Is the Henry Big Boy a reproduction of a traditional lever gun?
- Thread starter Andronicus
- Start date
More of an 1894 marlin rip off than a Winchester.
Not sure what you mean by "something like that". To answer your question, no it is not a reproduction of the 1892 or 1894 Winchester. It's a lever action carbine. made by Henry. I think this is the best way to describe the carbine.
From what I have read guys who have bought them like them, They have been around for quite awhile now so the Carbine must work. If I were you I would handle one before buying, then Handle a Rossi 92 and pick the one you like the best.
Take Care
Bob
Henrys are the best IMHO, very well made with American walnut stocks, great warranty and you can esily mount a scope or any other optics, without cold blue and jewelers file.
Try that with your Rossi, with unidentified fence post wood.
vagrantviking
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- High River, Alberta
Their 1860 is mechanically similar to the original but uses MIM parts. The Inrange YouTube channel showed the internals next to the Italian version wich is about half the price and steel.
Well I don't want to get into a #### measuring contest here but feel I should add a bit more to my original post.
I have two Rossi's a 44 Mag and a 38/357Mag both copies of the Win. 92 albeit in calibers foreign to the Model 92 original. In addition I have a REMLIN ie Marlin in 38sp/357Mag. Both Rossi's are better quality IMHO then the late model REMLIN that was made from parts from the Marlin factory as well as from Remington as far as I can tell. All three are accurate and reliable. The Marlin is easier to clean and from the factory easier to mount a scope or red dot or scope. I have since bought a pic rail that mounts on the front sight of the Rossi and on the back of the receiver. That purchase allows for an over bore mount and rids me of the iron sights that copy the original design.
To the OP, again I would recommend you check both out before buying. New prices on these guns have risen substantially since I bought my carbines. Ruger is now making the Marlin and from what I hear from my friends stateside the Ruger versions are much better made than the old Marlins or at least the last years of the Marlin production. In addition the Italian guns have been around for quite a while and ar, in my view the cream of the crop. I have not heard anyone ever say the Henry rifles are better than the Italian copies. I also believe the Winchesters are being made out of Japan are costly both are excellent and priced accordingly.
If you want a period correct carbine you won't go wrong with any of the Win 92/73 repos in the market. The Henry is nice and sells well as a Made in America thing. Not sure how that reflects quality or means much to you as a Canadian buyer. The Ruger Marlins would be my first choice over any of the mentioned guns in this post but that is just me. I do love my Rossi's. They are well made and true to the Win line. If I could justify it in my own mind I would be all over a Uberti Win 73. I may yet see one in my safe.
Good luck with your purchase.
Take Care
Bob
ps The wood in my Rossi's may not be American walnut but the wood is certainly functional. If it gets scratched in the field I doubt it will scratch any worse than my rifles with American walnut. That is the silliest criticism of a gun I know of outside of a reference to the wood on and SKS.
I have two Rossi's a 44 Mag and a 38/357Mag both copies of the Win. 92 albeit in calibers foreign to the Model 92 original. In addition I have a REMLIN ie Marlin in 38sp/357Mag. Both Rossi's are better quality IMHO then the late model REMLIN that was made from parts from the Marlin factory as well as from Remington as far as I can tell. All three are accurate and reliable. The Marlin is easier to clean and from the factory easier to mount a scope or red dot or scope. I have since bought a pic rail that mounts on the front sight of the Rossi and on the back of the receiver. That purchase allows for an over bore mount and rids me of the iron sights that copy the original design.
To the OP, again I would recommend you check both out before buying. New prices on these guns have risen substantially since I bought my carbines. Ruger is now making the Marlin and from what I hear from my friends stateside the Ruger versions are much better made than the old Marlins or at least the last years of the Marlin production. In addition the Italian guns have been around for quite a while and ar, in my view the cream of the crop. I have not heard anyone ever say the Henry rifles are better than the Italian copies. I also believe the Winchesters are being made out of Japan are costly both are excellent and priced accordingly.
If you want a period correct carbine you won't go wrong with any of the Win 92/73 repos in the market. The Henry is nice and sells well as a Made in America thing. Not sure how that reflects quality or means much to you as a Canadian buyer. The Ruger Marlins would be my first choice over any of the mentioned guns in this post but that is just me. I do love my Rossi's. They are well made and true to the Win line. If I could justify it in my own mind I would be all over a Uberti Win 73. I may yet see one in my safe.
Good luck with your purchase.
Take Care
Bob
ps The wood in my Rossi's may not be American walnut but the wood is certainly functional. If it gets scratched in the field I doubt it will scratch any worse than my rifles with American walnut. That is the silliest criticism of a gun I know of outside of a reference to the wood on and SKS.
I think the question has been answered above, no it's not really traditional at all. Lots of reasons to like the Henry levers, but their marketing seems a bit muddled on that front. They seem to be trying to capitalize on the historic name, but they're really only a 1990s company.
Definitely compare before you buy. If you can. There are pros and cons with every rifle purchase, but the steel Henry Big Boy is particularly porky compared to an 1892. Some people prefer that though, it's hard to know your preference before handling these things.
I have no complaints about the wood on any of the Rossis I've had over the years. It's functional, resists weather very well, doesn't look too bad, and frankly it is about as hard as some of the softer walnut stocks I have in my collection. I certainly wouldn't expect anything better from the lowest price centerfire levergun available on the market.
For those who haven't considered it, walnut is not really "superior". There is a strong argument that it only became the standard for rifle stocks because it had procurement and milling properties that made it convenient to use for mass production of wartime rifles.
And I have to say, the base model 1892 Winchesters currently produced by Miroku are an amazing option at $1450.
I used to do CAS with a guy who ran a Henry and he really liked the rifle, it seemed to be a well made and reliable. It's not very popular with the CAS crowd as they tend to focus on the '73 Winchester and 94 Marlin for historical reasons and the amount of effort gunsmiths have put into making those rifles race ready.
CAS is a particular sport and they have particular needs which may not apply to you at all. So unless you're looking for the bleeding edge in speed then the Henry is a great choice.
Personally, I like the slim feel of the Win 92 over the Henry / Marlin, but that's just personal prefernce. If you're planning to mount an optic then the Henry / Marlin is the way to go. Also, if a side loading gate is a must then pay special attention to which model of Henry you're considering, not all of them have that feature.
CAS is a particular sport and they have particular needs which may not apply to you at all. So unless you're looking for the bleeding edge in speed then the Henry is a great choice.
Personally, I like the slim feel of the Win 92 over the Henry / Marlin, but that's just personal prefernce. If you're planning to mount an optic then the Henry / Marlin is the way to go. Also, if a side loading gate is a must then pay special attention to which model of Henry you're considering, not all of them have that feature.
handofzeus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Trout Creekish Ontario.
I have both the Rossi 92 in .44 and the brass Henry in .44 and each with 16" barrel. I love them both but find the Rossi to have a more natural feel when shouldering. All my Henrys have a weird geometry when shouldering, the receiver "feels" too far from my face for some reason. My 1st gen 1860 Henry New Original feels normal when shouldering aside from a slight front heaviness due to the massive barrel. I highly advocate the handling of all models and brands before buying.
Hondfzeus Pearson Engineering makes a picatiney Mount that makes mounting an optic (scope or red dot) easy on the 92 now. I have a red dot on my 44 Mag '92 and about to mount a 1x6 scope on my 357 version. Both Rossi's.
Take Care
Bob
Take Care
Bob
This is true, and came as a bit of a surprise to me. Until recently, I haven't really owned any Henrys and even when I just got one recently, it was a rebadged AR7, so not really Henry's original design. I had no idea Henry started as a company in 1997 or something like that.
Personally, I have heard the CEO speak on Henry guns on several occasions and I really enjoy the passion in his voice and his desire to bring forth offerings based on days gone by. I guess for guys like me, I don't have any history with lever guns, and with Henry's lifetime warranty, and seeing how they keep selling out at retailers almost immediately, they must be doing something right. I have sold a few guns lately that I don't use and just ordered a Big Boy in .44 Rem Mag - I am a sucker for for the brass mated with the wood. Hopefully if PP and the CPC end up scrapping C21, I may be able to get a matching .44 revolver to go with the Big Boy.
I guess in relation to the question - if maybe I had a long history with levers, I may balk at Henry's offerings, but absent that, happy to be able to get my first lever, and a gorgeous one at that. Being a recent production doesn't bother me so much, though I suppose if a company started making Russian SKS modern clones, I may have some distaste. To each their own, I suppose.
Disagree..they have some attributes that are an improvement over Marlins (my favorite lever). Always hated the tube load & will never own one, but the new side gates are very well made and I have my name in for a case hardened 16" 44 mag., which looks to be the cats meow. Until Ruger starts making Marlins in 16" your only "new" choice for now is the higher quality Henrys, Italian over priced top ejects (I hate) or the rip off idiots selling Remlins or 20-30 year old Marlins for 2-3 grand which they know where thy can put them
& only a fool would buy.
With any levergun you choose I would suggest coating the action with toothpaste and getting a kid to cycle it at least 1000 times. Turns the worst leveraction into a great leveraction.
Also just to throw a can of gas on this ht tps://www.smith-wesson.com/product/sw-model-1854-limited-edition-lever-action-rifle-44-magnum
Also just to throw a can of gas on this ht tps://www.smith-wesson.com/product/sw-model-1854-limited-edition-lever-action-rifle-44-magnum
handofzeus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Trout Creekish Ontario.
I just can't bring myself to scope a lever gun. I do have scopes on my Ruger No. 1s but those are different birds altogether.
Ah Grasshopper as you age your eyes don't get better and that is why I like red dot sights. They take the guess work out of actually seeing the front sight. The red dots, all kidding aside sure make a difference. Even my old friend and hero Gene Autry would have approved. The Rifleman...not so much.:>)
Take Care
Bob
