A "Henry" by any other name...

Hagler · Post by **Hagler** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:56 am

Good people,

Someone on RimFire Central posted this link to Uberti's NEW .22LR levergun, MSRP $589.00:

http://www.uberti.com/firearms/silverbo ... action.php

http://www.uberti.com/firearms/images/s ... ion_lg.jpg

http://www.uberti.com/firearms/images/c ... ail_lg.jpg

For comparison, the Henry Golden Boy, .22LR, MSRP $515.00, and made in America:

http://www.henryrepeating.com/rifle-goldenboy.cfm

How many people dislike the alloy Henry Golden Boy, but find the alloy Uberti Silver Boy more appealing?

Shawn

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:06 pm

I'll have to see the Uberti in hand, but I can say that I definitely do not like the Henry's.

What can say is that Uberti nicely finishes their arms and does not seem to leave glaring deficiencies poking you in the eye as virtually all Henry products seem to.

Oly

Buck Elliott · Post by **Buck Elliott** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:16 pm

For starters, I am a big fan of the Henry .22s.. They may have their faults, but overall, they are great little guns, and have been an avenue of introduction for countless young shooters.. I don't know of anyone who has worn one out.. My objections have all been aimed at the centerfire rifles from the Henry outfit, which have proved to be neither New nor IMPROVED...

I look forward to seeing the new Uberti .22, which will meet most, if not all expectations, I think, given Uberti's history and commitment.. I believe we will find that Uberti has done what we wish Henry would have done, in the US...

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:31 pm

Buck Elliott wrote:For starters, I am a big fan of the Henry .22s.. They may have their faults, but overall, they are great little guns, and have been an avenue of introction for countless young shooters.. I don't know of anyone who has worn one out.. My objections have all been aimed at the centerfire rifles from the Henry outfit, which have proved to be neither New nor IMPROVED...

I look forward to seeing the new Uberti .22, which will meet most, if not all expectations, I think, given Uberti's history and commitment.. I believe we will find that Uberti has done what we wish Henry would have done, in the US...

While I don't own a Henry .22, I agree with Buck.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:45 pm

As much as I like Henry's I prefer the look of the Uberti

, even though the stock looks like Beech instead of the Walnut that Henry use.

Buck Elliott · Post by **Buck Elliott** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:51 pm

Since Winchester seems unwilling or unable to resurrect the 9422, mayhap we could persuade Uberti to take on the task... Arguably the best .22 levergun ever made and marketed..

Rimfire McNutjob · Post by **Rimfire McNutjob** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:04 pm

Though I'm not a big fan of the shine factor of either gun, I like the Uberti a bit more because the screws seem less obtrusive and the receiver lacks that step that the Henry version has. I know the step probably makes it look more like a brass framed Henry of old, but I think the Uberti comes off as more aesthetically pleasing without it.

I'm also curious as to how closely the Uberti follows the original Erma Werke design of the internal mechanism.

Buck Elliott · Post by **Buck Elliott** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:11 pm

I think I'm going to want one...!

Rimfire McNutjob · Post by **Rimfire McNutjob** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:26 pm

Buck, you should get one and reverse engineer it. Then send if off to Miroku to be fabbed for you. Once you bring it back to the states for sale, it will be like "Six Degrees of Separation" for lever actions. Maybe call it the "McHenry" or "McKannick - Legends Edition".

It would be a U.S. designed, Japanese made, re-interpretation of an Italian copy of a U.S. made, German designed, re-imagining of a Winchester acquired, Tyler Henry re-jiggering of a Smith & Wesson manufactured, Walter Hunt designed finger lever pistol/carbine called the Volcanic.

File that with the Patent and Trade Mark Office and see what happens.

Streetstar · Post by **Streetstar** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:29 pm

Well, my head doesn't hurt as bad to look at this one as it does the Mossberg tactical levergun, --- its pretty in a weird way, but i still greatly prefer the classic lines of the "cheap" Henry .22, the 9422, or even the MArlin 39

I don't think i like it that much (the Golden Boy either for that matter) -- but i definitely would never chastise anyone else who thinks differently

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:58 pm

I have a 9422, 9422M, an old 39 Mountie, a Belgian Browning .22 Auto, a WWII era Win 72, so thankfully I don't have to pick out another .22 Long Gun... I don't care for the Gold or the silver, tho. Real stainless would be ok.

rossim92 · Post by **rossim92** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 2:03 pm

I have a henry in .22lr. Love it! also have a rossi92 in .357. Love it too. Just think a levergun should have the loading gate magazine, instead of tube loaded magazine

Streetstar · Post by **Streetstar** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 5:05 pm

rossim92 wrote: . Just think a levergun should have the loading gate magazine, instead of tube loaded magazine

I agree on the centerfire chamberings, but thats tough to do with the small fry 22 LR's ---- tube loaded magazines are tried and true in many different firearms for the little 'uns

Buck Elliott · Post by **Buck Elliott** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:23 pm

Loading gates just don't work with the tiny .22 rounds..

What I'm really hoping for is a blued-steel or CCH version from Uberti... Sooner, rather than later.. I ain't gettin' any younger..!

ollogger · Post by **ollogger** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:08 pm

Ill keep my U.S.A. made Henrys & most likely buy another

ollogger

Lefty Dude · Post by **Lefty Dude** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:21 am

I had hoped one day that Uberti would make the 73/22 lever 22 again.
I doubt it now.
Oh well I got my 1905 Marlin 97/22 and she is such a shooter.

claybob86 · Post by **claybob86** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 1:23 am

Rimfire McNutjob wrote:Buck, you should get one and reverse engineer it. Then send if off to Miroku to be fabbed for you. Once you bring it back to the states for sale, it will be like "Six Degrees of Separation" for lever actions. Maybe call it the "McHenry" or "McKannick - Legends Edition".

It would be a U.S. designed, Japanese made, re-interpretation of an Italian copy of a U.S. made, German designed, re-imagining of a Winchester acquired, Tyler Henry re-jiggering of a Smith & Wesson manufactured, Walter Hunt designed finger lever pistol/carbine called the Volcanic.

File that with the Patent and Trade Mark Office and see what happens.

buckeyeshooter · Post by **buckeyeshooter** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:47 am

I have a henry, I can nitpick some cost cutting features- like painted reciever not blued. But, it shoots just fine.
THAT said, I like the Uberti and own several for sass. If I was buying a new 22---- I have always wanted a nice marlin 39. That means a nice used one these days.

Post by **Hobie** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:57 am

Note that it is CHROMED not NICKLED. I think that's interesting from a production standpoint.

JB · Post by JB » Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:00 am

olyinaz wrote:I'll have to see the Uberti in hand, but I can say that I definitely do not like the Henry's.

What can say is that Uberti nicely finishes their arms and does not seem to leave glaring deficiencies poking you in the eye as virtually all Henry products seem to.

Oly

I agree about the Henry rifles. The centerfire golden boy I owned showed poor craftsmanship. I'm not super impressed with their rimfire rifles either.

Post by **Hobie** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:59 am

We sell a goodly number of Henry .22s but I can't remember the last centerfire we sold. The .22s seldom, very seldom come back in for repair/warranty work. We did have one and it was a complete turnaround in 7 days. It has not been back. That is many times better than several other companies.

clampdaddy · Post by **clampdaddy** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:04 am

I love my Henry .22 mag golden boy but I don't like the blocky looking receiver of the big boy. I'd really like to see them make a rifle that looks like a REAL Henry. Clean sided receiver that is sized in between the big boy and the golden boy, top eject, no forearm wood, and a flip up ladder sight for long range plinking.

cas · Post by **cas** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:41 am

A Henry by any other name?

Mmm, that would be an Erma EG 71.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 3:06 am

cas wrote:A Henry by any other name?

Mmm, that would be an Erma EG 71.

I had one of those, a great little rifle..

hightime · Post by **hightime** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:57 am

I'm happy to see both being built. I have a Henry. Great gun except for the plastic coated brass. It will come off in flakes and look bad at some point.
I'd like to see a long barreled version or either one.

Owen

mikld · Post by **mikld** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 12:16 pm

I seem to remember, but could be wrong; the Henry Golden Boy receiver has a removable cover that is "brass plated". I saw one that was removed, beadblasted the "brass finish" off and painted. Could have been on Rimfirecentral. Looked good...

Edit; I just went over to Rimfirecentral and visited the Henry section. There are posts about redoing the receiver cover. Seems like a popular Henry modification...

Buck Elliott · Post by **Buck Elliott** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 12:49 pm

Either version of the henry rimfires would make a perfect candidate for powder coating......

Hagler · Post by **Hagler** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 12:52 pm

Ladies & gents,

What a reaction!

Controversy abounds!

I find it interesting that the looks of the Golden Boy is very, very loosely based on 1860 Henry & more closely on the 1866 Winchester, and Uberti appears to copy the Golden Boy. I know that Uberti already produces an 1860 Henry replica, and some .22LR versions of the 1866 & 1873 Winchesters. I realize that the guts of the Uberti "silver" rifle may be totally different from those of the Golden Boy, and that the basic guts of the Golden Boy are very similar to those of the modern Henry H001-series, which, in turn, descends from the original Erma levergun of 1972-1973. Truthfully, I do not have a hankering for either of those gold/ silver rifles, but they do serve a purpose.

Now, I am having trouble finding the link to a quote about Henry's Golden Boy's receiver cover treatment. In a nutshell, though, the cover is designed to be coated, with clearence allowed for the thickness of the plating & tinting they do to it. Henry Wisconsin, a metals casting & extruding company, plates the receiver of the Golden Boy with nickel, then covers that with a golden-tinted clear finish. I know that this clear finish can be scratched, but I have wondered what the Golden Boy would like like with all of the tint removed. I also wonder how durable the nickel plating is.

Uberti says that their new, silver gun has an aluminum reciever, nothing more. As for the alloy of Henry's receiver covers goes, Andy Wickstrom, of Henry Wisconsin, says this about it:

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/sh ... t=387405#6

"This is not your standard variety Zamak and I would suggest buying a replacement cover or two, if you'd like to experiment on your own. Otherwise, Henry has some options for replacement."

For the record, I have a Henry H001L, "Lever Carbine", and I would not get rid of it for anything.

Shawn

hightime · Post by **hightime** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:35 pm

Shawn, I can see you support Henry completely. That's good. I like mine. The made in US is good too. I'm sure that's enough to send most people to buy them over Uberti.
I for one, like Uberti too and have several of their guns. Because of that I could see myself getting one of their 22's. Maybe I wouldn't pay over $500 for either. I saw a Weatherby Mark 22 yesterday for $400 and that maybe twice as good .

Owen

Hagler · Post by **Hagler** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:54 pm

Owen,

I think Uberti makes some wonderful rifles. In fact, if I find myself with a surplus of cash, I could easily succumb to the charms of a Uberti 1873 fancy, color case-hardened "border" rifle, in .357 Magnum, with pistol-grip stock. I am not drawn to Uberti's new silver offering, nor Henry's "gold" rifles (both rimfire & centerfire), the same way that I do not desire any Marlin rifles. They all do their jobs, but, different strokes, for different folks...

Shawn

rbertalotto · Post by **rbertalotto** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:57 pm

Will the Uberti use a solid brass (gun metal) receiver or use a brass plated cover like the Henry uses?

Rimfire McNutjob · Post by **Rimfire McNutjob** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:07 pm

rbertalotto wrote:Will the Uberti use a solid brass (gun metal) receiver or use a brass plated cover like the Henry uses?

I think someone mentioned the Uberti being a chrome plated aluminium receiver, but I have no verification of that.

rbertalotto · Post by **rbertalotto** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:15 pm

The "Silver Boy" is listed as Chrome Plated, but it might be just as cost effective to make the brass version from "Gun Metal", which is a brass/bronze alloy that was used in the day to make "brass" framed rifles.

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:16 pm

I believe I will stick with my 1967 model 39A Marlin.

Grizzly Adams · Post by **Grizzly Adams** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:21 pm

I was at the Shot Show, and was able to handle the new Uberti Silverboy. The action has a very smooth, precise feel, and the rifle is beautifully balanced. Fit and finish are excellent, as we have come to expect from Uberti. The receiver is chrome plated and a similar profile to the Uberti 1866 Yellowboy, but thinner than the center fire 1866. It has a very substantial feel that seems to speak to the quality of the materials used. Fairly short level throw. I think levergunners are going to like this rifle! I know I will be buying one.

Idiot · Post by **Idiot** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:29 pm

I like the Henry 22s and make sure my grandkids get stocked with one as soon as they are ready to shoot. Heap good rifle.

Buck Elliott · Post by **Buck Elliott** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:37 pm

Thanks Grizz, for a real, hands-on review.. It just strengthened my resolve.. I Will have one..!

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:06 pm

What do they say about imitation...

Roland · Post by **Roland** » Tue May 08, 2012 11:46 pm

Hagler wrote:Good people,

Someone on RimFire Central posted this link to Uberti's NEW .22LR levergun, MSRP $589.00:

http://www.uberti.com/firearms/silverbo ... action.php

http://www.uberti.com/firearms/images/s ... ion_lg.jpg

http://www.uberti.com/firearms/images/c ... ail_lg.jpg

For comparison, the Henry Golden Boy, .22LR, MSRP $515.00, and made in America:

http://www.henryrepeating.com/rifle-goldenboy.cfm

How many people dislike the alloy Henry Golden Boy, but find the alloy Uberti Silver Boy more appealing?

Shawn

Thread's a bit old but I noticed the existence of the silverboy last night and what can I say. It's existence made me angry. Here I've been sending mails to Uberti about how I would love to see the 1873 in a .22lr caliber again and this is what they went with. Like we didn't have enough of these sort of lookalikes already. I wanted the real deal, the genuine old toggle-action action just made for 22lr, like they used to.

To my eyes I can immediately spot the differences between that and a real replica and it just draws my focus and says "this here ain't the real thing".

At least uberti supposedly makes the 1866 in .22lr

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Wed May 09, 2012 7:18 am

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Wed May 09, 2012 11:50 am

FWIW, the Uberti SilverBoy, and ALL the Henry's, both "Golden" & "blued" (I know, I know) - have an internal receiver proper (the Henry's are made of steel, the Uberti either aluminum or unknown), COVERED by a vaguely Winchester-looking alloy shell called a receiver cover.

I personally don't care for the "configuration" of the Uberti SB, the Henry GB, or the similar-looking Henry CF models because of the excessive stock drop and the abrupt barrel receiver interface - not to mention the need for a really clumsy cantilever scope mount needed for those who cannot see iron sights, ILO the simple rimfire grooving of the Henry H0001 Standard & H001T Octagon Frontier (both of which I am a fan of).
YMMV, of course - which is what makes a horse race.

.

Panzercat · Post by **Panzercat** » Wed May 09, 2012 12:35 pm

Personally, I love how they take direct aim at Henry's market. "Silver" boy indeed

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Wed May 09, 2012 12:57 pm

I think they are Henrys, so they really can't hurt the market.
Do they look good? Yes.

But if no one else has mentioned it, front sight limitations notwithstanding, the H001 is the best buy in a levergun out there, they work flawlessly, and are uncanny accurate.

And I know this has been called wide as a barn, but the Williams FP-GR works perfectly with the stock sight on the H001

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Thu May 10, 2012 3:27 pm

Williams WM-96 Peep w/issue front sight painted orange.

.

Roland · Post by **Roland** » Thu May 10, 2012 11:50 pm

Here's a more proper uberti design:

Now if only they came back with the 73/22 then they could leave that boring henry ripoff for some other company.

1894c · Post by **1894c** » Fri May 11, 2012 12:40 am

great thread...i own and shoot a Browning BL-22 (best lever .22 ever JMOP), but have looked hard at the Henry as a second rifle...appreciate all of the input... :)

Streetstar · Post by **Streetstar** » Fri May 11, 2012 7:57 am

Wow ---- i just googled the Erma EG --- didnt realize the basic Henry was a re-marketing of something else entirely. Did they rip off the design, buy the Erma patent, or something else entirely ?

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Fri May 11, 2012 7:59 am

Erma copied the Marlin mechanism, the Erma was imported by Ithaca.
Henry Repeating Arms Co. now owns it.

Yes, would like to see Uberti make a 73/22

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Fri May 11, 2012 8:52 am

Streetstar wrote:Wow ---- i just googled the Erma EG --- didnt realize the basic Henry was a re-marketing of something else entirely. Did they rip off the design, buy the Erma patent, or something else entirely ?

IIRC, The original Erma designer, the late Lou Imperato Sr, is the same person who founded Henry Repeating Arms, with his son (Jr.) running the company today.
The design was licensed to Ithaca for a few years, when Ithaca made it as their Model 72 saddlegun.

.

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Fri May 11, 2012 7:36 pm

kinda like this henry
http://www.henryrepeating.com/images/ri ... detail.jpg
http://www.henryrepeating.com/rifle-gol ... eluxe2.cfm