Henry Steel Lever Action in .360 Buckhammer: Reviewed

Lever-action rifles are almost an exclusively American firearm design. Sure, the British had the Martini-Henry breech-loading, single-shot, but no other nation had a love affair with lever-action repeating rifles like the U.S., and perhaps no other company embodies that passion as fervently as Henry Repeating Arms.

Founded in 1996 with a mission to bring lever-action production back to American soil, Henry Repeating Arms still considers the platform an integral part of its expansive product portfolio. Hunters have learned that a well-built lever action is a versatile hunting weapon, especially in dense wooded country.

STRAIGHT TALK

Interest in lever guns got a boost a few years ago when states like Indiana, Michigan and my home state of Ohio allowed the use of straight-walled cartridges for white-tailed deer hunting. Straight-walled cartridges, like the .45-70 and .350 Legend, offered as good or better accuracy than shotgun slugs and improved trajectories as well as a healthy dose of nostalgia that you simply don’t achieve when feeding sabot slugs into the belly of a camo duck gun. Lever guns had class, and laws allowing the use of straight-walled cartridges meant that millions of hunters who were previously relegated to hunting with shotguns with slugs could finally take their lever guns afield when hunting their favorite big-game animal.

For many years, it was rare to see a .45-70 lever action on a gun store shelf in Ohio, and odds were that someone would scoop that rifle up in a hurry if you passed it over. In truth, though, the .45-70 was a bit more cartridge than was needed for Midwestern deer hunting, and recoil levels were stiff for young hunters. However, because the other popular lever-action cartridges of the time, like the .30-30 and .35 Remington, were bottleneck rounds (and therefore illegal in straight-walled states), the .45-70 was the best available option in lever actions.

That changed when the team at Remington launched the .360 Buckhammer. The Buckhammer utilizes the .30-30 Winchester as a parent case, and with the neck blown out to hold .358-inch bullets, the case profile is straight, which makes it legal in states like Ohio. Bullets range from 160 to 200 grains, and the .360 Buckhammer offers more energy and a flatter trajectory than the .350 Legend, which was largely conceived as a bolt-action/semiauto cartridge. I’ve shot game with both the .350 Legend and .360 Buckhammer and I must say that in my experience, the Buckhammer hits noticeably harder.

Because the .360 Buckhammer is a rimmed cartridge, it functions beautifully in rifles like Henry’s Steel Lever Action. The .360 Buckhammer version of that rifle feeds from a tubular magazine and can be loaded and unloaded through the receiver. However, the removable tube magazine allows for fast and safe unloading of the rifle at the day’s end. Capacity clocks in at five rounds.

A CLASSIC LOOK

Henry’s Steel Lever Action is a beautiful hunting rifle that will appeal to anyone who appreciates a quality American lever action. The 20-inch barrel, magazine tube, and steel receiver are all deeply blued, and the stock is made from nicely figured American walnut. The diamond-point checkering is particularly nice—far better than you’ll find on most modern factory rifles—and I like how the checkering on the straight grip stock extends past the wrist. The rifle has a subdued, classic aesthetic that favors quality craftsmanship and components over decoration. It’s the proper look of a classic American hunting rifle.

The Henry’s receiver features a loading gate and ejection port, keeping the top of the receiver solid enough for it to be drilled and tapped for Weaver 63B patterned scope bases. If you want to mount a red dot or low-power variable scope on this rifle, it’s easy to do.

I understand that optics add versatility to any rifle, but I’m also a purist. That’s why the Henry sans scope appeals to me. This is a well-balanced, handy rifle with an overall length of just 39 inches. The center of gravity on this 7-pound repeater rests right between the shooter’s hands. I would not, then, put an optic on this one for most of my hunting. It’s rare indeed that I shoot a whitetail in Ohio past 80 yards, and my longest shot in these oak and beech forests was just a hair over 100 yards.

Luckily for the bull-headed traditionalists like me who like their lever guns without optics, the Henry comes with a high-quality set of iron sights. Here again, though, Henry didn’t mess up the rifle’s recipe by adding sights that look out of place on this gun. The rear is a traditional semi-buckhorn that’s ramp adjustable for elevation and screw adjustable for windage. A diamond pattern on the rear sight drives the eye to the notch where the front brass bead settles when centering the irons. It’s rare to say that a hunting rifle points naturally, but the Henry comes to the shoulder like an upland shotgun.

Many lever-action manufacturers mess up the design of lever actions by adding safeties. The Henry does not have a manual safety, but that doesn’t mean it’s not safe. There’s a transfer bar that prevents any impact from jamming the hammer into the firing pin and discharging the rifle. When the hammer is lowered, the rifle is safe. Learn how to properly handle the rifle, and you’ll be safe all your days in the field, without having to fiddle with a redundant manual safety.

The Henry Steel Lever Action .360 Buckhammer is a stylish, well-built lever action chambered in Remington's whitetail cartridge. A beautiful American-made rifle in a uniquely American firearm platform that’s expressly designed for hunting America’s favorite big game animal—what’s not to love?

AT THE RANGE

The Henry is easy to load, and the action operates smoothly, feeding cartridges from the tube magazine without issue. This gun will also likely surprise the most ardent pro-optics hunters with its outstanding accuracy potential. At 50 yards, I had no issues keeping the 180-grain Remington Core-Lokt rounds in a 2-inch circle. At 100 yards, groups were smaller than a fist—certainly better than you can expect from the average slug-loaded shotgun—and at 200 yards, I could ring an 8-inch steel plate shot after shot. I have no doubts that with a red dot or LPVO, you could beat those numbers if you need to stretch things out a bit farther, but for most straight-walled deer hunting, that is sufficient accuracy.

Recoil is pleasantly mild. At 7 pounds, the Henry isn’t a particularly heavy rifle, but the stock design and recoil pad do a good job absorbing felt recoil. I’ve shot both the .45-70 and .444 Marlin and I can promise that the Buckhammer is much more comfortable to shoot than either of those rounds.

Despite its softer side, the Buckhammer is a hard-hitting, big-game round. I’ve seen it simply flatten two big whitetail bucks, and for hogs and black bear, I think the Henry lever action is a notable step up in power over a .350 Legend. If I were climbing into a treestand over bear bait or sneaking up on a sounder of hogs, I’d love to have this Henry in my hands. It is, however, a whitetail rifle first and foremost, and in that capacity, this gun shines. It’s reliable and well-built and chambered in the versatile.360 Buckhammer. Henry continually offers exciting and innovative new guns, but as a Buckeye, I must say that this Buckhammer lever action is my favorite of any of their recent firearms. It makes it easy to see why Americans loved—and love—the classic lever gun.

SPECIFICATIONS: Henry Steel Lever Action

• Action: Lever-action centerfire
• Chambering: .360 Buckhammer
• Capacity: 5
• Receiver: Machined steel, matte blued finish
• Barrel: Machined steel, 1-in-12 twist, matte blued finish
• Sights: Adjustable semi-buckhorn rear, brass bead front
• Stock: American walnut
• Barrel length: 20 inches
• Overall Length: 39 inches
• Weight: 7 pounds
• MSRP: $1,088

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