test drove a new Henry Lever

wayupnorth

wayupnorth

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a co worker won a Henry Lever Action Octagonal Heavy Barrel at a gun club supper last month and we took it out plinking the other day.
i must admit that while im not the #1 fan of lever guns this one sure was a lot of fun to shoot.
but beyond being fun that damn gun was a TACK DRIVER!

we had a bunch of semi auto shotguns out that we where test driving and we had 100-200 empty hulls laying at our feet when done so we went and stuck the hulls in the sand and started shooting them with the open site lever 22.
now im getting up in years and my eyes are no where near what they use to be but ill be damned if i didnt hit every single one of those shotgun hulls first shot!
that Henry Rifle was straight out of the box deadly accurate!

on a related note my dad picked up a Henry Lever with the normal barrel and he swears it shoots sideways.
cant hit within 5 feet of where your aiming at with the open sites.
definitely a lemon from the word go - i think the irons are tacked on wrong or something.

but that one we had out up here was a pleasure to shoot!
so much so im contemplating going and picking one up.... and im not a lever gun fan by any stretch of the imagination!

i think though that if i was ever to spend the money and pick up a lever action 22 id go with the Browning.
i had cycled them all at the LGS one day and if memory serves me correctly the Browning had a much shorter throw which felt really nice.
granted it was double the price of the Henry.
 
wayupnorth said:
a co worker won a Henry Lever Action Octagonal Heavy Barrel at a gun club supper last month and we took it out plinking the other day.
i must admit that while im not the #1 fan of lever guns this one sure was a lot of fun to shoot.
but beyond being fun that damn gun was a TACK DRIVER!

we had a bunch of semi auto shotguns out that we where test driving and we had 100-200 empty hulls laying at our feet when done so we went and stuck the hulls in the sand and started shooting them with the open site lever 22.
now im getting up in years and my eyes are no where near what they use to be but ill be damned if i didnt hit every single one of those shotgun hulls first shot!
that Henry Rifle was straight out of the box deadly accurate!

on a related note my dad picked up a Henry Lever with the normal barrel and he swears it shoots sideways.
cant hit within 5 feet of where your aiming at with the open sites.
definitely a lemon from the word go - i think the irons are tacked on wrong or something.

but that one we had out up here was a pleasure to shoot!
so much so im contemplating going and picking one up.... and im not a lever gun fan by any stretch of the imagination!

i think though that if i was ever to spend the money and pick up a lever action 22 id go with the Browning.
i had cycled them all at the LGS one day and if memory serves me correctly the Browning had a much shorter throw which felt really nice.
granted it was double the price of the Henry.
Click to expand...

I found i liked the big loop version better for the Henry's, try both and see if the throw isn't a little better on either one for you.
 
I agree with you wayupnorth. The Henry .22's seem to be quite accurate. I've put 7900 rounds through my GB since I picked it up last January 19. Not a single hiccup other than the odd Thunderdud or Bucket'O'Dud's that just wouldn't fire.

I couldn't justify the price for the Browning BL-22 of any grade, at that time. Now however, I don't know. The short-throw lever is awesome in the Browning!
 
I've just got the basic H001 and it's proven to be similarly accurate more often than not. In fact it makes me look good where other guns can sometimes make me wonder why I got out of bed that morning.... :d So mostly I just found myself nodding in agreement.

Prairie plinker, if a Browning lever is the ONLY lever gun you plan on owning then go for it. They really are a wondrous bit of kit. But if you own other lever guns or feel that you want to own other lever guns then I'd stick with the full throw of the Henry or some other rimfire lever. The BL will train you in short order to only flick the lever that far and no more. And it'll set you up for total failure due to this "bad habit" when you get your next lever gun.

After a lot of shooting with full travel lever guns I finally got to try a buddy's BL. I felt like ever other lever stroke that I was trying to rip it out by the roots due to being so in tune with a full travel lever. And I'm not the only one. I've talked to at least a half dozen other folks that shoot in the same group that tried this guy's Browning and we ALL tried to rip that lever out on more than one cycle just in one tube worth of ammo.
 
I have them all; Win 94's, Marlins, Brownings, Henry's... and I HATE the Browning short throw lever... no hate is not the right word, maybe "loathe" or "abhore" or "despise"... I would take a Henry GB or Frontier over a Browning any and every day.
 
BCRider said:
Hoyt, you've tried once too often to rip your fingers from their knuckles with the Browning, eh? :d
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I grew up shooting 94's... I know what a lever is suppose to feel like... and BL22'S ain't it. That short throw sucks soooo bad, that my two never leave the safe. My Henry's and 94's get out all the time.
 
GOOD MAN! That's the way it SHOULD be! :d

Let's be fair though. For anyone that didn't already shoot "proper" lever guns and didn't ever need to buy a normal lever gun in the future the Browning would be a pretty nice little plinker for them.
 
BCRider said:
GOOD MAN! That's the way it SHOULD be! :d

Let's be fair though. For anyone that didn't already shoot "proper" lever guns and didn't ever need to buy a normal lever gun in the future the Browning would be a pretty nice little plinker for them.
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i believe you have hit the nail on the head here.
while i have a 30-30 lever ill bet i haven't put 5 rounds down it in the last 25 years.
so i am admittedly NOT a lever fella.
so the BL to me is a little slice of heaven with that short throw.
the Henry is soooooo much work having to cycle that lever alllllllllllll the way, hehe!

so i think, while i wasnt planning on buying a lever, that i am now of the mindset that im going to buy a Browning Lever should that whimsical mood take me.
 
i picked up a Henry Lever .22lr a few months back to use out at my buddies place. love that rifle. accurate too. i'm better with it and open sights than a red dot on my 10/22 ruger
 
saskcop said:
Winchester 94/22 is the way to go if you can find one where you don't get raked over the coals for.
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Absolutely agree the best lever action rimfire rifle.

It is such a shame that they are no longer produced. I'm sure Winchester could profit if they resurrected production?
 
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