My Opinion Of Henry Issues And Concerns

[Mistered]

I took some time yesterday afternoon (and early morning) and decided to peruse some other forums and gun sites and try to come up with some sort of random sampling of reported Henry problems and concerns. After reading many threads & posts I came up with the conclusion Henry no doubt has the majority of reported issues but this is largely in part due to the fact that Henry has the largest market share in the lever action rifle class right now.

I was however able to categorize the issues into three separate areas of concern and they are as follows:

1. Complaints other than quality, fit or function. There were oddly a large number and these included things like the Henry is too heavy, its unconventional, its not traditional, its wrong its even called a Henry, they should never have been made out of brass and - the best for last - its TOO PRETTY to own. Most reporting in this category were NOT Henry owners.

2. Complaints relating to quality, fit or function but were being resolved by the owners who are experienced. long term gun owners who accepted long ago not every gun is going to be perfect and may require a little home gunsmithing. The problems in this arena were very similar and repetitive to those I have read in the Henry Forum IE misaligned sights, rough actions, cycling problems etc. Interestingly in this category very few owners mentioned sending their rifle back to Henry (or had ever considered it) they might have called and requested parts or advisement but most were still satisfied with the rifle and were simply accepting and dealing with what they had with guns they have or had owned previously.

3. The last category is with the inexperienced or first time gun owner. In this area the owners seemed to be much more 'finiky' and less accepting of any problems, no matter how minor. In this arena there was considerably less reported experience with guns, simple repairs, adjustments or improvements. Sending the rifle back was a much more prevalent action even though most of the problems were similar to, or the same as reported in category # 2.

It seems the market share 'needle' for Henry went vertical about 2014, coinciding with Marlin taking a serious dive about this time. interestingly Marlin was about the only other lever action Rifle that was mentioned with problems and concerns that far exceeded those of Henry. So while Henry had a larger NUMBER of reported issues it was the rifle with the greater number of new owners so the number of problems followed this ratio.

In conclusion I have convinced myself Henry is NOT necessarily experiencing a higher than average number of problems BUT resolving these to the satisfaction of the owners is the biggest problem. Henry is no doubt suffering from an inexperienced gun repair staff, possibly a lot of turnover and most likely just short handed in all departments with a lot of the work having to be accomplished in overtime or by crossover from other departments.

I believe they are doing their absolute best with a demanding customer base, increased production and a very short handed labor market. I work in an industry that has similar problems (the RV industry) and know all too well what they are dealing with.

[GFK]

Thanks for taking the time. I am new to personal long guns particularly the lever action. I like the idea. I am working through the loading and cycling of it. I expected for it to be seamless. In time and practice, it may be.

I have noticed that ones with a load gate seems smoother to load but not as smooth to unload (without firing). I am still on the fence between Marlins and Henrys. My Henry does look pretty. But, my Marlin seems to be more of a workhorse. In time and practice, either may get the job done though.

[Mistered]

I am still on the fence between Marlins and Henrys.

'JM' marked Marlins are the benchmark of quality and the earlier the better. Post JM marked models or 'Remlins' are of known poor quality with some nearly un-shootable. Supposedly the quality has improved somewhat but with the new financial troubles for Remington their future is uncertain.

[Sir Henry]

I'm in group 2.

[Yornoc3]

Mistered,

Your thinking closely matches some things I've heard from what I consider credible sources (I live pretty close to Rice Lake, WI), in that Henry is having difficult getting, and keeping, the highly skilled employees they need to meet the demand for their products. And they did introduce a lot of new things that all are in high demand. Hopefully, they'll get those growing pains ironed out soon. I did the category 2 process to acquire some replacement/upgrade parts, and I'm still dazzled about how fast and effectively their customer service preformed .

[GFK]

I am still on the fence between Marlins and Henrys.

'JM' marked Marlins are the benchmark of quality and the earlier the better. Post JM marked models or 'Remlins' are of known poor quality with some nearly un-shootable. Supposedly the quality has improved somewhat but with the new financial troubles for Remington their future is uncertain.

That is my understanding as well. I do not have a JM. So, I have no personal knowledge. But, I accept the word of those that do. However, I am satisfied with my Remlin. Just like the Model T, all things have their end; and, new things take their place.

[North Country Gal]

My personal opinion and one I've shared on this forum, before, is that this is a sign of the times. Manufacturing methods in the gun industry have changed with the goal of being able to produce large numbers of guns via more precise machining in order to reduce the amount of hand fitting and QC required. Some companies have been more successful at this than others. Yes, Henry could stop and test fire each and every gun, thoroughly, for fit, function and even accuracy, but then most people could no longer afford to buy a Henry.

Notice, too, some gun designs lend themselves to modern manufacturing better than others. From what I have observed on various forums, the gun designs that cause most of these complaints are the older technology guns like lever guns and revolvers, both of which need more work to function, correctly, than semi-autos or bolt guns. Remember, as gun designs go, revolvers and lever guns both originated in the day when a lot of hand fitting was the norm. You can't just slap a revolver or lever gun, together, from random parts in a production cell and expect to get a great functioning gun.

On the other hand, you can slap together a semi auto, together, from random parts with higher odds of getting a functioning gun. Witness how easy it is to build a modded 1022 Ruger by sourcing parts online from half a dozen aftermarket sources of 1022 parts. I've done it. This ease of building the semi auto was one of the reasons the military abandoned revolvers, quickly, when semi-autos appeared. For instance, an armorer in the field could take a bucket of 1911 scrap parts and build them into new guns, on the spot. It's also why the modern day equivalent of a Saturday Night Special is now a cheap semi-auto instead of a revolver.

An then there are bolt guns. The bolt gun is a design that has endured because of its basic simplicity. It's aged, nicely, and still fits into modern CNC machining methods.

Sorry for the long post, but I mention this because it does reflect my personal experience with all these different actions. Talking many dozens of guns over the years, here. My track record for fewest issues with guns comes out with bolt guns and centerfire semi auto pistols on top. (Semi auto rimfires have more issues because rimfire cartridges were not designed as semi-auto cartridges). Have had far fewer issues and returns to manufactures for defects and bad construction with bolt guns and semi-auto center fire handguns than with revolvers or lever guns, but, especially, with revolvers. In fact, I've spent more hours on the phone and visits to a gunsmith to correct issues with revolvers than all other types of actions, combined.

So, my advice to you Henry folks is 1) do a though inspection before buying a Henry (sound advice before buying any gun, these days) and 2) cut Henry some slack. Be patient. With Marlin continuing to better on the edge, the day may come when Henry is the only game in town left for a U.S. made lever gun. Lastly, 3) never forget for a moment that we lever gun fans are still a minority as far as gun sales go. Out taste for the lever gun is not something that easily fits into the modern gun production mould.

[Squatch]

Just from my casual reading I've seen a couple of issues. The all weather guns seem to be the ones with sticking bolts. I'm thinking this may be a tolerance thing with a plating contractor and the new design. Probably using the same drawings as a normal Big Boy then plating the bolt may make for a tighter fit that wasn't anticipated.

I'm a little concerned about the occasional barrel with rough and incomplete rifling. That's a real QC issue in my opinion.

Other than that I "think" the newer models are being made at Rice Lake and Bayonne is doing what they've been building for some years. I don't hear much in complaints on the Bayonne made older style models. All mine are from there and the only real issue I've had was a vendor part that was quickly resolved.

So I'm thinking most of the issues that I've seen reported except for the barrel issue is growing pains. New personal in a new plant with new equipment being brought on line. Some of the fit and finish issues may simply be vendors having trouble keeping up with the increased volume they are being asked to deliver as sales go up.

I have every confidence Henry is aware and working hard to get this licked. Tuning processes and training people.

I don't think Henry is going to see sales taper off anytime soon. If anything the political issues of the day will likely drive demand for lever actions in the near future.

I also think most of the web complaints I've ever read are CAT 1. People that have never shot a Henry and just want to complain because they don't quite fit their crusty views of what a 100 year old rifle should be. They don't quite get that a Henry is not a 100 year old design that is still being made. For the most part a Henry is a modern rifle made to have the look and feel of those heritage guns. it's not a copy or repop. It is a historical interpretation for the modern world with a few of it's own quirks. Many of which are based on the quirky beliefs and Humor of the companies owner. The problem for most is they are not different enough to be viewed differently such as a BLR or Ruger #1.

The exception being the Henry Original. That reproduction is so good and so accurate that I've never read anything but praise on it. Everything I've read is that it is the best example of a new 1860 ever produced as Henry intended it to be.

For every whiner there are quite a few folks that open their wallets and enjoy that they did!

Just my Biased opinion of course!

[Henry88]

One of the nice things about this forum is that most of the posts are based in first hand experience. Much of what's on the larger forums are people just repeating the same internet dogma that they've heard and continue to circulate. Anybody that goes to the boating sites knows this well.

BTW, a huge sign above the entrance to Bass Pro in Daytona says, "Welcome Hunters, Fishermen, and Other Liars....".

Yeah and as far as Marlin, I don't hear much about the semi auto M60 or the bolt XT-22. North Country Girl hit on this big time in her post.
I have a Remlin XT-22 and it's fine, Has a much better trigger than the JM stamped gun, but that can be corrected.

But seriously, I'm thinking how well the old guys made them back in the day, in old Connecticut, or Massachusetts, or where ever they made them back then. Also maybe guns would leave the old factories in the northeast with a life or death kind of mission, most likely built by a guy who was maybe in combat himself. Now it's more of a job in a factory creating " a product"?

I don't know. I have no doubt that Henry employs first class people, I'm sure in the new plants they had to let a few people go, and brought on new people. I guess statistically, it has a way of working out, it just takes time........