The eyes of soldiers, notables and frontiersmen, posing with their sleek, efficient Henry repeating rifles in century-and-a-half-old photographs, typically reflect pride and confidence, and imply that the rifle’s users know they’re holding something special. Such feelings are understandable. The 16-shot Henry lever-action set the owner above the norm. It was truly one of the mechanical wonders of its era.
During a time when most military and sporting arms were single-shots or cumbersome percussion repeaters, a gun that effortlessly spat out a rapid stream of bullets with only one charging of handy, self-contained cartridges was something to be admired and coveted. Originally made in relatively limited numbers between 1860 and 1866, the Henry .44 Rimfire rifle, which was devised, built and primarily carried in the United States, eventually fell into disuse. Nearly a century-and-a-half later, a modern resurgence of interest in Civil War arms and the rise of cowboy action shooting have given many vintage arms a new lease on life-including the Henry. Replicas of the rifle began to be successfully made overseas in the 1970s. Now the process has returned full-circle thanks to Henry Repeating Arms of Bayonne, N.J., which has brought the manufacturing of this all-American firearm back home.
The Henry rifle has one of the most tortuous histories of any firearm ever. Even though its official production lasted a scant half-dozen years, its antecedents and descendants extended for many years. In 1848 inventor Walter Hunt introduced an odd-looking lever-action long arm that chambered an early incarnation of the metallic cartridge.
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