I’m a sucker. I’ve been seeing lots of videos from Henry Golden Boy 22 Long Rifle fanboys and what a great rifle it is, so I bought one. I don’t like the brass receiver look so I opted for the Golden Eagle with the silver receiver, engraving and gold eagle, but essentially the same rifle as the Golden Boy. I’ve had a Marlin Model 37 Mountee for years and love it. So, I figured I’d do a comparison of them, for what it’s worth.
Background: The Marlin 37 was manufactured in 1967. I shot it for years and just purchased a vintage Weaver 4x scope with vintage rings to match. I just mounted the scope. The Henry is new. I just picked it up.
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[B][U]Barrels[/U][/B]: The Marlin barrel is about 20 ¼” and the Henry barrel is 20” in length. The Marlin Barrel is round while the Henry is octagonal. Personally, I like the octagonal barrel on older looking lever rifles. However, the Marlin barrel is heavier and feels more solid and less susceptible to little muscle movements. The barrel didn’t seem to get as hot as the Henry barrel also. While I like the aesthetics of the Henry barrel, I much preferred Marlin’s heavier barrel. The slight additional weight was not an issue whatsoever and added some steadiness to the aiming process, especially when shooting offhand.
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[B][U]Sights[/U][/B]: I was blown away. The Marlin sights appear to be stamped sheet metal rear v-ramp and black bead up front. I found it average, nothing unusual, typical lever action sight, like the one on my Winchester Model 97 30-30. They’ve been manufacturing them for more than a century and they still work great. Marlin’s front sight has a hood, which is a nice touch. Surprisingly, the hood makes it slightly easier to find the front sight sometimes when trying to aim quickly, especially offhand. However, they are open sights and my old eyes aren’t what they used to be. (Hence, the scope.)
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On the other hand, the Henry sights appeared much nicer and even better. The rear sight seems to be made from some type of synthetic material that is thicker than the stamped sheet metal with a front blade with a brass bead. I thought the brass bead was a great idea and it should make the sight picture “pop” unlike the Marlin. I thought it should also help me focus on the front sight instead of the target while shooting. Initially, I was impressed by the Henry sights. However, I was sorely mistaken. So I figured out the rear sights have steps cut into it for different ranges, I think. In order for me to hit anything under 100 yards, I had to put the brass bead in the lowest slot of the rear sight and fire the shot. When the brass bead was in the lowest slot of the rear sight, I couldn’t see the target; it was obscured. I was still hitting steel plates at 25 yards, but it was very frustrating. If you have younger eyes than me, I’m sure it wouldn’t be as frustrating.
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So as far as sights go, I really dislike the Henry sights, even though they look so much better than the standard Marlin open sights. I’d much rather go with the tried and true Marlin sights. At least I can see my target.
[B][U]Scope[/U][/B]: I wanted to shoot to 100 yards and maybe even further. With he antique 4x Weaver scope I was pinging steel at 115 yards all day with the Marlin, so that was no problem. At first, I thought, “I’m selling this Henry” because it was hard for me to see and aim with it. Then I thought that maybe I should keep it, after all it looks great, and I can pop a scope on it like the Marlin. However, upon closer inspection, the receiver is not drilled and tapped for a scope. So I’d have to take it to a gunsmith, dump more money into it to be able to shoot it. I’m not sure what the thought process was there, but it looks like Henry saved a couple bucks by not having to drill and tap the receiver for a rail or rings.
[B][U]Fore ends[/U][/B]: Fore ends are similar. The Marlin fore end is slightly bigger making it somewhat easier to hold. There is nothing wrong with the Henry fore end, but with the lighter barrel getting somewhat hotter, the larger wood fore end was more welcomed.
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[B][U]Lever Handles[/U][/B]: Both lever handles are straight and similar. I had no issues and did not notice a difference between the two.
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[B][U]Hammers[/U][/B]: Again, I did not have any issues with either and did not notice a difference between the two. However, I had to use the Marlin thing-a-ma-bob you put on the hammer with a set screw in order to easily manipulate the hammer with a scope being so close. I’m assuming there’s one for a Henry too.
[B][U]Stocks[/U][/B]: Neither stock had impressive wood. However, the Marlin’s stock and wood seemed superior to me. You could see the grain in the old Marlin wood. The Henry wood looked almost like synthetic wood, like on an old Remington Nylon 66. The Henry wood looked like it was made in a high school wood shop. It was fit and finished excellently. No problem there. The real rub with the Henry wood was that the receiver is polished silver finish with some nice engraving with a 24 karat plated eagle on the receiver. The Henry also comes with a black barrel and brass looking engraving which is aesthetically pleasing all around. The beautiful receiver and barrel are contrasted by the plastic looking, cheap wood Henry slapped on the rifle. Henry’s stock really takes away from the beauty of the rest of the rifle.
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Henry offers a fancy stock for an additional $250, which appears nice on the website. Price wise, not too shabby. However, I found it comes with the following disclaimer: “Please note that all H004 and H006 sets have brass butt plates and therefore will not match any silver models. These sets will NOT fit X Series models.” Henry . . . how hard would it be to fit the fancy stocks with the silver butt plate and parts?!? Especially for $250 for two small pieces of wood?!? Again, I’m disappointed by Henry.
Back to the Marlin, it has a small cutout for the thumb while manipulating the rifle at the top of the stock, in front of the cheek. It is a nice touch. Nothing to write home about, but a nice touch nonetheless.
[B][U]Accuracy[/U][/B]: I had a lot of trouble with the Henry due to my old eyes and the disappointing sights. Further, every shot at 25 yards was an inch or two left of center. At 115 yards, I had to hold the blade off the plate, to the right, in order to hit it. I missed it many times because I simply couldn’t see. As you can see in the photos, the front blade is not installed to the center and appears to be too far to the right. Maybe I got a Henry rifle manufactured on a Friday or Monday when Henry’s quality control was not in peak condition.
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I could hit more accurately with the open sights on the Marlin and even better with the vintage scope I purchased off Ebay. As you can see from the targets, at 25 yards, I’m a poor shot. These were shots I took sitting at a bench off my elbows. I didn’t try to get small groups. I was just aiming at the bullseye and firing to get a taste of the accuracy. I didn’t buy either rifle looking to light a match at 100 yards. They are solely for plinking, not hunting or target shooting, etc. I’m sure if I splurged to get the Henry drilled and tapped and a scope mounted, the accuracy would be there for the Henry. However, I have to give Marlin the win for accuracy.
[B][U]Reliability[/U][/B]: Both the Henry and Marlin cycled hundred of rounds with absolute perfection. No jams. Both are very reliable and you should have no issues there.
[B][U]Receivers[/U][/B]: This was the deal breaker for me. I’m still not sure how to fully break down the Henry, but from my first views online, it looks like there is a little process to learn. Unlike the Henry, the Marlin has a single screw on the side of the receiver that is easily unscrewed and the receiver is in two pieces. You just slide the bolt out and you can clean the internal parts with ease, within seconds. I use dental tools and cleaning patches to get into the nooks and crannies around the chamber to remove the carbon and soot. I can easily lube the internal parts of the receiver and really clean up the feed ramp of the Marlin. I can reassemble the rifle in less than 60 seconds as well. As a former Marine, I know, a good rifle is a clean rifle and Marlin seems to have picked up on that too.
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I simply cannot emphasize enough what an absolute joy it is to be able to break down a lever action rifle so quickly and get it swabbed out and lubed so quickly and put back into the safe. Marlin hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 9th for a walk off win with that engineering. Well done Marlin. Well done.
Both rifle actions were overall fun to shoot, with the exception of Henry’s sights. The Henry’s action was very, very crisp. It was like a Swiss watch that operated flawlessly. I really liked the way the action closed. As the lever neared the underside of the stock, it snapped closing the last bit of the cycle. That snapping closed made me happy for some stupid reason. I liked it. It was like a positive affirmation on a good cycling, you know, like when a rat gets a pellet for getting through the maze. On the other hand, the Marlin’s old action was smooth as butter. You could feel the internal mechanics cycling, but it was smooth as gravy running down your gullet as the action cycled. Instead of a snap at the end of the Henry’s cycle, the Marlin action sucked the lever up to the stock for the last ¾” much like a kitchen cabinet closing.
The aesthetics of the Marlin cannot compare with the Henry’s silver receiver, engraving and 24 karat plated eagle. So aesthetically, the Henry is superior. Both actions are fantastic and solid, but different in that one is smooth as butter while the other is crisp and snappy. It is Marlin’s amazing one screw take-down engineering that puts the Marlin head and shoulders above the Henry as far as I’m concerned, not even taking into consideration Henry’s subpar wood and lack of being able to mount a scope.
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[B][U]Conclusion[/U][/B]: If you’re looking for a lever action 22 Long Rifle to plink with, I think you’re better off buying an old Marlin Model 37. You will not be disappointed. Forget all the Henry Golden Boy fanboys out there posting videos about how their rifle is the best rifle ever invented. No question that the Henry Golden Boy/Golden Eagle rifle is a quality rifle, but there is also no question, it could be better. Stay tuned, I got my eye on a Winchester 1982 .22 Long rifle. Semper Fi.
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, looking for input on lifespan, etc. Anything besides smell test to tell viability? Thank you in advance.
