Henry X Models
BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 9 months ago
After discussing the wisdom and utility of having a lever action carbine and a revolver in the same caliber, I wrote a note to Mr. Anthony Imperato of Henry Repeating Arms. He wrote back a nice note and explained that they had new models coming but didn’t like announcing until they had the models ready to ship. Then he sent me some swag.
Today I exchanged another note with him and congratulated Henry’s engineers on a really nice release. The Henry X Model.
The specifications can he found here (focusing on the one that interests me, the .357 Magnum).
17.4″ barrel, scope-mountable, fiber optic sights, 7-rounds, side gate loading (which was the feature I was waiting for), synthetic stock, and rail at the front (would be useful for hog hunting). MSRP = $970.
I really want to get one and perform a review, but this one will have to go into the queue. Wife would not approve at the moment, and neither would the bank account.
I want the 44 magnum for myself and the 410 lever-shotgun for my son.
I’m licking my chops seeing this new Henry design (357/38) for its side load feature. For those who want a takedown, they are available from Uberti (Taylors, Cimarron) & Winchester but many levers (e.g. 1892) are easily (<5 mins.) shortened by removing the two screws from the top tang & buttstock underside. My only criticism of Henry's in general is their relatively heavy mass but that does lessen the minimally felt recoil. They are well made with smooth actions out of the box.
I can’t see fiber sights and would need to look for options in the after market which may be slow in coming.
@Fred,
Then put a scope on it.
I shoot better with open sights. And did you listen to NC Renegade podcast #6? He’s not the first to mention it but I live in hilly, wooded terrain. 100 or sometimes out to 200 meters is the shot I’ll take. But yes, a low power scope, or perhaps even a Red Dot would help.
Funny, as I was posting this just last night I was thinking about the utility of putting a red dot on it, since attachment would be as easy as scoping it. A red dot is a scope, just not magnified.
I gotta have one in .357 Mag! Have a couple of extra RDS sitting around that needs something to mount on.
[…] concept of having a lever gun in the same caliber as a revolver is appealing. This looks like a good choice for lever […]
I got the Big Biy in 41 magnum.
Awesomeness
Dang @Fred, 100 to 200 with irons? I wish I had that type of vision. I’m so darn near sighted I scare myself sometime.
Great! I’ve been waiting on a Henry .357 side load. I like that, but would prefer the more classic wood furniture and maybe an 18-20″ barrel with a 9-10 rd mag capacity.
38 Spc won’t chamber in a 357 mag will it? Head spacing wrong because the shell is too short. Am I wrong?
@B,
Good question. The web site shows the chambering for .357/.38. According to the claim, it can shoot either. I’ll leave it to a gunsmith to explain head space in a lever action vs. how a wheel gun would put it in the wheel and forcing cone.
ambiguousfrog, I’m talking about man sized and 200 is too far, some exaggeration. I don’t have the money for the training I need.
@ B Dubdya
Cowboy action shooters often prefer to run 38 special in their 357 rifles. Lever action rifles are typically picky about ammo. For instance, heavier (and therefor longer) bullets on 38 are said to feed better. You’d want to used a round nosed flat point bullet and avoid SWC or wadcutter designs. One advantage of a 38 is that it’s subsonic, and therefor relatively quiet, although moreso with longer barrels.
.38spec has chambered just fine in my henry, although yes, they can be picky-for example it will not cycle properly with snap caps. The recoil with .38 is pretty minimal, and quiet as noted above. Very enjoyable to shoot. Also, my eyes are not a fan of the buckhorn sights, but that’s fine, lots of alternatives available, I used the skinner peep sight, its outstanding. The newer henrys also are pre drilled for a scope mount in the mossberg pattern on the receiver. The skinner peep mounts there, or you can put one on the barrel where the factory sight is. If you wanted to mount a red dot, you could use the sections of picatinny rail designed for mossberg shotguns to mount your sight (or scope) to.
@ B Dubya
.38 SPL and .357 Mag have rimmed cases that stop on the chamber mouth (unlike rimless cases which headspace off the case mouth.)
Both will chamber in bolt action and lever action rifles, though feeding and extraction problems may arise. These issues will likely be due to COAL and/or bullet profile rather than the chamber per se.
This is also why the longer .357 cartridge will not fit a .38 SPL revolver chamber.
Owners of Ruger 77/44 and similar rotary magazine carbines report some feeding issues, as do some Marlin and Rossi lever action owners.
(FWIW, my ’94AE Trapper prefers .357 but will feed some .38 SPL.)
https://www.marlinfirearms.com/news/2019/introducing-new-dark-series