- Henry 45 70 Octagon Barrel
- Henry 45-70 Magazine Tube Problems
- Henry Rifle 45 70 Accuracy
- Henry 45 70 Loading Tube Problems
- Henry Single Shot 45-70 Problems
- Henry 45-70 Lever Action Rifle Problems
- Henry 45 70 Rifles Price
I recently picked up a Henry H010 in.45-70 and figured I'd post a review/range report since there are so few of these available (the reports, not the guns). Looks - The rifle looks great, is clean and well finished. The receiver is flat black while the lever, barrel and magazine tube are semi-gloss. A coworker bought a 45-70 Marlin last year. It has no problems and is an awesome shooter. I’m not dissing Henry, but the John Wayne cowboy moving guy in me needs a loading gate. The only hold up for me is the financial trouble Remington is starring down. I would probably go with the Henry on this one.
Compared: Marlin 1895G and Henry H010 Lever Action .45-70 'Guide Guns'
By Randy D. Smith
The .45-70 cartridge has been around for 140 years and is certainly not what most would consider anexample of modern ballistic performance. Most loads sighted 3” high at 100yards will drop nearly a foot at 200 yards. Yet, in spite of its less thanimpressive performance, it is a popular choice among sport shooters andhunters. Nearly every historical single shot replica is chambered for the.45-70, but I believe that the .45-70 is at its best when chambered in leveraction rifles and carbines. Carbines chambered in .45-70 are excellent, shortrange “knock-down” guns, ideal for deer, feral hogs, black bear and larger game.
Henry 45 70 Octagon Barrel
By the mid-20thcentury, the .45-70 had nearly disappeared from the scene as a popularcartridge, but legend, reenactment and product promotion brought the roundroaring back. Perhaps the most influential of the lever action rifles is theMarlin Guide Gun. Today, the Marlin Guide Gun is a popular choice for anyonewanting a short range, fast shooting, powerful, dangerous game defense gun. Whilemost of us will never have to face the wrath of a charging grizzly in thealders of Alaska, the romance of the Guide Gun is addictive. In addition, as Ihave found over the years, the .45-70 Guide Gun speaks with such authority thatit is often my first choice when other rounds would do just as well.
A feral hog hunterdoesn’t usually need anything more powerful than a .30-30 or .243, but the.45-70 is just more fun to shoot and it anchors hogs like the hammer of Thor. Comparedto just about any dangerous game rifle on the market, the Marlin Guide Gun isvery reasonably priced. It is a popular hunting gun and will probably continueto be for decades.
I’ve owned and partedwith three Marlin .45-70 rifles during several decades of quenching my thirstto experience hunting with different types and styles of rifles. The first wasa Model 1895 equipped with a fixed power 1.5X scope. I took an excellentwhitetail buck at 50 yards the first season I owned it.
My second Marlin was astainless steel Guide Gun with ported barrel and I added XS Express sights. Itremains one of the fastest on target hunting rifles I have ever owned. I could starta tin can at 40 yards and roll it along as fast as I could lever and shoot thenext four rounds. I bought that gun brand new and sold it two seasons later fora $200 profit. I wonder what it is worth now.
My third was animpulse purchase during the closing of a sporting goods store chain. I bought astandard walnut and blue steel Guide Gun at a little over dealer cost. Icarried it quite a bit backpacking and horse packing in the mountains. I soldit for what I originally paid to a Colorado horse packer guide who wanted itfor his business. He probably needed it more than I did.
I was preparing for aMontana and Idaho camping and wolf calling trip. I decided that I’d like tohave another Guide Gun to take along for camp and bear defense. That was when Iran across a new Henry H010 carbine in .45-70. I was impressed with the generalfit, finish, and design of the Henry and it is American made, so I decided togive it a try. The price was higher than a Marlin, but the Henry came standardwith XS Express Sights that made it very competitive.
Marlin Model 1895G Guide Gun
The Marlin Guide Gun Model 1895G is atraditionally designed lever action big bore carbine with a polished bluefinish and standard grade straight grip walnut stock. It is a side ejection,solid top receiver, traditional Marlin 336 action with the hammer block safetybutton near the hammer. It has a short 18-½” barrel with standard barrel bandslinked to the forearm and cartridge feed tube near the front sight. The opensights are traditional semi-buckhorn rear with a blade and bead front sight. Itis equipped with detachable sling swivel studs on the butt and forearm band. Thewrist and wide forearm have traditional and fairly rough machine checkering.
The example I boughtat a gun show was new, but from a dealer’s old stock. It rested beside a pairof new Marlin Model 1895GBL rifles in .45-70 with big loop levers, pistol griplaminated stocks and matte blue finish. I was not impressed with the fit andfinish or design of either of the newer rifles. I sighed and thought to myself,“Is this where Marlin is going under Remington ownership?” The 1895GBL isdesigned to sell at a competitive price to city slickers, but it is not therugged, outdoor, dangerous game carbine that the older model is.
I use a new Model 336Yin .30-30 as a truck gun with the same finish and laminated stock design. Itfunctions and shoots fine, but the finish is nothing less than a rust magnetand demands nearly constant attention. The heavy laminated stocks have all theappeal of a fence post. The GBL's were priced cheaper than the 1895G, but Igave them only a passing inspection before selecting the older, much betterrifle. I felt it was best to get one of the good guns before they were gone.
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Model #: 1895G
- Type: Lever action repeater
- Caliber: .45-70 Govt.
- Magazine Capacity: 4 rounds
- Sights: Adjustable semi-buckhorn rear, ramp front sight; tapped for scope mount; offset hammer spur included for scope use
- Metal finish: Blued
- Stock: Straight grip American walnut with recoil pad.
- Overall length: 37”
- Barrel length: 18.5”
- Weight: 7 lbs (empty)
- Country of origin: USA
- 2013 MSRP: $680.00
Henry Model H010
The Henry Model H010 .45-70 is a side eject,solid top lever action carbine that looks quite similar to the Marlin at firstglance. The pistol grip stock and forearm are walnut with a smoother darkfinish and shallower machine cut checkering than the Marlin. The forearm seemsthin in the hand compared to the Marlin’s wide forearm. The butt of the Henryhas a substantial vented recoil pad and sling swivel studs are provided.
There is no safety switchmounted in the receiver, as Henry is equipped with an internal transfer barsafety that prevents hammer contact with the firing pin unless the trigger ispulled. There is also no half cock hammer notch on the Henry. Vray proxy trees free download. The exposedhammer is either fully cocked or resting against the receiver.
There is no side loadingport cut into the receiver. Load is by means of a brass loading tube, similarto the under barrel feeding tubes of many .22 rifles. It is secured withsubstantial plastic bands and is equipped with sling swivel studs. Tube feedloading is a design feature common to all Henry rifles, I assume to remainsimilar to the original Henry rifle of 1860. The tube is opened by pushing downto free a short pin from a retaining slot then turned to allow the tube to beremoved. A cartridge slot is cut midway down the loading tube housing to allowloading without fully removing the tube. The Henry is also equipped withstandard XS Ghost Ring sights with a white strip clearly visible on the frontsight post. The finish is matte blue on the receiver and barrel, less refinedthan the 1895G, but not as crude as on the 1895GBL Marlin.
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Model #: H010
- Action type: Lever action repeater
- Caliber: .45-70 Govt.
- Magazine capacity: 4 rounds
- Sights: Adjustable XS Ghost Ring rear, blade front; drilled and tapped for scope mounting
- Metal finish: Matte blue
- Stock: Pistol grip American walnut with recoil pad
- Overall length: 39'
- Barrel length: 18.43'
- Weight: 7 pounds (empty)
- Country of origin: USA
- 2013 MSRP: $800
The Comparison
I guess the initialtopic for discussion should be the purpose for owning a .45-70 lever actioncarbine in the first place. Other than as a heavy knock down thick cover biggame hunting rifle, the real reason for designing such a gun is for defenseagainst dangerous predators. A dangerous game guide or outfitter needs acarbine style repeater chambered for a powerful cartridge that can be deployedvery quickly at close range. The rifle needs to be light, manageable andfoolproof. It should be a design that will ride well in a saddle scabbard orcan be carried for long hours in the field in all weather conditions.
Both the Marlin andthe Henry are reliable actions that feed and function very well. The triggerpull on both is adequate at about 4 pounds.
The Henry has a longerlength of pull. I had some trouble getting the Henry into my shoulder quickly,as the heavy recoil pad seemed to hang up on my shirt and jacket. I had topurposely push the butt away from my shoulder and draw it back for quick shots.The Marlin was much smoother to get into shoulder alignment. Advantage Marlin.
Keygen dmg. The Henry’s recoil padand pistol grip stock helped to significantly soften the recoil of heavy loads.I was quicker back on target after shooting with the Henry. Advantage Henry.
The Henry’s Ghost Ringsights are extremely quick on target. If you have never used a ghost ringsight, you need to try it, especially if you do a lot of close range, fast shooting.They are quite accurate out to 100 yards and I have never had any damage to anyghost ring sights in the field. I have damaged traditional open sights, such asare on the Marlin Guide Gun, in the field. Advantage Henry.
Henry 45-70 Magazine Tube Problems
Marlin’s side safetybutton design is a joke, a lawyered up gimmick that never has and never willmake sense on an open hammer, lever action with a hammer safety notch. I pushthe button to shooting position and leave it there on all my Marlins. Everyonce in a while, however, I try to make a shot and the hammer does not makecontact with the firing pin, because the lawyer button got bumped into safetyposition. Hell of a thing to happen on a dangerous game carbine! I considerHenry’s transfer block system to be much superior. Advantage Henry.
I had trouble from dayone with the loading tube of the Henry. I contacted the Company and they wereperfectly willing to inspect and repair the gun under warranty with the cost ofmailing both ways on them! That is impressive, especially if you’ve ever hadany dealings with Remington’s crack pot warranty and repair program. Onwarranty service, advantage Henry.
However, the loadingtube concept is an issue for me. The Henry can be loaded and unloaded veryquickly. I’ve heard and read arguments that the Henry is fully out of service whilethe tube is being loaded, which is true. When things work right, however,loading can be done very quickly. In fact, the tube feed can be loaded quickerthan the Marlin's side port feed.
The trouble is thatthe loading tube on my Henry would stick tight and I could not remove itwithout the use of pliers to free it from the tube housing. I tried everythingI could think of to loosen the tube for quick reloading before contacting thecompany. It seemed that the heavy recoil of .45-70 loads was driving the rubbero-ring on the loading tube into the tube housing. I went back to the gun shopwhere I purchased the rifle and examined the tightness of the loading tubes of.44 magnum and 30-30 Henry rifles in stock. Some tubes were very tight andothers were easy to work. I took the rifle to the dealer and one of his big,burly, sales staff with hands and fingers like slabs of meat had no troubleopening the tube. He then asked me if I knew that I was to push down on thetube to free it from the retainer notch. Duh! Teach your mother to suck eggs! Iwas probably hunting with my first .45-70 when he was being potty trained!
I recently read anarticle in a gun magazine where the author was demonstrating in a photo how ashooter could load the side port of a lever action while holding the butt ofthe rifle to his shoulder. This was being used as an argument for the advantageof a lever action rifle. I can just imagine trying to pull .45-70 cartridgesfrom my belt and jamming them into a Marlin loading port with one hand while Ikept the rifle carefully in shoulder position in case the dangerous critter Iwas after charged before I got another critical cartridge chambered into therifle. Poppy cock!
The fact remains,however, that a side port can be reloaded quickly and I have been insituations where my shaking, nervous fingers were having trouble just holdingonto the cartridge, let alone getting it into a rifle. It seems like no matterhow much you’ve practiced, in truly dangerous or tense situations, nothingseems to work as planned. A loading tube, flopping around on the end of therifle in thick brush while the nervous user tries to charge the rifle, does notappeal to me. Neither does a stuck loading tube in wet, snowy, or icyweather. So, on the loading issue, I have to say, advantage Marlin. (We had absolutely no trouble with the magazine tube of the Henry .45-70 we reviewed--see the Product Reviews page for details. -Editor.)
For me, this becamethe critical difference and why I chose to keep the Marlin over the Henry. Bothare excellent shooters. Both handle smoothly without a hint of malfunction ormisfeeding. The recoil of .45-70 loads, especially Hornady LeverEvolutionrounds, is much heavier with the straight wrist stocked Marlin, but I don’tnotice recoil when shooting in the field, especially in tense situations. TheHenry is also a more bulky design than the Marlin 1895G and did not handle asquickly in tight conditions. The tables are entirely turned when comparing theHenry to the cheaply made 1895GBL. I’d go with the Henry every time.
A recreational shooterand sport hunter should have no trouble with the Henry H010 loading tube and Idoubt it will ever be an issue. However, for me, when I’m jamming a .45-70 intomy saddle scabbard for a ride into the back trails of Rocky Mountain bearcountry, it will be the Marlin 1895G.
We’ve put the Henry lever action .45-70 rifle to the test and this is what we’ve found. You will want to own this rifle that’s born to hunt!
In this article:
Henry Lever Action .45-70 | Henry Repeating Arms
A Little About Henry Repeating Arms
Henry Repeating Arms is one of those rare companies willing to go above and beyond for their customers. No matter what your problem is, they’re usually willing to do whatever it takes to fix it so that you’re a happy customer.
I’ve even spoken to people who screwed something up themselves, like a scratch on their brand new butt-stock, and Henry took care of it. If you’ve never bought Henry rifles, in all seriousness, maybe you should look into it.
Just one of the reasons why their rifles are so awesome is because they’re “made in America or not made at all.” The quality and craftsmanship are all-American.
That quality shone through when I brought the rifle they sent me to the range on multiple occasions.
A Henry .45-70 Review
Henry Repeating Arms contacted me to write up a review about their latest lever-action chambered in .45-70 Government. Of course, I said yes, and after getting pounded in the shoulder for as many rounds as I have, I can say that it is an absolute cannon, and such a blast to shoot.
A Rifle Not for the Faint-Hearted
As a word of caution, a .45-70 anything isn’t a gun you’d want to hand to a novice shooter. This is the kind of cartridge that can cause bad memories for someone going from shooting something like a .22lr to this hard hitter capable of taking any of the large game North America has to offer.
Henry Rifle 45 70 Accuracy
And, in fact, I’ve even heard of this hunting cartridge referred to as being worthy of an elephant.
Again, if you’ve never fired a cartridge this big, work up to it. If not, and you haven’t mastered basic shooting mechanics, you could get knocked on your butt.
I’ve seen it happen before to a dude in his mid-twenties who had only fired a couple other guns in his life. I had to catch him before he fell.
RELATED: Defensive Gun Use: Home Defense Shotgun, Edition
Henry Lever Action .45-70 | The Sights
This Henry’s action is smooth without any hang-ups when the lever is operated. Speaking of the lever itself, the larger than normal loop was a great addition because I was able to comfortably get all of my fingers inside of it without having to leave my pinky finger out to dry.
This 8.1 pound rifle is pleasant on the eyes with the highly polished brass receiver and accents, which are set off nicely from the American Walnut wood finish, black lever and trigger, and octagonal barrel.
The barrel itself is 22 inches long and helped me punch paper holes at both 50 and 100 yards while targeting in on a few 9-inch paper plates. The rear buckhorn sight and front bead are good for target acquisition and adjust for elevation.
I can say that I was surprised at just how accurate this rifle is. New edition new edition 1984 zip dall.
To help increase accuracy a bit, you have the option of using an optic on the brass receiver, which is drilled and tapped for an optic mount. That will no doubt help you hit those really far away targets.
If you’re like me, though, you’ll choose to just use the steel sights.
Henry 45-70 Problems
You’ll either love or hate the tubular four-round magazine. I have no issues with it but know of other people who aren’t fans claiming that it takes too long to reload.
Either way, if you get to the last round and need one more, you can chamber a round directly by inserting it and closing the action. At that point, you’re ready to fire just as long as the hammer is back.
In the video below, I show you how to load it, but please note that you don’t need to remove the brass piece (I call it a plunger) all the way. Some people choose to pull it out ¾ of the way, to just clear the loading port.
![Problems Problems](https://cdn0.wideopenspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/NES_0328.jpg)
Henry 45 70 Loading Tube Problems
Henry Lever Action Rifle | Safety
There are no safety features to speak of but it doesn’t really need any because it is a safe rifle, to begin with. When there is a round chambered and the hammer is back, it’ll go bang when the trigger is tugged on.
When the hammer is already home, it can’t be fired until the hammer is pulled back. Just as long as you’re aware of this and treat all guns as if they were loaded with your finger straight and off the trigger, you’ll be fine.
The Brass .45-70 with the octagonal barrel I was sent had a polished brass receiver. However, there is an option for you to get an engraved one for a few hundred bucks more, which is then black-filled to help it pop out.
I can tell you that from what I’ve seen, it looks great.
No Padding!
The brass accents look great, but the butt-plate is not padded in the least bit. So, there’s really nothing to help absorb the recoil from this 40.4-inch rifle.
Speaking of recoil, the amount you’ll feel depends a lot upon your chosen ammo. For this test, I was using 405-grain PPU, and 325 grain Hornady Lever Evolution.
The lighter of the two produced more bump in my shoulder pocket.
Henry Single Shot 45-70 Problems
Henry Lever Action .45-70 Ammo I Used
Henry 45-70 Lever Action Rifle Problems
This rifle is pretty and would make a great showpiece. However, what’s really great about it is it can also be taken off the wall and brought into the woods to take down just about any beast the world has to offer.
Henry 45 70 Rifles Price
It’s made in the US of A and works just the way it should. The MSRP on this stunning rifle is $950 and serves as a dual purpose wall-hanger/hunting rifle capable of killing anything.
Watch this video from our Youtube channel and see the Henry Lever Action .45-70 in action, indeed:
Sound Off Gun Carriers! I want to know if you own any Henry Rifles.
If you do, which kind, and what are they chambered in? With a long history to back it up, the Henry lever action rifle is a superb firearm, indeed.
You can never go wrong with this piece if you’re an avid shooter or a rifle collector. More so if you are to take it out this hunting season!
What do you think of the Henry lever action .45-70 rifle? Let us know in the comments section below what your thoughts are on this!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on July 22, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
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