Henry Rifle Forums

Hi Folks.
I'm new to this site b/c I am the happy new owner of a Henry H006. Twenty bucks-worth of raffle tickets at the Ocean City American Legion won me 1st choice of 2 rifles, a Weatherby 30-06 w/scope, or a Henry 44 Mag God Bless America. Guess what I picked?

Now for my dilemma: Do I shoot this gun and have fun w/it, or pack it away safely to stay "brand new"? I want to shoot it, but friends are saying no, you can't shoot that gun since the value will fall, and others say don't let that stop you. Oh, and BTW, the serial # is 00008GBA, and as you might know, they only made a low number of them, and mine is #8! I looked up everything- Henry, found you guys, and am asking for feedback and advice.

Welcome to the forum from CT, Sawdusty and congratulations on the good luck that won your new Henry.

The value of the rifle is not likely to appreciate very much, if at all, though one can really never tell about collectibles. I suggest you shoot it often and enjoy it. My 2cents.

sawdusty wrote:Hi Folks.
I'm new to this site b/c I am the happy new owner of a Henry H006. Twenty bucks-worth of raffle tickets at the Ocean City American Legion won me 1st choice of 2 rifles, a Weatherby 30-06 w/scope, or a Henry 44 Mag God Bless America. Guess what I picked?

Now for my dilemma: Do I shoot this gun and have fun w/it, or pack it away safely to stay "brand new"? I want to shoot it, but friends are saying no, you can't shoot that gun since the value will fall, and others say don't let that stop you. Oh, and BTW, the serial # is 00008GBA, and as you might know, they only made a low number of them, and mine is #8! I looked up everything- Henry, found you guys, and am asking for feedback and advice.

The value of the rifle is not likely to appreciate very much, if at all, though one can really never tell about collectibles. I suggest you shoot it often and enjoy it. My 2cents

I agree.
The whole 'don't shoot it or it will loose value' is typically applied to certain 'key' firearms - and then those of a more 'vintage' or otherwise collectible nature.
And example would be if this were a Colt 1873 .45 and were found new in box, unfired then yes - to fire it WOULD reduce the value.
Another example could be a JM marked Marlin .357, or early pre-lock Smith & Wesson handguns.
Same with many 'key' firearms that are no longer made.
However this is not entirely consistent. Probably 80% of the Winchester Mod 94 Commemoratives made from the '60s forward have no intrinsic value and can be found in very nice (and some in unfired condition) for not much more than say a nice pre 64 shooter grade Winchester and i don't see much difference with the Henry 'Special Editions'
I own two Winchester Commemoratives and shoot them regularly.
Shoot this rifle with no concern!

welcome to our forum, delighted to have you join us ....congratulations on winning your new Henry .... your concern/question is most certainly valid .... I suggest that you call Henry customer service and ask them for info on your rifle .... When was it made? .... How many like it were produced ? .... Were they sold via standard distributions or only given for raffles or other such events ? .... I agree with others who have noted that as a general rule, such rifles in new condition don't appreciate very quickly .... please keep us informed .... also, do jump into ongoing conversations as well as start your own ... our Henry 44 is one heck of a shooter, we thoroughly enjoy firing it .... please take a look at our How Many ? thread (link below) and add your beautiful tribute Henry to our community's total



http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 528#p85528

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Shoot and enjoy. Clean and wipe down after use and it should stay nearly 'looking like new'.

Welcome to the forum from the TV Oregon.

sawdusty wrote:... my dilemma: Do I shoot this gun and have fun w/it, or pack it away safely to stay "brand new"? I want to shoot it, but friends are saying no, you can't shoot that gun since the value will fall, and others say don't let that stop you.

Welcome from the Show-Me-State, and Congrats on the Henry .44 Magnum raffle win, Sawdusty.
Easy to agree with other Henry Folk. You made the right "pick." Yes, and it wants to be shot. Enjoy.

PT7

sawdusty wrote:Guess what I picked?

100% with the comments above. Very, very few firearms of the "modern era" appreciate in value, and even though yours is a very unique model, even if it were 1 of 1,000, it would still only be worth what someone, somewhere would be willing to pay you for it.

Henry makes the 44 mag in more variations than any other caliber, which attests to the popularity of the cartridge.

Do yourself a huge favor and "shoot it like you stole it," which you almost did, thanks to your raffle-winning skills! You'll enjoy it every time you shoot it, far more than you would if just opened up the safe and gazed at it every so often.

AND, Welcome to the forum! It's a really great place with lots of folks willing to give scads of advice (as you've now learned first-hand)!

Thanks, all. I enjoyed reading all the replies and am sure leaning towards firing away. Yes, I did buy bullets. Thinking of buying a gun stock to replace the laser engraving for when I do take it out. Be talking to you a lot. I live on the Eastern Shore of VA, near NASA and close to Chincoteague Island where the wild ponies swim every July.

sawdusty wrote:Thinking of buying a gun stock to replace the laser engraving for when I do take it out.

Great idea... and wow! Wild ponies swim where you live? So very cool! Pictures, please.

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Did your Henry come with a sock? If so, you could use it to cover the laser engraving when taking it out to shoot.

sawdusty wrote:Thanks, all. I enjoyed reading all the replies and am sure leaning towards firing away. Yes, I did buy bullets. Thinking of buying a gun stock to replace the laser engraving for when I do take it out. Be talking to you a lot. I live on the Eastern Shore of VA, near NASA and close to Chincoteague Island where the wild ponies swim every July.

Shoot it and enjoy it. Congratulations on winning it and Welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy that new Henry.

The whole unfired new in box is a bit of a fallacy given most are test fired at the factory. Some even come with test targets in the box.
Keeping the factory box and all associated paperwork it was shipped with will probably influence the resale value more than a few shots.

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

I would use it and enjoy it. Why have a great rifle and leave it in the closet?!

That rifle was made to be shot & enjoyed. Go for it. It will just get better with age.

Thinking of buying a gun stock to replace the laser engraving for when I do take it out.

Good idea - then leave it on.
Unless you really like the origional stock and want to keep it put it up on EBay - you might be surprised to find someone who can't live without it and do fairly well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM8NwSRQ_wE Here's a great video showing the pony swim!

I would be proud to have it AND go shoot it!! It's pretty...so go show it off...

BtW...welcome from Western NC!