buying myself a Henry Lever 22 for Christmas... what is your favorite ???

M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
I'm thinking a brass 22 LR... but could be swayed on another model, but am pretty sure I want to stick with 22 LR ( even though ammo is still tough to come by )

... & do they make one with an actual brass receiver like the bigger brothers, or are all the brass ones made with the formed brass sheet cover over the steel reciever???
 
From MWM:
"... & do they make one with an actual brass receiver like the bigger brothers, or are all the brass ones made with the formed brass sheet cover over the steel reciever??? "

Mine's fairly new and from what I can tell, it's solid brass.
 
The Henry Golden Boy's receiver cover is made of an aluminum/zinc alloy called Zamak-5 covered with a brass-colored clear coat of high-quality paint. The Golden Boy also has a steeper stock drop than the standard H001 lever-action .22 which doesn't agree with everyone. I have the H001 with a Hi-Viz fiber optic front sight and Marbles tang-mounted peep sight and it's my favorite plinking rifle. Most folks who have Henry lever-action .22's love them, myself included. Their only drawback is their appetite for ammunition and Henry Repeating Arms' factory support and warranty are second to none.
 
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If you want a brass receiver I think you're stuck with the golden boy, but at least take a look at the Browning BL-22. Beautiful rifle and I love the short travel on the lever. Mine was a gift from my father years ago
 
I have a Golden Boy in .17hmr. The action is amazingly smooth and the gun is very, very accurate. A bit more expensive to shoot than .22 LR, but not prohibitively expensive. Fun gun to shoot.
 
I would opt for the frontier model with the heavy octagon barrel. Unlink the goldenboys the frontier as well as the basic models have a scope mount.
 
I have the basic .22lr Henry but I love the looks of the Frontier with the octagon barrel as well as the golden boy. My Henry is very accurate and they shoot long rifle, long, and short 22 ammo which is a plus. A smooth and damn good looking lever gun. You cant go wrong whichever one you decide on.
 
I have a Golden Boy in 22 Magnum. The only change I made for these old eyes is replacing the authintic looking buckhorn rear, bead front sights with aftermarket Hi-Viz fiber optic sights.
I really didn't particularly want the Golden Boy, but at the time I bought It the blued hex barrel wasn't available. At least in my area, and I didn't really like the round barreled guns.
Now that I have It I am glad I got the Golden Boy.
Very smooth action, accurate, and fun to shoot.
I wanted the magnum version just because I didn't have a rifle in that chambering. As a bonus now, even though more costly, 22 WMR ammo has been a lot easier to find than long rifle for the past year or so.
 
My experience is much like Cheapshooter's. I wasn't in the market for a Goldenboy, but the local pawnshop had previously owned model 'as new with box/paperwork' at a price that was just too good to pass up. It's a 22LR caliber and is a sweet-shooting rifle. I have several rimfire leverguns and it is one of my favorites. The drop in the stock is one of the reasons I liked the rifle in the first place and has never been a problem when shooting the rifle.

As for the "brass" receiver, Shamaz is spot-on. The receiver is a durable alloy that is coated with a tinted clear-coat giving it the appearance of brass. It is referred to as Brasslite on Henry's website.

One more thing...if you intend to use a scope then go ahead and get the Frontier or Standard model. While the Goldenboy can be scoped, you have to buy a special mount for it and the drop in the stock will most likely present a problem with that set-up.

golden.jpg
 
Thanks for the replies guys... I'm not totally sold on the brasslite model... ( as I do like a nice blued & octagon barrel ) I guess I should spend some time on their website & look over the models...

I am corn fused on the brass model... I thought I had heard that the golden boy had a removable brass cover, over an alloy receiver, & those covers could be sent out for extra embellishment, engraving & such... from the descriptions above, now it is a clear coat over a gold colored alloy ???
 
I have both the golden boy and the frontier model and love them both. IMHO Henry is top shelf all the way. My next Henry is going to be in 357 magnum.
 
Although the Golden Boy's receiver cover is painted Zamak-5 alloy, the Henry "Big Boys" which are centerfire models have solid brass receiver covers.
 
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for a good, smooth running, made in America rifle... how can you go wrong with that ???

my thoughts anyway...

I already have several nice lever guns, but no Henry... yet...;)
 
I grew up shooting my dad's old Marlin lever .22LR and loved that gun, it was a flawless machine. He still has that rifle and I wanted a lever .22 so I bought a new Henrey, it's not a Golden Boy, I don't know if the Golden Boys are significantly better then their basic lever guns, but it is not even close to the same quality of material and machine work compared to the Marlin.
 
I recently purchased a Henry H001 .22 lever gun and added the HiVis front sight. It is well built, smooth and very accurate. Absolutely no regrets. I am now considering a .22 mag.

As stated above, the only downfall I've found is its appetite for ammo!
 
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The factory-engraved Henry Silver Eagle (the GB in disguise) is a viable option for those who don't particularly care for the brassie look:

http://henryrepeating.com/Henry-Silver-Eagle-Rifle.cfm

And, the new M1860 in .44-40 is also available with engraving:

http://henryrepeating.com/The-Original-Deluxe-Henry-Rifle.cfm

Henry will also personalize your GB's receiver cover up to 20 words):

http://henryrepeating.com/rifle-goldenboy-personalized.cfm

But, you can still but a Golden Boy Deluxe Engraved II .22LR:

http://henryrepeating.com/rifle-goldenboy-deluxe2.cfm

BTW - the same octagon barrel is used for both the blued Frontier & the GB, and is D/T'd under the rear bbl sight's longleaf for Henry's cantilever scope mount (not needed on the Frontier, which has receiver cover scope grooves)


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Got my son an H001 for christmas. It is a slick gun with great looking wood. Pretty easy to mount a sling or a rim fire scope as well. I'm sure the golden boy in .22 would be very nice.
 
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