One Of 4 Lever .22's... Can't Decide, HELP!

Drachenblut

Drachenblut

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Hello,

Well, lucky me, my significant other has offered to "secretly" pick me up a lever .22 for this year's birthday. She wants to know which I desire.

I have narrowed it down to four rifles:

Henry® Lever Action .22 LR Youth Rifle
Henry® Goldenboy® .22 LR Rifle
Marlin 39A .22LR Rifle
Browning® BL-22 Grade II .22 LR Rifle

Here is what I am primarily looking for:
- Best rifling/accuracy
- Light, short and easy to handle. Was seriously considering the Youth for this, as I'm under the 5'5" mark ;)
- Reliable and accurate right out of the box
- Simple to take down and clean, I'm rather a stickler for an internally clean gun!

I have heard a LOT of good things about Henry, over Marlin and Browning for lever actions. What do YOU swear by, to wipe out them there cans and varmints?

What are the primary differences between the "Golden Boy" and the "Youth Rifle"? Difference in rifling? Poorer quality parts? The Golden Boy seems to cost almost double what the Youth does, and I can't seem to find any good comparisons between the two.

So yes, I'm looking for your best opinion. This rifle will be getting shot A LOT (almost every weekend, nearly year round) so she needs to be ready for action at any time, never know when Billy the Gopher might pop his ugly head around these parts!
 
Sounds to me the choice for you is the Henry Youth.
Fairly easy to take apart for cleaning, smooth action out of the box and light on the wallet to purchase so if it gets a little scuffed...so what.
IMO all your choices would be accurate enough for gophers. The Golden Boy and 39A are long and heavy. The Browning is light and compact but a little pricey.
I personally own a Bl-22.
 
I vote BL22, they are just the cats meow for levers. That short 33 degree lever throw and having the trigger travel with the lever so you don't get that "pinch" occasionally when you rapid fire and forget where your fingers are when you close that lever sharply and tight. Ouch. It was such a fine, reliable gun for me, that it ruined all the other lever gun .22's I shot after that.
 
Consider a silver boy by uberti.. Epps might still have the Boy Scout model. My girlfriend has one and she loves it. She about 5' 4". Very attractive gun pretty accurate and fairly reasonably priced. Although for my frame 5' 11" and large it's much too small.

I have shot a Henry golden boy in 22 mag and it was a heck of a gun but I can't speak for ease of cleaning
 
I can give you good feedback, because I own all four... And many others... But, I'm on my mobile now... I will write a comprehensive report for you tonight.
 
The BL22 is a very nice package.
No feed/eject/fft issues.
Mag tube insert clips anywhere without having to
locate the slot.
Short throw.
Not much to not like other than the trigger........maybe.

The Marlin is a tank, big, heavy and nostalgic.
They shoot very accurately.

The rest I can't comment on.
 
Either the Marlin 39a or the 39 Mountie. They are the best of all lever actions. The models from 1957 will accept a scope base.
All of the one's I have had would do better than one inch at 50 yards with CCI MiniMags.
They will be appreciated by future generations.
Ask and see what shows up.
 
OK... as I said earlier, I do own all four of the rifles that you list... I will give you the order that I would put them in for purchase (based on YOUR criteria), and then give you other impressions and recommendations;

1. Henry® Lever Action .22 LR Youth Rifle
2. Browning® BL-22 Grade II .22 LR Rifle
3. Henry® Goldenboy® Youth .22 LR Rifle
4. Marlin 39A .22LR Rifle

That would not be my order of preference, because my criteria would differ from yours. I dislike the short throw of the BL-22 and I dislike the slender profile and light weight... but it is a very quality made lever rimfire and might be perfect for you... BUT for $200-$300 less you can have the H001Y which is a compact, lightweight lever which is incredibly smooth and well made for the money, and has a much more classic lever throw, which I find very attractive in a lever gun (less toy like)... I would also differ in that I prefer some "heft" to my guns, and the lighter lever actions see less daylight (from the gun safe)... than the meatier guns... I have old manufacture Marlin's that I like alot, but I am not a fan of the current production Marlin rimfires... the 39A is a chunky (IMO "clunky") gun and lacks the style and finess of the older Marlin's (like my Mountie) or the current Henry levers... The Golden Boy now comes in a youth version (but you can buy a youth version buttstock for any Henry rifle anyway)... the stock and receiver profile of the Golden Boy series is different than the H001 guns, in that there is a steeper profile to the receiver stock junction, in other words more drop in the butt stock... this has never been a problem for me (6'4" & 260), but I have read many reports from small statured people that say the H001's fit them better than the H004's do... something to keep in mind. My favorite Henry version is the H001T Frontier rifles... they have nice heft with the octagon barrels, have the shallower H001 stock profile, and have the grooved receiver for scope or peep mounting... but at 6 pounds they are not light (which I personally like), but if light weight is high on your priority list you will want the 4.5 pound H001Y instead. On my H001's (H001Y, H001T, H001TM and H001TV) I have mounted Skinner peeps that dovetail to the grooved receiver and Lyman 17 AUG front globe sights with Lee Shaver inserts... very nice and accurate set-up. I was very fortunate to get in on a "group buy" that was offered by Andy Wickstrom of Henry Wisconsin to RFC's Henry forum fans... and bought brasslite receiver covers and barrel bands for the ridiculous price of only $50 per set! I was able to dress up three of my Frontier rifles for Sunday church... With all this said, My personal all-time favorite lever rimfires are a pair of Winchesters 94/22 and 94/22M... the Henry Frontiers are a better shooting gun, but I have alot of history with these two Winny's... they belonged to my grandfather and passed down through 7 uncles to my father, who was the youngest boy in a family of 14 children... I started shooting the 94/22 at four years of age and remember fondly my graduation to the 94/22M at eight years old (the way it felt as a lad was like being handed a .375 H&H by a PH for a shot at a record kudu)... in turn my son started on the 94/22 also at four years of age and the 94/22M at eight... he is all grown up now and while the guns are still in my safe, the understanding is that they are his guns, passed down from his great grandfather (and seven great uncles and grandfather and father).

So in summation, I guess you can say that I am steering you toward Henry... go with the Frontier (H001T) if the weight is not an issue, or the standard (H001) if the lighter weight is of primary concern... On which stock to go with, I am a big guy and have no problem handling and shooting my youth version stocks (13" LOP)... so you might want to go with one of the youth version guns... below is a picture of the custom personalized Golden Boy I gave to my son on his 16th bithday (last name photoshopped out)... the lever action torch being passed on;

007RFCnoname_zps51649565.jpg






P.S - All of the above is only my personal opinion... YMMV... I love all guns and lever actions... just some more than others.
 
If you get a 39A, get a pre-Remlin. They took a massive dive after Remington took over. You hear how poor some of the post-Remington Marlin lever guns were, well the 39As were the worst of the worst. We would probably send back 50% of the ones we got (I worked at a gun store and dealt with warranty/repair firearms.) It was really sad because before Remington took over they were a fine firearm, large and the felt like a centerfire in size and weight.

I would go with the Browning. Light, compact, short throw, reliable. The are just rimfire lever prefection if you ask me.
 
Much appreciated, your post is well taken sir. Thank you.

I will aim for the Henry Youth .22LR Lever action then. I have seen winchester 94/22's, handled them. They remind me of my old Winchester 150 which I loved dearly. I could put holes in holes at 50 yards with that puppy.
 
I would pick a new Browning or a used Marlin, especially if someone else is giving it to you as a gift. I'm not really a big fan of the zinc alloy construction used in the Henry action.
 
tjhaile said:
I would pick a new Browning or a used Marlin, especially if someone else is giving it to you as a gift. I'm not really a big fan of the zinc alloy construction used in the Henry action.
Click to expand...

The alloy is Zamac... and they have never had one fail... I personally believe that the alloy used contributes to the actions smoothness... have you used one personally? I ask because of the online "parroting" that goes on regarding problems or benefits with particular firearm features... there was another thread recently where a poster sounded off on how "crappy" a specific gun was... and it turned out that he had never owned or used one... I am sure it was not the first and it won't be the last time that happens.
 
tjhaile said:
I would pick a new Browning or a used Marlin, especially if someone else is giving it to you as a gift. I'm not really a big fan of the zinc alloy construction used in the Henry action.
Click to expand...

hoytcanon said:
The alloy is Zamac... and they have never had one fail... I personally believe that the alloy used contributes to the actions smoothness... have you used one personally? I ask because of the online "parroting" that goes on regarding problems or benefits with particular firearm features... there was another thread recently where a poster sounded off on how "crappy" a specific gun was... and it turned out that he had never owned or used one... I am sure it was not the first and it won't be the last time that happens.
Click to expand...

From a "taking apart and cleaning" perspective, the Browning can be a little daunting for someone that doesn't have a lot of experience working on firearms. The Marlin 39 generally comes apart in components and is easier. I cannot speak on the Henry's, but at least one model is an almost direct copy of the Erma EG71, to which I am in agreement with tjhaile.
Zinc or Zamac. Time will tell. And no, Polly does not want a cracker...
 
BL22 no question. Since you didn't say that price was an issue, then the BL22 can't be beat in my opinion. And personally I would buy the regular version not the youth. It's a compact gun that handles beautifully. I have two, a 70's grade 1 and a BNIB grade 2. I can't say enough great things about them.
 
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