Group Therapy with the Henry Lever Action .22

Last year, I talked about wanting a Henry Classic Lever Action 22 Rifle (Model H001) for Christmas.  I got one. I thought I’d follow up on this, since I have put several thousand rounds downrange without a single issue.

The Henry Lever Action is a classic Western-style lever action rifle. It looks just like the type that helped settle the American West.

Several thousand rounds is a lot of father/son time. I have to point out that my own son has a son of his own, who will eventually inherit my Henry and probably unwrap a new one for Christmas someday.

The Henry H001 is a bargain at MSRP $360, although I have seen it on sale for much cheaper. It is a fast handling lever action with a tubular magazine fixed under the barrel. This, and all other Henry Rifles in their line, is true to the original designs. It has an 18.5 “ round blue steel barrel and American walnut stocks.

My Henry doesn’t look mass manufactured. The wood in the stocks are smooth and fine grained, the metal in the receiver has a fine finish, without machine marks and shortcuts. Every action I have ever tested on a Henry is buttery smooth. They don’t look or run like a bargain priced gun.

The Henry Rifle was originally patented in 1860. It saw service with Union Troops in 1862 and it was well known for giving the tactical advantage to its users. Today, Henry Repeating Arms is a family owned business based in Bayonne New Jersey with a second manufacturing facility is located in Rice Lake Wisconsin.  They make Lever Action Rifles from .22 to .308 and several shotgun models, which I plan to own soon. They are made in the US and are unabashed about their “Made in America, or Not Made At All” motto.

The owner and President of Henry, Anthony Imperato, can be reached by email personally via [email protected] and I can attest to you that the business model of Henry Repeating Arms is exactly what makes America unique.

This is the most important aspect of a Henry Lever Action .22. I am a plinker. It’s a habit, I know.  Sometimes my friends and I show up at the range with a few bricks amongst us and plink away. We shoot paper targets, and sometimes cans and plastic things that jump when you hit them.

It’s group therapy. It’s the best, most relaxing kind of get together besides pulling trout from mountain streams. When kids join us on the range, we spend plenty of time on responsible shooting and marksmanship, and then plink away. A Henry Lever Action .22 is a quick vacation from the day’s work.

Henry Lever Action Rifles have a ¼ cock safety, which prevents firing until the hammer is completely pulled to the rear. Users have to access this safety feature by carefully lowering the hammer to the safety sear.  Working the lever makes the gun ready to fire, which is why this gun is so popular.

Cases eject out the side, which allows scope mounting on the grooved receiver.

I didn’t mount a scope. Even with my feeble eyes, I can practice group therapy on 100 (and even 200 yard) targets.

The Lever Action .22 holds 15 LR rounds or 21 shorts. It doesn’t really care if one mixes them up a little. It will fire as quickly as one can work the mechanism. However, the barrel gets a bit warm after rapid firing 30 rounds. It can handle it: Plenty of Henry shooters use stock models for serious competition.

Henry uses drift adjustable front and rear sights. The front sight is hooded, which gives it good protection in a scabbard. It was shooting a full inch to the left, so I drifted the rear a bit. Now I can ring a steel plate at 100 yards all day long. 

Cleaning and maintenance is quite simple. I found the Swab-its 22 Cal BORE-WHIPS, a disposable pull through cleaning rod, is perfect for the job. Post range, a sweep of the chamber and rod down the barrel is all it needs. Henry does provide disassembly videos on their website but they are pretty clear that disassembly for cleaning is not generally necessary.

There is one accessory I recommend. Get the Henry Catch 22 Loader (MSRP $14.99). This is a speedloader for a tube magazine that fits on ones belt. If one holds the inverted Catch 22 Loader over the tube, rounds can be dumped in quickly.

The Henry Lever Action 22 comes in other variations, including a Long Barrel and Small Game version. My next Henry won’t be a .22, however. I want a 45 Colt, because it’s a fun cartridge to reload.

Yep, more group therapy.