Modern henry rifles

H

herb

New member
Sure are pretty but wish they had more with steel frames. They state they are made in USA.. Correct?? or machined, etc in Italy and then shipped to USA for finishing??. I see an awful lot of Italian indicators, ie names that own or manage and use of all that brass? I like Pietta's and Ubberti but just could not help wondering. The guy all dressed up in tie and sweater just don't fit.:confused:
 
I've read their website and seen their commercials. They say pretty explicitly that all their parts are made in the U.S. from U.S. natural resources, so unless they're flat-out lying, I doubt anything is made in Italy. As far as the frame material, I think I read somewhere that their frames are all steel, some of which have a brass plating. I don't know how true that is, though since they chamber some of their brass-framed rifles in .30-30 and .44 mag, it would stand to reason that they would want a stronger frame than "pure" brass.
 
The American Henry company simply uses the Henry name.
Their rifles have nothing in common with the original 1860's Henry rifles.
Their rifles are all totally modern designs, with one or two center fire models having solid brass receivers.
The .22 rifles have a cast zinc "Zamac" receiver with a brass plated sheet steel outer cover slipped over it.

The Italian Uberti made Henry rifles are very close replicas of the original Henry rifles only not chambered in the obsolete original .44 Henry rim fire cartridge.
 
D,
Imperato told me quite a while back that the actual internal receivers on the rimfires are steel, with the outer "receiver" covers being made of non-ferrous alloy.
Denis
 
The .22 rifles have a cast zinc "Zamac" receiver with a brass plated sheet steel outer cover slipped over it.
Click to expand...
Could you tell us more about this and provide a link please?

I found this...

Servo,

I was told by the president of Henry R.A.C., Mr. Anthony Imperato, that the Golden Boys, H001-series leverguns, and the pump rifles have aluminum alloy receivers. The Big Boy uses a solid brass receiver. The singleshot rifles have stainless steel receivers. I think the AR-7/ Survival rifle has an aluminum alloy receiver.

Now, if zinc is predominantly used, instead of aluminum, then the alloy would be called "zamac". Zamac is an acronym for:

Zinc Aluminum Magnesium and Copper

Depending on the percentages, zamac can be quite strong. Some are stronger than some steels.

If you want to see how they hold up, then go get yourself a 35-year-old Ithaca 72. ...or, a 25-year-old Iver-Johnson Saddlegun. ...or, a 30-odd-year-old Erma 713 levergun. They hold up fairly well, alright!

Forum member "Fugger Nutter" fired over 10,000 rounds through his Henry levergun. Unfortunately, his site is no longer around.

BigLoop22

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183653&highlight=zamac

Here's another post from the same thread:

VA PLINKER

As I understand it they are made of Zamak 3. After shooting thousands of rounds through my Henry's it really doesnt matter to me anymore, whatever it is made of, it works and holds up. Im not about to question a good thing. I dumped a CZ 452 magnum for a Henry magnum just for the handling and accuracy chacteristics although the 452 does a little better in the LR accuracy department.

Ive always stayed away from the 22 mag on coyotes threads, it seems to be a hot topic around here, but for once I will speak up. The 22 mag works. The Henry 22 mag has droped a few bang floppers in your neck of the woods John H C, or should I say southern Illinois near New Baden, Trenton, Alvers and Highlands. The winchester 40 grn jhp's have always worked fine for me.

Right now I have one barrel sent off to be threaded for a can. If the gun wasnt reliable, accurate and expected to hold up this additional money would have never been spent.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183653&highlight=zamac
 
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It might be helpful to clarify that the receiver is not just the middle metal part of a rifle, in conventional usage it's basically the frame that the barrel & stock are attached to, and which fixes all or most of the internal parts together in their working relationship.

The "receiver" on the rimfires is not the same as the receiver on the Henry centerfires. The receiver (or frame) on the rimfires is inside what appears to be the receiver (the cover). The barrel & stock are not attached to that outside cover on the rimfires as they are to the conventional receiver of the centerfires & neither are the internal working parts.

The guts of the centerfire receivers are held in place by the receiver, the guts of the rimfires are not held in place by the removable alloy cover.

It's roughly the same principle as the old Remington Nylon 66, in that what appears to be the visible receiver is actually only a removable cover.

The frame that the barrel & stock & internal parts all attach to on the rimfires is steel, according to what Imperato told me when I first started working with the Henry .22 lever-actions. The action cover is alloy, whether you call it Brasslite, Zamak, Zamac, or tin & aluminum.
If Tony's saying otherwise now, then the story's changed, but a good part of the confusion lies in differentiating between the actual parts under discussion and understanding what the "receiver" really is on the .22s.

The receivers on the centerfires are milled from a brass alloy & use a completely different internal action design.

Denis
 
Just consider, when reading Henry "reviews", that there are many folks ready to pan a new/good product - saying (for instance) that the Henry's are all aluminum & plastic, etc, etc.

FWIW, the only plastic parts besides the barrel band on some Henry models, are the same things that are made of plastic on just about every other rifle made today - the magazine follower and the buttplate.

.
 
Today's Henry rifles are made in U.S. Used to be assembled in Brooklyn N.Y. but I think Bloomberg ran them out of town. Don't listen to all the Zamak-Schmamak BS. They are of exceptional quality and well worth having. I have the Golden Boy 22 Magnum and love it. What model they have you won't hear from the gun snobs that think every gun has to be made of carbon steel and walnut because they deny themselves the joy of owning a Henry.
 
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Like i said mine is a great rifle. Whatever its made of, it works. Plus its a henry. EVEN IF IT IS ZAMAK OR WHATEVER, I DOUBT A .22 RIMFIRE BULLET IS GONNA BLOW THE RECIEVER APART. MINE HAS A GREAT FINISH, AWESOME WALNUT STOCK, FUNCTIONS GREAT, AND IS VERY ACCURATE.. MADE IN AMERICA USING THE HENRY NAME MAKES IT A HENRY IN MY OPINION.
 
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No, not in the sense you wrote that.

All of the GBs use the same Zamak 5 material for the actual internal receiver AND the outer receiver cover.

The cover on the GB is nickel-plated, then the gold/brass finish is applied.

Zamak is the base metal, not the finish.
And it's not laser engraved.
Denis
 
Does ZAMAC take regular bluing? I have an old ERMA 22 pistol that has a finish that rivals my old Contenders, never seen a spot of rust on it either. The British used it to make Corgi Toy, toy cars back in the day, some are very nice and command some pretty good money on places like ebay.
 
Zamak is not blue-able.


And, in this old thread, I should correct Post #4- erroneous info back then.
Denis
 
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