By Joe Ferronato
I grew up fantasizing of riding my horse through mountains with a .30-30 tucked into a scabbard beneath my leg, ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice. That dream was never a reality—probably a good thing, too, as I doubt I’d be any good in a gun battle on horseback.
Hollywood is completely irresponsible for depicting shooters casually holding the reins in one hand and accurately firing their shouldered rifle with the other—under fire from their aggressors, and all while the horse is running full tilt. Maybe there were gunmen back in the day that could do it; I cannot claim to be that. Regardless, my infatuation with the guns that ruled the latter parts of the 1800’s was an affliction I had no desire to cure.
After college, with enough money padding my bank account that canned chicken and rice was no longer on the menu, I decided to add one to my collection. I figured it could also be functional for bear protection in dense grizzly country as well–at least when it suited me to carry a fast rifle rather than a sidearm. Keeping in mind the dual-purpose functionality of the rifle, the .45-70 was my pick.
At a local store in Kalispell, Montana, I purchased a Henry Steel Lever Action .45-70 and two boxes of HSM Bear Loads. In my mind, 430-grain slugs will work a hell of a lot better on a charging grizz than anything fired from 10mm—if you can keep it on target, of course.
This .45-70 wasn’t bought with the intention of bench shooting and accuracy testing, an inch group on a solid rest would mean little to me, even though I’m sure this rifle will do it. What I care about is pie-plate accuracy at 100 yards cycling the lever like a grizzly is trying to make a meal out of me. The Henry does that and much more. Even firing a hot load like the HSM, the recoil is manageable. Comfortable is an overstatement—in all honesty it kicks like a mule—but what else would you expect from the .45-70. But even with that recoil, it’s easy to cycle rounds quickly and keep impacts on a 12-inch plate through the six rounds the rifle can hold. Henry says these rifles have a four-round capacity in the magazine, but it can fit five in the tube plus one in the pipe.
The rifle I have is an older version; it is solely tube-fed—my only dislike about the platform. Reloading takes a little longer than with a side gate. The company remedied this in their newer rifles, making reloads quick—but the tube function still works to unload the rifle easily without having to cycle the cartridges.
The action is smooth, and I’ve never experienced any hangups with operation. The trigger is heavy but crisp, it breaks consistently at just under five pounds with no creep and solid back wall.
It’s drilled and tapped for scope mounting if you so choose, but I prefer the adjustable semi-buckhorn rear sight and brass bead front sight that come installed. It’s not a long-range gun, and I like the quick target acquisition offered by irons.
If my memory serves, I bought my rifle for roughly $800, the new rifle’s MSRP is just over $1,000, though I’m sure the shelf price is much cheaper. If you’re looking for a lever action to take afield with classic blued steel and fine American walnut finishings, this Henry chambered in .45-70 will work for any pursuit you take on in North America.
Cost: $1,088
Pros: Classic finish, comfortable to shoot, accurate, fast, adjustable iron sights
Cons: With hot loads, it makes your shoulder question your sanity.
