{"id":190802,"date":"2023-07-03T14:12:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-03T18:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=177881"},"modified":"2024-08-03T19:35:52","modified_gmt":"2024-08-04T00:35:52","slug":"my-first-rifle-was-a-243-keeping-it-simple-with-a-henry-single-shot-rifle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/my-first-rifle-was-a-243-keeping-it-simple-with-a-henry-single-shot-rifle\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Rifle Was a .243: Keeping it Simple With A Henry Single-Shot Rifle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>8<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Henry
Henry Single Shot Rifle in .243 Winchester topped with a Leupold Scope.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

‘My First Rifle Was a 243’<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That is a lyric from a great song by Whiskey Myers called Ballad of a Southern Man. For a lot of hunters in the South, and elsewhere, their first rifle was a .243.  Mine wasn\u2019t, it was probably the other most popular caliber for a first hunting rifle, a 30-30. But I digress, this is an article about putting together a first hunting rifle for my son. And yes, it ended up being a .243.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My son isn\u2019t quite the age yet for hunting but I wanted to go ahead and put something together for him when the time comes. I did something similar for my daughter.  I wrote about it here on GunsAmerica, you can find the link here for that story. However, this situation is a little different.  My daughter was 17 when she really wanted to go hunting.  My son is currently 5. He is already begging to go.  I will take him with me to help, \u201cLook for the deers, Dad!\u201d this fall. While he won\u2019t be of legal age here to shoot one yet, it\u2019s not far away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Criteria <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What I had in mind for him was simple.  That is the keyword, simple.  I wanted to keep the rifle and optic basic but of good lasting quality.  \u201cMaybe this will be the rifle he gives his kid one day\u201d, was my mentality for this project.  Or maybe even a generation beyond that. Sure the scope will probably need updating at some point, but let\u2019s at least start with something good and already a classic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the rifle, I wanted simple and lasting.  I ruled out an autoloader for the simplicity aspect.  I was not opposed to a bolt gun at all, but something about this idea begged for even simpler.  A single-shot break action was the ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Henry
It doesn’t get much more classic than walnut and blued steel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I also wanted something that was wood and blued metal for that heirloom classic nostalgia. The caliber selection was important for three reasons. First, it needed to be a low recoil cartridge for the young hunter aspect of this project.  Second, I wanted at minimum a 300-yard gun.  Finally, it needed to be a classic chambering that I feel will still have ammo available in 40 years or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were 4 cartridges I originally thought of. 30-30, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, and .243 Winchester.  I had a few thoughts on each one. I may be right or wrong on some of this but here was my thought process “30-30, not a 300-yard round. 6.5 Creedmoor, hasn\u2019t been around long enough (although I do believe it is here to stay). 7mm-08 really good round, I like it a lot, this is a contender.  .243 also a contender, checks all the boxes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding the Rifle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There aren\u2019t a lot of new single-shot rifles currently on the market. I did want to buy new. Winchester still does limited runs of the 1885, but good luck finding one. I visited with a few local dealers and they pretty much laughed at me. They are also a bit pricy, MSRP is around $1,800. Thompson Center was another option, they make the Contender with wood furniture.  Or I should say made, in the past tense. Someone, like Ruger did with Marlin, needs to buy them from S&W.  Speaking of Ruger, a Ruger No.1 rifle would be a great choice, but they are not currently making one in .243 or 7mm-08.  Henry<\/a> makes a youth model single-shot rifle, and they make it in .243 Winchester. Bingo we have a possible winner!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Henry
The Henry Single Shot in 243. Simple.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Henry Arms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Youth Model Henry is exactly the same as their regular model but with an inch shorter length of pull.  They also sell youth-size stocks<\/a> to convert a regular model.  This is exactly what I did. The rifle can now also be \u201cgrown into\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some specs on the Henry:<\/p>\n\n\n\n