Henry lever-action .22LR

1
When I started buying guns a bit over a year ago, my focus was on self-defense, based on what I had perceived to be an even more dangerous ramping up of vitriol from the red hat crowd. After buying a few pistols (One to get started, one for my spouse, one for me, another one for me, a great deal on a fourth one for me...), I branched out and bought a Stag Arms AR, marked "multi" instead of ".223" or "5.56." That, of course, meant I was to find a rifle for my spouse, and the gun shop had a promo deal on a Ruger 5.56, so now we have two rifles. And a nice gun safe, and a smaller safe for ammunition, and an assortment of ammo boxes for the ammunition that won't fit in the safe because we don't want to store the ammo in the same safe as the guns, and the, well, you get the picture.

Lo, and behold, I'm finding that I enjoy plinking, except that I can hardly justify plinking using 5.56 ammo at current prices.

Concurrently, the romantic in me thinks about lever guns as serious fun (I can't think of a gun as a toy, of course, but I'm able to get my head around the concept of a "recreational firearm"). And even at today's higher prices, .22LR is relatively cheap at under ten cents a round ("oh, for the glory days of two cents a round," I can hear people saying from here).

The range where I punch the most holes in targets lets me "rent" any of several guns at no additional charge, due to my membership fee (if my wife goes to the range with me twice a month, the membership pays for itself--add in the tiny discount on ammo and accessories, and, well...). I spent a box of fifty rounds to try their Henry lever-action the other day.

After shooting my AR-15, the .22LR made me wonder whether the bullet fired, there was so little recoil. The rifle felt really narrow and thin, again because I'm more familiar with my AR-15.

So, now I'm trying to talk myself out of buying a Henry lever-action .22LR, and finding it easier to talk myself out of buying anything else in lever-action because what's readily available is in calibers that are harder to get than .30-30.
Eventually I'll figure out this signature thing and decide what I want to put here.

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

4
Lever guns are a lot of fun. And hopefully they will be spared from any future bans.
All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated from government, are compatible with liberty.-Henry Clay
Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms.—Aristotle

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

7
I agree, something about lever actions is pure fun. If you ever get a suppressor, a lever gun with a can on it is a giggles factory. If you are considering getting a suppressor get a threaded barrel and make sure it can be loaded from a gate in the back now. Trying to convert lever guns into suppressor hosts dosen't work well.

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

8
Hiker wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:00 pm Lever guns are a lot of fun. And hopefully they will be spared from any future bans.
When they get to lever action .22's, the game is pretty much over.
But yeah I'd have to agree with you. Lever action rifles are just a whole lot of fun.
“I think there’s a right-wing conspiracy to promote the idea of a left-wing conspiracy”

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

10
The Henry lever action .22's seem rather well made. If I didn't already have a safe full of old Winchester pump action .22's, I would be buying the Henry .22 version of the 1866 Winchester; that's a super nice little rifle.
“I think there’s a right-wing conspiracy to promote the idea of a left-wing conspiracy”

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

11
I won’t talk you out of it. Lever guns are just clean fun. I have 2 Henry’s and I love them. Yes, ARs have seemingly more “defensive & tactical” applications and are also fun to shoot. But my nighttime gun for the coyotes around here is my .45 Colt Henry X-model. If I needed another .22 —- Henry would be top of the list. Also, I love my Ruger MPR -556. I’ve built several ARs and this is a great shooting rifle, for the coin.
Image

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

12
If I put a post on a gun fans forum wanting to be talked out of buying a gun, I'm not going to get talked out of buying.

I recognize that for what it is.

Some might remember my discussions with my mother over her .25ACP pistol. It was one of those FIE Titan things, and since my mom is (obviously) older than I am, and doesn't have the hand strength I have, I didn't think it would be safe for her to operate, and since *I* could barely operate it (I have XXL hands, and the thing is TINY), I sold the thing. I had thought that if Mom really wanted to have a gun for home defense, a lever-action .22LR made more sense than a pistol for several reasons (larger muscle groups for use, easier to aim, etc.).

If my mother ever gets away from the house (she's been to like three doctor appointments in the last eighteen months, and has ridden in the car to pick up a few grocery orders, but otherwise stays home due to the pandemic), I might get her to a friend's outdoor range to shoot my stepfather's Cadet Model bolt action .22LR, and if I buy it, the lever-action, just to see how she does. Who knows, she might enjoy plinking!

The thing still feels almost like a toy, even though I can't think of a firearm as a toy...
Eventually I'll figure out this signature thing and decide what I want to put here.

Henry lever-action .22LR

15
I have a couple Henry .22’s, bought for my grandkids that are 11 months and D-3 months away.

After ops checking them (didn’t want to wait 5-6 years for the first shots to find any issues), I bought myself one. I put a pictinny rail and a red dot sight on it.
Image

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

16
BuzzinSATX wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 10:04 am I have a couple Henry .22’s, bought for my grandkids that are 11 months and D-3 months away.

After ops checking them (didn’t want to wait 5-6 years for the first shots to find any issues), I bought myself one. I put a pictinny rail and a red dot sight on it.
Image

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This photo shows my only consistent complaint about Henry's. They just don't seem to ever get the wood to metal fit right. The rest of the gun looks fantastic, but the gaps at the wood to metal lines are pretty pronounced. Still not enough of a gripe to keep me from buying one...I think they're one of the bet deals in a .22LR rifle these days. Action is smooth, they're accurate enough that you'll never miss due to the gun not being up to the task. They're great rifles.
“I think there’s a right-wing conspiracy to promote the idea of a left-wing conspiracy”

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

19
FrontSight wrote:
BuzzinSATX wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 10:04 am I have a couple Henry .22’s, bought for my grandkids that are 11 months and D-3 months away.

After ops checking them (didn’t want to wait 5-6 years for the first shots to find any issues), I bought myself one. I put a pictinny rail and a red dot sight on it.
Image

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This photo shows my only consistent complaint about Henry's. They just don't seem to ever get the wood to metal fit right. The rest of the gun looks fantastic, but the gaps at the wood to metal lines are pretty pronounced. Still not enough of a gripe to keep me from buying one...I think they're one of the bet deals in a .22LR rifle these days. Action is smooth, they're accurate enough that you'll never miss due to the gun not being up to the task. They're great rifles.
Yeah, not a perfect fit, but close enough for a pretty accurate, fun $350 gun. Even with the imperfections, there are no rough spots or edges.

If I wanted closer to perfection, I’d buy a Browning or a Winchester (which I may do in time..), but I can buy 2+ Henry’s for their price.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

20
Well, phooey! By the time I got there, the Henry had been sold.

They did have a Rossi Rio Bravo, though, which (at least according to them) is about as good, without some of the finer aesthetic details.

For what is mainly a plinking gun, I think it will do pretty well. The online reviews I've seen so far are pretty good.

I now have a plinking rifle.

Pics eventually.
Eventually I'll figure out this signature thing and decide what I want to put here.

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

21
And, also phooey! Everybody around here is out of aluminum snap caps. I found a package of red transparent plastic ones, but they don't feed worth a damn.

Even though this one is mostly a "recreational" rifle, I anticipate interest in dry-firing to teach others how to use it safely, and I really don't want to dry-fire a rim-fire without snap caps in it. Call me crazy, but, well, okay, call me crazy.
Eventually I'll figure out this signature thing and decide what I want to put here.

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

22
Take a spent 22lr case and file a notch in the rim. Stick it in the chamber with the notch lined up with the extractor. Case will not come out until you put a rod down the barrel. Case will take the firing pin each hit.
Old School
The best upgrade for you firearm is always instruction and practice.

Re: Henry lever-action .22LR

24
Your Henry should be made in a manner where the firing pin will never actually contact the barrel. Dry snap away and don't worry about it. I dry fire properly built rimfires all the time, never a problem. Its only the really cheap guns where they don't engineer a limit to the firing pin travel (because they can't hold tolerances well enough). But I don't think anyone makes a rimfire that lacks a limit on firing pin travel anymore. Haven't seen on in years.
“I think there’s a right-wing conspiracy to promote the idea of a left-wing conspiracy”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests