Henry Lever Action .410

.410

Experienced or novice, the .410 is a niche cartridge. Small game at close range is when it's at its best. It is also useful as a pest gun, where ever one lives. I like the .410, and until recently, had two. There is still a .410 single barrel at my house now serving pest purposes. I've shot and seen the .410 used ahead of beagles on cotton tails, and was very effective inside 20-25 yds. The same for squirrels. Beyond that, you need a bigger gun.

That extra shot in the larger gauges is useful, weather the target has fur, feathers or not, especially on a fringed shot, or when needing larger pellets for larger critters. And why pay three times the price for a box of shells when a 20 or 12 will do the same job?

Note there are no steel .410 waterfowl loads, the .410 buckshot and slug loads are basically inadequate for their task, and there are no .410 turkey loads.

The Winchester .410 lever flopped, and once the novelty wears off, I think the Henry will too.
 
Franken and RC, you guys can disagree with me, but I believe the majority of people who own a .410 shotgun fit into that group I described. Know several people in the family who aren't gun people, generally those older than me, who back in the day their fathers or grandfathers owned .410 shotguns and weren't gun people.

Just people who lived in the rural parts of New England, back before cell phones and emergency services, and wanted something for the homestead.
 
I took it as an all inclusive snooty response.

As I have owned and shot guns since I was in first grade, I just found it insulting.

If you aint a real he man who shoots a 458 Winchester to get your rabbits, you ain't worth spit
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Yea I take offense when someone disses something out of ego.

Size of your gun has nothing to do with squat. Its what you do with them. I would say those back East folks were gun people. They picked what they needed for the job. You can't get any more gun savy than that.

I also shoot a lot of 22. 22 and 410 are the standard for survival rifles for a damned good reason.

I probably have owned 40 guns over the years, hunted with one of them that real he man guns (7mm). If I knew what I know now I would have used one of those wimpy 6.5s.

I still have a 410. Preferred for rabbits, grouse and Ptarmigan when I can get out these days.

While I could not justify one of the Henry guns, I would love to have one in a lever action (never had one but I love em) - loved the Fox side by side I got to shoot.
 
It wasn't a snooty response and it wasn't meant to insult anyone. It's your choice to choose to be insulted.

I still think that for non-gun people who live in the woods who want a gun, a .410 is more appealing to them than 12 or 20.
 
My part of Western PA, a .410 is a dayam nice rabbit gun, as well as squirrel. Out of the many, many dozens of guns, I've acquired through my 65 years, I have two .410's: a Savage Model 24, with a .22 over .410 and a single shot .410. My next purchase will be either a Henry lever in .410 or an O/U in .410.
 
How cool would it be if somebody at Henry took a long look at an old Spencer and came up with a twist on that? A tube magazine that gets stuffed into the other end...
 
.410's are for non gun people who don't live in cities or the suburbs who have property who might have to kill a rabid animal or a predator.
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It's hard not to take that statement as anything but a summary judgement about the ownership and use of .410s.
It is, of course, wrong. The little .410 is for the shooter/hunter who is confident in his skills and enjoys the challenge of using those little shells.
I own four of them....hunt with them, shoot 16 yard trap with them (yes, I do a lot better with a 12 gauge).
Pete
 
That would be a cool gun 10-96. A replica Spencer in .50AE, .50GI, or 500S&W. Whichever would work in that setup. I would buy one.
 
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I'm sure they could make it, but it would cost a lot of money. Tubular magazines in the buttstock haven't been popular for over 100 years, but that's not because of reliability or quality issues, but due to reloading speed.

And I'm really not sure who it would appeal to. The Original Henry that Henry makes, the one with the integral tubular magazine that has the follower tab that moves back towards the shooter as ammo is used, I'm not really sure how large the market is even for that. I'm sure Civil War reenactors and Henry rifle purists love them, but they're priced very high for general shooters and collectors. I'm not knocking the price, I fully understand why it's so high, just saying it's a lot to pay for a gun that's just a reproduction.

Any sort of repro of a Spencer would be similar.

And for the ammo, because .56 caliber would be considered a destructive device, I would have to think .500 Special would be the next closest alternative. Looks like bullet weights and velocities would be about the same.
 
UPDATE: My local dealer was able to locate the 20” bbl model and I was able to shoot it this
weekend and let me tell ya.....these Henry lever actions might be on the pricey side, but IMHO they are totally worth it! Can’t wait to shoot some rabbits with it. Tried to upload a pic but it’s not letting me, I guess the file is to big. Anyway it’s a great gun!
 
Friends of NRA has some for their National Sponsorships. You won't find any 'deals' on them but you will get a tax deduction out of it and the Henry 410 Lever.
 
it's a lot to pay for a gun that's just a reproduction.
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That is pretty funny. Of course a re3protiuion costs a lot of money.

It has to be built to current specs.

Vastly different market with vastly more options there, so even if it was a major seller in its day its not going to be.

And or course real gun people would not buy it so you knock off another chunk.
 
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