By Joe Ferronato
“You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!” is a quote that I know many of you are probably familiar with. “A Christmas Story” is a movie that resonated with a lot of people. As a kid, I felt akin to Ralphie, both in his desire to be a cowboy and getting my mouth washed out with soap after saying a word I heard come from dad…but I’d never let mom know that’s where it came from.
I had a Red Ryder when I was young, but I wanted to take it step further. My deepest desire was to have a lever-action .22 from Henry. A true cowboy gun in my mind. I mean what kid doesn’t want to be a cowboy? Every Christmas morning probably until I was in high school, I’d hoped to see that gun sitting there with a bow on it. As you can imagine, it never happened. Maybe my parents thought I’d shoot my eye out…unlikely, because my dad always took me shooting other guns.
My firearm collection grew over the years, but it was never graced by a Henry Classic Lever Action in .22 LR. That is until this year, even though that gun will find its way under the tree for my boy—who also has a dream of being a cowboy. Luckily, because he’s only four, I get to have fun with that gun for a while until he can be in control of it on his own.
Henry Classic Lever Action
Out of the box, it’s finished nicely with American walnut that matches the blued barrel and action. In my mind, a lever-action .22 is great to teach kids how to shoot. A tube-fed lever gun is safe, so they won’t shoot their eyes out, and it’s lightweight and accurate enough to work on proper form.
The Classic Lever Action is priced right at $425, looks good, and feels even better. It’s just over five pounds and has a 14-inch length of pull, so it can work for just about anyone who wants to shoot it. It may be a little long for your wannabe cowboys, but with the lack of recoil from the cartridge, the smooth action, and the balance of the platform, it will work just fine, and it gives them something that they can grow into. And hell, while they’re learning, you have a great rifle to take out with your friends and tear through some CCI .22 ammo. The action runs smoothly, and the tube capacity is 15 LRs, 17 longs, and 21 shorts, so you can do some damage without having to reload.
Once my boy learns how to shoot it proficiently—and when he gets a bit bigger—it’ll be a great little saddle gun to tote around the mountains. Or even a good small-game gun for shooting squirrels and rabbits. And I know that walnut stock will have scars that will remind us of the memories built with it over the years. Plus, I get to have fun with it until he gets a bit older. So do yourself a favor and buy that wannabe cowboy in your life a Christmas present that you get to have fun with, too.
Cost: $425
Pros: Nice walnut stock; smooth action; plenty of capacity; great price; perfect gift; no one will shoot their eye out…probably.
Cons: The walnut stock will get a lot of scars while out making memories over the years.
