Henry Rifle Forums

I went to the shop and did the paper work on the new 223 Long Ranger this morning. He was as good as his word and I left with the new rifle for $530 OTD. I asked again if he really wanted to sell it and lose that much on it and he said " That is the price I gave you so it is yours now." So I brought it home and cleaned the barrel and gave it a good wipe down. My wife really likes it. I checked the trigger and it is 3lb. 10 oz. Wish it was lighter but at
least it breaks very clean. It may lighten up with break in. That is why I shoot bolt rifles more with their better triggers. The action is a little stiff but it will break in. It does have nice wood grain. The wood to metal fit is really close. I kind of wish it was a very small amount proud of the metal just in case I ever refinish the wood I would have a little wood to work with. This would have to be a chemical strip and no sanding. The bluing on the barrel is not up to Henry standards in my eyes.
One thing nice is my full sizing die is right on for the headspace on this Henry where it is set now for my bolt rifles. Helps to not have a separate set of dies for the different 223 rifles. I didn't check the length of the throat yet but I will soon. I imagine the throat will be long because of being able to shoot 5.56 ammo. I don't shoot that stuff any way so 223 Rem and a 1 in 12 twist would have been fine. I will use a one piece Weaver base and it may be the same base as the 336 Marlin which I already have a few. Thinking about putting a Leupold 4-12X40 on it to find what loads it likes then pull it back off and put my 3-9X33 Leupold compact on just to have a better looking set up and not ruin the lines of the rifle. Big scopes on lever rifles turn me off. I will see how I like it and if I don't I will trade it on a Remington 700 VLS in 22-250.

I've not seen or even handled any of the LR's. But
then again this past year I haven't seen the inside of to many shops.
I know, I know, and the few times I have I just get more or less what I needed and left.

I'd like to hear how she shoots and what you think about.
Congrats to ya.

RP

congrats again .... really looking forward to your coming pictures, range reports and comments

Congrats Bandit. I think sounds like you are a little skeptical maybe. Picture to we need pictures. At my house anyway if the wife likes it and I dont check with her before it leaves there could be trouble in paradise.

RP

JEBar wrote:congrats again .... really looking forward to your coming pictures, range reports and comments

What he said!

bandit1250 wrote:I went to the shop and did the paper work on the new 223 Long Ranger this morning. He was as good as his word and I left with the new rifle for $530 OTD.

Hey, Bandit. Congratulations on your new Long Ranger. Like so many others, I wish you'd take another stab at adding photos to your posts. I'd be happy to help you out with that. Let me know.

By the way, have you added your Henrys to the "How Many?" thread?
http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 393#p71393

Congrats. Here's a pic of my LR 308 with the 4-12X40 Leupold. It's very subjective, but, to my eye, the proportion of the scope/barrel/overall length is just fine.

A couple thoughts, here.

On the scopes, I think ESquared has a good point. One of the reasons I've always liked Leupold scopes is that they keep the dimensions for a given size of scope on the more compact size. A lot of scopes, these days, go with oversized eyepiece bells and big tall turrets. Those features have their place and are certainly legit, but, to my eye, they make a scope look a bit too tactical in looks for a lever gun. It's why most of my single shots that wear scopes wear Leupolds. Here's a 4-12x AO on our Low Wall 22 mag.


That trigger pull is actually pretty useable for a hunting gun and still pretty doable for range work. My beloved 1885 single shots all have identical triggers right at 3.5 pounds of pull and I do very well with them, now that I've had experience with them. I'd recommend just getting out and shooting your new LR for awhile before messing with the trigger. A good shooter such as yourself won't have any problems with that trigger.

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drooling,,,,

ESquared wrote:Congrats. Here's a pic of my LR 308 with the 4-12X40 Leupold. It's very subjective, but, to my eye, the proportion of the scope/barrel/overall length is just fine.

The Long Ranger, without a magazine tube and with the tapered barrel (and no sights) tends to be more forgiving (if that's the right word) than a typical lever-action rifle when it comes to how a scope makes it look.
NCG is right, smaller diameter bells (on both ends) is better, and that's what led me to the Leupolds. 4-12X magnification with a 40mm objective bell is a pretty good combination and this VX Freedom is great value, it seems to me.