Henry Lever 22 not firing

brindle

brindle

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I bought a used Henry lever 22 recently and it has a consistent issue. I cycle the first round and it fires normally but then every round that is cycled after that doesn’t fire. I pull trigger, hammer drops, click. I manually reset hammer, pull trigger and it goes bang. All types of ammo tried.
I pulled the gun apart and found some deformation on the bolt where the lever action drives the bolt so that’s probably the issue.
What are people doing for parts and service on these rifles? The internet says contact Henry but that seems to be USA customers only. Canadian customers are given an Ontario address for warranty work, has anyone gone that route?
Any input appreciated. There’s no way I’m the first one this has happened to.
Thanks in advance.
 
It’s Gretch outdoors for warranty. Contact Henry and they will likely set up the parts order for you. I’ve only had to use them once for an ejector for my Big Boy and it was pretty painless. Just had to wait for the part in the mail.

I must knock on wood here, but I’ve got almost 6k rounds through my H001 and with regular cleaning it hasn’t missed a beat. You’ve probably done it already but give the thing a good bath especially the bolt and barrel face and try again.
 
Mulby said:
It’s Gretch outdoors for warranty. Contact Henry and they will likely set up the parts order for you. I’ve only had to use them once for an ejector for my Big Boy and it was pretty painless. Just had to wait for the part in the mail.

I must knock on wood here, but I’ve got almost 6k rounds through my H001 and with regular cleaning it hasn’t missed a beat. You’ve probably done it already but give the thing a good bath especially the bolt and barrel face and try again.
Click to expand...
I cleaned it and took it out again today with more new ammo and it was the same. Cleaning has worked on other problem 22’s I’ve had though. It’s always my first step.
Edit: I will contact Gretch and Henry. Thanks for the suggestion. Cheers
 
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The Henry lever action 22 has an cast aluminum frame, with a false steel cover.

If you haven't taken the cover off the frame, to clean underneath, do so.

I've run into this issue at least a dozen times over the years. In every case but one, the aluminum frame was broken.

If you bought the firearm used, warranty may not apply.

I have never tried to have one welded, because it's cast aluminum and previous experiences with cast aluminum/welding has been negative.
 
bearhunter said:
The Henry lever action 22 has an cast aluminum frame, with a false steel cover.

If you haven't taken the cover off the frame, to clean underneath, do so.

I've run into this issue at least a dozen times over the years. In every case but one, the aluminum frame was broken.

If you bought the firearm used, warranty may not apply.

I have never tried to have one welded, because it's cast aluminum and previous experiences with cast aluminum/welding has been negative.
Click to expand...

The Henry is a copy of the Erma Werke rifle, which had the same frame cracking issue.
 
bearhunter said:
The Henry lever action 22 has an cast aluminum frame, with a false steel cover.

If you haven't taken the cover off the frame, to clean underneath, do so.

I've run into this issue at least a dozen times over the years. In every case but one, the aluminum frame was broken.

If you bought the firearm used, warranty may not apply.

I have never tried to have one welded, because it's cast aluminum and previous experiences with cast aluminum/welding has been negative.
Click to expand...


I’ll take it apart again and check for cracks. Will a broken frame be obvious? Everything looked intact except the left side of the bolt where the lever contacts. That area was beat up quite a bit.
 
bearhunter said:
The Henry lever action 22 has an cast aluminum frame, with a false steel cover.

If you haven't taken the cover off the frame, to clean underneath, do so.

I've run into this issue at least a dozen times over the years. In every case but one, the aluminum frame was broken.

If you bought the firearm used, warranty may not apply.

I have never tried to have one welded, because it's cast aluminum and previous experiences with cast aluminum/welding has been negative.
Click to expand...

I knew the rimfire receivers were aluminum, but didn't think they resorted to casting it. Generally speaking cast aluminum is just crap, but I have observed some decent castings over the years. This is interesting... well, sort of. I know from my experience having a youth model that Henry doesn't blue deeply, which is fine: they must cut somewhere to produce decently shooting rimfires (it shoots very well) at a price point appealing to most, but cast aluminum is quite a corner cut. I can improve the blueing after it gets used more by all the kids in my life (and myself ;) )

My first suspicion was the previous owner dry fired the crap out of it and a peaned firing pin is causing light strikes: See that frequently.
 
New Camper said:
I knew the rimfire receivers were aluminum, but didn't think they resorted to casting it. Generally speaking cast aluminum is just crap, but I have observed some decent castings over the years. This is interesting... well, sort of. I know from my experience having a youth model that Henry doesn't blue deeply, which is fine: they must cut somewhere to produce decently shooting rimfires (it shoots very well) at a price point appealing to most, but cast aluminum is quite a corner cut. I can improve the blueing after it gets used more by all the kids in my life (and myself ;) )

My first suspicion was the previous owner dry fired the crap out of it and a peaned firing pin is causing light strikes: See that frequently.
Click to expand...
I bet you are right. The firing pin looks worn but I don’t have a way of measuring tolerances.
 
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