Should I buy this Henry .357?

[Bullzaye]

Just looking for some quick opinions on this. I have a chance to pick up a "used", but unfired, ANIB Henry Goldenboy .357/.38, still in the box. His price is $650.

I know the current new prices, but I don't know what they were pre-Covid, or if they've changed. I don't have any specific "need" for this, and as such, no desire to pay "too much". So...do you guys feel that this is a great buy, that I shouldn't let pass...or just kind of so-so?

Thanks in advance for any insight or opinions.

 

[knockonit]

holy grail for me, been trying to find one for a bit that i can squander my hard earned ducats on, for me its how much i need it, or WANT IT> lol
good luck either way
Rj

 

[paulgt2164]

I fail to see where any quality lever gun in any sort of reasonable price range that uses a common caliber is a bad deal. Lol.

 

[Boriqua]

That was the pre covid price and not inflated.

I had one for a hot 10 minutes. Absolutely stunningly beautiful but mine had to go back in to service twice in the first couple hundred rounds and it went in the first time within 50 rounds. when the bolt cracked and spilled my extractor and some other bits on to the table.

Unrelated .. while it would work with all factory ammo .. I just couldn't get it to reliably light my reloads. I cant really fault the gun on that one because .. it could have been something with my reloads however those reloads worked in 5 other guns without issue. I didnt send in the gun because it wouldnt fire reloads.

It has a good rep on the Henry forum but you get a lot of "they have great customer service" which to me is a red flag.

They did indeed have great costumer service and sent me a label both times and returned the gun quickly but ... I would prefer to get a great gun from jump street rather than depend on great repairs and loss of a firearm I paid for while it is in transit and during repair.

In the end .. I loved the looks and heft and when it shot it was AWESOME. Man I just liked owning it! ... but .. 2 trips in to the factory and what I thought was a bad heat treat or casting on the bolt and I was done.

I have read about other people shooting these guns reliably and never having problems .. maybe I was unlucky. I pined for that gun for 6 years before pulling the trigger. I was disappointed with its performance but true to the word .. they are beautiful and they do offer great customer service.

Edited to add
I still have a hankering for a .357/38 lever but will be happy with less beautiful and fully functional. I dont know if it is strictly the way henry approached it or its a lever action necessity but they use a type of split bolt system. The gun wont fire unless the lever is FULLY in the up position. Good thing!

It does it by levering up on half the bolt to line it up with the other half and the action of striking the primer only works when those two pieces are aligned. IMHO the set up didnt provide a very strong strike which I think was the issue with my reloads using CCI primers. Even factory ammo had what I consider light strikes although they fired.

 

[thom]

Mine works terrific. It has shot both factory and my buddys soft reloads also. If you would like me to find out his recipe, I will ask.
Thom

 

[87jeep]

There is always a bad one going out the factory door now and then. I would pull the trigger and get it!

 

[Boriqua]

There is always a bad one going out the factory door now and then. I would pull the trigger and get it!

To tell the truth .. at $650 OTD no paperwork no tax and no FFL charge ... I might be willing to give it another go?! It was a nice rifle .. and .. maybe I got the one made on friday afternoon :think:

 

[kenpoprofessor]

To tell the truth .. at $650 OTD no paperwork no tax and no FFL charge ... I might be willing to give it another go?! It was a nice rifle .. and .. maybe I got the one made on friday afternoon :think:

My grandfather taught me that lesson when I was a child in the 60's, and he was a union steel worker


Clyde

 

[mtptwo]

650 for a lever gun these days? I would snap it up.

 

[thom]

If you don't want it, will you PM me with the information on it?

 

[Bullzaye]

Thanks for all the feedback gents (and ladies, if I missed someone). I expect that I'll be taking it. I was already leaning quite heavily that way...but a little positive reinforcement is always nice to have.

Also...he has 2 boxes of American Eagle LRN .38 Special ammo, which he would sell me for $50 (he says he paid $100 for it...not that that matters one way or the other, except perhaps to him). I told him I have no interest at that price. And finally...he has an orange Henry soft sided case (which he claims to have cost north of $100) and a fancy carved leather Henry sling plus sling kit, not installed, which he also claims was well north of $100. He mentioned "several hundred dollars worth" of accessories...and for all of that he wants $800. The Henry website shows the soft case at $40, and the sling lists for $70, plus $17.50 for the swivel kit. Personally, regardless of value...I have no interest in his accessories, and I'd only be interested in the ammo at a "normal" price.

Looks like I'm going to meet him on Friday. Unless anyone has some interest in the ammo or accessories that I've mentioned (at my cost, naturally), I'll just be buying the rifle, alone.

Thanks again for all of the comments and suggestions!

 

[XJThrottle]

I need a lever 44 mag like that, Henry Big Boy X preferably.. I probably quit buying guns if I found one....well, I'd tell my girl that was the last gun I needed to buy.

 

[knockonit]

I need a lever 44 mag like that, Henry Big Boy X preferably.. I probably quit buying guns if I found one....well, I'd tell my girl that was the last gun I needed to buy.

FYI, they catch on................they let you hang yer self, don't ask how i know.

 

[YNOTAZ]

I need a lever 44 mag like that, Henry Big Boy X preferably.. I probably quit buying guns if I found one....well, I'd tell my girl that was the last gun I needed to buy.

FYI, they catch on................they let you hang yer self, don't ask how i know.

Don't listen to these guys, gun whores the entire bunch of um.

[whisper mode] who is selling it? [whisper mode off]

 

[kenpoprofessor]

I need a lever 44 mag like that, Henry Big Boy X preferably.. I probably quit buying guns if I found one....well, I'd tell my girl that was the last gun I needed to buy.

Fortunately, at this time, I am not afflicted with that annoying malady.


Have a great, gun carryin', Kenpo day


Clyde

 

[XJThrottle]

You fellas are missing the point. "Needed" to buy. Sure there will be more that became mine because I "wanted" to buy them.

 

[Boriqua]

I would grab that ammo too if you don't already load it. Even in good times I rarely found it on the shelf for less than $24 a box of 50. Not likely to find it on the shelves at all right now. Sucks having a gun you can't play with!

 

[Tenring]

Yes

 

[shorepatrol]

I'd buy that in a hot second.

 

[xerts1191]

We’ll need pictures soon