Henry All Weather

I was hoping to have a trophy shot of myself next to a freshly slain T-Rex what with this rifle being a dino killer, well, the calibre at least! Now that my shoulder has fully recovered, let me introduce you to the Henry 45-70 All Weather. Just like a T-Rex, this big calibre beast takes some feeding! And at around £50 for a box of 20 rounds, it’s not exactly a plinking gun! But that said, pride of ownership certainly outweighs economics because it’s just one of those calibres that you just need in your collection! Let’s take a good look at this Jurassic hunter in more detail.

Starting at the recoil pad, oh, and trust me, it needs one!

Those Hornady Leverevolution 375gr ‘ers were really making this gun bounce on the shoulder! It is obviously rubberised to soak up the recoil and also ventilated with Henry’s logo on it. The actual stock is very sleek and ambidextrous with a nice flowing pistol grip like on all of the Henry range. It is made from hardwood rather that a laminate and is stained with a durable and weather-proof finish. Although I like the stock, I personally think it would be better with some sort of chequering or stippling on the pistol grip and forend. After all, this is an all-weather rifle and I just think what with its recoil, better grip would be needed in wet conditions. A sling swivel stud is located on the underneath and you can find the other one up front at the end of the forend. The pistol grip is modern in looks and feel. Me personally don’t really get one with the straight angled pistol grips like what you get on the more traditional looking lever actions. Comfort, for me is important especially on a big calibre rifle like this!

Well recieved

Moving forward to the receiver, the metal work, in fact, all of the metal work apart from the bolt and the sights are what Henry call ‘hard chrome plated’ and to me, it feels like a Cerakote finish but far smoother. The top of the receiver is drilled and tapped so if you want to throw on an optic then you can as a Weaver rail will fit. Moving up the rifle to the rear sight, it is a buck horn type and really suits this gun well, obviously fully adjustable and right up front is a brass beaded blade. I personally think that a silver coloured scope would make this rifle look totally awesome!

The hammer can be de cocked when required but when you do manually operate it for whatever reason, it feels so, so silky smooth. What with big loop lever guns seeming to be getting quite popular these days especially when guys are starting to pimp their lever rifles by having the loop wrapped with paracord. Yeah, they look cool but for this particular Henry, the standard loop not only does the job, but it makes this rifle look more elegant making its lines just flow. Opening the action reinforces the fact that here you have a quality built rifle. No catchy metal sounds or ‘grawnchyness’ just a smooth operation. Of course, it’s too be expected from Henry!

Rounding up

Now when it came to shooting this absolute beast, I was somewhat rounds limited because 45-70 is certainly not cheap at around £50 for a box of 20. A box of Hornady Leverevolution 375gr was certainly enough to start rattling my brain! I set up a 10-inch steel gong at about 30-yards on my test range. Shooting the Henry in a standing position was a little more comfortable for me than shooting off a bench because this cannon certainly bounces a bit in the shoulder! Loading up the rifle with just four rounds as that’s all it will hold, is a piece of cake simply push down and twist the loading rod at the muzzle end and slide it forward until the loading port is fully open you can take it all the way out but there really is no need. It’s then just a case of loading in those gigantic 45-70 rounds into the tubular magazine. Once they are in, close up the loading rod and press and twist until locked in position. Operate the lever action to chamber a round and cock the hammer. Brace yourself as you are now ready to make some noise!

Upon squeezing the trigger, felt recoil is somewhat noticeable! Probably about the same as a 12-gauge shotgun with a magnum round in but with this rifle being pretty short at 37.5-inches long, recoil is somewhat exaggerated! My first shot was a direct hit on the gong and boy did the gong let me know, it sounded like a church bell! Shot after shot, they all connected with that AR500 steel. After just those four rounds fired through the Henry, I notice the barrel was already hot to touch. Although this big calibre does kick a little bit, the rifle is actually very comfortable to shoot and everything is silky smooth and even the trigger itself is really nice and broke like a glass rod on my scale at just over 4.5lbs. Ejection was okay but we must bear in mind that those big spent brass are not as light weight as a .22lr case so don’t expect then to land six-feet away from you!

Conclusion

All in all the ‘All Weather’ is ‘all good’ as I had no issues at all but if I’d have been shooting in bad weather then I think the Henry would of acted more like a Herring what with its lack of grip, but that’s my only gripe! Safe shooting! – Rack.