Henry Small Game Carbine Lever Action 22 Magnum Review

The Henry Rifle Company has really brought quality back into the lever action world. You know, lever actions have been popular for a number of years. In fact, since the 1800s. In fact, Benjamin Tyler Henry, who developed the first repeating rifle, developed the lever action. And this is inspired by Benjamin Tyler Henry. And I have a number of Henry rifles. I really love the way they shoot. I love the way they're finished, the materials that are put into these. And they're just beautiful guns. But what I really love about Henry is the heart. And one of the things that they do is made in America or not made at all. Now this particular rifle is the 22 small game rifle. And it's actually in 22 Magnum, which I am particularly fond of. It has a lot of the same ballistics as the 9 millimeter. And yet it's still a rimfire cartridge. Of course, it's a much smaller bullet. And we'll talk a little bit about ballistics in a minute. But this in a rifle barrel really has some incredible velocity. This comes in the 16 and a quarter inch barrel. They do make a 20 and a half inch barrel. And it does feature the octagon barrel, which was the original design. Really, our bull barrels were inspired from the octagon barrels. Because they were made to dissipate heat a lot faster. Of course, in 22 or even 22 Magnum, it's not as important to keep this barrel cool. But when you get up into the higher calibers, it definitely makes a difference. But the beautiful thing is, it's really reminiscent. And it really gives it that vintage look. These barrels are made from high-grade steel. In fact, what Henry calls it, they're gun barrel steel. And so these are going to last a long time. They're going to retain their accuracy longer. And they are very accurate. Here's your aperture sight. And then, of course, at the front there, you have a bead post. And these really work extremely well. Got a couple of groups here from 25 yards. Here I was shooting with my safety glasses, but not my regular glasses, my magnified glasses. I was really pleased with this group. And then brought in that bead. And man, it just toned it in. Aimed right for this center. The bead filled up this whole little area right here. And it just really put them in there very good. So I'm really pleased with this little group. This was using the CCI. And this is the 22 Winchester Magnums. And of course, this little rifle does great. Using easy to see targets at easy2see.com. Just going to give you a general idea of your calibers. You have your .22 short, .22 long rifle, and .22 WMR or .22 Magnum. Your .22 short is usually about 29 grain. It's 1,132 feet per second with 82 foot pounds. Your .22 long rifle, these are the mini mags, which are fairly high velocity. 36 grain bullet, 1,260 feet per second, and 127 foot pounds. Go to your .22 Magnum, it's a 30 grain bullet. And this is the TNT green, which is a lead-free. It's 2,050 feet per second, and it's 280 foot pounds. So you're getting a considerable amount more ballistic capability with your .22 Magnum. And a lot of that has to do with the capacity that you can put in here with the powder. And that's one of the reasons why you can only get seven in the tubular magazine on the carbine, and 12 of the .22 long rifle. It does have the Skinner peep sight, which I love. A lot of the Henry models have the buckhorn sights, which are great, but the little Skinner sight with the aperture, it really helps you to get really on target quickly. And the front is a little bead post. The stock is made from American walnut, beautiful Henry American walnut. And they import this from a number of states, and do all the machining there at Henry. They are out of Bayonne, New Jersey, and they also have another facility in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, which does a lot of the machining work. The small game models have the large lever loop. Really smooth action. Man, this lever is just smooth and slick. With the extension here, of course with gloved hands, or to be able to get this really quick. I'm so used to the small, but man, you can just get in here. It's very forgiving. And with this slick little action, man, this is just a real pleasure to shoot. These are fed by tubular magazine, and it is a brass magazine. It's very beautiful. Spring-loaded, makes it really nice. Brass really slides in and out a lot better than even steel. The tip is knurled. Very nice. Easy to come in and out. Has a little locking feature that just closes into place. It does hold seven rounds of .22 Magnum, and if you get this in the .22 version, it holds 12 rounds. The barrel band keeps the barrel and the tube really tightly together. The receiver tang comes at the bottom, and here at the top. One of the things too, when you close it, it doesn't close all the way against that tang, so it doesn't mar it up like some lever actions. But again, smooth as butter. The hammer has serrations, makes it really easy to be able just to grab, pull back, even with a scope mounted. This does have the scope mount integral right here with the top of the receiver, and there are serrations that go down to keep the glare off when you are using your standard sights. Plastic buttplate, and of course, with .22 and .22 Magnum, that's not really a problem as far as recoil. They use extruded steel to make the bolts, which makes them really strong, and again, with the machining they do on these, it's really slick. And all the parts, again, are made right here in the USA, all the way down to the last screw and pin. The balance, really exceptional. I mean, it points right where you want it to, and it's just a really nice feel to this gun. It's thin, and with the .22 rim fire, it makes it really nice. You can make it into a compact package. You know, guys, I shoot a lot of semi-automatic rifles, a lot of different modern firearms, and yet, you know what? This is what I love to take out to the range and shoot. It just really slows things down a little bit, even though this is very quick to load, and it just makes it really nice to really take aim, to make your shots count. And this is a great rifle, especially for young or people that are just learning how to shoot. The overall length of the carbine is 33 and 3 quarter inches, and it weighs 5 and 3 quarter pounds. Very handy, again, very well balanced. The retail price on the .22 long rifle version is $499. I did see them in a number of places for around the $385 mark. For the .22 Magnum, which is a little more expensive, $590 full retail. Saw those in a number of places for $436. So a very reasonable price for a really high quality rifle. You're not going to find a better .22 lever-action rifle for this kind of money, and it is an exceptional with the American walnut, the gun barrel steel, the extruded bolt, and just all the fine quality that goes into this. Really, it's so slick. You know, if I had something that I would say is a negative, I just don't really have anything. This is a design that's been around since, again, the late 1800s. They were introduced toward the end of the Civil War, and it was a big part of the gun that won the West. Not necessarily a .22 Magnum or .22, but .45 Long Colt and then .45-70, which they do make those models as well. So it's just a really, just a beautiful piece, again, made right here in the USA with American labor. One of the great things, too, about Henry that I do like is that they have an excellent customer service. I mean, they are really on it. In fact, a lot of times when you get in touch with Henry, you'll get in touch with Anthony Imperato directly, who is the owner and founder of the Henry rifle line of today. And just an excellent company. Like I say, I've got a number of these, and I just can't recommend these highly enough. If you're looking for a really nice lever-action rifle to take out, whether it's hunting, plinking, or even in some of the larger caliber self-defense, you're going to really be able to rely on the Henry rifle. Yes, they're a little more pricey than some of the baseline rifles, but guys, I really think that it's worth it. The Henry rifle lever-action .22 Magnum, thumbs way up. Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America, long live the thing. Hey! Hot breath. That's quite a punch, more than the .22 long rifle.