Henry Rifle Forums

Received new Henry Long Ranger in 5.56 about a week ago. Had a good weather day on Friday so went to the range with a couple of boxes of Federal AR-15, 5.56, Federal 223 and Lake City XM193. The good news first: The Henry exceeded my expectations for accuracy even with the crappy ammo that I took on the spur of the moment. The problem came with the way I had to operate the rifle. When inserting a full mag (5 rounds) I was unable to open the lever any more than half way when the bolt contacted the first round in the magazine. It took such effort effort at that point that I was afraid of stripping the gear system in the action. Only way I could chamber rounds from the magazine was to insert the mag with the action open and lever the first round in to the chamber. After the first round was fired the lever could be worker to chamber the 4 remaining rounds. The fun didn't stop there. the bolt would extract the spent cartridge but not eject it . The fired case would be hung up at about a 30 degree angle sticking out of the ejection port where I would manually remove it to chamber the next round.

I had disassembled the rifle upon receipt to thoroughly inspect, clean and lube it. I followed Henry's instructional video on disassembly and re-assembly to the letter to be sure I properly indexed the lever/bolt. When I returned from the range I did the process again thinking I possibly didn't get the indexing correct. I'm positive the rifle is correctly re-assembled. I loaded some dummy rounds with small based sized cases and 55 gr FMC bullets. The rifle failed exactly as it did for me at the range. I'm sure the rifle was test fired at the factory. Not sure how these problems were not noticed. I'd be interested in any comments forum members would have on this. I'm going to be contacting Henry on Monday.

Sorry to hear about issues with your new gun but many of us here have had issues with new and guns we have used for a while. Henry will fix it and hopefully the turn around time will be quick. You are doing the right thing by contacting Henry

Yes, this is very disappointing, it happened to me - my new BBX .44Mag would not feed rounds at all. Henry fixed it by replacing parts and grinding away sections of the new lever (???) This should not happen, period. But they will definitely fix it ... hopefully on the first try.

John Davies
Spokane WA

disappointment understood .... I wasn't aware that the 223/5.56 magazines are designed to hold 5 rounds .... my experience has been with 308 which holds 4 .... not surprised at hearing about your rifle's accuracy .... they are building a strong reputation in that regard .... hopefully the issue is minor and they will get it back to you quickly

Thanks for the replies. I will keep you posted.

Sounds like a magazine issue. Can the mag be taken apart?

To bad they weren't designed to take AR mags, just use a 5 rounder in restricted areas

GtownGeorge wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:05 pm

Sounds like a magazine issue. Can the mag be taken apart?

That is a reasonable thought although I bought one spare magazine and it arrived before I went to the range -- the second magazine caused the same behavior. The whole thing may be two separate problems -- both mags could be defective as well as a problem with the bolt (ejection).

Oldbrass wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 06, 2021 4:57 pm

To bad they weren't designed to take AR mags, just use a 5 rounder in restricted areas

Amen to that.

Just for folks thinking of getting a Long Ranger, I recently got one in .243 Win (late December). It works really well and it shoots tight groups with the load I've worked up. No feeding or extraction problems.
The only thing I'd improve is the magazine release. The release mechanism is a hokey design, and difficult to work when a scope is mounted. But not that big a deal, and I'd certainly buy again.

I'm sure returning to Henry will get a good result.

NHshtr wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 07, 2021 11:11 pm

The only thing I'd improve is the magazine release. The release mechanism is a hokey design, and difficult to work when a scope is mounted.

That is strange, why does a scope make it harder?

Can the chamber be single loaded with the mag in place, or removed? A single shot tray would be nice for bench shooting and load development. Maybe somebody could 3D print a replacement mag follower, or a complete dummy mag like this one. ... https://www.ebay.com/itm/CZ-455-457-17 ... 1438.l2649

John Davies
Spokane WA

Hey Toy first off sorry to hear of the problems.
Like you said I'm sure the rifle was test fired, but
that being said I know that most companies only test fire 2 rounds.
So the mag. was most likely not filled to capacity.
Just my two cents worth on that part.

RP

John Davies,
Having a scope mounted makes it difficult, sounds strange, I know. pressing the release button should allow the magazine to drop out. But mine at least, doesn't. The magazine has to be pulled out while pressing the button. If carrying the rifle and wanting to remove the magazine, it would be easiest to get an over the top grip while pulling the magazine down with the other hand. But the scope prevents an over the top grip. I polished the sides of the magazine to allow it to drop out a bit easier. Works OK, but the design could be better.

To answer your question as to single loading with the magazine in, yes, it's easy to load one at a time.
Hopefully My Toy will get quick turn-around service from Henry. They have a good reputation for that.

Update on returned to factory Henry Long Ranger in 5.56: Henry sent me a return label and I was able to drop it off at ups on 2/9/21; tracking and Henry repair order said it arrived in WI on 2/15/21. Got an update this morning on the on-line repair order with a tracking number for return of the rifle on today's date (2/17/21). No information on my on-line repair order as to what the problem was or what was done to fix it. I'm guessing it was a problem with the bolt carrier. That seems like an incredible turn around time. Has anyone here returned a Henry rifle and gotten an explanation as to what was fixed?

There will be a work order in your box as to what was done. Thats what took place last time I returned one.

I didn't receive any details about the repairs from Henry .... what we did get was a smooth shooting rifle ...

I'm very disappointed in the accuracy of my Long Ranger in 308.
I've tied 7 different factory loads and get patterns not groups.
The rifle has been sent back to Henry and they seem to think the accuracy is OK.
I don't know how to post photos on here but would be happy to do so.
I traded in a great Browning BLR for this Henry......big mistake!!!
If anyone knows of a factory load that will come close to a 2" group I'd really appreciate knowing what it is.

How about giving us a clue of the 7 different loads you have tried.

Welcome to the forum. I would contact Henry again with pics of your groups and the loads you used. I have own two henry's and returned them to the company nine times. Henry will eventually make it right or return your money. If the rifle is shooting patterns it probably is not the load but something wrong with the rifle. I can't explain how to load pics but I think there is a section that explains it.

joc1212 wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 15, 2023 1:59 am

I'm very disappointed in the accuracy of my Long Ranger in 308.
I've tied 7 different factory loads and get patterns not groups.
The rifle has been sent back to Henry and they seem to think the accuracy is OK.
I don't know how to post photos on here but would be happy to do so.
I traded in a great Browning BLR for this Henry......big mistake!!!
If anyone knows of a factory load that will come close to a 2" group I'd really appreciate knowing what it is.

Have you tried a match load in 168 - 175 grain? The barrel twist could also make a difference as to what bullet weight you select. I suggest you try different bullet weights if you haven’t already. This has got to be frustrating as .308 is typically a very accurate caliber.