First gun! A Golden Boy 22 Carbine, of course!

[BillyBoy]

1-Henry Golden Boy 22 LR.jpg

Hi all!

Real newbie here, new to the Forum. And I really mean newbie! Just bought my first ever firearm, have not shot for over 50 years, and then it was always my dad's pistols.

I was born in Montana, and grew up in a tiny town on Flathead Lake, at that time part of the Flathead Indian Reservation. I was the only Anglo kid, and always lost when we played Cowboys and Indians. Go figure! Being sheep country, bears, timber wolves and mountain lions were a constant threat, making carrying a large-bore a necessity. After moving to Los Angeles in the early 1950's, my dad and I enjoyed riding and shooting his pistols almost every weekend- he was an expert horseman, and a Master Marksman with his pistols. We had a lot of fun, and that's why I decided to take up the shooting sport after over 50 years.

So Western Heritage is in my DNA, and of course my first gun had to be a "Brass Henry"! I ordered the HRA catalogue, and spent about a month memorizing it, reading reviews and watching videos. My first choice was a 45 ca. Big Boy Carbine, but the 80 cent cost per round to kill a tin can was insane! So I narrowed it to a 22 LR. Because of a left shoulder slow healing injury, weight is an issue, so I finally chose a H004Y, or the Golden Boy Youth model, planning to replace the shorter stock with a Henry 14" LOP Premium stock if necessary. But the light weight, 13" LOP and general ease of use is absolutely perfect for me.

So I ordered her from The Outdoorsman, the Henry Gold Dealer here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Great guys, and VERY patient as I slowly went through my selection process. Passed the background check, ran home with my new toy, and immediately ordered the large loop lever from Henry, and a Skinner Peep, yet to be mounted. Three days later both arrived (great service!) and I installed the new lever. Then decided to do a leather wrap, as well as a leather butt cuff. I love the beautiful polished butt strap, but it was too slippery on my shoulder. Plus, it looks cool!

Then, to add insult to injury, I added antiqued brass tacks, to Honor my Native American upbringing. And no, I don't think it's "tacky"!

The first photo shows the rig, less the Skinner. The custom scabbard was made by my friend Randy, owner of Black Timber Leather, here in Santa Fe. He made it with a side slit, to allow easy insertion and removal with the large loop lever, and it's closed with a studded leather strap. Also, it comes up high on the stock (it's also my "gun case"), unlike saddle scabbards which usually go only to the drop to allow easy removal when mounted.

Second photo is a close up of the leather wrap and cuff.

But the third photo is the kicker! I took her out to the BLM shooting range (on the way to Diablo Canyon) for a test firing. Understand that I had never shot a rifle! Or any gun for over 50 years! First thirty rounds out of the box, at about 25 yards, with factory adjusted sights! I was so blown away (pun intended) I just sat there and looked at the little carbine! Would have shot more, but we had a strong monsoon come through the night before, and the range was a muddy quagmire, and I was being attacked by swarms of nasty biting bugs- generally miserable conditions. I'm going out later this week, weather permitting.

But I have to say, Henry makes one amazing rifle! Actually, they're all amazing! Here's to my next Henry!

Bill

[PT7]

_WELCOME!_.jpg

Greetings from the Northland of the Show-Me-State, Billy.

Your first post begins with such a great photo of your GB! All the leather pieces and brass tacks are perfect! You have a special, one-of-kind dressed up Henry there. Plus the fact that it honors your Native American upbringing is super special......good job.

Didn't forget. For not having shot a rifle, and the first time out with your GB while battling those nasty-biting bugs, anyone would be proud to show off the POIs your targets display......another good job!

Glad you're here, and enjoy your time on the Forum.
PT7

[JEBar]

welcome to our forum, delighted to have you join us .... do hope you will feel free to read and post often .... congrats on finding a Henry that is clearly right for you .... looking forward to your ongoing range reports and comments .... please take a look at our How Many ? thread (link below) and add your Henry to our community's total .... in addition as you add to your collection revisit the thread and include them as well ..


http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 648#p68648

[Henry88]

That is a fine looking rifle BillyBoy and I like the carbine length. I would go that way if I did a "reset"

I like the tacks and as a Floridian I guess you're glad you have them in the winter, especially with a set of gloves.

[Mags]

Hey Bill welcome to the forum from the TV Oregon.

[Les]

Hello Bill .... welcome to the Forum from Runcorn, UK.

Wow! What a fantastic first post, and your new Henry looks superb.

[The Wiz]

Welcome! What a rifle !!!!

[CT_Shooter]

Congratulations on that beautiful Henry and welcome to the forum from CT.

[roddy]

Welcome and congrats. I feel your pain re: the left shoulder...I suffered a torn rotator cuff a while ago, and it has been slow coming back.

[RanchRoper]

Welcome from Alberta. Love your custom rifle, looks great. That is some real good shooting too.

[RetiredSeabee]

Welcome aboard, great first post with a beautifuly customized rifle that pays homage to your first friends.

[deano5150]

Beautiful rifle! I love the leather and brass you’ve added! Excellent groups, too. It looks like each group got tighter as you “warmed up”.

[BigAl52]

Welcome from Colorado. Your rifle looks great. I love the carbines

[BillyBoy]

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys! It's great to be among Henryites!

Not sure why the target photo is distorted. But you get the idea. I shoot CCI Mini Mags. Dad always said "use good ammo, then it's all your fault".

The antiqued brass tacks are called "Low Dome", 5/16" diameter, from Crazy Crow Trading Company, an amazing site/company, with everything you could want for Native American, Mountain Man and re-enactors. Great catalogue!

I'm going to send the receiver cover off to Andy at Skinner to drill and tap, and get a taller front sight. I have an excellent machine shop here at home, but Skinner charges less than me ordering the 6-48 tap!

Bill

[CT_Shooter]

Not sure why the target photo is distorted.

The forum software takes photos that are radically cropped and stretches either the vertical or horizontal dimensions to conform to an aspect ratio of 4:3. Your two photos have been cropped from 1024x768 to 1024x535 and 1024x353, respectively.

To demonstrate how that works, I've taken your target photo and reworked the aspect ratio.

3-First Thirty 1024x768.jpg

[BillyBoy]

Ah- good to know the aspect ratio requirement. Thanks!
Bill

[ESquared]

Great backstory, beautiful customization and very nice shooting! Thanks for sharing and keep us posted on your peep sight experiences; it's a well-endorsed modification around here, and one many of us swear by!
Safe shooting!

[Mags]

Ah- good to know the aspect ratio requirement. Thanks!
Bill

...more insight on photo posting behavior in the photo testing topic http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4541 in
Hobbies/Photography...

[If1Hitu]

Hello and congrats on your rifle.

[tractortad]

Welcome from the Shenandoah Valley, VA. Great choice for a first Henry and great looking rifle you have created there - the youth model really turns the Golden Boy into a well balanced 22LR carbine - similar to the Small Game Carbine. I bet you will also really like that Skinner receiver sight - we have one our Golden Boy and it really works well...