Those of you who are hunters or shooting enthusiasts know that our sports are not inexpensive hobbies. Quality firearms can be found for reasonable prices, to be sure, and one need not spend thousands of dollars in order to get a reliable shooter. No, the majority of the cost lies in the other necessity: ammunition. Ammo is not cheap, at least, not anymore, especially with a 15% price hike across the board in our near future. And once you shoot it, it is gone (granted the brass can be reused by handloaders, but the powder, primers, and bullets are not quite as recyclable). That being said, I like many others, have found that in order to be able to indulge in our passion and still put gas in the car and food on the table, reloading centerfire cartridges is becoming a necessity. However, it is still somewhat affordable to shoot the old stand-by .22LR, and I find myself taking my rimfire rifles and pistols to the range more and more often.
In this edition of On the Edge, I would like to take a look at one of my more indulgent expenditures for a rimfire rifle. In November of 2010, I was at Tri-Cities Gun Depot and decided to pull the trigger (so to speak) on a purchase that I had long been contemplating, but just had never gotten around to: the Henry Repeating Arms Golden Boy. Now, let me explain: when I was a child, I spent a lot of time watching cowboy movies and television shows. Every Sunday morning before church, the now-defunct station CBN would air westerns starting at 6 a.m. (the Cisco Kid) until 10:00 a.m. (Wagon Train), with episodes of Rawhide, the Rifleman, Branded, Gunsmoke, and Bonanza thrown into the mix. And I would be glued to the set all morning, right beside of my dad. I think I have seen every John Wayne, Glen Ford, Jimmy Stewart, Clint Eastwood, and Randolph Scott western ever made. Twice. And with my love of cowboy culture came, of course, a love of the tools of their trade: the single-action pistol and the lever-gun.
Now here I am, thirty-odd years later, and I have decided to finally buy that lever-action rifle I have long wanted. And as I am looking at the rack of rifles behind the counter, I see the Golden Boy. Now, as I have said in a previous post, I am not a shiny gun kind of guy. However, the Golden Boy rifle is an exception to this. This rifle is beautiful. The Brasslite receiver cover, buttplate, and barrel-ring for this gun are a beautiful gold-brass color, and the finish is exquisite. It is also seemingly very durable, since I have had it out on several occasions now shooting it, and not a scratch or mar on the finish as of this posting. But the beauty of this rifle goes far beyond the name-sake receiver.
The Henry Golden Boy is a finely built firearm. Everything about this gun is well-made, from the distinctive heavy octagonal barrel, to the beautiful American Walnut stock and forend. And the action is as smooth as melted butter... there is not even a hint of roughness in working the lever. Every fitting on the gun is tight, with no slop in the trigger, no gaps between the wood and the metal, and the tubular magazine (holding up to 16 rounds of .22LR) locks positively into place, and slides out with ease for loading.
In fact, the only thing that causes me consternation with this rifle are the sights: for me, the traditional buckhorn sights, which obviously belong on this spirit of the Old West reborn, are a bit hard to see due to my own physical deficiencies (poor eyesight, something I have fought with my whole life). Granted, bright fiber-optic sights would be easier for me to use, but would be as out of place as a pig in a prom dress. Henry offers a scope mount for these rifles, but again, to me a scope is an unacceptable anachronism on a cowboy rifle.
At nearly seven pounds, the Golden Boy is not the lightest rimfire rifle in my collection, but that is ok with me. It has a heft to it that makes it feel like a "real rifle," and the length of pull is not abbreviated like that on many .22LRs (when will gun manufacturers realize that grown men like to shoot .22s as well?).
How does it shoot? The Golden Boy is not my most accurate rimfire rifle, nor is it my most accurate .22LR rifle, but it is the one I enjoy shooting the most. And its accuracy is more than acceptable for plinking and hunting. I have gotten a group of just under 0.73", with an average group size of 2.87" at 50 yards, but a lot depends on ammo (my best results have been with Wolf Match Extra, worst with Remington Thunderbolts). In my experience thus far, the Henry seems to do better with standard velocity and sub-sonic rounds as opposed to hyper-velocity brands, at least in terms of accuracy. It is not my go-to gun for that shot that absolutely has to be made, but I would not hesitate to take it hunting, either.
And just a quick note about the company. Henry Repeating Arms, located in Bayonne, NJ has dedicated themselves to producing the finest firearm they can, at the most affordable price, using only parts made in the United States, with a lifetime warranty. And while I own some fine firearms that were manufactured in other countries, I admire a company that puts America and Americans first. And from what I understand, if you buy a Henry and have an issue or problem with it, if you contact the company via email, you will be answered personally by Anthony Imperato, the owner and president of the company. A man who stands behind his company and product like that is worthy of my respect, and my business.
So, if you are in the market for an affordable firearm with a great company behind it, look at Henry. They not only have rimfire rifles available in .22LR, .22WMR, and .17HMR, but they also offer big-bore guns as well. What better way to get your cowboy on than with a Henry lever-action repeater!
For more information on Henry Repeating Arms:
Henry Repeating Arms
59 East 1st Street
Bayonne, NJ 07002
Tele: 201-858-4400
Fax: 201-858-4435
http://www.henryrepeating.com
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