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The rifle version (top) has a longer barrel and higher capacity, than the carbine (below)
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Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=henry%20.22%20magnum
The .22 Magnum round offers much more range than the .22 long rifle.
Read more at Henry: https://www.henryrifles.com/rifles/henry-small-game-carbine-rifle/
I have an old, deep-seeded love for the lowly rimfire. I’m sure I’m not the only one out there. Call it nostalgia from the tin can plinking of our youths or the joy of teaching a new generation our wonderful shooting sports, the .22 has ingrained it’s self into our culture. But that is not to say that the .22 is only for youth or can blasting. Henry has a couple of rimfire lever guns that are geared towards small game hunting. But have no fear, the are still a heck of a lot of fun.
Specs
The Henry Repeating Arms Company builds a lot of different lever guns for a lot of different purposes. They are even making a reproduction of their namesake’s rifle, The Original Henry Rifle. They’re dominating the rimfire lever-action scene.
Here are some specs on the Small Game Carbine:
- Model Number H001TMLP
- Caliber .22 Magnum
- Capacity 7 rounds .22 Magnum
- Stock American Walnut
- Length 33.75″
- Barrel Length 16.25″
- Weight 5.75 lbs.
- Sights Fully adjustable Skinner Peep Sight and brass beaded front sight
- M.S.R.P. $590.00
The Small Game series are also available in .22 Short, Long and Long Rifle and in a rifle length with a 20″ barrel. Other than caliber and length all of the lever guns are set up the same.
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The peep sight is robust enough to stand up to use in the woods, where things get bumped easily.
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It pairs nicely with the brass bead on the front sight.
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Small Game
So what exactly makes this one a small game gun? Caliber is of course the biggest contributor. Shooting a squirrel with a .45-70 doesn’t leave much meat on the bone. Don’t ask me how I know this. Let’s just say that the .22 is more suited for this application.
But what else sets this rifle apart from its tin can busting brethren? It really comes down to the sights. These rifles are all set up with a nice and small peep sight from Skinner. This sight comes with a .096″ aperture that can be removed to make more of a ghost ring style sight. I personally prefer the smaller peep over a ghost ring. Couple the Skinner Peep with small brass bead front sight and you have a set up for some precision work.
If you’d rather have a scope, there’s a 3/8 scope rail on top of the receiver.
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The center of the Skinner can be removed for a wider, faster sight.
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But there is a lot more to this long gun than just as a small game rifle. The 22 mag offers increased range but is still a a very soft shooting rifle. I am thinking about how this could be a great platform for teaching new and younger shoots some of the fundamentals of long range shooting. I am not talking super long ranges, but 100 to 200 yards would be possible. A 40 grain .22 mag is flat out to 100 yards and has about 6″ of drop at 150 yards. This would be a good way to teach hold-over and some of the theory behind ballistics. That whole gravity thing, it is really a downer.
Function
We saw stellar accuracy from the 40 grain CCI Varmint rounds. Extraction and ejection were both strong and positive. We did have one failure to fire but that can easily be attributed to rimfire cartridges not being as reliable as centerfire. The firing pin strike on the misfire was nice and deep and not unlike the fired casings.
We ran our typical 500 rounds through the Henry Small Game Carbine without a hitch. After punching a few paper varmints, we took it into the woods. That’s where the carbine really excels. This is a great walk-around gun. And the flat shooting magnum rounds mean there’s no complex math involved for those estimated distances you find when you’re picking up random targets. That’s the es essence of plinking and of hunting–improvisational shooting.
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The clean lines of the walnut stock. Nothing pretentious about it.
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Even the bolt is blued.
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The fit and finish on this Henry is very well done. The bluing is a deep glossy black and the satin finish on the walnut stock is well applied. The wood to metal fit is precise with no real gaps between them.
All of the rifles in the Small Game Series have an oversized lever loop. This is not one of the Hollywood loops that John Wayne made famous. Henry describes it as being made for cold weather to fit a gloved hand. It was in the 70s at the range so I didn’t try a gloved hand but I am sure it would fit.
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The gun will fire even if you aren’t squeezing down the lever.
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One thing to note about the loop–it doesn’t act as a safety, at least not in the traditional sense. Many lever-actions have a safety that will keep the gun from firing if the lever isn’t squeezed down tight. The lever depresses a pin behind the trigger. This lever doesn’t even make it to the stock–it stops about 1/4″ shy.
Shooting
The Henry Small Game Carbine is a shooter. The trigger pull was nice and broke around 2.3 pounds. The take-up was minimal, and predictable. The Skinner Sight and the front brass bead were pretty close to zeroed out of the box. With a little bit of adjustment we were able to get a little over an inch group at 100 yards off a rest and well under an inch from 50 yards. All of which are under minute-of-squirrel.
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Five shots from the bench at 50 yards. There had been an orange dot pasted on that fell off during the shooting, so the point-of-aim for the group became the new holes.
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Five from 100. The group spread out, but this is from rimfire with peep sights, and is damn solid shooting. Keep in mind that all potential for human error–save trigger control–have been removed from this equation.
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Thoughts
This is a great shooting little rifle that offers a little more pop than its 22LR brother. It was a fun rifle to run and would excel at its intended function, small game hunting. I mentioned it above and I am going to return to it here, I think this would be a great educational rifle. The peep sights are a great beginner tool as they instinctively center your eye on the front sight. Couple that with the light weight, quality construction and light recoil and you have a winner. And all Henry Rifles are made right here in the good old U.S. of A.
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The barrel band.
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The Henry Small Game Carbine has an oversized lever loop–great for gloved hands, though the trigger guard is normally sized.
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The hammer is easy enough to cock in this configuration, though you may prefer to add an extension if you plan on using a scope with the rifle.
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The bolt on this rimfire glides open and closed. When combined with the tame recoil, this makes for fast follow-up shots.
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amo el henry 22 mag
I am 73 years old and have been shooting a 22 cal since I was 6. I always owned semi auto rifles until I bought the Henry 22 mag. It is quiet a rifle, I sighted it in at 100 yards have a 6 power mag scope and dime size groupings almost all the time. Not as good as my old rem model 51 which I use to kill quail on the wing when I was a kid or 2 turkey on the wing more than once. I will say for the money it is a fair rifle.
I have owned my Henry Frontier with the Octagon barrel 22lr for about 4 years now and it is by far one of the best rifles I have ever owned. I am a left handed shooter and have never had any issues with case ejection. Most Henry rifles don’t come with the large loop, it is an option. I put a ten dollar scope on mine that I purchased at Walmart (my eye sight isn’t the best). Once I sighted in the new scope, I was shooting out the bulls eye all day at 100 yards. What I really like is that I can shoot all 22 non mag rounds. I loaded it with 22 shorts and thought I would never run out. Another thing I like about it is that I can even us the rounds that have gotten jammed in my friend’s semi auto rifles and send them down range as well. Just like any 22lr though, if the cross winds pick up, the accuracy goes down.
Different strokes for different folks. I’ve hunted squirrels all my life & killed zillions with everything from .22’s to muzzle loading shotguns. Side ejection is an improvement if & only if you are right handed. I am not. Around here, with the tree cover we have, shots over 40 yds. are rare. I don’t think I have ever even shot at a squirrel at 100 yds. I use a CZ left handed bolt gun with low velocity LR ammo. It is extremely accurate, doesn’t scare every critter in the woods & shoots flat at any range I ever shot at a bushy tail. Put a 40 grain bullet through the head of any squirrel & you have a dead squirrel. All a magnum does is cost more money & ruin meat. I had a model 94 Win. 30-30 & killed a couple truck loads of white tails & Ferrel hogs with it. I now use a left hand model 77 Ruger .300 Win. hand loaded to about .308 velocity or a 54 cal. muzzle loader for deer & a Pedersoli double rifle in .45-70 for big hogs. They just don’t make lever guns for left handed folks anymore. Lefty said, “We were all born right handed but some of us overcame the handicap!”
A little unsolicited advice from an old .22 Mag squirrel hunter. Always shoot them in the head
and always use full metal Jacket rounds!! Hollow point or body shots will leave a nasty mess.
On the animal and in your game bag!!
I have a Henry .22 mag pump. It’s the one with an octagon barrel, tube feed. It’s a great gun but I have one problem. If you don’t make sure the fore grip is pushed all the way forward the action isn’t closed and the firing pin doesn’t make contact with the cartridge rim creating a misfire. I would think the action should lock in place like all my other pump firearms, instead the action creeps open, but according to Henry this is the way it’s made and there’s nothing wrong with the action. I’ve returned it to Henry twice over the same issue, and I can confirm their customer service is fantastic, less that a week turn around. But I am very unhappy with the pump action since having to push the fore grip forward before you take a shot often spooks the game. The only reason I bought a pump is because all my other firearms are pumps: .270 Remington 7600 rifle, 12 ga. Remington 870 shotgun, .22 LR Remington 572 rifle, and I wanted a pump .22 mag.
I’m no gunsmith, but personally I find most issues when experiencing a new weapon are my own fault. Once I get past the “boy that was dumb” I should have read the instructions, I find the weapon works flawlessly!
++++++++++++++++++ IMPEACH OBAMA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
‘Flawless’ operation of a weapon does remind those mindful of Personal Rights that there are those in politics who would dictate rights if given the opportunity.
Australia surrendered to the statist’s, socialists, liberals, communists demand that firearms be confiscated after an incident with one perpetrator and dozens of victims.
If an entire country succumbs to the gun confiscation movement, can America be far behind?
I have a Winchster 9422M that I purchased new forty years ago and it is my favorite 22 to shoot when I can afford the ammo. I don’ buy guns because they are pretty but I do own a Golden Boy. I have never used Henry’s customer service but I have only heard great things about them. “Made in America or not made at all” probably influenced my purchase too.
Like the author, I also like .22 rimfire cartridges. The .22LR is my favorite. I have dozens of rifles and pistols chambered for the .22LR. I’ve heard good things about the Henry rifles but have never owned one. I like the rear peep sight on this Henry lever action, but I don’t like the oversize lever loop or the fact that the lever doesn’t close down against the stock. I’ve been considering buying a .22LR lever action just for fun shooting, but I won’t be buying the Small Game Carbine or rifle. Browning and Marlin both make .22LR lever-action rifles and Winchester made lever-action rifles in .22LR and .22WMR in the past.
Everybody and their dog makes .22 rifles and pistols AND all of their reviewer bothers and sisters along with their retail cousins are pushing them – HARD.
There’s only one problem: you either can’t get .22 ammo or you have to pay through the nose for it.
Instead of shooting reviews, maybe they should test how far it can be thrown (with good aim it will take out 6 squirrels at 20 feet) or how much paper it will hold down in a stiff breeze (57 sheets). With no or out of sight priced ammo, that’s about all .22’s are worth right now….
Thanks, but No thanks!
I have no problem finding 22 ammo. Just ordered 500 rinds from midway CCI very reasonable. Very!.
That’s rounds not rinds!
I have no problem finding 22 ammo. Just ordered 500 rounds from midway CCI very reasonable. Very!.
You obviously are to young to remember when 22LR was .03 a pop. There is nothing “reasonable about $60.00 a brick for CCI….Or any other 22LR this side of competition grade for that matter.
Several years ago, while living in SoCal, I felt impressed to start acquiring .22LR as well as .22 Magnum ammo at the aforementioned pennies per round price. I even moved them with us out of state, and yes, there are still thousands of both calibers on hand in the family ammo locker.
Nope, I don’t sell them either, just glad I stockpiled them and endured the “You’re NUTS! .22 ammo will always be dirt cheap and available….) comments from my wife and friends. Now, she’s glad I did it, as the .22 calibers are all her carpal tunnel allows her to shoot now.
These youngsters (my kids age) DON’T remember when .22LR and .22 Mag rounds were inexpensive. It’s all relative.
My latest Henry “youth model” .22LR lever action went with our daughter-in-law when son was transferred out-of-state for work. Hey, she’s a stellar mom, wife and THE mother of our grand-kids, so, she’s worth it. Thanks Henry Rifles for making a model our petite daughter-in-law absolutely loves and is SELFISH with.
$ 60.00 bricks ?? I go to Sportsmans Warehouse and buy 50 rounds boxes for about $ 4.50. Remember whne the 22 ammo was .03 cents each. Well I also bought a brand new 1970 Boss 302 Shelby Mustang with all the bells and whistles for $ 6500.00. Buy one today… $ 71,000.00
I have had my Henry H001 in .22 cal, a carbine with the larger lever for around 4 1/2 years. I’m very happy with it. The fit and finish are very good and so is the bluing. It’s accurate as well. I’m 66 so open iron sights are difficult for me because my vision is becoming poor. I’d purchase again today.
I can’t believe the complainers on this board. They are all really stuck up and down right annoying. This gun is not a $4,500 target rifle now is it? You want that kind of performance then shell out the $4,500 and get an Olympic Match rifle. Which BTW I do have! I won a 1st. Place “Marksman” Medal in an Official NRA Statewide Championship back in 1993.
I had an M14 for free during the Viet Nam War it was accurate at 300 plus yards I took last place in kills and still got 10 enemy at that range. I guess my expert rifleman/machine gun and BAR helped a little but I give the credit to dumb enemy factor.
mickey thank you sir for your service sir. I am your junior. I am your inferior.
People can’t know the pain you don’t mention that appears at 2 AM on remembering your rightful kills. They can’t be there.
I have ghosts far less than yours yet still I loose sleep….
First off – I’m an unrepentant Henry fan though of course, I generally lean to Marlin… Who wouldn’t?
-That rear sight being crooked is a bit off putting when the intent is accuracy and hunting.
-I guess I’m not nearly as appreciative of the finish on these as others are. Although in this case it may be the photos, my own Henry not only has a second rate finish but because it presents cheaply, it doesn’t wear or break-in well. Some of it scratches as though painted, powder coated, etc… Ultimately though, relative to price, this is not a huge deal. I just find it interesting that some folks go on about how good it is. Probably has more to do with modern standards and realities of manufacturing costs than I care to acknowledge. We wouldn’t want to pay for a Henry with a premium finish I guess.
-I for one, distinctly dislike the over-large levers. They’re off-putting for me in use and to look at.
While this may sound like a great deal of criticism – I liked the review and value it on its face and the rifles are absolutely worth every penny I or friends have ever spent to date.
Just name me Mal…. Malcontent. Always wanting more but not wanting to pay for it.
Todd.
It is possible to over manufacture a firearm. Henry rifles are a good example. $600.00 for a 22 that can’t hold MOA at 50 yards? For that kind of money, “minute of squirrel” isn’t gonna cut it. I can’t help but wonder how much compensation the Author received for this..
I’ve tested a few Henry’s over the years and even with optics, their accuracy is nothing to brag about. Additionally Henry does make use of paint on their Receivers. At this price level, that in itself is unforgivable.
The writer states that the bluing is a deep glossy black. I own the Henry Octagon Frontier Model in 22 Mag. and the receiver and forearm band are painted; not blued. Only the barrel and the lever are blued. It is unclear from the Henry literature if the Small Game Model has a painted receiver but that’s my bet. It may not be obvious until you get a small scratch as mine did. Paint scraped off and the base metal is clearly visible. The same small scratch on a blued receiver would be barely visible. I surmise that the receiver and band are not blued because the base metal is not suitable for bluing but is used because it is suitable for plating i.e. golden boy and silver plated versions.
Sorry but I beleve the 17 Mach II is the perfect squirrel rifle. Head shots @ 100yds all day long. (this ammo also very hard to find ) BUMMER !
Totally AGREE… the .17 WSM (Winchester Super Mag) travels at FPS of 3000 ft plus. HOWEVER, I disagree that the ammo is hard to find. If you go to Gunbot.net and search for 17 wsm you will find at least 30+ vendors to today have several offers to sell either Winchester or American Eagle in 50 round boxes for .20 grain rounds at .28 cents per round. My Savage bolt action with 8 rd rotary mags, with an added thumbhole Boyd Stock, is a nail driver at 100 yards and hits much harder than a .22 mag for about the same price for the ammo and far less for the rifle (about $300) including the extra $100 paid for the beautiful stock). 17 WSM AMMO IS READILY AVAILABLE AND INEXPENSIVE.
The biggest challenge with this rifle will be finding ammo. Good luck!
No Kidding – finding 22 mag ammo is non-existent. I used to pay $6 a box of 50 (which was ridiculous then) now they are $15 $20 IF you can even find any – just get a 9mm – they are the new .22
I bought a Marlin .22 mag bolt action rifle about forty years ago, and put a 4 power Bushnell scope on it.
That was a deadly accurate shooting iron !
I gave it to my sister in law to hold for my two nephews to use in the woods because they loved it when I took them out to shoot bottles and cans with me.
Man I miss that rifle.
I looked long and hard for a good .22 mag rifle in semi auto but never found one that was both affordable and dependable.
I finally settled for a Keltec PMR 30 pistol and except for the price I am happy with it as a consolation piece.
I am too old to enjoy a semi auto rifle in .22 mag as my woods hiking days are long gone, but I can still shoot the eyes out of a silhouette at fifty yards with my bushmaster in 5.56, and that’s a .22 super mag…right ??
CZ makes an excellent .22 wmr semi. Haven’t taken it off the range yet but at 25 meters I get nothing but clover leafs.
Love my two CZ bolt action rimfire!
I bought a regular .22 lr Henry a few years back. Worse .22 I’ve ever owned. The rear sight had to be adjusted a 1/4 of the way off the barrel to get it on paper and even after that grouped like a dinner plate.
W Musgrave complained his .22 LR Henry was the “Worse .22 I’ve ever owned.” Please…if you ever have a problem with a Henry rifle, call or email their customer service. They have a SUPER customer service. They want their customers happy and will do what it takes to make that happen. I have three of their rifles and had two minor problems (neither with the performance of the rifle). They answered my emails in a matter of HOURS, not days or weeks like some companies, and they followed up and made sure I was happy. Thanks Henry!
You are telling the truth. Henry will respond within hours and they will make you happy.
Also, I forgot to mention, I was so happy with Henry’s customer service that I emailed the president of the company complimenting by name the people in customer service that helped me and I got a personal reply from Mr. Imperato. Though I haven’t personally talked to him, I understand he sometimes personally answers the customer service phones. Needless to say, I am impressed with the company and if I ever need another product they make, I will be buying from them!
My Henry Golden Boy puts all the rounds under 1 1/2 inch at 30 yards open sights. BEST 22 lever gun after my 1970 MARLIN M39 20 inch octagon.
Like grocery stores put the essintials in the back of the store so you have to wade through the stuff you don’t want yet but the store hopes you will see and buy: gun reviews put the accuracy portion at te end. I read the accuracy section first. It tells how the firearm was evaluated and results. Too often these a full of excuses for the gun or reviewer. If this part is given a fair shake I will read the rest of the review. It is very important that distances fired are proper for testing the platform. Trying to hide poor accuracy by testing at shorter ranges is an express ticket to the trash bin.
This Review was a good one.
Like grocery stores put the essintials in the back of the store so you have to wade through the stuff you don’t want yet but the store hopes you will see and buy: gun reviews put the accuracy portion at te end. I read the accuracy section first. It tells how the firearm was evaluated and results. Too often these a full of excuses for the gun or reviewer. If this part is given a fair shake I will read the rest of the review. It is very important that distances fired are proper for testing the platform. Trying to hide poor accuracy by testing at shorter ranges is an express ticket to the trash bin.
This Review was a good one.