Tag Archives: henry revolver

There’s a New 10 shot Rimfire Wheel Gun Out There

Posted on by Leave a comment

Wisconsin-based Henry Repeating Arms this week expanded its line of high-quality double-action revolvers with a new rimfire model.

The Henry Golden Boy Revolver announced on Thursday, shares Henry’s lever-action rimfire aesthetic, featuring a deeply blued steel medium-size frame, genuine American walnut grip panels, and a highly polished brass backstrap and trigger guard. Chambered in .22 rimfire, they accept Short, Long, and Long Rifle cartridges, giving the user a bit of flexibility.

The new wheelguns will be available in both a square “Gunfighter” grip as well as an option for a Birdshead grip, and they sport 4-inch round-profile steel barrels.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Henry Gunfighter?

Posted on by One comment

Henry continues to add interesting new pages to its catalog with the new Big Boy series of double-action revolvers, chambered in the profoundly serious .357 Magnum caliber.

The Henry Big Boy .357 revolver came out of nowhere and was likely not on anyone’s bingo card when it was introduced earlier this year. Few companies these days elect to get into the medium-framed .357 Magnum caliber double-action revolver market, and some (looking at you, Colt and Rossi) have even tried to exit that space in recent memory.

Still, Henry is doing a lot of things right with its inaugural wheel gun. It is accurate, has a decent trigger, and borrows enough things from proven legacy designs to seem familiar while having a very “Henry-ness” about it at the same time. You just don’t see lots of brass-accented revolvers in a double-action format, but Henry has pulled it off while still delivering a very solid-feeling and capable handgun to the market.

Chambered in .357 Magnum, the Big Boy also runs the slightly shorter .38 Special and is meant as an easy complement to the company’s popular Big Boy Brass Side Gate rifle in the same caliber. The Side Gate has an octagonal 20-inch blued steel barrel, American walnut furniture, and a polished hardened brass receiver. It has a 10-round capacity via its underbarrel tube magazine and feels like shooting a .22 Magnum.

One use I could see for the Henry Big Boy revolver is as a sidearm for outdoorsmen – particularly bow hunters in states that allow it – headed into the backwoods where interactions with black bears, feral hogs, or hostile bipeds can occur.

I’ve been putting one of these medium-framed wheel guns through its paces for the past few months and have a full breakdown of this new gem in Henry’s crown over in my column at Guns.com.

The revolver is dead, right?

Posted on by One comment

Just 20 years ago, revolvers were dead. Colt and Dan Wesson had stopped making revolvers altogether. Taurus had just bought Rossi and was closing their revolver lines. Smith was trimming down their wheelgun offerings as was Ruger. Anyone forecasting what was to come would have surely pegged the downward spiral as one that would continue.

Well, a funny thing happened. Turned out, folks liked revolvers.

Colt is back making more than ever before. So is Smith. Two of Ruger’s top-selling product lines are the Wrangler .22 and the LCR, announced in 2017 and 2009, respectively. The biggest splash at SHOT Show 2016 was that Kimber was making revolvers. Rossi came back to the wheelgun world at this past SHOT Show.

Now, Henry, who has been a stalwart rifle and shotgun maker since they were re-booted in 1996, is making a .357 magnum revolver– and you know that I had to get one to try out.

The Big Boy is very S&W K-frame but with a brass backstrap/trigger guard.

A six-shot double-action/single-action medium-frame six-shooter, the Big Boy revolver is meant as a complementary wheel gun to the company’s popular Big Boy Brass Side Gate rifle, which carries an octagonal 20-inch blued steel barrel, American walnut furniture, and a polished hardened brass receiver. Likewise offered in .357/.38, it has a 10-round capacity via its underbarrel tube magazine.

More on what I have found out about the Big Boy in my column at Guns.com.

Wheel Guns in Indy

Posted on by One comment

So I am back from the NRA’s 152nd 2023 Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Indianapolis and, while you can expect lots of deets over the coming weeks, the two most interesting items I came across were new American-made revolvers.

As mentioned last week, the new Henry Big Boy series has been in the works for a while and the Wisconsin-based company has finally raised the curtain on the design, representing the first time a legacy American gun maker has entered the revolver market since Kimber debuted the K6 in 2016.

Offered in two models, both featuring a 4-inch barrel and unshrouded ejector rod, the Big Boy will be available with both a square Gunfighter-style grip and a rounded compact Birdshead-style grip. Standard is a polished blued steel finish with brass accents and deluxe American walnut grips.

To me, they look a lot like Colt New Service wheel guns but with brass accents.

I have to admit, they feel nice, although I am not a fan of the logo on the grips

Speaking of Kimber, this year’s new K6xs Carry model is the company’s lightest yet– coming in at 15.9 ounces. Built specifically for concealed carry and chambered in .38 SPL +P, the weight is kept down due to the aluminum alloy frame and fluted steel cylinder. With a six-shot capacity, it offers a bonus round over your typical J-frame in the same size and carries a 2-inch 5R stainless steel barrel.

Double action only (with a corresponding 9.5-11.5 pound trigger pull), it ships with Hogue rubber Cobblestone grips installed.

Henry Has Entered the Wheel Gun Game

Posted on by 4 comments

Wisconsin-based Henry Repeating Arms continues to grow from its traditional lever-gun line and on Thursday introduced a pair of new 357 Magnum six-shooters.

The company’s first two entries in what is dubbed the Henry Big Boy Revolver line are both medium-framed double-action/single-action guns with swing-out cylinders. Each features a 4-inch barrel and is chambered in .357/.38, with the difference coming in the grip– one ships with square Gunfighter-style grips while the second has rounded compact Birdshead-style grips.

Featuring polished blued steel finishes and deluxe American walnut grips, these new wheel guns are meant more for target shooters and collectors. Note the exposed ejector rod and barrel profile that are very much akin in styling to a circa 1950s Colt Official Police.

More in my column at Guns.com.