think they know whats best for ME without knowing shit about me. They picture everyone who doesn’t “group think” with them as the unwashed or uneducated masses. Up theirs.

  3. Sold out at Henry’s, huh? Wow. Who would’ve thought there was that much pent up demand for shotgun-shaped paper weights?

  4. Not sure about a .410 one but I really want a .44 magnum version…… Need to wait for the oil & gas industry to bounce back first though!!!

    • The .44 Magnum lever gun is SUPER SUPER fun. If you don’t giggle like a kid when you shoot it, you have no soul.

      • I have a Rossi M92 in .44 Magnum, it is SO MUCH FUN!

        I load my own cheap, light .44 Magnums, so it’s easy to shoot fast, and it holds something like 12 rounds.

        But it’s equally as fun with hard hitting Magnum rounds.

        • I’m looking at getting a lever action in .357. I found my grandfather’s reloading dies. He had a .357, and I don’t. That obviously means I need to buy one.

        • If you’re going to reload any cartridge, .357 Magnum is the place to start. Ball ammo costs around $0.50 per round but can be reloaded for less than $0.20.

        • Yes, .357 is SUPER easy to reload, I started with it and .38 Special. Really any of the straight wall, rimmed pistol/revolver cases.

          I think I have my light 38/357 loads down to 12 cents and my light .44 Magnums are 14 cents.

        • Excellent choice, TX_. My 1894c is the most fun and most versatile gun I own. And everybody wants to shoot the cowboy gun.

          38/357 is a great round to reload, too. You can get well in to 30-30 power territory with 180gr hardcast over a bunch of H110.

        • Likewise I have the Rossi 92 in 357 magnum. I used it for plinking a while back because 22lr in my area was pushing 10 cents a round. I can reload 38 specials for near that, and 38s from a Rossi 92 feel like a 22lr.

        • I have a .357 mag Henry Big Boy Steel. It is great fun to shoot. Working on reloading for it. My hunting rounds are about $0.25 each. What bullet are you using to make $0.12 rounds? Powder recommendation?

        • I use CB Bullets hard cast lead 158 grain RNFP and 3.5 to 4.5 grains of Universal, the data is on Hodgdon’s website. I think I’m on the lower end at like 3.7 or something.

          CB Bullets are “free” shipping at all levels (built into the cost, no doubt) so I ordered 1000 of them, and then got an 8lb jug of Universal, and a bunch of cheap primers.

          I shopped around quite a bit because I was buying in large bulk quantities, but looking now I can easily see that one could load them for just under 15 cents with no problem, and less with a little looking.

          9 cents for the bullet, 3 cents for the primer, 1 or 2 cents for the powder, depending on your shipping costs .

      • I’ve got a Henry .44 mag Big Boy and a Rossi M92 with the John Wayne lever in .357. The rifles are lots of fun to shoot. I named the Henry Margie after my wife because every man needs a good rifle and a better woman. Straight wall pistol calibers are cheap and easy to reload and both rifles like cast Keith style semi wadcutter bullets. I don’t have the time to get involved in Cowboy shooting but the Rossi is a great companion piece for my Uberti Cattleman .357. I’ve been looking for a Ruger Blackhawk short barrel Sheriff Model to go with the Henry. As my wife says, its all about accessories.

    • Same here on both counts. Though with oil at $49 I bet you could find the Oilman version in pawn shops around Houston, Dallas and New Orleans (unfortunately).

  5. Eh, no other reason for me to buy one except just cuz…but I am not interested in this offering. All my small game and home defense needs are met by better options.

  9. Yeah I got lever-lust. But I want something in 357/38. I haven’t shot a 410 since I was a BoyScout. Zero recoil for a 12 year old. But I don’t want an expensive 410-or a Judge.

  10. In all seriousness, why is it that .410 leverguns are an acceptable market niche, while 12ga lever actions are limited to 1887 style guns, and nothing else (stateside, at least)? /How is it that the Australians have more variety there than we do?

    • Australians have lever action shotguns because their laws prohibit pump action and semi-auto shotguns.

      For every stupid law, there is a solution. See also: California compliant AR-15s.

    • This. So. Much. This! And seriously if we’re just stuck to 1887 clones, can someone please make one that is actually affordable? Norinco stopped making their ’87 clones years ago, and the only company that still makes them is Chiappa at rough $1000 a pop. It’s cool, but not “three months rent” cool.

  13. Had a rossi Rip grande 410. No choke, no way to plug the mag tube. It was pretty much useless for anything other than looking cool, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but at this point in my life I don’t have “non practical” money. I think I’ll pass. (On a positive note for the .410 rio grande; it had a loading gate….)

  14. Get it because it is a good lever shotgun. Those Chinese and Italian ones are crap. Then again, you can get a real 1887 or 1901 for about $1,500 that works even better and is useful. So smooth, you have to wonder why the replicas suck so bad.

  16. I do not feel that all of my guns need to fill some sort of tactical or even practical purpose. I have fun shooting guns, so I am inclined to purchase guns that are fun to shoot. I have a great time just plinking with my sons on their grandparents’ land. While this may not be the most cost-effective way to do it, it might be worth it to me if I have a little extra cash lying around.

  17. I’ve got a short barrelled (13in.) lever action 12 ga. and it’s a lot of fun, don’t think I’d go to .410 though. My Rossi in .357 is a bit of a bastard child; it started life as a Ranch Hand, and got a stock transplant from a 92. It’s an absolute blast on the range, and I’m expecting it’ll bring home deer #4 this fall. Best brush gun I’ve ever owned.

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