Henry Steel Wildlife 45-70GOVT

I love this Henry. It is flawless and shipping was fast. Buds is the place to go for online shopping.

Gun is built well and came with no flaws. Beautiful gun

I have only had this rifle for a couple of weeks and haven't shot it yet. First impressions:

Size: If you don't like short rifles ... it's not for you.

Fit and finish: Good ... and up to my standards. Only thing I really noticed is that between the stock and recoil pad, the stock is a little larger around the edge (maybe 1/64" by eying it). Hardly noticeable unless you look for it ... but can definitely feel it. Have read that this could be on purpose for future wood shrinkage. Don't know, don't care ... not enough to bother me.

Looks: Freekin' beautiful. Just don't expect the wood to be the same color or grain that you see in pictures. They're all unique in that way.

Loading: I have bought two boxes of ammo. Hoenady 325 gr Leverevolution and Remington 405 gr sp.
Have only tried to load 4 in tube ... have read that a fifth could possibly be squeezed in (some ammo is slightly shorter than others) ... haven't tried it.
Seems that the Remington ammo was a little easier to load. The issue comes with the last couple of inches when sliding the tube in. Had to do a little more faniglin with the Hornady than the Remington ... not sure why that is.

Operation: Without having shot it yet ... the action feels relatively solid ... needs to be broken in before I'll know for sure. Cycled 8 rounds of each ammo (unfired) through the action. Both cycled equally well ... didn't feel the need to repeat.

Picked this henry up last month and been giving her a good workout. I am very pleased and couldn't be happier. Right out the box the fit looks perfect, finish was ok and the sights were dead on. I got lucky. I want to add that the Henry's 45-70 may not have the loading gate like the marlins do but I do find it easier to load. I own both the henry and marlin 45-70 and if I had to choose I'd grab the henry.

The quality of this rifle is impeccable. It is my 4th Henry. The wood to metal fit-up is perfect; the wood is finished flawlessly. The metal bluing is a satin finish. The action is smooth and the trigger crisp. I think the magazine tube loading method Henry uses is far easier to use than the conventional receiver load gate system, especially with long rifle cartridges. I am a big Henry fan. I contacted the Company with a question and was answered in just minutes via email by the President of the Company, Anthony Imperator. The only thing I see wrong with Henry Rifles is that they are such works of art I hate to shoot them!!! As far as I am concerned Henry is the leader in lever actions currently being produced by a wide margin.