What MOA should I expect from a Henry 22LR level action

Frag

Frag

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Hi guys,

I really like the idea of getting a Henry 22LR lever action for plinking steel plate at my custom 50 yards outdoor range. I was wondering... what kind of MOA should I expect within 50 yards?

I for sure do not think that I will outshoot a heavy barrel 22 ... but I want at least not to be disappointed by poor precision.

Also read that the "Octagon" barrel is more precise. True?

I found few reviews on the net but I tend to prefer getting the opinion of forum members. How they look like as far as precision goes?

Thanks!
 
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I have a standard and a Golden boy Henry, and 50 yard spinners are not a problem. As long as I can see them I can hit them. In fact I usually shoot from 65 yards. I mostly shoot fed champ 36gr bulk, but they aren’t fussy at all in my experience. Between the two I’ve put around 8000 rounds through them. Go for it!
 
With or without a scope? If you'll be using the iron sights then the gun will do just fine at the sort of performance you can expect from yourself. I've shot mine against some single shot Savage peep sight match rifles at my club and what I do with the Savages I match with my Henry. This being shooting from prone with the gun in my hands and elbows as the only support.

If you shoot with a scope and from a bag rest then no, it won't match a good bolt action rifle.

But a lever gun isn't the sort of thing that is supposed to be shot from bags or any sort of rest unless you're testing ammo to see which works best. And when you're shooting from free standing or from a bench but using your own elbows as the rest it's a fine enough rifle and it's almost certain that you will be the limit for accuracy.

I know that I don't have any issues shooting free standing at one of the Birchwood Casey flip and and reset rimfire targets at 25 yards. I miss now and then but more than once I've done all five in just five shots. I think pushing the 2 inch circles out to 50 yards might require me to start shooting from the table to get even close to that degree of regular hits though. But then I've also got the old man eyeballs thing going on. So putting that target out at 50 and not using a scope really isn't in the cards anyway.
 
IMHO spend the extra money and get a Browning Lever or Winchester Lever.

I like the look of the Henry and their previous namesakes, Erma Werke, which were made in the seventies but they do have issues.

The beautifully polished receiver is actually only a cover, held on with four screws. The receivers are underneath and made of some sort of pot metal. I have one in the shop right now and that pot metal receiver is CRACKED. When the rifle is fired, the crack opens so that the rifle misfires.

That being said, I've owned four and presently have one of the old Erma Werke models. All were OK accuracy wise but not on the same level as the Browning or Winchester lever actions which have steel receivers.
 
In order to show what a lever action Marlin 39M might be capable of for 100 yard rimfire a number of brands of ammo was selected.
With a 3-9 Sightron the best groups were with CCI Select and they were right around 1.5".
Now CCI Select is as rare as Hen's Teeth and I traded the rifle for an Anschutz 1416D.
Most rifles should be capable of 3 MOA but most owners fail or refuse to test for the best ammo.
Eley match grades may not be the answer but if the only testing is with Club and Target one may never know.
 
I have a Henry H001T (that octagon barrel) and found that shooting CCI mini-mags at 50m with a cheap fixed 4x scope I was hitting within 4 MOA (under 2") which is perfect for trees/plates/fun targets.

That "pot metal" is a zinc alloy called Zarmak 5 and it's quite resistant. It's used for both the receiver and the cover. Steel is not needed for a .22LR (Ruger 10/22 have aluminum receivers, for example). There's very few complaints of failures in any Henry rifles and one would have to seriously mistreat the rifle to crack that cover because it's not one bit fragile (sorry Bearhunter!).
 
My Henry Big Boy in 44 mag will put them all in a 2” dia circle @ 50 yds from a rest with a Leupold Ultralight 2-7x28 on top with factory 240 grain Winchester ‘white box’ ammo.

That Henry action is as smooth as churned butter.
You get used to the loading slot in the mag tube after a while.

** I know it’s a center fire but it is a good indicator of Henry quality.
 
Jay said:
^This! And ammo.

Cheers
Jay
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the answers guys. The role of that Henry 22 LR would be to shoot open sight ...old style. It would mainly be for plinking and small game hunting, but I like my riffles to be deadly precise but mostly PREDICTABLE. Many few little targets (like eggs at 25 yards) is the kind of thing we like to do.

Let's say in a perfect setup, would that riffle be able to achieve 1.5 to 2 MOA ? I do not mean would the shooter be able to do it, but I mean does the riffle can do it (barrel,receiver,trigger) ...

I tried to convince myself to get those beautiful .357 hardened finish one ... but damn the price of the ammo is a buzz killer :(
 
Frag said:
Thanks for all the answers guys. The role of that Henry 22 LR would be to shoot open sight ...old style. It would mainly be for plinking and small game hunting, but I like my riffles to be deadly precise but mostly PREDICTABLE. Many few little targets (like eggs at 25 yards) is the kind of thing we like to do.

Let's say in a perfect setup, would that riffle be able to achieve 1.5 to 2 MOA ? I do not mean would the shooter be able to do it, but I mean does the riffle can do it (barrel,receiver,trigger) ...

I tried to convince myself to get those beautiful .357 hardened finish one ... but damn the price of the ammo is a buzz killer :(
Click to expand...

Frag, it's a Henry, not an Anschutz.... 2 MOA at 50 yards is a one inch group and you're a very good shooter if you can achieve this with open sights, never mind which rifle you're using. :d

I think if you pay for high-quality competition ammo you might reach that objective with the Henry (it's got a nice heavy barrel), but it's not so likely with more reasonably-priced .22LR ammo (say, mini-mags), much less bulk plinking ammo. On the other hand, remember that your egg is what, 2 inches tall? At 25 yards, that an 8 MOA target! :)
 
Last week did ammo test with a "new to us" Winchester 9422. Installed an old Bushnell 1" tube .22 Rimfire 4x scope for the test. Shooting off sandbags. Targets were at 30 yards. 2 groups of 5 each. Remington Golden Bulk - 1.02" and .74"; Winchester 555 Bulk .95" and .58"; CCI Mini Mag "Choot Em!" Bulk - .52" and .42"; Super X - Power Point HP - .36" and .24". Group size followed cost - cheapest (worst) to most expensive (best). Once we get to 1" or so groups offhand with aperture sights at that range, then we'll look at going with the more expensive stuff - for now going to be blasting away with Rem Golden and Win 555 trying to get there.
 
I have the 16" carbine 22. With cheap bulk 36 grain golden bullets I get about an inch grouping at 25 yards. Probably a 4 inch grouping at 50 yards. It's lots of fun for shooting steels and spinners. If you want better accuracy, get the 20" octagonal barrel... and they have lifetime warranty with excellent service.
 
I've got the basic Henry lever and can hit clay pigeons at 50 yards with hi-vis irons all day, so much fun. get one you'll have fun with it, and if you don't, check for a pulse. Lol
Adam
 
I really do not have a valid answer for your MOA question. For me it's simply not that sort of rifle. I do know that when shot for accuracy that even with "bulk box" ammo that the rifle shoots tight enough that I'm constantly lulled into thinking that I'm better than I think I am by my Henry. I really have to wonder what it could do if I ran some better ammo through it and shot for actual groups.
 
I have many good answers here, just wanted the pulse from you guys. Here is what I will do ... I will buy one, put temporarily one of my scope on it, and do some group from bench/sandbags with good ammo at 25 and 50 yards. Then I will come back here to report. For sure the scope won't stay on it. I intend to shoot open sight with this little beauty.

Do not get me wrong, I understand that it is not a precision riffle ...but wanted to have an idea of its precision. When I plink with a .22 and my friends, we take a LOT of long shot so...

Since we are at it, heard that the open sight are a bit bulky. Any recommendations for other sights setup?

Damn now I need to choose if I go with the Frontier model or The Golden Boy ... will it ever ends :confused:

Golden Boy

H004.jpg


Frontier

H001t-510x350.jpg
 
Frag said:
Thanks for all the answers guys. The role of that Henry 22 LR would be to shoot open sight ...old style. It would mainly be for plinking and small game hunting, but I like my riffles to be deadly precise but mostly PREDICTABLE. Many few little targets (like eggs at 25 yards) is the kind of thing we like to do.

Let's say in a perfect setup, would that riffle be able to achieve 1.5 to 2 MOA ? I do not mean would the shooter be able to do it, but I mean does the riffle can do it (barrel,receiver,trigger) ...

I tried to convince myself to get those beautiful .357 hardened finish one ... but damn the price of the ammo is a buzz killer :(
Click to expand...

Frag said:
I have many good answers here, just wanted the pulse from you guys. Here is what I will do ... I will buy one, put temporarily one of my scope on it, and do some group from bench/sandbags with good ammo at 25 and 50 yards. Then I will come back here to report. For sure the scope won't stay on it. I intend to shoot open sight with this little beauty.

Do not get me wrong, I understand that it is not a precision riffle ...but wanted to have an idea of its precision. When I plink with a .22 and my friends, we take a LOT of long shot so...

Since we are at it, heard that the open sight are a bit bulky. Any recommendations for other sights setup?

Damn now I need to choose if I go with the Frontier model or The Golden Boy ... will it ever ends :confused:

Golden Boy

H004.jpg


Frontier

H001t-510x350.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm personally not a huge fan of lever actions, and really dislike tube mags...so these guns simply aren't on the radar for me. I did once own a Winchester 9422, but it was in such perfect condition that I couldn't live with the idea of being the first guy to potentially ding it up..so I sold it. A Marlin 39 has been a temptation a few times over the years, but I won't pay what the asking price is these days..so I'll likely n ever own one of of those. I've owned a Henry pump (problematic gun) and have looked at their levers=handsome-enough rifles. I think like shotguns...the word "precision" is seldom used in the same sentence as "lever action", the appeal of that action doesn't seem to ever coincide with a desire to punch tight groups on paper. At least, that's my impression. As an affordable plinker, the Henry's have their place..and and are probably allot of fun to shoot without being super-concerned about ammo-types. If you decide you want a "precision" shooter, there are lots of bolt guns to choose from...and plenty of ammo types to test out with them. Like all things, not all bolt guns are "created equal" either, but lots of knowledgeable/experienced guys here to ask.
 
On the other hand I adore my lever guns. Each to their own. But I accept that they are not bench rest guns.

The basic H001 uses rather stocky pistol like sights. Great for rapid target picture acquisition but perhaps not so great for long shots at smaller items. Or it may just be my old guy eyes..... But I'm certainly not the only one that finds that snap shooting with very fine rifle iron sights is not that easy.

Anywho...... The Frontier and Golden Boy models use finer and more accurate iron sights if your eyes are up to the job. Only the H001 has the more clunky sights.

The Frontier and GB both use the same octagonal barrel and thus feel heavier in the hand. But likely steadier too. The other issue with the GB is that it has a far steeper comb line. I've got one of them as well and have to admit that I don't shoot it as often because the best I can do when standing with it is achieve a "chin weld" instead of a far more desirable cheek bone weld and still see over the sights correctly. But others love them for this geometry. So my suggestion is to find a place with both Frontier and GB models and shoulder them and see how the ergos work for you.

One other little nit to pick. My H001 is soaking as I type this for the first required cleaning in around roughly 10K rounds through it. I was using it for carbine category in Speed Steel this past weekend and it had the absolute GALL to complain to me by actually jamming up on me about 4 times ! ! ! !

The bolt and carrier looked like a pool of alberta tar sand when I opened it. So I suppose I can't complain TOO loudly... :D I should also note that these are the very first jams that I can say didn't happen due to short stroking the lever. It's been a truly amazing rifle for reliability and the ability to eat even the worst ammo out there.
 
Frag said:
Thanks for all the answers guys. The role of that Henry 22 LR would be to shoot open sight ...old style. It would mainly be for plinking and small game hunting, but I like my riffles to be deadly precise but mostly PREDICTABLE. Many few little targets (like eggs at 25 yards) is the kind of thing we like to do.

Let's say in a perfect setup, would that riffle be able to achieve 1.5 to 2 MOA ? I do not mean would the shooter be able to do it, but I mean does the riffle can do it (barrel,receiver,trigger) ...

I tried to convince myself to get those beautiful .357 hardened finish one ... but damn the price of the ammo is a buzz killer :(
Click to expand...

Check out the Henry small game carbine (octagonal barrel), it comes with a skinner peep sight and is very accurate. I absolutely love mine and eggs at 25 yards wont be a problem, the skinner sights are great.
 
I finally have in hand the Henry Frontier .22 withe the octagonal barrel. I just picked it up yesterday at Cabelas and this little thing is really ###y :) Can't wait to try it out.

A friend and I are currently putting in place a firing range on his land and I will test it out at 25 yards to come back with some numbers. I have various brand of .22 munition around here.
 
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