Which do you prefer? I've owned a few Marlin 39s but have never had a new Henry. I sold my last Marlin when there was too much slop (from wear) on the bolt/lever causing excessive play..which in turn caused a failure to eject.

I like the action of the Henry and they seem well built. Also Henry has built a good reputation for customer service...also available in 17hmr and 22mag. I'm sure some members on here own at least one of them?

The Marlin 39 is the Cadillac/Mercedes of lever action 22's, the Henry? Maybe a Ford Fiesta.

I have a Henry heavy octagonal barrel, shoots as well or better than my bolt guns!

Thank you, Coiuragez The Marlin 39 is the Rolls Royse in a centerfire. (along with my Aschuttz 54, but that's different, right?

I have a Marlin 39D from 1971 and the action is really smooth. It is one of my few lever actions that I can actually use the stock buckhorn sights. At some point, I would like to have a Henry in a 38-55 or 44 mag.

They both work and both will fling 22 bullets equally well.
As stated, Henrys are of lower quality, whatever that means to you, but, like a Yugo, it will get you from point A to point B.
As far as the centerfires, the Henry is a rip off (Ok, copy) of the Marlin operating system.
Do not confuse Henry, with the original Henry repeating rifle. Just the name.

In my opinion there is no comparison. The JM stamped (pre Remington) 39A's are far superior to any Henry. Again just my opinion. I have handled both side by side and fired both. The Henry gets the job done but it has an alloy frame and is clearly of lesser quality than the Marlin. I own a 39A and an 1897 (precursor to the 39). Both run like well oiled machines.

That is called a comparison.

Yep you got me. It is indeed a comparison.

quote:

Originally posted by Cougarz:
The Marlin 39 is the Cadillac/Mercedes of lever action 22's, the Henry? Maybe a Ford Fiesta.

Pretty accurate assessment. I own both. The Henry has some plastic parts and the blue is dull and dingy. I feeds and functions just fine. The Marlin 39 ( have to point out it is 60's manufactured) is much smoother and finished much better. Both shoot accurate and feed well.

I prefer the old guns too, but I hate to see Henry get beat up. They make their guns in the US, they have great customer service, the guns work and are often super accurate. They're not all steel hand-filed works of art, but I'm glad they're around and I'll eventually buy one of their octagon-barreled lever actions. They're also doing some interesting things with the lever action magazine centerfire (Long Ranger?) and single shots. They've got a factory up in Wisconsin that seems to machine pretty well. They're doing the Marlin copies up there, I think.

I'm glad they're in the market, producing good, accurate, inexpensive guns. Offered a Henry 22 Mag or an original Winchester 9422M, I'd take the Winchester, but it'd also be 3x the price.

quote:

original Winchester 9422M

Nice looking and good shooting.

All my 22s are Winchesters!

Its just opinnion and what the intended use is to be..

Personally I like the Win. mod 63 and the Marlin 39 in that order, but those little win lever actions are neat as are the the Win and Rem mod. 61, 62 and 12 pump guns of yesterday..

The Henry is a tad cheapo in my mind, they took some short cuts and they are not for me.

lots of folks just dont shoot enough to care, as long as they shoot and are fun to play with, and there is nothing wrong with that, or the farmer who packs a 22 in his truck every day can get by fine with a Henry. Just the way I see it..

Not a big lever guy, but my son-in-law was considering a Henry .22 and asked my opinion. I compared the Henry to a Marlin 39A that was also for sale. I was impressed with the Marlin 39A and bought it for him. He loves it.

Again, I'm not a lever guy, but the Marlin 39A is a very nice rifle.