Ackley1952
Member
Yes without a doubt
Winchester 9422..Worth?
- Thread starter WardenRoss
- Start date
Yes without a doubt
Model46
Member
I agree with the other posters that the Winchester is a work of art. I have one and paid more than $1K for it. No finer lever action .22 has ever been made with the possible exception of an early Marlin 39. Just buy it and enjoy it. Its really that simple.
I bought mine NIB in 1976 for a couple of hundred $. Still have it and will forever. Only thing not steel or walnut on a 9422 is the magazine follower. The 9422 followed the bolt design of the Win. 61 pump. That is the round is controlled through a slot in the breech face from the time it it leaves the magazine till its in the chamber. Also the bolt has a hump on the back that locks into a mortise in the top of the receiver just like a 61.
bought one from 1986 IIRC....XTR, beautiful walnut and blue...$975 ....18 months ago ...hope you get it, you wont be sorry you did!
If you think your grandson will take proper care of the gun, buy the Winchester. If not get him a Marlin 39 at half the price, still a great high quality gun. You just wont be as aggravated if he bangs it up. I several of have both, sold my Henry just didn't like it. I bought a NIB 1972 9422 22mag in 2018 and it cost me $900. The prices have only went up from there, you will be hard pressed to find a nice 94 for under 1k these days
My XTR 22lr and 22 Mag
My XTR 22lr and 22 Mag
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You are realistically about 6-8 years out of date on your prices.
2014-2015, sure you could get a nice excellent condition 9422 for $700.
Now that same 9422 is going to bring around $1000. If it’s an
XTR or something less common like a Trapper or a Legacy and you’re looking at $1200-$1500.
Mint in the box with papers and hang tags? Even a standard 9422 will be north of $1500.
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While we are on the subject the XTRs were made from 1978 until 1989. The first year 9422 XTRs had plain (uncheckered) stocks. By 1991 - after the XTRs were discontinued - all 9422s had checkered stocks. Many shooters and more than a few gun shops miss these distinctions and will call any checkered 9422 an “XTR” and price it accordingly.
All 9422 XTRs will have polished flats on the hammer and lever, while non XTR 9422s will not. Period. All 9422s however have highly polished receivers and that adds to the confusion.
All 9422 XTRs will have “XTR” stamped on the barrel. Period.
All 9422 XTRs from 1979-1989 will have checkered stocks. 1978 9422 XTRs will have plain stocks, but with the high gloss XTR stock finish.
Post 1989 9422s will have checkered stocks but the finish is almost always satin, not high gloss (there are some exceptions in the commemoratives they made).
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Around 1991 Winchester started using the same receiver on the 9422 and 9422M (.22 Magnum).
It’s evident on this 2000 vintage 9422 Trapper in .22LR as you can see a bit of the bolt carrier behind the bolt in the larger ejection port on the 9422M receiver. These later 9422s in .22LR will not reliably feed .22 Short ammo and are marked “.22 L, LR”. Again there are a few exceptions in some of their tribute models.
This 1978 94222 in .22 LR has the shorter port with no bolt carrier visible. These earlier 9422s with the shorter ejection port will be marked “.22 S, L, LR” and function fine with .22 short ammo.
Winchester also changed from steel to brass internal magazine tubes in mid 1978. Anything after 1978 should have a brass magazine tube, anything from 1972-77 should have a steel tube. 1978 can swing both ways. A *lot* of early 1972-78 9422s will have a brass tube as a replacement as the inner magazine tube commonly fell out as the shooter carried it back from the field or range while empty.
Adding a small, thin o-ring will prevent the tube from jumping the detent and falling out.
So…pop quiz:
Question 1: which one is the XTR?
Question 2: is the 9422 Legacy in .22 LR below an XTR?
Question 3: is it pre or post 1991?
Answers:
1) top and left
2) no
3) post 1991 (Small ejection port. They introduced the Legacy in .22LR and .22 Magnum in 1998 and in 17 HMR in the “9417” in 2003. They did a final run 9,422 engraved Legacies in 2005.)
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Buy the Winchester.
Then a Smith revolver to go along with it at some point.
Then a Smith revolver to go along with it at some point.
the one that looks like these ?
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Wow, a lot of great information for you to consider in the responses you’ve received! I’ve really enjoyed reading these posts.
To answer your question, in my honest opinion, there’s no real comparison between the 9422 and the Henry in terms of quality and long term value. But, it really depends on how ‘into guns you are.’
If you’re just looking for a .22 shooter rifle for your grandson, the Henry is a nice option, at a fair price. They do have a super smooth action. I’ve never cared for the pot metal receivers, and would look for a deal on a Marlin 39 if I was looking for a quality .22 lever gun at a decent price. The Browning 92s are also very nice...
If you want what is arguably the nicest .22 lever gun made, grab the Winchester. The action on the Winchester is top notch. They stopped making them because they were too expensive to manufacture. I’ve got a couple of old Winchester SX1 shotguns, same thing, beautiful bank vault action on them and it was too costly to continue to make them, compared to the lower cost lesser quality competition. Same thing with the old Colt Pythons.
But, the Winchesters are pricey, for sure. Not sure what you’re willing to invest, but if it were me, I’d consider getting both guns. You didn’t mention how old your grandson is, but if he’s young, I’d have him shoot the Henry, and when he gets older and is able to take great care of it, I’d give him the Winchester.
If it helps put things into context for you, I overpaid for my first 9422. It was about 14 years ago and I paid around $600 (maybe a little more, I can’t remember) for my first 9422. The gun was in like new condition, with the box, docs, and original receipt. Really, i thought it was top dollar back then, but I bought it to give to my son one day (he was a baby at the time). It’s an older one, and I bet I could sell it for around $1,200 today, and a lot more than that in another 10 years. They don’t make them anymore, and they never will again. BTW, my son will be 16 in December, guess what his birthday present is going to be...
. This all said, I bet you could get a fair price from your neighbor friend vs. buying one at a gun store, probably something less than $1k on the ‘friends and family plan...’.
Good luck and let us know how you make out!
Dmar is spot on. The Henry .22 LR rifles are ok but they are not heirloom quality by any means. As noted they use some variant of Zamak alloy and the basic design goes back to the Erma made Ithaca Model 72 repeating lever action rifle from the 1960s.
Rumor has it that the M72 was designed by Lou Imperato, (founder of the current Henry Firearms company) who sold the patents and design to Ithaca, who had Erma make the M72. Lou Imperato then reportedly bought the design back from Ithaca in 1996. He and or his some reportedly made some updates but there is still a fair bit of parts commonality between the two. The Henry uses a Zamak (ish) zinc alloy for the receiver with a steel receiver cover.
To be fair, unlike “pot metal” the Zamak alloys are dimensionally stable as they are very high purity alloys and it’s the impurities in low grade pot metal that cause the cracking and warping over time. So despite the “pot metal” receiver, the Henry rifles should hold up as least as well as the Ithaca Model 72 did, and you still see some of them show up for sale in fully functioning condition 50 years after they were made. (They sell in the $375-$400 range).
But, the Henry will never be a 9422 in terms of quality or in terms of collectibility. Winchester designed and built the 9422 beginning in 1972 as part of an effort to salvage their reputation after the changes they made in their rifles in 1964. As such the 9422 was a no expense spared attempt to design a superb .22 LR lever action rifle and they succeeded. It’s about as close to perfection as it gets with a production firearm, and even borders on gun art in terms of overall form, fit and function.
As noted they are not likely to make the 9422 again - at least not any time soon. Thats because if the current Winchester brand had Moroni make a “new” 9422 at the same level of quality it would probably sell with an MSRP up around $2K. That makes a “new” 9422 impractical as although they are becoming less common you can still find an excellent condition 9422 for around half that price. Once 9422s in excellent condition stop showing up on the market for less than projected MSRP of a “new” 9422 you might see new ones.
That said, I have to say that as much as I like some Miroku made firearms, like the Re-issued Model 52 sporters from the 1980s, the new Miroku made Model 94 rifles have never enticed me to buy one at all. They are well made, but the overall finish and blue just isn’t up to the standards of a pre-64 Model 94, and in particular a pre-WWII model 94 and with Winchester lever gun collectors dying off faster than new collectors are coming up, the market is soft enough that you can get one in excellent condition for no more (rifle pattern) and often a lot less (carbine pattern) than you’ll pay for a new Winchester.
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The Marlin Model 39 is also very well made, but most of them are a little too chunky in the stock for my tastes. A good example will also cost around $800-900 so they close to the 9422 in price.
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The Browning .22 LR lever guns are currently the best bang for the buck in quality .22 LR lever actions. They are well made, nicely finished and come in a variety of models and grades. But even the base model is welll made, nicely finished with nice wood and can be had for around $600. My only reservation with them is that they are not tang sight friendly as they don’t have a traditional tang to mount one on.
——
So where does that leave the Henry .22 LR rifles? They are good shooters, but won’t be heirlooms. For a couple hundred more you can get a Browning that does have heirloom quality and and staying power.
So it really comes down to intended use. If you plan to shoot it and even insert it hard, but take care of it and pass it down to your kids, grandkids, etc, skip the Henry and get something else.
If you plan to throw it in your truck, leave it using your boat or otherwise treat it like you would a crescent wrench with no particular care, then get a Henry. You’ll chew it up, but at least no ruin a high quality firearm.
Rumor has it that the M72 was designed by Lou Imperato, (founder of the current Henry Firearms company) who sold the patents and design to Ithaca, who had Erma make the M72. Lou Imperato then reportedly bought the design back from Ithaca in 1996. He and or his some reportedly made some updates but there is still a fair bit of parts commonality between the two. The Henry uses a Zamak (ish) zinc alloy for the receiver with a steel receiver cover.
To be fair, unlike “pot metal” the Zamak alloys are dimensionally stable as they are very high purity alloys and it’s the impurities in low grade pot metal that cause the cracking and warping over time. So despite the “pot metal” receiver, the Henry rifles should hold up as least as well as the Ithaca Model 72 did, and you still see some of them show up for sale in fully functioning condition 50 years after they were made. (They sell in the $375-$400 range).
But, the Henry will never be a 9422 in terms of quality or in terms of collectibility. Winchester designed and built the 9422 beginning in 1972 as part of an effort to salvage their reputation after the changes they made in their rifles in 1964. As such the 9422 was a no expense spared attempt to design a superb .22 LR lever action rifle and they succeeded. It’s about as close to perfection as it gets with a production firearm, and even borders on gun art in terms of overall form, fit and function.
As noted they are not likely to make the 9422 again - at least not any time soon. Thats because if the current Winchester brand had Moroni make a “new” 9422 at the same level of quality it would probably sell with an MSRP up around $2K. That makes a “new” 9422 impractical as although they are becoming less common you can still find an excellent condition 9422 for around half that price. Once 9422s in excellent condition stop showing up on the market for less than projected MSRP of a “new” 9422 you might see new ones.
That said, I have to say that as much as I like some Miroku made firearms, like the Re-issued Model 52 sporters from the 1980s, the new Miroku made Model 94 rifles have never enticed me to buy one at all. They are well made, but the overall finish and blue just isn’t up to the standards of a pre-64 Model 94, and in particular a pre-WWII model 94 and with Winchester lever gun collectors dying off faster than new collectors are coming up, the market is soft enough that you can get one in excellent condition for no more (rifle pattern) and often a lot less (carbine pattern) than you’ll pay for a new Winchester.
——
The Marlin Model 39 is also very well made, but most of them are a little too chunky in the stock for my tastes. A good example will also cost around $800-900 so they close to the 9422 in price.
——-
The Browning .22 LR lever guns are currently the best bang for the buck in quality .22 LR lever actions. They are well made, nicely finished and come in a variety of models and grades. But even the base model is welll made, nicely finished with nice wood and can be had for around $600. My only reservation with them is that they are not tang sight friendly as they don’t have a traditional tang to mount one on.
——
So where does that leave the Henry .22 LR rifles? They are good shooters, but won’t be heirlooms. For a couple hundred more you can get a Browning that does have heirloom quality and and staying power.
So it really comes down to intended use. If you plan to shoot it and even insert it hard, but take care of it and pass it down to your kids, grandkids, etc, skip the Henry and get something else.
If you plan to throw it in your truck, leave it using your boat or otherwise treat it like you would a crescent wrench with no particular care, then get a Henry. You’ll chew it up, but at least no ruin a high quality firearm.
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Just some candy. Early Win 9422 w/walnut wood that I changed to laminate. Marlin 1897T. 16 in octagon barrel. Slim walnut stock and forend. Browning BL-22 grade II. 22 in octagon barrel. Silver nitrite receiver. Better walnut.
Doubt I can wear out any off these. Remember the 9422 was to be a clone of the 94. Lay one on top of the other. The length etc is the same.
Doubt I can wear out any off these. Remember the 9422 was to be a clone of the 94. Lay one on top of the other. The length etc is the same.
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I agree that anything under $1000 is a steal for a 9422 in prime condition. For scope mounting weaver makes a good extension base. Use caution with the set screw as it can mar the receiver. I place a small bit of hard nylon under the set screw. That holds and does not mar the receiver. I also agree they had been a wealth of information here. From what I’ve seen the 9417 brings the premium price. Good luck.
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Walter Rego
Member
I had one of the 9422 XTR Classic Models that I bought new in 1986. I think I ran a couple of tubes of ammo through it to check the sights and then cleaned it and put it away.
When they started bring stupid money, I decided that I didn't need it anymore. Now that they are bringing about 2X what I let it go for, I wish that I hadn't sold it. In fact the only model that I think outdoes it in the coolness factor is a 9422 XTR Classic chambered in .22 WMR.
And while they are accurate enough to benefit from the addition of a scope, no way would I ever spoil the trim lines and balance of one by scoping it.
When they started bring stupid money, I decided that I didn't need it anymore. Now that they are bringing about 2X what I let it go for, I wish that I hadn't sold it. In fact the only model that I think outdoes it in the coolness factor is a 9422 XTR Classic chambered in .22 WMR.
And while they are accurate enough to benefit from the addition of a scope, no way would I ever spoil the trim lines and balance of one by scoping it.
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OP
I went over and looked at it. It's an immaculate example made in 1972.
Appears to be from the first batch made.
I'm going to offer $1,200. He's in no hurry to sell. The more he looked at it, the less interested he became in selling it. LOL
,
Appears to be from the first batch made.
I'm going to offer $1,200. He's in no hurry to sell. The more he looked at it, the less interested he became in selling it. LOL
,
Grayfox
US Veteran
Bear in mind that the 9422 was one of Winchesters top of the line rifles. One of their very best. I think $1000 would be a good price. But if you have to pay more, its worth every cent.
I have an early 9422XTR made in 1978. Its one of my very favorite rifles and ain't for sale at any price.
I have an early 9422XTR made in 1978. Its one of my very favorite rifles and ain't for sale at any price.
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