Guest Writer: Kenzie Fitzpatrick

A Henry lever action rifle is a timeless classic. For many Americans, a lever action is one of the first rifles they shoot. Lately, this rifle type is having a resurgence. It seems lever actions can’t stay on shelves these days, and nearly every major manufacturer is jumping on the bandwagon to release one. Henry lever action rifles still stand at the forefront of gun owner’s minds. For this review, I got hands-on experience with their Side Gate Lever Action Rifle chambered in 30-30.

Henry 30-30: Side Gate Lever Action Rifle

The side gate lever-action Henry rifle comes in your choice of .38-55 Win, .30-30 Win, .45-70 Gov’t, .35 Rem, or .360 Buckhammer. They introduced the H024 model in 2019 as Henry’s first centerfire to feature a side loading gate. This rifle gave gun owners a choice between loading and unloading the rifle via the removable tube magazine or using the side gate to keep the magazine topped off.  The side gate lever action features a hardened brass receiver, a brass butt-plate, and a barrel band. The wood is American walnut, and the stock features intricate checkering similar to stippling on a pistol. The gun is outfitted with a semi-buckhorn rear and ivory bead front sight. The barrel is 20 inches long, blued steel, and as accurate as the ammunition you feed it. My first rifle was a .30-30 Win lever action, which I used as my first deer hunting rifle. The side gate lever action was built for whitetail hunting, enjoying the range with friends and family, and, of course, sitting above the mantel or fireplace as a showpiece. Without diving into hunting laws, the .30-30 Win caliber is a great hunting cartridge and can take down big game.  If you’re more interested in hunting in South Africa, the .45-70 Gov’t is the caliber of choice for the animals you’d encounter there. Henry advertises it as a target, hunting, large game, and collector rifle. The company also mentions the .30-30 Win is best for deer or elk up to 125 yards away.

Henry 30-30 Specifications:

• Action Type: Lever Action
• Caliber: .30-30
• Capacity: 5 Rounds
• Barrel Length: 20 inches
• Barrel Type: Round Blued Steel
• Rate of Twist: 1:12
• Overall Length: 38.3 inches
• Weight: 7.5 pounds
• Receiver Finish: Polished Hardened Brass
• Rear Sight: Fully Adjustable Semi-Buckhorn with Diamond Insert
• Front Sight: Ramp with a .062″ Ivory Bead
• Scopeability: Drilled and Tapped
• Scope Mount Type: Weaver 63B
• Stock Material: American Walnut
• Butt-plate/Pad: Brass
• Length of Pull: 14 inches
• Safety: Transfer Bar
• Embellishments: Swivel Studs
• MSRP: $1,248.00

Features: Henry 30-30 Lever Action Rifle

There are many details that go into a Henry rifle, especially depending on the model. Here are a few features of the .30-30 Win Side Gate Lever Action Rifle.

Fit & Finish

The polished, hardened brass on this specific model rifle draws the eye to the gun. The receiver is always the main focus of the weapon, especially with the brass design. The subtle design of the brass butt-plate and barrel band adds some extra classiness to the design. One thing I recommend for storing the gun is to wipe down the brass with a microfiber cloth to clean off any oils from handling the gun, salt from sweat, or environmental debris.

Sights

The front sight is a ramp with an ivory bead, which is easy to pick up when you shoulder the gun. The rear sight is a fully adjustable semi-buckhorn with a diamond insert. While I’m more of an optics shooter, you can zero this gun at 100 yards with the stock iron sights. The rear sight is easily adjustable but locked in once you set it.

Scopeability

If you are not proficient with iron sights, Henry Rifles did drill and tap this rifle to mount a scope. The scope mount type is Weaver 63B, which will be important for compatibility when picking out a scope mount and scope. I used a scope on my first .30-30 Win, but I also learned there is no way to adjust your cheek weld on rifles built as a one-size-fits-all.  While the Henry Rifle is an absolute beauty, you might end up with an aftermarket cheek riser that is not aesthetically pleasing. Still, the ability to mount a scope is important if you plan to hunt with this gun.

Swivel Studs

Not all lever action rifles are built with swivel studs, which can make mounting a two-point sling a challenge. Some rifle slings attach by looping the sling over a gun or through itself, which causes the sling to move around and not sit exactly where you might prefer. The swivel studs on the Henry rifle are on the barrel band and under the buttstock. They are small, so your attachments need to be compatible with them, but a two-point sling will stay in place.

Rifle Compatibility

Henry Rifles, like many lever-action rifles, have a broad aftermarket accessories range. You can attach a buttstock sleeve made of leather, rubber, or neoprene, for example. Many of these sleeves are outfitted with loops to store extra ammunition on the gun. There are leather wraps galore for looping around the lever to make it softer on your dominant hand when working the action.  Many brands have designed a lever stock cheek riser to mount onto the buttstock and set a proper eye relief when a scope is mounted to the gun. If you can think of something you’d want to attach to the gun, it’s probably already available. Let’s discuss what matters regarding compatible products specific to the H024 model.

Scope Mounts/Rings

The most important compatible items that have to be specific to the H024 Henry rifle model are scope rings, a scope mount, or a Picatinny rail. There are too many scope ring and mount manufacturers to name, but these brands will typically list out what series their product is compatible with. Scope mounts or ring bases will be H024 compatible and screw in directly to the drilled and tapped holes on top of the rifle. On the flip side, you can mount a Picatinny rail to the top of the receiver, and then you will have more mounting options available. The Picatinny rail needs to be compatible with the H024, but after that, any scope mount or rings set up for Picatinny will be compatible.

Red Dot Sight Mounts

Similar to the scope rings and mounts, there are aftermarket red dot sight mounts compatible with the H024 rifle design. For example, EGW designed a plate that screws directly into the top rear of the receiver to be able to mount a Vortex Venom, Burris FastFire, or Docter option red dots. The plate is compatible with other Henry rifles as well as other brands.

Build Quality

American-made products are just better. Henry knows it, and so do American gun owners. The Henry Rifles Side Gate Lever Action will last generations if it’s taken care of with proper storage, a good cleaning regimen, and shooting the correct ammunition through it. The American Walnut stock is not fake wood, so treasure it.  Cowboy Action shooters use plenty of Henry Rifles in the SASS community. They shoot thousands of rounds a year and still have an accurate, high-functioning rifle. Any gun used in competition-style shooting is put to the ultimate test and is proven durable if shooters are still using it.

Ammunition Selection

Widener’s carries a large selection of 30-30 Win ammunition by the box or in bulk quantities. If you plan on hunting with this cartridge, you should select your ammunition based on your activity and big game animal. Always zero your rifle with the ammunition you will be hunting with so you know it is, in fact, zeroed.

Winchester 30-30 Super X 150 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point

This ammunition has a 150-grain jacketed hollow point bullet designed explicitly for hunting deer. Its evenly distributed core and concentric jacket stabilize it enough to follow a flat trajectory and retain ample energy for killing a whitetail at 200 yards. The JHP’s nose cavity makes it safe for storage in a tubular magazine.

Hornady LEVERevolution 160 Grain FTX

Hornady is known for its Flex-Tip Technology bullet (FTX). This 160-grain polymer-tipped bullet load is ideal for boar, deer, and other midsize game. It is completely safe to use in lever action rifles.

Remington Core-Lokt 170 Grain SP

The 170-grain Core-Lokt soft-point bullet is for use with whitetail deer and boar. Its controlled expansion has hard-hitting knock-down power. Each projectile goes into a boxer-primed brass casing that you can reload.

Remington Core-Lokt 150 Grain SP

Remington’s 150-grain soft-point ammunition performs as well as its 170-grain counterpart. These soft-point rounds are designed specifically for medium-sized game like deer or elk.

Pros

Easy Action/Hard to Malfunction

Just like revolvers, a lever action rifle is hard to create a malfunction with. No “slide” or “bolt carrier group” movement controls the rifle’s functionality. It is a manual process to lever the action open and closed. Lever action rifles should be “worked,” so you should work the lever just as violently as a slide or BCG moves. Short stroking the rifle can cause a malfunction, so don’t be shy about working that lever.

Scope Mountability

The ability to mount a scope is a big pro for this rifle. Since it’s intended for hunting, it’s important to use the sights that work best for you. If you aren’t as accurate with irons or don’t know how to hold or adjust the rear sight for distance, you could make a bad shot on an animal, and no hunter wants that. A scope can make it easier to make a clean shot.

Cons

Adjustability

Henry rifles aren’t adjustable; they’re more of a one-size-fits-all design. The length of the pull is 14 inches, and you either reach the loop and trigger—or you don’t. There also isn’t an adjustable cheek riser, so if you mount a scope and have to lift your face off the rifle to look through it, I recommend an aftermarket cheek riser to have the correct eye relief.

Non-Suppressor Host

Unfortunately, Henry’s Side Gate Lever Action 30-30 Rifle is not a suppressor host. There are lever action rifles designed with a threaded barrel to hunt suppressed, but this is not one of them. If that’s a deal breaker for you, it’s important to know that up front.

Henry 30-30 Lever Action: Price vs. Value

Lever actions are either made cheaply and priced accordingly or are made with quality materials and priced as such. Some lever actions are between $300 and $800, while others hover around the $1,000 mark. The Henry Rifle is over $1,000 but is also American-made when many other brands aren’t. The value you get is enough to sustain multi-generational ownership.

Experience Level

My experience with lever actions goes back to the very beginning of my gun-owning days. As I mentioned, a .30-30 lever action rifle was my first hunting rifle. It was side-loading and one of the most fun guns to shoot. I also have a long history with lever actions, having competed in Cowboy Action shooting for years.  My lever action has a modified short-stroke action so I can run the lever even faster since time is so important in competition. I know how to shoot a lever action quickly and safely, keeping my hand in the lever and my trigger finger ready as soon as the lever closes. One of my favorite lever action rifles is a .45-70 Gov’t that will see some hunting action very soon. I set it up with a scope and suppressor, and it’s ready to go to work.

Henry’s History

Benjamin Tyler Henry invented the Henry rifle and patented the design in 1860. His first rifle was the .44 Henry Rimfire, a 16-shot rifle immediately popular with the military and civilians. During this time, muzzleloading rifles were standard in the Civil War, but they were slow to load, and the average soldier only fired up to three rounds per minute. The Henry rifles were in Union soldiers’ hands by 1862. Fast forward almost 165 years, and we’re still using the foundation of that rifle’s design. Henry’s tagline is “Made in America, Or Not Made At All,” which the company has stuck to since the original B.T. Henry design. Henry Rifles are available in various calibers and barrel lengths. They make single-shot, side-loading, and magazine tube-loading rifles. Some rifles have regular loop levers, while others have big loop levers. After that, you can spend days looking at each Tribute Edition Henry rifle, with fancy engravings, gold plating, stamped logos, and more.

Henry 30-30: Recommended

The Henry Side Gate Lever Action 30-30 Rifle is geared towards hunters, but that’s not to say you can’t or shouldn’t own one just for the pure pleasure of having it. If a quality-built 30-30 lever action is on your wish list, you can’t go wrong with a Henry. Sure, it may not have all the bells and whistles of a modern sporting rifle, but I guarantee it will put a smile on your face each time you shoot it. The caliber you choose your dream lever action in is ultimately up to you. However, the .30-30 Win caliber is a fun cartridge, invented in 1895 by Winchester, so it’s here to stay.