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Old January 27, 2013, 05:22 PM   #1
shafter
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Henry honesty??

Is it just me or does anyone else get a little annoyed at Henry Repeating for insinuating that they are somehow related to the company that made the original Henry Rifle of Civil War and Frontier fame?

There ads on tv suggest that buying one of their rifles is like purchasing a piece of history. Also, their website states "Today, the Henry Repeating Arms Company, a descendant of the venerable gunmaker. . " Unless they really are decended from the original company isn't this misleading?

What do you all think? I know they make a good quality product but I'm a little turned off at this point.
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Old January 27, 2013, 05:28 PM   #2
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Yeah, it irks me too.
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Old January 27, 2013, 10:16 PM   #3
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No, it's not just you. I guess that's one of the things that has always turned me off on them. Wouldn't mind trying a .22 Golden Boy but I already have my Marlin 39's that I am quite happy with.
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Old January 27, 2013, 10:37 PM   #4
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Then you should hate springfield armory
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Old January 27, 2013, 10:41 PM   #5
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How much do ads influence a gun buyer? Not much IMO. I'd be upset if they were misleading regarding where they manufacture.
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Old January 27, 2013, 10:44 PM   #6
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I could care less, they make good rifles at good prices and their customer service is some of the best I have ever dealt with.
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Old January 28, 2013, 12:08 AM   #7
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Yeah, hacks me off too, and I have actually heard some people talking who believe that crap. That dishonesty and plastic barrel bands and other parts, zinc receiver covers, etc pretty much made my mind up never to spend my money on a Henry. I will stick to older 39s and 9422s.
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Old January 28, 2013, 12:15 AM   #8
Dragline45
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That dishonesty and plastic barrel bands and other parts, zinc receiver covers, etc pretty much made my mind up never to spend my money on a Henry.
Henry no longer uses plastic barrel bands and sent me a metal one at no cost to replace it. Besides that I haven't seen a plastic part in the entire rifle and I have detail stripped it multiple times. The zinc receiver doesn't really bother me much considering what I payed for the rifle, but the paint they put on the receiver sucks. I stripped it off and brushed the receiver which looks a whole lot better. But for the price of these rifles they are excellent deals, they have very smooth actions and mine is a tack driver and outshoots my 10/22 all day.
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Old January 28, 2013, 12:28 AM   #9
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Quote:
Then you should hate springfield armory
You mean the company who uses the motto: "The first name in American Firearms."? That's their new motto--they've changed it recently and I have to give them credit. It's less misleading than the last motto which was: "The oldest name in American Firearms".

You are correct. They have no connection to the original Springfield Armory other than the rights to the name.

Same with the current company calling itself Armalite. I believe they have also recently changed their company motto and, as with Springfield, it's a step in the right direction. It is now: "The style of technology." Before that it was: "A history of innovation." which was pretty misleading since Eagle Arms (which purchased the rights to the Armalite name) hadn't been around that long before buying the Armalite name in 1996 and didn't really have much of a history of innovation.

That said, most agree that the three companies mentioned on this thread are selling good quality products.
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Old January 28, 2013, 01:48 AM   #10
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I examined one years ago, it had plastic barrel bands and a plastic front sight. That was enough plastic for me to not consider one, not sure if there are other plastic parts. I guess I am lucky enough to have been able to purchase a couple Winchester 9422s when they were still in production and reasonably priced.
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Old January 28, 2013, 02:01 AM   #11
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Their rifles and customer service are fantastic. I have a .357 Big Boy and it is the smoothest lever gun I have ever shot.
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Old January 28, 2013, 02:40 AM   #12
PatientWolf
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While I like the guys @ the LGS, I got a little irritated when they told me Henry was great and I could know that by their 150 year history.
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Old January 28, 2013, 02:44 AM   #13
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Things like this tend to make me go, "huh?"

Quote:
transport you back to the wild and wooley days of America's Old West, when our company founder Benjamin Tyler Henry designed the original Henry lever action rifle.
I guess I'm educated enough to know that this is nothing more than an advertising gimick and carries no real weight in regards to being connected to Benjamin Tyler Henry.
Oh well, like I said, I'm quite happy with my Marlin rifles and to be honest, these days, I'm not really into sending my money to anyplace in the People's Republic of New York especially when I have other viable options. Now if they would move to a more gun friendly state so a portion of the profits they make selling rifles didn't go to the Cuomo government, I'd probably be more open to buying one.
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Old January 28, 2013, 07:17 AM   #14
shafter
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I've never owned a Henry but have generally heard nothing but good things about the quality of their products and customer service. It does irk me though to hear them trying to pass off their rifles as decendents of the originals.

They should make it clear that they have no connection to the original rifles or founder.
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Old January 28, 2013, 07:56 AM   #15
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Then you should hate springfield armory
My first thought exactly.

Just make sure to do your research before buying, if this sort of thing is important to you. Personally, I do (the research), and I don't care (about the ads).
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Old January 28, 2013, 08:00 AM   #16
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I've got more important things to be annoyed about...
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Old January 28, 2013, 11:05 AM   #17
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I really like my little standard 22. I intend to buy one of their brass guns at some point in time.
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Old January 28, 2013, 11:28 AM   #18
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I like Henry and could care less. I'd still buy a Winchester. Don't care about advertising, only what product is and does.
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Old January 28, 2013, 11:29 AM   #19
Tom Matiska
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I'll give them cool points for keeping an historic American brand name alive and for making every single part of every rifle here in America....
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Old January 28, 2013, 11:48 AM   #20
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I've got more important things to be annoyed about...
I agree.

Oliver Winchester bought the rights to the Henry name, like the earlier Volcanic Rifle Company, and began production as the New Haven Arms Company in 1865. Later, like all things Winchester, the names and rights were available for sale. Louis Imperato (current ownwer of the Henry and Iver Johnson trade names) must have thought the price was right. It's his, he can do what he likes with it. If you don't like the way they are marketed, you don't have to buy one, although they are a well-made firearm.
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Then you should hate springfield armory
And Winchester, and Remington, and Savage, and Browning . . .
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Old January 28, 2013, 02:06 PM   #21
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My experience with Henry Repeating Arms Company: I accidentally lost the front sight screw on my H001 so I telephoned the company in New Jersey. The President and CEO Anthony Imperato answered my call. He said he would send me a new screw free of charge. A few days later TWO screws arrived via first class mail. Second incident: My H001Y youth carbine, my favorite plinking rifle, developed a feeding problem. It would jam on the last round in the magazine. I emailed HRA and this time I worked with Kevin Maguire and a fellow named Dominick. Henry sent me a prepaid UPS shipping label with tracking number and asked me to ship them the rifle which has a lifetime warranty, even if you are not its original owner. Within a day of receiving the rifle HRA telephoned me and informed me they found a slight manufacturing defect in which their drill press slightly misaligned the mounting holes for the magazine tube and they would be sending me a new replacement rifle and asked me if I wanted to keep the stock and forearm from my original gun. In sum, I received the first rifle's wood a few days ago and I'm expecting the new rifle to arrive any day now. Oh, I mustn't forget to mention that the factory is also switching my Hi-Viz front and rear fiber optic sights from the old to the new gun. Now, THIS is what I call excellent customer service! All parts of the Henry rifles are grown or made in the USA, also. The factory turns out about a thousand rifles per workday and they are barely able to keep up with the demand especially because once you get a Henry you'll want more.
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Old January 28, 2013, 02:21 PM   #22
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Quote:
Yeah, hacks me off too, and I have actually heard some people talking who believe that crap. That dishonesty and plastic barrel bands and other parts, zinc receiver covers, etc pretty much made my mind up never to spend my money on a Henry. I will stick to older 39s and 9422s.
The plastic an zinc turned me off..so I never gave them a second thought....I'm happy with my 39's and 9422's also....
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Old January 28, 2013, 02:47 PM   #23
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The receiver covers on Henry's economy models (those which are not brass) are made of an alloy called Zamak-5: For the doubters here's an article about the Zamak alloy. The receiver covers of the Henry H001 series and Golden Boys are Zamak-5:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamak

Andy Wickstrom of Henry subcontractor Henry Wisconsin which produces the receiver covers and bands had this to say about their Zamak alloy:

"First, the metallurgical standard for this metal is Zamak 5. Inside of the Zamak 5 spec we maintain even tighter control of certain elements to further improve physical properties. Second, the metal is cast using the ultimate in high pressure die casting equipment. The power and speed of this process is impressive. The process used to control the quality of the product consists of countless variables that are finely tuned to produce the very best physical and cosmetic properties."

In addition, HRA has not been using any plastic parts for the last several years.
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Old January 28, 2013, 02:52 PM   #24
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I've been looking at a lever action .22lr from them with the octagon barrel and have seen the 'own a piece of history' many times. It bugs me a little, but as long as the quality and craftsmanship is up to par with their statements it won't hinder me from buying one in the least.
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Old January 28, 2013, 04:37 PM   #25
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They are fantastic rifles, 100% American made, and have the best customer service in the business. Mine is extremely accurate as well. IMO, there are no unhappy Henry owners in the world, and if there are, it's simply because they have not yet allowed Anthony to correct the problem.
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