Henry and mixup98

I watched a YouTube video the other day by a guy who does video reviews of guns. Usually I have found his reviews to be pretty fair and knowledgeable, but this one is really an exception.

The guy's channel is called mixup98, and his video is called "Why I'll Never Buy a Henry Rifle- Two Very Good Reasons."

The upshot of the video is that the guy apparently has an older Henry 22 that he got from a pawn shop. He says it looks like new, but doesn't always cycle correctly. He took it apart, and the carrier was plastic, and is worn out. He says he contacted Henry CS to order a new part, but they wouldn't sell it to him because he's not a licensed gunsmith.

Hmmm...

So, his two reasons apparently are that 1. He couldn't get the part he needs from Brownell's or Numrich, or somewhere like that, and that Henry wouldn't sell him one, and 2. Henry makes their guns out of plastic.

A number of folks commented on the video, advising him that their Henry rifles have metal carriers, but, judging by his follow up comments, the guy doesn't seem completely convinced of this. Several people also encouraged him to call Henry again, but I don't think he has done so. Also, what is a "licensed gunsmith?" is there even such a thing? Has anyone else here ever had Henry refuse to send them parts?

I've called Henry twice to order parts for my rifles. Both times I had damaged the part in question myself and disclosed that to Henry, but both times they refused to charge me, and sent the replacement part for free. I can't think of any other company I've had better service from than Henry.

Something just doesn't ring true here. And the bad thing about it is that a number of his viewers now think Henry has crummy CS and makes their actions with plastic. They're thanking him for the "heads up."

I have intentionally not linked to the video, but you can easily find it if you like.

I wasted 5 minutes trying to find either the video or search for "Why I'll Never Buy a Henry Rifle- Two Very Good Reasons" and found neither.

Personally I don't buy what the guy says.

Yes there are licensed gunsmiths. They are also bonded.

You have to be professionally and academically trained like from the Colorado School of Firearms.

There are 9 different licenses for gunsmiths. Each one covers different services and each one has different requirements such as liability, record retention, warranties, insurance, safety and others.

Figure on 5-7 grand for the ones you will need most and they are state/location specific.

We have 2 within 20 miles of our home.

noremf(George)

 

I just posted a comment defending Henry Rifles and even the forerunner of the Henry the Erma, the actions are the same and still going strong.

 

I would regard a "licensed gunsmith" as one who holds an FFL as a gunsmith. Many manufacturers refuse to sell certain parts (not just receivers) to anyone other than an FFL. That's their policy.

Stryker60

 

Easy enough to verify: Call Henry and ask if you can buy a carrier. I suspect you will have no problem as long as you can verify you own a Henry via the serial number. I read in an old thread that early golden boy models in 1999/2000 did have plastic carriers, but the company offered to exchange them for steel carriers for free. I don't want to post the thread here because it might break the rules, but I'll be happy to PM it to you if you want.

 

Some people got burrs up their collective behinds and then there are the rest of us.

I have NEVER dealt with a company, whether an arms manufacturer or otherwise, with a faster, accommodating customer service than Henry.

Come to think of it, my Frontier is going to the range with my Anschutz Saturday for a little cowboy fantasy workout.

 

Saw the video and only have to comment that he was talking through his hat. He does not know that even though he is not the original owner, his rifle still is completely warranted by Henry. They would put it in new condition on their nickle for the asking.

If the old plastic carriers were so bad, then why do we not hear of problems in that area? Could it be because they worked well?

His talk of Henry not backing their rifles is so much bull as all of us on this forum know.

Here again is someone telling viewers that if they spend double or more on a new rifle they are ahead of the game. If he compared pricing of that used Henry to a new high dollar brand, he would be out quite a few dollars and not get Henry service. His budget and mine seem to differ.

As far as those commenting on his thread go, they are definitely followers and not leaders capable for thinking for themselves. Henry can do without customers like them. Got mine, love it, and have no desire to get another brand lever action.

 

BTW-

I had a carrier problem, sent it in to Henry, and had it back within a week with a new carrier. Mine was metal replaced with metal. Try THAT with Savage, Marlin or Remington or CZ or whomever else.

 

That's the service Henry is known for. Problem is, the fellow who made the video insists on working on his own guns. He has a bug up his butt because he says Henry won't send a new carrier to him.

The sad thing about it? Perhaps if he'd join a couple of forums (and, to be fair, I don't know that he isn't active on forums) I would be willing to bet he could find the carrier he needs from someone who has an extra one.

I can understand wanting to work on your own guns. Lots of people like to work on cars, too. Let's suppose, though, that your 12 year old Ford F150 needed a new starter motor. You call your local Ford dealer, and they offer to pick up your truck, replace the starter with a new one that's better than the original, and then return the truck to you, all at no charge. Would you be posting a video afterwards trashing Ford and saying why you would never buy one?

 

Perhaps he is not as knowledgeable as he thinks; the only internal plastic on ANY of my Henry rim-fires is the plastic follower in the mag tube . . . While I've never seen one wear out, lots of them do get broken . . .

 

The guy in the video did state that he got the gun from a pawn shop ten or so years ago. It was never stated how old the gun really is. Maybe they used plastic followers when this particular gun was manufactured. In the video the part in question does appear to be plastic. It may not be though.
He states the gun does not look like it was used much. looks can be deceiving.
I'm sure Henry would make it right if given a chance.
And if Henry did not want to supply him with the part maybe they are protecting themselves from a lawsuit for some reason. With the way things are now lawyers jump on anything to make a buck and cause trouble.
By the way I own a Henry Mares Leg and have had no problems with it and I like it very much.

 

I just had a disjointed viewing of the video (at work). He likes to work on his own rifles? Fine. As far as I could get from the video, he never asked Henry to fix it. His loss.

I DO have a question. I can almost understand Henry not wanting to sell a barrel or a receiver to an individual. But a carrier? Assuming he is not inaccurate in his relating his conversation with Henry.

 

I did call Henry

I have major issues with "global" statements stating that an issue is systemic based on a very small sample.

I did call Henry and talked to a guy by the name of Kevin.

An overview was that:

Gun looks to be at least 12-15 years old.

Looks like it has been used quite a bit

Henry supplies both the carrier and the outer mag tube and treats them as a "module". They recommend replacing both at the same time.

At one time fiberglass carriers were required from an engineering standpoint because of flexibility needs. Henry guy thinks that was taken care of about 4 years ago but not sure.

In any case those carriers are very robust and replacement needs for them are small in relation to the weapons sold.

Henry prefers to repair personally and has a lifetime warranty.

If not sent to them then a licensed gunsmith should be used but frankly Henry does not see any benefit in that and it will cost you more because the parts and service are free from Henry.

If in fact you DIY the rifle Henry will not be liable for any injuries as any lawyer will tell you but Henry will still repair it.

They will sell you the carrier but again strongly recommend the outer mag tube to go with it.

If you are told that they will not then you should ask for a supervisor who can authorize that.

I have two Henry Golden Boys. Next time I do a thorough cleaning I am gonna check the carrier as to what it is made out of. Tapping against it with a small jeweler's screwdriver and looking at it from the side with a 20X set of glasses is inconclusive. I thought the rear peep sight on the older T-Bolts was metal also until I got one off. Fiberglass also.

Personally I think the guy is simply unreasonable because he can't get everything he wants "his way". Just because he can replace parts does not make him a gunsmith....simply a parts replacer.

noremf(George)

 

OK, to avoid confusion here is the verbatim transcript of what someone received from the owner of the company back in 2004 in response to an inquiry as to whether his Golden Boy rifle had a plastic carrier:

"Thank you very much for owning a Henry Golden Boy. The very early Golden Boys had plastic carrier, but that dates back to 1999/2000. We had since changed to metal the past 4 years. So it depends on the serial number. I would say most likely you have the metal part and if not I would change for you at no charge.

Anthony Imperato, President
HENRY REPEATING ARMS
110 8th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215 USA"

 

You can leave comments on the video. One guy already has, and ole mixup98 didn't like it. He made an "assumption" that Henry's have a plastic receiver based on a 13 or 14 yr old rifle. Not much of a gun expert as far as I can see.

 

George, thanks for your post. I've dealt with Kevin at Henry, and he's very knowledgeable and helpful. His response is what I would expect from Henry.

People are human, and anyone can have a bad day, including folks answering the phone at Henry. More likely, however, I suspect that mixup98 may not have been all that friendly when he spoke to them. Just sayin'.

 

I called Henry once asking if I could purchase an EXTRA part once. They wouldn't take my money and sent me one free. That's over the top service and I'll defend a company like that all day long. Great product in the 001, great service too.

 

When I first got my H001, I leaned it against a stump, and it fell over and scuffed up the receiver cover. I called Henry to order, and pay for a new part, to replace the one I damaged, and they sent it for free.

Recently, I damaged the head of the screw to the lever on my 30-30. When I called to order, and pay for, a new screw, again they would not take my money, but mailed a new screw at no charge.

 

George hit it on the head.

 

Henry's response

Hey everyone,

Kevin from Henry Repeating here. We got a few phone calls about this video, so we decided to respond to it. Just wanted to share that response here with all of you

"Hi all,

This is Kevin Maguire from Henry Repeating Arms. While we are happy to ship
out many of our rifle parts, free of charge if a warranty issue, to owners
there are a few parts that we normally do not because they are not always
"plug and play" and often need to be fitted properly. The carrier is one of
these parts. Our rifles have a lifetime warranty which means it doesn't
matter if your rifle is brand new and has an issue or over 14 years old like
the one in this video, we want to get it fixed up and shooting again. In
this instance we can ship out a carrier to be installed by a competent
gunsmith or we are happy to do the work under the lifetime warranty. For us
to do the work all we ask is that the rifle is shipped into us and we will
cover the parts (in this case most likely multiple parts will be needed to
be changed for a modern carrier to be fitted to an older style Henry),
labor, and return shipping. Our first H001 shipped out in 1998, as a
starting company we as most were looking for ways to keep costs down. We do
however listen to our customers and make changes that improve our rifles as
we continue to grow. We have not shipped a rifle with a plastic carrier
since 2000. If you would like to get this rifle taken care of or have any
other questions or concern please feel free to contact me at 201-858-4400 or
at Kevin@henryrepeating.com"

Thank all of you for your continued support of Henry rifles. I will try to check in here from time to time and answer posts when possible. If you need anything or have any questions you can contact me at kevin@henryrepeating.com

 

there you have it.

great example of henry service response. I own two. now I don't think they are necessarily the best quality rifle available. but price point and service mean a huge difference. I wouldn't pick one of mine for the ultimate survivor lever 22, I sure am happy with them and the Henry name.

 

No surprise here.

Fantastic reply Kevin. As you know, most all of us here love the products you guys put out, and it's no secret that Henrys service is absolutely the best in any industry I've ever encountered. Be interesting if this 'tuber' responds and fixes his 'review'.
Time will tell.

 

Probably a P. O. Youtuber. Henrys customer service is the gold standard. I think other manufacturers should take note. I bet you want get a response from the others like this. We'll it's time to go Henry shopping. A man can never have enough guns.

 

a new henry last week



big loop carbine, i am working on making a silver receiver right now. then scratch-X for a beautiful shine on the wood. life IS good when you own one or more HENRY rifles!

 

why pay attention to one lone D/A

i watched it and i LOL cause the guy was so full of s*** his eyeballs were brown! a quart ove full my dad allways said, and he was a man of a few words. one bad apple with millions of happy henry owners--WHO CARES. some people cant be pleased/happy about anything!

 

It looks as if mixup98 pulled his review of the H001.

Too many folks with a video camera become "experts" when they can see themselves on-line.

I've got a Henry lever .22 and a pump .22. Any minor issues have always been addresses by Henry to my satisfaction!

Now do I get a .357 or a Frontier .22 next??

Decisions, decisions....

 

It looks as if mixup98 pulled his review of the H001.

Too many folks with a video camera become "experts" when they can see themselves on-line.
QUOTE]

:yeahthat: