I looked at a Henry today

[Purebred Redneck]

I was at walmart and had been glancing at a henry lever action 22 for the last few trips and finally decided to have a closer look.

About 10 years ago I guess I was thinking of buying one and thought it felt like a bunch of plastic parts. Of course that was back when guns were made of metal.

Well I see things haven't changed for the Henry, it's about the same as it was back then. Seems the other rifles have lowered their quality down to the henry level to the point that the henry is now acceptable cause THEY'RE ALL THAT WAY NOW.

The reciever was painted, not blued. The magazine tube and the hammer felt like it was plastic. Surely the hammer was not but it sure felt like it.

$277
It looks cool, it's made relativly well (actually better than many guns today), and there are a lot of good reviews on it. But man, I have a hard time paying that for one. Out the door for 200, not a problem. Out the door for 300, too much.

[deputydon]

Red it ain't 1990 no more!!! Prices have gone up.....

[jmarriott]

Yes a good rifle henry is. Yes a good amount of cheapining has been done to make that price point. Look at the golden boy as it is more money and less plastic.

Bl-22 = 400 in grade 1
39a = 500 with about 30 dollars in replacement parts to make it feed.

[Purebred Redneck]

My thoughts are - if you're going to do it, do it right. And if you're not going to do it right, well then go real cheap but still serviceable. Let's not do a combination of the 2.
A better hammer and a better tube is all the gun needs. I'd gladly pay another 50 dollars --- $325 for a truely nice gun at still a great price.

The thing about say the Marlin 60 or 925, entry level Savages, etc is that for $175 out the door you get your money's worth for what it is. I, at least, don't feel the "value" in my hands with the Henry. It's sort of like the 10/22 - I like the gun; I just don't like it that much...

One of these years I might give in to tempation and get a Henry though.

[jmarriott]

I have nothing against the henry rifles. They function smooth they are americian made. They seem to be semi accurate, and they sell them cheap. The plastic pieces are the front sight and the barrel band. The entry level ones have the plastic. You need to take a look around the used market and look for a good lever 22.

Red the last 4 of the marlin 39a 's I got were really close to the 277 mark. One i found in a pawn shop a 1954 mountie that included the marlin sling and a leather scabbard 250 plus tax. One i found at my local gun pushers 300 plus tax for a nice mountie for 1983. the other regular 39a i got from the same guy for 310 and the last one i got I traded a teenage ruger 10-22 with cheap bushnell scope and 100 dollars. This one is a mint condition 1954 model.. I guess i have 225 into the final one. They all function flawlessly. they all group wonderfully. None have the crossbolt safety or rebounding hammer,

Grade II bl-22 was bought person to person for 225 and about 35 in gas. This one hung above the fireplace and had much junk on the outside which all came off with windex and a paper towel. It still has the smoke stain on the tube where it sat in the hanger for years in the same position. If you like the standard henry the bl-22 is the better gun with the same feel and look. It is the one i can rack the lever with a flip of the wrist. I have not shot it for accuracy yet as it is unscoped but you can stay almost on perfect target with it as you shoot. You can not do this nearly as well with my winchester or marlins. It is engraved a bit and the high gloss finish and fit of wood to metal is perfect. I like the japanesse brownings they may not command the price of the belgium counterparts but they are made very well. They also MSRP at 600 right now and I do not think they will group with the marlins.

Look at the local pawn shops right now red. As them what might be coming out of the back room. Tell them what you are looking for. Look at the local mom and pops. do not be afraid to offer much less than asking price. If you can get a pre crossbolt safety marlin at a good price you can used it till you are old and still get more than you paid for it.

The henry not so much.

[twomoons]

Or you need to look at my post on converting the Henery to a Marling mag tube and front sight set up. The 277 price seems a little high to me I am thinking Wally world had them for $240. The Henry's are good guns although there are plastic parts on them I have seen ONE in for repair in the last 10 years. The Brass frame guns are all metal and are about as good as a marlin IMHO.

[jmarriott]

Q: Can you buy metal replacement parts?

A: YES...You can replace the plastic parts on your new H001. You can order metal replacements directly from Henry. These are not STEEL but are painted metal and match the receiver of the H001. There are other options as described below.

After trying the Williams Fool Proof on my H001 and finding that the factory sight was too short and that there was no easy solution to replacing it I starting looking for other options. I wanted something that did not require any drilling, tapping or machining. I ended up going with a Williams WDOS dovetail base to replace the factory rear buckhorn sight. The base comes without a sight blade so that you can choose the blade to suite you best.
www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=211355

Williams has blades in various notch configurations. I went with the 3/16” “U” notch to mate with the white dot front sight. The factory white dot front sight is the metal replacement from Henry ($10.00) and, to me, is better than the supplied plastic sight.

This link shows the 3/16 “U” notch that goes with the WDOS base, but when I ordered this from midway I actually got a 3/16” “U” notch blade and base to fit a Williams WGOS which is a little different but I just removed the base and used the blade.
www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=475030

If you are using the factory plastic sight you may want to order the square notch blade.
www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=132349

In either case I recommend the 3/16” height unless you have your factory sights elevated very high to get zeroed. I am using the 3/16” blade and have the base nearly bottomed out. It is nice to me because it that way the sight is as low to the gun as possible and less likely to snag on things.


Ghost Ring option that will work with the base above. Not sure how this will work with the factory front sight.
www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=496762

If you want a rear fiber optic sight, then any number of the Williams rear blades like the one in the picture in this link will also work with the WDOS base.
www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=119767


Important Links:

Sight Options for H001...Here is the Answer www.go2gbo.com/forums/index.php/topic,131154.0.html

Telescopic Rifle Scopes www.go2gbo.com/forums/index.php/topic,148155.0.html

[jmarriott]

www.cheaperthandirt.com/17113-55.html

This one does not have the plastic parts. It is a golden boy without the gold so to speak.

[Purebred Redneck]

When I get the tax return check back, I might dump my Model 60 and pick up a Henry in some variation.

I'd love to have a custom Golden Boy with "Squirrel, the other dark meat" enscribed in the brass. Then add the big loop lever for good measure ;D ;D ;D

[jmarriott]

Jan 9, 2011 21:28:44 GMT -5 Purebred Redneck said:

I'd love to have a custom Golden Boy with "Squirrel, the other dark meat" enscribed in the brass. Then add the big loop lever for good measure ;D ;D ;D

Redneck bling........

[twomoons]

If you remember a while back I posted on a conversion of the henry to a dovetail front sight and a steel mag tube retainer. Well the new Henry H001T has the same parts from the factory plus an octogon barrel. We picked some up for the shop and on one the stock was so nice a figured walnut that I kept it. These are some NICE guns.