Rifle Review: Henry Repeating Arms .22 Caliber Lever-Action Rifle

The Henry Repeating Arms Company is a revival of a classic name in American firearms history. With their lever action .22 (Model H001) rifle, the company is reviving fun at the range. The handy little rifle has the classic looks of wild west greats like the Winchester '73 and it has an attractive price tag. I bought my Henry Lever-Action .22 at Walmart in May 2011 for only $287. Surprisingly, at that everyday low price, the Henry Lever-Action .22 is made in the United States. The low price is made possible by the judicious use of plastics and non-steel metals in a few places on the rifle. Of course, the barrel and firing components are steel and the rifle still has a beautiful American walnut stock. The use of plastic is minimal and does not detract from the looks of the rifle. The rifle is only 36 and a 1/2 inches long with an 18 and a 1/4 inch barrel. While Henry offers an even shorter carbine, the Model H001 is a fairly short rifle.

I really like the shooting experience with the Henry Model H001. The little rifle has a good sight picture with an adjustable rear sight and a hooded front sight. The trigger pull improves accuracy by being safe, but fairly light, and smooth. A lever-action rifle lets you shoot rapidly while remaining involved in the process of chambering a round. Initially, I was ambivalent about tubular magazines and thought box magazines would be easier to load and handle. However, I found that I loved reloading my Henry. You just lower the hammer to the safe position on an empty chamber, twist the end of the tubular magazine, and pull it up and out a few inches, and start dropping in .22 long rifle cartridges. It's easy and you won't irritate the skin on your thumb as you would pushing cartridges into a box magazine. The Henry can hold up to 15 .22 LR rounds or 21 .22 shorts. This would be a great shooting gallery gun with .22 shorts. Best of all, since it is a .22, I can shoot for cheap.

In shooting the Henry, I found that my shots grouped well, but just a little left of the target at 25-yards or so. However, I also realized that the recession has left me out of practice. I was having a poor shooting day even when using my trusty Marlin 25N with a scope. The little Henry was far more accurate as a rifle than I was as a shooter. The trigger pull on the Henry was lighter than the trigger pull on the Marlin. While I'd hate to mess with the classic lines of the Henry .22, when I finally admit that my eyes are in their forties, there is a groove on the receiver for a rimfire scope. The lever worked well on the Henry and it was fun to crank out the shots. I put around 150 rounds through the little rifle and had no failures of any kind.

The only concern that I have about the Henry H001 Lever-Action is the lack of a modern push button safety. With the Henry you verify that the rifle is unloaded, pull the hammer back a little, and lower the hammer while pulling the trigger. While I'm sure that's the way John Wayne would have done it, if you are training kids with a .22, you might want a safety that is a little more obvious. For example, my Marlin 25N has clearly marked safe and fire positions. The considerably more expensive Marlin Model 39 has a push button safety that is obvious to the shooter or an adult supervising a young shooter.

Overall, I love my Henry Lever-Action .22 rifle. The rifle is my second Walmart gun purchase and I was very pleased. It's affordable, accurate, American-made, attractively designed, and authentically evocative of the Old West.

Sources:
Personal Experience
Henry Repeating Arms Company. (www.henryrepeating.com)
Marlin Firearms, Model 39 Manual. (www.marlinfirearms.com)

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