New lever rifle, new shooter...

BC Bigbore

BC Bigbore

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While heading to the range on Saturday, I stopped at the local gun store for more rimfire ammo to try out. I happened to glance at the long rack of rifles and noticed the new Henry .22 lever guns. I couldn't help but handling a couple and the next thing you know a NIB, octagon barreled Henry rimfire is coming out of the store with me :rolleyes: There's a reason behind my madness this time however. My future son-in-law had mentioned his desire for a .22 lever to carry as a saddlegun on his horses. Him and his buddies are no strangers to guns as they like shooting .22's, but he hadn't yet taken the firearms safety course to get his PAL yet. When he came over yesterday, I handed him the new rifle to check out. After trying a few shots, he asked when the next course is :) He is now going to attend the course later this month and apply for his PAL so he can snag that Henry off me :D Now all I have to do is get him hooked on handguns...:evil:
 
I have a friend holding 3 guns for me until my PAL arrives, it's only been a few weeks and I am already going stir crazy to get them in my possesion. If you told him that it is for him he will be dragging you out every chance he gets :D
 
i stopped at SIR and had a close look at a henry last week and as far as i am
concerned they LOOK like junk...A blatent PAINTED alloy reciever,the wood to metal fit sucked!..and the plastic barrel bands stood out like a sore thumb...
Now im not saying the thing doesnt shoot half decently because it probably does,but to me it looks cheap and crappy....if i am going to spend any money on a good quality gun that i plan on keeping and using allot its gotta be well made and of all STEEL components....cheap isnt always better...unfortunately too many people opt for the cheap stuff and companys that make the better stuff go out of buisness .Say what you will about Winchester but theres a reason why you now pay allot of money for a .22 lever by them.Yah for one they dont make em annymore but if you handle one ,shoot it or for that matter or just look at it and you will know why...annyway thats just my personnal rant....
Dan....................
 
Gee Dan, tell us how you really feel ;) :D For a young person just starting out, an entry level rifle is sometimes just the ticket. This particular Henry is the Frontier model with the steel band, not the carbine with the synthetic band. With open sights, the first 3 shot group at 50 yards was the size of a nickle so it shoots accurately enough. Personally, I think the Henry is a nice little .22 for the purposes for which he'll be using it. I found a lot of very positive reviews on the Henry on the various boards and for the money, it's a nice little rifle. Besides, a friend of mine has an older Henry .22 lever that's seen a sh!t load of shooting and it shoots fine with no complaints. A Norinco JW-21 lever = $195, Henry Frontier = $369, Winchester 9422 (obsolete) = $539.
 
Sorry BC if it seems i was a little harsh on the Henry...i can see where youre coming from, and yah as far as entry level goes there isnt much choice out there in terms of lever .22s.....One can always work there way up to a better
rifle ,the main thing is can you vaporise a gopher at 50 yards!!....now thats where its at!!............
Dan..........
 
i am currently waiting for another winnie 9422 in 22 mag...its on its way from ontario...cant wait to have a big brother to keep my other one company....
you may be able to find a barrel band from an older ithaca model 22 lever...
these as far as i am told are what the henry 22s were patterned off ...
Dan............................................
 
BC Bigbore said:
A Norinco JW-21 lever = $195, Henry Frontier = $369, Winchester 9422 (obsolete) = $539.
Click to expand...

Marlin 39A Golden = $550

I think that the plain jane .22WMR Henry's have the steel barrel band, whereas the .22LR models are plastic. Isn't the front sight blade plastic on some models too?

I shot a .22LR Golden Boy recently - nice action, nasty trigger (gritty creep), accurate. Its an OK gun but it felt like a toy next to my Marlin. If you like receiver and tang sights, the Henry is not drilled and tapped for them. Add an extra $100 for gunsmithing work to your budget unless you do your own work. I'd be careful about D/T on an alloy receiver though.
 
The marlin is def. the class of the bunch...unless they have changed there's no plastic there except the buttplate, real slick!!
 
I too find myself a fortunate owner of a Marlin 22 AO 24, inch barrel, shoots shorts, nice wood and I stole it from P&D one day last year($275.00). I had read that CB shorts out of a 24 inch barrel were incredibly quiet, so I was at the range on sunday and loaded a few down the pipe, aimed at the target and fired. Seemed like nothing happened, so I work the action and out pops an empty. So I take my muffs off to fire the remaining shells, and I'm here to tell you my pellet guns are louder, alot louder.Can't think of what I'd use these for............. FS
 
BC Bigbore said:
Aha! Upon closer examination, this model also has the plastic band :eek: I agree Dan, the band is cheesy and has to go :puke:
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I bought a lever Henry a while back, and noticed the plastic barrel band. It seemed to change my POI because of the way it moved.
I emailed the president of Henry and complimented him on his rifle, then told him that it seemed to change its zero and asked if there was anything that could be done about it. He emailed me back personally and thanked me for my kind words regarding his rifle, and said that he would send me a metal barrel band FREE OF CHARGE. A couple of weeks later it arrived, it now shoots excellent. You gotta love that kind of customer service.KD
 
Fassteel said:
I too find myself a fortunate owner of a Marlin 22 AO 24, inch barrel, shoots shorts, nice wood and I stole it from P&D one day last year($275.00). I had read that CB shorts out of a 24 inch barrel were incredibly quiet, so I was at the range on sunday and loaded a few down the pipe, aimed at the target and fired. Seemed like nothing happened, so I work the action and out pops an empty. So I take my muffs off to fire the remaining shells, and I'm here to tell you my pellet guns are louder, alot louder.Can't think of what I'd use these for............. FS
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Haha, I shoot these too for stealth ammo. Free advertising for Marlin and CCI:

327182579_129dcbbc34_o.jpg
 
so if the guy can take the time to send you a steel barrel band ,why cant they just put them on all the new rifles??....because they are more interested in putting money in their pocket instead of providing ALL customers with a quality product...
Dan...............
 
You seem focused on the basic model. If you want better quality and you have the $ to spend, they do offer more fancy models... That being said I bought a 22lr. Savage a while back and the plastic trigger guard broke before I even got the chance to take it out shooting...it sucked. Plastic should be for toys only...
 
Winnie 9422, lots o' pics.

BC Bigbore said:
While heading to the range on Saturday, I stopped at the local gun store for more rimfire ammo to try out. I happened to glance at the long rack of rifles ...the next thing you know a NIB, octagon barreled Henry rimfire is coming out of the store with me :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Bigbore,

The same thing happened to me last week! :) I was wandering around the gun room at my local, when all of a sudden, amongst the blued metal and wood stocks, a glint struck my eye! There in the corner, almost as if it was hiding from everyone, was one of the very last production models
the model 9422, Tribute model.:D

WinnieRider.jpg



Once it came off the rack, and I saw the engraved Winnie Rider, as well as the Tribute inlay, it was only a matter of how much of my Tax Return cheque this was going to suck out of my bank account

WinnieTribute.jpg


The one thing that sealed the deal was the gold stamping on the barrel

1of9422barrel.jpg

(sorry if it's blurry, but I was shaking with excitement and anticipation).

It didn't take much "selling" for the salesman to make the sale. In a very few minutes this thing, and it's Comemorative box :dancingbanana:

TributeBox.jpg


were on their way out of the store with me!!!!! Now all I have to do is get my boy to fully appreciate the world if firearms, and the discipline needed in using them. I'd love for him to have that same excitement that your son in law shows. I'm hoping that this small rifle, and a few quiet hours at the range, and he'll start to have that same appreciation.

I can understand where you come from... the excitement of a new gun, the feeling you get when you show it to a "newbie" and they get the same feeling you do! The fact that you are bringing another into the fold is even better. Good on you. Good luck, and good hunting. :)
 
csmith99 said:
Bigbore,

The same thing happened to me last week! :) I was wandering around the gun room at my local, when all of a sudden, amongst the blued metal and wood stocks, a glint struck my eye! There in the corner, almost as if it was hiding from everyone, was one of the very last production models
the model 9422, Tribute model.:D

WinnieRider.jpg



Once it came off the rack, and I saw the engraved Winnie Rider, as well as the Tribute inlay, it was only a matter of how much of my Tax Return cheque this was going to suck out of my bank account

WinnieTribute.jpg


The one thing that sealed the deal was the gold stamping on the barrel

1of9422barrel.jpg

(sorry if it's blurry, but I was shaking with excitement and anticipation).

It didn't take much "selling" for the salesman to make the sale. In a very few minutes this thing, and it's Comemorative box :dancingbanana:

TributeBox.jpg


were on their way out of the store with me!!!!! Now all I have to do is get my boy to fully appreciate the world if firearms, and the discipline needed in using them. I'd love for him to have that same excitement that your son in law shows. I'm hoping that this small rifle, and a few quiet hours at the range, and he'll start to have that same appreciation.

I can understand where you come from... the excitement of a new gun, the feeling you get when you show it to a "newbie" and they get the same feeling you do! The fact that you are bringing another into the fold is even better. Good on you. Good luck, and good hunting. :)
Click to expand...
Very nice.
 
Wow, that's a nice 9422, csmith99...a keeper for sure. I bought this little Henry for the young fellow, not for myself. Now if he wants to upgrade to a Winchester-Browning-Marlin at a later date, that's fine. In fact, I've always had a soft spot for Winchester's 9422 since they were introduced. But for a new shooter I figure the Henry is a neat little rifle with the western appeal he likes and affordable enough for me to just up and buy one as a gift on a whim. I think I'll email Henry myself about the plastic band and see if they can "sell" me a repacement also. Nothing to lose...
 
BC Bigbore said:
Wow, that's a nice 9422, csmith99...a keeper for sure. I bought this little Henry for the young fellow, not for myself. Now if he wants to upgrade to a Winchester-Browning-Marlin at a later date, that's fine. In fact, I've always had a soft spot for Winchester's 9422 since they were introduced. But for a new shooter I figure the Henry is a neat little rifle with the western appeal he likes and affordable enough for me to just up and buy one as a gift on a whim. I think I'll email Henry myself about the plastic band and see if they can "sell" me a repacement also. Nothing to lose...
Click to expand...

I like the Henry, I really like the Marlin Lever, but I LOVE my Winnie's!
I have a W94, and an M336, and I'm hoping to get my little one (not so little at 17) interested in targets with this 9422. He's not a gun nut, more of an Arrow Head.

Good luck with Henry. I wish you and yours hours of fun plinking away with it.
 
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