My experience with a Henry Rifle Golden Boy 22LR (H004) Lever mechanism failure. I searched online and couldn't find anyone else talking about this type of failure so I thought I should tell someone.
I purchased a new Golden Boy the other day from my local store. (Barton's Big Country Outdoor in Grande Prairie AB) A LGS that I have been into before but never bought a gun there. The rifle looked great and seemed to function well. I purchased it for the sole purpose of being able to run any ammo through it. I recently came into possession of a lot of Winchester Super X in the 333 box. Now before you leave a comment saying it was the ammo's fault remember what I just said "I purchased it for the sole purpose of being able to run any ammo through it". I took it out and put a few hundred round through it. Cycled flawlessly and was very accurate even with non-premium ammo.
Then it broke..
After firing a round off I went to cycle the lever forward and it seemed to break away from something inside. The lever was still connected and moved back and forth but the bolt would not move. The lever felt loose and would swing back and forth with no effort. At first I thought that one of the casings had expanded and the extractor failed to remove it but if that was the case the bolt should have still been connected to the lever mechanism in some way. It was not. Like i said the lever would swing back and forth just by moving the rifle around.
I may not have much experience with lever rifles as this is my first one but I am an experienced shooter and gun owner. Every gun I have ever owned I have done all the work on it as well as cleaning and modifications. Lets just say you guys on here would probably call me Bubba although I think the work I do is a little above that. That being said I knew I could rip the gun apart and find the broken part but I felt that only owning the gun for 6 hours meant I shouldn't have to so I returned to my LGS. Unfortunately because I didn't disassemble it I can't tell you exactly which piece failed.
I have to admit that I feared the worst when I knew I would have to take the gun back to where I bought it. I have heard so many horror stories on here about people having to send guns back to the manufacturer and it taking 6 months or even a year to get it back and even then it's often not functioning properly (recently one about a Marlin 1895 and another about a rossi ranch hand). So I was afraid that the same would happen to me and I'd miss out on the end of shooting season. I was so wrong.
I walked in to Barton's Big Country Outdoor with my rifle under my arm in it's original box and was greeted by the staff with a "How's it going". I replied that I wasn't doing very well and that I had a problem with my Henry rifle. Well everyone who worked there was shocked. They all followed me to the counter and wanted to see what had happened. Even one of the girls there mentioned that her henry rimfire has never had a problem and she has had it for many years. They inspected the rifle and said that their gunsmith was away for a moment but he would look at it right away and could they call me once he had found the problem. I said that was fine and I left.
I did not expect much as like I said I was expecting the worst. Less than 2 hours later I got a call asking if I could come back. I returned to find my gun assembled and put back in it's box on the counter. The store clerk told me they had disassembled the rifle and found that a small piece inside the gun was not properly cast and has some void space or "bubbles" in the casting. Something he said happens in gun manufacturing but has never caused them a problem. So after explaining the problem to me I ask what we can do. As I'm saying this I'm pulling out my receipt to show him that I had purchased it the day before. Before I could show him he says "I don't need to see it. I know you bought it here and that's all I need to know. We stand by everything we sell." He then goes into the back and brings out a brand new gun. I was so surprised.
Customer service seems to be a forgotten art these days but not at Barton's Big Country Outdoor. I was so surprised about it I came home and wrote this story out. I've never taken the time to praise a business before but these guys went over and above. They could have mailed it to Henry and being a Henry rifle I guarantee they would have looked after it but it would have taken a long time and would have meant to gun for me for that time.
The new rifle shoots great. "Smooth as glass" seems to be the term thrown around to describe these guns and it's not an exaggeration. In fact i think a Henry Big Boy in .44Mag might be the next gun I buy and Bartons is where I'll buy it.
Morale of the story: Henry rifles are great but not perfect. Bartons in Grande Prairie went over and above for a customer who wasn't a "regular".
Please let me know if any of you have ever had a problem like this. Especially with a Henry Rifle. Also, any of you ever had an awesome experience with your LGS?
I purchased a new Golden Boy the other day from my local store. (Barton's Big Country Outdoor in Grande Prairie AB) A LGS that I have been into before but never bought a gun there. The rifle looked great and seemed to function well. I purchased it for the sole purpose of being able to run any ammo through it. I recently came into possession of a lot of Winchester Super X in the 333 box. Now before you leave a comment saying it was the ammo's fault remember what I just said "I purchased it for the sole purpose of being able to run any ammo through it". I took it out and put a few hundred round through it. Cycled flawlessly and was very accurate even with non-premium ammo.
Then it broke..
After firing a round off I went to cycle the lever forward and it seemed to break away from something inside. The lever was still connected and moved back and forth but the bolt would not move. The lever felt loose and would swing back and forth with no effort. At first I thought that one of the casings had expanded and the extractor failed to remove it but if that was the case the bolt should have still been connected to the lever mechanism in some way. It was not. Like i said the lever would swing back and forth just by moving the rifle around.
I may not have much experience with lever rifles as this is my first one but I am an experienced shooter and gun owner. Every gun I have ever owned I have done all the work on it as well as cleaning and modifications. Lets just say you guys on here would probably call me Bubba although I think the work I do is a little above that. That being said I knew I could rip the gun apart and find the broken part but I felt that only owning the gun for 6 hours meant I shouldn't have to so I returned to my LGS. Unfortunately because I didn't disassemble it I can't tell you exactly which piece failed.
I have to admit that I feared the worst when I knew I would have to take the gun back to where I bought it. I have heard so many horror stories on here about people having to send guns back to the manufacturer and it taking 6 months or even a year to get it back and even then it's often not functioning properly (recently one about a Marlin 1895 and another about a rossi ranch hand). So I was afraid that the same would happen to me and I'd miss out on the end of shooting season. I was so wrong.
I walked in to Barton's Big Country Outdoor with my rifle under my arm in it's original box and was greeted by the staff with a "How's it going". I replied that I wasn't doing very well and that I had a problem with my Henry rifle. Well everyone who worked there was shocked. They all followed me to the counter and wanted to see what had happened. Even one of the girls there mentioned that her henry rimfire has never had a problem and she has had it for many years. They inspected the rifle and said that their gunsmith was away for a moment but he would look at it right away and could they call me once he had found the problem. I said that was fine and I left.
I did not expect much as like I said I was expecting the worst. Less than 2 hours later I got a call asking if I could come back. I returned to find my gun assembled and put back in it's box on the counter. The store clerk told me they had disassembled the rifle and found that a small piece inside the gun was not properly cast and has some void space or "bubbles" in the casting. Something he said happens in gun manufacturing but has never caused them a problem. So after explaining the problem to me I ask what we can do. As I'm saying this I'm pulling out my receipt to show him that I had purchased it the day before. Before I could show him he says "I don't need to see it. I know you bought it here and that's all I need to know. We stand by everything we sell." He then goes into the back and brings out a brand new gun. I was so surprised.
Customer service seems to be a forgotten art these days but not at Barton's Big Country Outdoor. I was so surprised about it I came home and wrote this story out. I've never taken the time to praise a business before but these guys went over and above. They could have mailed it to Henry and being a Henry rifle I guarantee they would have looked after it but it would have taken a long time and would have meant to gun for me for that time.
The new rifle shoots great. "Smooth as glass" seems to be the term thrown around to describe these guns and it's not an exaggeration. In fact i think a Henry Big Boy in .44Mag might be the next gun I buy and Bartons is where I'll buy it.
Morale of the story: Henry rifles are great but not perfect. Bartons in Grande Prairie went over and above for a customer who wasn't a "regular".
Please let me know if any of you have ever had a problem like this. Especially with a Henry Rifle. Also, any of you ever had an awesome experience with your LGS?
