Henry is an American company and worth supporting. There is no significant difference in accuracy between a pump action and a lever action rifle. You will not be shooting them off a bench in bench rest matches. The accuracy will depend almost 100% on you, the shooter. One hand is on the stock where it moves around some on a pump rifle but not on a lever action rifle, I would opt for the lever action. And you might want to consider older used Remington and Winchester pump action rifles and the timeless Marlin 39A lever action rifles. All of these are most excellent and will hold their value well.

 

I have both, a Henry pump .22LR and a Golden Boy .22LR.

I love them both, but if I could only have one it would be the lever action

 

I’d opt for the Henry unless you can find a good deal on a 39a. I don’t care much for pump action except on a shotgun.

 

Well, I have always wanted a lever action rifle like the cowboys had but I do like pump action too. My deer rifle is a Remington 7600 pump and I love it. I’ve never owned a lever.

 

To be able to get cheap practice using the same action as your hunting rifle- that may be all the reason you need to go with the pump first.

You can always get a lever action later.

 

I have no experience with Henry lever actions but the workmanship and quality on the Henry single-shot rifle I own is first class. As David Valdina said above, an American company worth supporting. The Henry single-shot I have is a .30-30 Winchester and I actually have a second Henry single-shot on order. If my Henry rifle is reflective of other Henry products, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Henry rimfire.

I did own a Rossi Rio lever action rimfire for a while but I traded it for a Ruger 10/22. It seemed like a youth rifle to me, maybe it was.

I have only heard good comments about Henry's customer service and my one experience with Henry customer service was outstanding.

 

im going to be honest in that i like the levers but i have a good number of pumps as well , i think you need at least one of each eventually because both are fun as well as the best of what i remember as a kid [i didnt get a semiauto till i was way beyond kidom] but being equally honest , all of my rossies are centerfire , my rimfires are everything american , here is a little food for thought tho , as much as henry claims to be american made thats not 100% true , assembled here yes , not everything is produced here , but ill not quibble it beyond that point ,

 

Henry for 22LR without a doubt.

 

Lever for function. I find it easier to work a lever without taking my eyes off the sights. Your mileage may vary, of course. Also, folks don't shoot lever action rifles off a bench competitively, but I do it for fun all the time, to test out a scope, for instance, and when doing load development for my CF levers. You just have to get the action high enough off the bench to work the lever. Front support is not on the forearm, but back by the action. Works fine. You can't do that with a pump action though.

I have a couple of lever action Henry's. My pumps are older Winchesters. I have one Taylor & Co lever action in .357, which I think is made by Rossi. No complaints at all about it.

But buying a new .22, I would go with the company that has a rep for standing behind their products. There are many stories on RFC of Henry "just making things right." No muss, no fuss.

 

Taylor competes with Rossi (older Rossi were mande in Brazil) by importing from Italy.

Lever for function. I find it easier to work a lever without taking my eyes off the sights. Your mileage may vary, of course. Also, folks don't shoot lever action rifles off a bench competitively, but I do it for fun all the time, to test out a scope, for instance, and when doing load development for my CF levers. You just have to get the action high enough off the bench to work the lever. Front support is not on the forearm, but back by the action. Works fine. You can't do that with a pump action though.

I have a couple of lever action Henry's. My pumps are older Winchesters. I have one Taylor & Co lever action in .357, which I think is made by Rossi. No complaints at all about it.

But buying a new .22, I would go with the company that has a rep for standing behind their products. There are many stories on RFC of Henry "just making things right." No muss, no fuss.

 

If you use a pump shotgun there’s no learning curve for a pump rifle. I’ll stick with my 572

 

The Rossi pumps were having issues with cracked receivers. I don't know if they fixed the problem but some were cracked out of the box. Levers did not have the same problem.
I have owned pumps including a Rem 572 which is a very nice rifle. I prefer a lever. Right now I have a Henry H001. It is decent but not in the same class as a Marlin, Winchester or Browning.

 

Henry Rifles do come with a lifetime warranty and most people rave about how well Henty's customer service is and they stand behind their warranty.
I will say I own two rimfire Henry levers and like the guns very well and for the prices paid I am totally satisfied.

The Lifetime warranty also gives a certain amount of peace of mind if you ever do have an issue down the road.

 

I have a Henry .22mag pump and a Rossi Gallery .22lr pump.
The Henry is without adoubt better made with really nice wood for it's price.
But the Rossi has given me no problems, is much shorter and lighter and takes less effort to cycle.
Henry has a better trigger.
I think they're both good value, the Henry is twice the price but it looks it.
For a lever, I vote Henry. For a pump, Rossi.

Also check out a Marlin 39a, I bought my Dad a new 39a Golden many years ago and it's the best lever rimfire I've ever handled. Not cheap but a no-compromise firearm.

 

i have two henry levers in my assortment , an H001 and a golden boy , ive had zero issues with either and both worked great right out of the box , my golden boy is great looking as well , rest are marlins , mosberg , brownings , and winchester ,

i dont have any henry pumps but will not hesitate for a moment when the right one comes along , ive found the remingtons , winchesters , stevens and marlin - i think i need a henry

 

+1 on Henry firearms, from an owner of a .357 Henry Lever action rifle.
I would by a US made weapon over anything foreign, unless there were compelling reasons
not to do so... (this could happen).

Good luck in your quest... this ought to be fun. You should make it so.

 

I have both. The basic Henry lever 22 and the Rossi "tactical" pump. Prefer the Henry by far. The Rossi is my first, and only, pump rifle. I guess I expected a shotgun like feel to the action, but it is much stiffer. I'm hoping it will slick up with use but I'm not holding my breath. The Henry was as smooth as butter right out of the box. I've several lever rifles, but the Henry is the one I keep on the rack on the wall for quick access. The rest sleep in the safe.

 

I have purchased several lever guns over the past few years, for use in lever action silhouette. I had a 39 marlin for small bore, but wanted a pistol cartridge rifle with a 24" barrel. I purchased a Henry frontier in 22m, the basement chambering of PC class guns, and found it to be very accurate and smooth operating. The 22m cartridge wasn't cutting it though, so I looked at the Henry in 357m, but settled on the Rossi copy of the win92. The Rossi had a better build quality and offered a 24" barrel, Henry did not. After sorting out a minor bug early on, (the ejector bushing broke due to a sloppy finish on the finger lever), the rifle is super accurate and one of my favorites. So my thought is that good and bad examples can come in any brand, but as a whole you will most likely be happy with either choice. Also in the same price range chiappa makes a decent low cost 22 lever action, something else to consider.
Good luck and happy shooting with whatever choice you make.

 

i have no experience with modern pumps , all of mine are older - at least three decades older and a few are over 100 , but id not hesitate to buy a newer one if it felt right , my first rifle was a lever [stevens favorite] but my second was a pump [winchester 1890 in 22short ] the next was a mossberg palomino

i too had all pump shotguns for most of my life and yes they dont feel like the rifles do really but the action is the same , not a good reason to avoid them ,

 

i have no experience with modern pumps , all of mine are older - at least three decades older and a few are over 100 , but id not hesitate to buy a newer one if it felt right , my first rifle was a lever [stevens favorite] but my second was a pump [winchester 1890 in 22short ] the next was a mossberg palomino

i too had all pump shotguns for most of my life and yes they dont feel like the rifles do really but the action is the same , not a good reason to avoid them ,

I've owned two Henry pump 22s like many other shooters I like Winchester 62s and 62A and 61s in pumps
all steel and wood, the two Henrys I had were OK but they never smoothed up, the pump throw is too short and I never got used to it. Their lever actions are really good and I would not hesitate to get one to replace both a 9422 and a 39A but today I much prefer a pump I have two old Rossi pumps the 62SA and the 62SAC both shoot S L LR pleasant walk about rifles that replicate the Winchester pumps of yesteryear. The new Rossi's just don't do credit to the old Rossi's barrels are pinned will only shoot 22 LR, the Tactical seems to be an abomination in my eyes. I have handled a couple but they just don't compare to the older guns.
I would look for Older Rossi 62s in pumps and Henry's in lever action for smoothness and feel.
Of course I would much prefer Winchesters or pump Remingtons like model 12 or 121 winchester 61 marlin 37 all pumps.
That's my take on the subject.

 

I own a few Henry lever actions and Winchester 22 mag lever action. I really like the Henrys. I had an issue with the Henry not cycling correctly. Called Henry, they said send it back. I had it back in a week and gun was back and repaired. No problem. I have a Rossi gallery gun hard to chamber rounds. I called Rossi they sent me a FEDX label and back it went. I have not heard anything from Rossi. It's been 2 weeks I think they should at least email that gun was received. Tracking said it was. So, we will see. I can't really complain about customer service with either company. But if I had to do it over, I would buy the Henry pump. I was inpatient last time no one had the Henry, but they did have the Rossi so I purchased it. Should have waited.

 

im glad to hear that your experience with customer service was good it will influence my decision to buy if that comes up , the only rossi experiences i have are centerfire 'cowboy guns' , these were bought as tools for SASS and get used and abused quite regular , i have had no issues with them , or the pietta , uberty , either ,

 

I decided to go with a Henry H001M with a Leupold VX-1 3-9x40. Just brought it home today. I’m super excited to shoot it. I have 8 different kinds of ammo ranging from 30 grain to 50 grain to try out. Can’t wait to make it to the range to do some testing. What load does your H001M like?

 

Good buy screen door USA made gun. I am still waiting on the return of the Rossi. November of 2023 Now it's February of 2024. The only information I get from Rossi is gun is in for repair.

 

let us know how that scope works out on the henry , my experience with a golden boy and two remington nylon 66s ended up with only one satisfied mount on one of the remingtons - im not sayin it cant be done that one prooved it could but generally those bent tin covers dont allow a great surface mount even with the grooves ,

 

I put an old glossy Bushnell 4 X ScopeChief on my Henry LBF. The mount is solid and I used the lowest Weaver 7/8" rings they make with UTG adapters to get the scope low as possible and this setup works well giving me a good cheek weld. A side mounted hammer extension is needed and also works well.The action operates very smoothly but needs done quickly to prevent stove piping. No easing the lever down and then up. The rifle is more accurate than I expected from a lever action gun. The only problem it has had was the detent groove in the magazine tube was barely cut and the inside tube would pop out fairly regularly. A few minutes with a round needle file fixed that.

 

thats good to know ,

 

We shoot Cowboy Action Shooting with NCOWS and SASS, so I’m kinda partial to lever guns, and have a few…2 Henry’s, a Frontier I plink with around the farm, and a display rifle, their Railroad Tribute rifle mounted on display. (We also have several we shoot CAS with, all in .38/.357)

I wanted a pump, was really looking for an original 1890 Winchester pump, but haven't found one at what I’m willing to pay for it yet.…local dealer has one but it has been refinished with some kind of coating, a matte black rather than blued or original metal and modern sights…..I can’t bring myself to that it’s a nice hun but no longer historical….. So, bidding and looking….until then I decided to pick up a modern one.

Looked at both Rossi and Henry pump. If you have access to both? Hold them and I think you will find the Henry feels right to me. Less ”plastic’y” like the Rossi. I expect they shoot about the same. But the Henry is a better built gun in my humble opinion, and just looks better. And it’s a lot of fun to shoot!

If you can only have one? I personally would go with a Frontier lever gun, the one with traditional buckhorn sights, and octagon barrel. It’s just plain cool. But the pump sure is a lot of fun too, really you cant go wrong with either!