I see that the Henry Repeating Arms Company has decided to move its 100% Made In America operation out of the gun-hating state of New Jersey to the friendlier boundaries of Wisconsin.
Considering that Wisconsin is a super-prime target market for their lever-action rifles — all that deep-woods hunting, oh my — this should come as no surprise to anyone. (I’m kinda curious as to why not Pennsylvania, but they doubtless have good reasons for the Midwest destination.)
The only question that I — and every American gun owner — would have is: What the hell took you so long?
There are not that many, if any, gun manufacturers from which I could buy pretty much all the guns in their catalogue without regret, but Henry is definitely one.
I don’t care if the technology is old-fashioned and dated — what the hell, so am I — but this is one rifle I’ve never owned, but should have.
I like the slot in the loading tube so that you can unload unspent cartridges without sending them through the chamber. Now that they added the loading gate, you have both options for loading the gun. I’d like one in 44magnum. that seems to be a good woods gun.
He said, “All the guns in their catalogue”. HA HA HA HAAAA
Ain’t that the truth!
Everytime I go to their site I am almost brought to tears over the realization of that which will never be.
Specifically:
Henry Steel Lever Action .45-70 Gov’t Large Loop
DAWG! Shore iz purty!
https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/all-weather-lever-action/
Pennsylvania resident here. I suspect the reason why Henry didn’t relocate to our fair state despite it being a primo lever-action market is that the state is effectively controlled by three entities: 1) Philadelphia, 2) The Pennsylvania State Education Association (i.e. The Teachers Union), and 3) Pittsburgh.
To say that those locations/institutions are Not Gun Friendly would be like saying the Titanic had a very minor leak. They’d do everything in (and outside of) their power to keep Henry and any other firearms manufacturer out of the state.
Several years ago, when I still owned my home in southern Arizona (Sky Islands), I had a pestering coyote one hill away (200 yards) who found it entertaining to harass my corralled mule. My darling mule Doris would have pimp-slapped him into the deck if he ever ventured inside her domain, but he was belligerent, not stupid.
One day, I spied him yipping at her from a hilltop away, and I launched an iron-sighted .357 round at him from my front porch. It landed unspectacularly about 30 feet from his feet and he just ran in a circle and started yipping again. A couple of more rounds fell short and he got bored and ambled off. A couple of days later, he was back for an encore, but this time I was armed with a Henry 45-70. The first round sailed over his head by 10 feet and he started his victory lap again, then sat down. The second round caught him square in the chest and the yipping ceased. Been a fan ever since.
More years ago than I’d like to admit, I bought a Henry H001, the cheapest of the line of .22LR rifles they make, at the local Wally World, NIB of course, for varmint control around our small rural property. Still use it for that purpose today. Well, not having properly inspected the rifle before I got it home, I unboxed it and discovered that the front sight hood was bent; not Henry’s problem, most likely the result of some ham-handed freight dock handling at Wal Mart.
I sent an email to Henry’s customer support address asking for a new sight hood and an upgrade on the forearm band from the plastic one the rifle ships with to the metal one they offer for that model. I stated that I’d be happy to pay for both as the front sight hood issue was my oversight and not Henry’s problem.
In less than two hours I received a response FROM ANTHONY IMPERATO HIMSELF, asking me only for my mailing address. I sent him that and repeated that I’d be happy to pay for the items if he’d let me know the amount for the parts and S & H. No response, or so I thought.
In 2 business days I got a small envelope from Henry with the parts enclosed along with a catalogue and some swag, and a note from Anthony thanking me for my purchase of that cheap rifle.
Now fellas, we all know that as firearms enthusiasts, we’re collectively VERY quick to bitch and moan, loudly and widely, about poor customer service or products that don’t meet our expectations. We’re less likely to talk about customer service that exceeds our previous experiences.
Henry’s customer service is uniformly exceptional and timely. Congratulations to Anthony & Co. for decamping the Communist Collective of New Joisey for more friendly environs.
Just bought one of these in .45 Colt (with large loop) to go along with my Vaquero in the same cal. I might even go out and shoot it when it gets warmer.