I'm hope to buy another lever action gun soon. I've had Marlins, Rossi's etc and they are nice rifles. I want something with a smoother/lighter action. I've heard good things on Uberti and Henry rifles. If you own either, would you mind sharing your thoughts on your rifles action and build quality? Thank you.

I have a Henry Golden Boy .22 and the lever is like glass. I've never felt any action of any kind as smooth as that Henry. Plus, and I know this doesn't mean much to some people, the Henry is made in the USA.


CW

__________________
μολὼν λαβέ

I've been usin a Uberti Short Rifle in 45 LC for several years now....I'm aliken it too!

__________________
"IN GOD WE TRUST"

I have a Henry Golden Boy and a Uberti 1873 Sporting Rifle. Both have smooth actions. What I like about the Uberti over the Henry, is the Uberti has the loading gate on the side,where the Henry has to be loaded at the muzzle end of the magazine tube. The Uberti more closely matches the original Winchester 1873, where I am not sure what the Henry closely matches, if anything. The Uberti is a work of art, while the Henry is simply a nice rifle. They both, however, have their place.

I'm sort of in the same boat with ya S&W. I'm up in the air about a Cimarron, or a Uberti....

The Henry is nice, but I'm not getting the Happy, Fuzzy's, with the tube feed, vs the side gate....Everything I have read, everyone likes the action though...Haven't heard anything bad about the Uberti's...The Rossi?????
Winchester is out...Made in Japan.... I've been snooping on the Cimarron web page...I sort of am leaning towards theirs.....

Me...I'd be going with the 1873 with the longer bbl......Heavier than the 92's or the 94"s, but.....

Haven't quite made up my mind....Trouble is with most of them, around here anyway, the dealers that are listed, don't have any of them in stock, so a person would have to buy, have it shipped, then try it out...Woops...to late then to either like or not.

I'm snooping for a 45 colt also.

WuzzFuzz

I have 7 Henry's in the house (5 mine and 2 that belong to the kids) that range from a Big Boy, a Golden Boy, a few standard .22 lever guns, youth models and even the stainless bolt action single shots for the "kids first rifle" - that should speak for itself. Slickest actions out there, very accurate and just plain fun.

The one Uberti I want is the true brass framed Henry repeating rifle replica, now made by Uberti. If only Henry made that one (go figure on why they don't), the collection would be complete.

My son has a golden boy.Smoothest action I've felt on a lever gun.

I have no experience with Uberti but can say I love my Henry........smoooooooth!

The Henry rimfire rifles use nylon washers to give a super smooth feel but I have no idea if the centerfire versions do the same. The bigger concideration in my view is wht model of action you are looking for in a rifle. 1873? 1892? 1894? Marlin 336 / Rossi Rio Grand? You can go all the way from rimfire to .45-70 in these choices. Winchester is back at making lever actions again but I think they are Miroku builds and they aren't cheap. But all the reviews I've read say they reek of quality. And then there are the Pedersoli rifles. They are about as quality as Italian steel can buy these days. That's all I can think of at the moment.

I have had a Henry Golden Boy that my wife gave me as a graduation gift when I got my MS degree a good many years ago. It is beautifully made and as has been stated, has a wonderfully smooth action. It is not an exact copy of any antique rifle and is loaded via the muzzle end of the tube magazine. Since I don't expect to have to top off the magazine while under fire and it hold ten rounds of .45 Colt, that isn"t an issue for me...Besides the quality workmanship, the fact that it is ALL American made and I have actually been able to email with the president of the company without having to speak Italian or Japanese has been a major factor in chosing it over a foreign made replica..

ubertis dominate cowboy action shooting, well built lots of go fast parts if you want. ive shot a number of ubertis marlins winchesters and henrys my next cowbow rifle will be a uberti .i currently run a winchester 92.
the 66-73 action is simpler and more reliable in rapid fire.
my $0.02 cdn

__________________
the rules? there are no rules

I have a Umberti 73 in 44 Special. Incredibly smooth, and accurate. It is the smoothest pistol caliber lever gun I've handled. For rifle cartridge lever guns, somebody is making a 1876 reproduction, but I'm sticking with 1886's (Browning and Winchester) for the foreseeable future. When it comes to price point vs quality, Umberti is very hard to beat. Ivan

I have a Henry Golden Boy and a .45 Colt Big Boy. I like them a lot. I have no experience with the Uberti. It sounds like either will do what you want.

__________________
Corripe Cervisiam

Ok,,several pro's for going with Henry, and several for Uberti, now that you have them, thank you for the feed back..

But why did you buy what you have in the first place? Did you have an opportunity to try one out before buying? Borrow someone else's? What made you decide to get what you have? Or did you do like this thread says, go with the recomendations, or did you just go with a Pig in the Poke and buy it and try it?

Some people like Fords, some like Chevies. But for someone like me who's never bought one, or even had the opportunity to fondle one????

But since I already have a 25 in the LC with the 6", it makes sense to me to go with a .45 LC and stay with that caliber of ammo. I'd even go with one in .41 if I could find one, I've got a M57 too.. But that's next to impossible without putting a second mortgage on this place....

No I won't be doing any cowboy shooting. I'm too old and slow...No I'm not going to go bear hunting with one. But I can appreciate having one that has smooth action and helps me hit what I aim at (I need all the help I can get in that category.!!!!!)

But as I say, the dealers I have around here, don't keep any in stock, so I don't have the opportunity to fondle before buying...Well I guess that statement is not true...Sheels does have the Henry in the .22's. But nothing in the big bore's.


WuzzFuzz

My personal experience is that you can't go wrong with either choice.

They do. I got a catalog with extra insert showing it. I need one. I have rifles from both and they are great. 22lr and a couple of 45long colt. Henry is all American and I like that. Uberti has great color case hardening and I like that. All are accurate so hey get two!

__________________
A republic if you can keep it

Hey Mister, can you lend me a dime???????

I'd love to have one of each, but I'm afraid I'll only be able to afford one.



WuzzFuzz

I inherited my dad's Navy Arms Yellow Boy in .38 special (Uberti copy of the Winchester Model 1866). It is has a smooth action and is very accurate.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

You guys have had some great posts, I'm struggling with some of the stuff you mentioned. I've got a Rossi .357 carbine and a full sized Marlin .44. I have a ton of .44's and some .45 Colt's handguns, so I'm good on brass either way. The .44 makes more economical/convenience sense, but the .45 Colt in an 1873 really appeals to me. I think I'll go carbine since I only lose one round vs portability.

Unfortunately, I watched the video for the Uberti El Patron, so now I have thoughts of a matching pistol and rifle.

I need gun anonymous or something, it's a sickness.

Thanks for the great posts!!

Most I stumbled on at gun shows some were discovered at shops when I just went looking just to see what they had. Not too many dealers want people fingering the brass Henry's . They all feel good any way, I never hear of anybody complaining about getting a lemon Henry or uberti I had good luck. The best part is they are accurate.

__________________
A republic if you can keep it

Aide note: I had the short rifle and the longer rifle. The longer one was too slow to swing. I've now got the shorter Border Rifle. Front weight is nice but not too much.

The Henry is, well............the Henry. The rimfire seems nice. haven't seen the bigger calibers. On the SASSNET, several people have noted that shooters with the Henfy's seldom place in the top third. That may or may not be because of design.

My wife & I each own an Uberti (Cimarron) '73; hers a 16" bbl. .38/.357 and mine a .45 Colt 19". We like them a lot. Smooth, always work and a lot of fun. They seem to be well-made all-metal & wood guns. I also have an Uberti 1860 Henry repro also in .45 Colt which is my SASS main match rifle. It's heavy, loads funny, but always works. I get lots of "style points" at local matches. I bought it at a SASS convention where about 10 dealers were displaying their stuff. I must have worked the action on at least 12 1860's before I found a smooth one and I grabbed it. Some were pretty cranky; all were made by Uberti. No regrets about the one I got. Try to get your hands on the one you buy before you buy it. They vary a bit.

I only have the rimfire Henry's, and no problems whatsoever. When the "reviews" are good for both, and only one is American made, is it really a difficult choice?

Like Tompehret I have a Cimarron 1860 Henry. Smooth, reliable, accurate and goes a long way for style. It is a great gun and don't regret it a bit. Having handled Henry's and owning one, I found it nice, a good shooter, but compared to the Cimarron, the fit and finish were lacking.

Regardless of other aspects, remember they are a specimens of a production line. Buy the best specimen you can find regardless of its maker.

__________________
SWCA 1646

Henry--hands down. Ive never had any type of troubles with them but I fired a Uberti once and didnt care for it. Ive nothing against them--just not as good as Henry is in my opinion.

It means a lot to me--which is why im resisting buying one made by Rossi. I can get a Rossi in 357 and 45 right now with TT&L for less than $400--but am opting to pay a little more for a Henry. To me its like buying a Winchester 94--made in Japan. Something I just cannot allow myself to do BUT--if enough good reviews come in--I can change my mind. After all-I grew up being told to buy Fords-and no furriners--but I drove a Honda Civis--which supposedly had engine trouble--and I had no probs with it.

Thats good to know in case I ever break down and g=want to get a Uberti. Ive very limited experience with them but lord above--the Henrys are as smooth as 100 year old Scotch.

Send me a PM if you want--I know a couple dealers who sell at only $25 to $50 over their cost. At least they will to me but--it can happen to if I recommend someone to them.

Have you considered a vintage Winchester?

I have a Henry Big Boy in .357. I dare say I can load it through the tube faster than you could load a Uberti through the loading gate, but loading is not an issue for me. I love the Henry, it's smooth and has a crisp trigger. It also feeds 38 specials flawlessly, which is something the Rossi I shot couldn't do. The only thing I don't like about the Henry is that it is barrel heavy. It seems to be off balance. Other than that the Henry Big Boy is a fine rifle and makes the .357 magnum come in to it's own.

__________________
Have Gun Will Carry

Post a picture of that insert! I've looked all over online and the Henry web site and it doesn't show it yet. Might be time to start putting the Christmas list together.

I've thought about a vintage Winchester. I might go that way, it depends on the caliber I settle on. Some calibers are just about impossible to find on the vintage market. Thanks for the suggestion!!

The Cimarron's (Uberti) are really nice. Look at the caseharding on the gun and look at how clean the roll marks are.

__________________
SWCA 1646

Great looking gun!!

I don't mind sending a little money to Italy.

Thanks for the Pizza and the Spaghetti...

Westerns.

__________________
Dum vivo cano

Here it is just scanned it for you
kinda big.

__________________
A republic if you can keep it

I have, trouble is is those I see offered at least in my area--are asking too much for them in the conditions they are in.

I have an original 1894 that my Grandfather took off a dead Mexican Bandit he killed--as well as a handgun he came across the same way. That Winchester is "more" to me because it was taken from an American that that bandit killed in Columbus, New Mexico.

Also thanks for Claudia Cardinale.

Probley the best liked levers in the handgun calibers is the browning 92 copys made by mikru (spl?) in japan. Mine is in .44 mag. I wish I could find one cheap in .357. I also have a rossi puma 92 in .357. I havent shot it enough to firmly recomend it yet. The guys that have had them worked over by Steves Gunz swear by them. Rossi 92 Specialist, Nate Kiowa Jones a.k.a. Steve Young - Professional Gunsmith
As a side note when you think of all the replicas that uberti makes with copys of all the various old western guns I belive they deserve far more credit than I have ever read. I dont know of any gun company in history that has been as diverse.

I'll weigh in.

I've got a Uberti. 73, 24" rifle, octagonal barrel, 44 WCF. Heavy. HEAVY!!! Accurate. Smooth enough I suppose. Maybe if I had gotten a 20" SRC I'd like it more, but it's just too long and heavy for what it is.

I've also got two Rossi 92s. 20" SRC, round barrel, 44 WCF. Much lighter. Much handier. I've actually got several 92s - made by Rossi, made by Winchester, made by Miroku. Every one of them has been sent to Steve for work. They are all sweet. He's worth the money he costs.

When I feel the urge to shoot a 44/40, 95% of the time that Uberti stays in the safe and a Rossi goes with me. Light. Handy. Great sights. Smooth. Fast as I am.

I have no experience with the Henry, except a huge disgust with their advertising practices.

__________________
I always take precautions

i have no experience with the 24" barrell length, but the heavy 20" barrel is an advantage because the extra weight helps dampen the movements of levering the action , allowing you to more easily hold your sight picture. this along with a short stroke kit and polished action makes this rifle FAST .

my japanese winchester 92 in 357 is a great gun, accurate, well finished. feeds fine at regular speeds but if you try to shoot fast it will jam unless you use a 130 gr bullet in a 38 spl case .with the bullet set on second cannelure almost at a 357 OA length.
but it doesnt like 357 cases.
the uberti will eat anything ,

__________________
the rules? there are no rules

Well....maybe an original Winchester!!!!!...

I saw on the For Sale and Auction board when I went in town to the store for some groceries. There's a Estate auction coming up the first part of September right here in my back yard, so to speak.

It listed a original Winchester 73, in 32-20..Octagon bbl, 24". Sale bill said it had be professionally re-blued about 20 years ago...Photos...looks likes a nice little ole varmint gun.....Even a box of shells for it, probably a second auction,,,(But who would want to bid on those, if they didn't get the gun.) It gave the serial number, so I've got to run that down to find when it was Mfg'd.

Checked on some prices for originals, and they're all over the place, from $1799 to $10,750. Checked on ammo availability, and it is obtainable...Probably a little less so than the 44-40's or the modern hand gun ammo.

We'll see....Don't cost anything to bid, Only to win!!!!!!

Free to watch someone else get it, if nothing else!!!!!


WuzzFuzz

Oh, and there's a Chicago police, horse rider's Billy Club for sale too.....Just what I need, but I ain't got no horse!!!!!

One more edit...Anyone want me to bid on a butter churn for ya?????

No, but a money tree or two would be great!!

I'd hate to know the damage I'd do if I had an unlimited gun fund.

Hope I can do this right.

,Winchester in Box.JPG

Winchester serial number.JPG

Winchester side.JPG

Chicago Police Billy Club.JPG

How's that???? Can't see them worth a hoot, I know...But


Wuzz Fuzz