Good 22 rifle

[Cloverdaleman]

I have a Marlin 39A. I'm thinking of getting a Henry Golden Boy 22 LR to take for my grandchildren to shoot. Which do you think would be best? What do you think of the Henry Golden Boy?
Thank You for your input.

 

[trnsplntfrmohio]

10/22, but dont give it to them loaded and defintly don't let them shoot their mother in the head

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Not to be a jerk, but this would be better suited in the long gun section of the forum.

 

[plowman766]

I have both a marlin 39a and a henry 001 and while the marlin is a better built gun I still think the henry is a very good gun for the money and I presume the Golden Boy is even better than the 001

 

[kboom524]

sorry for the repeat post. deleted this one

 

[kboom524]

I have shot a friend of mines 39a, very nice gun, its on my list of 22s I must own some day. Another friend has a Henry 001, its a very nice rifle, very accurate. I own a Winchester 9422m that I have shot quite a bit. I also own a Marline in 30-30 and another Winchester in 356 Winchester so you can tell I like my lever actions. I think the Henry will stand up against both the Marlin and the Winchester as far as accuracy. The one thing I really liked about the Henry is that it has the smoothest action of any lever action gun that I have ever shot. Its as smooth as butter and those Golden Boys great looking rifles.

 

[Hoosierdood]

Golden Boy is kind of a flashy gun to be letting the grandkids shoot if you ask me. If you want a relaible, fun gun that will be easy for the kids to shoot, go for the Ruger 10/22. Semi-auto might be easier for them to fire than a lever gun anyways.

 

[Hookfish]

I have a Ruger 10/22 and a Mossberg 46M. I would recommend either one of those guns. My brother has a Henry 22lr but its not the golden boy. I have shot it a few times I really like it a lot as well. I know a few people that have Golden Boys and they do not tend to shoot them. That is a gun that you would keep nice and as Hoosierdood stated is pretty flashy for your grandchildren.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

There are plenty of .22 rifles out right now that'll last several generations.

You could pick up a Henry Golden Boy... fine choice.

Or another 39A....another fine choice.

If you want a lever action, though, I personally think that the Browning BL-22 is the best choice. Judging by their prices, Browning thinks that they're the best, too. They might not have the classic look of a Marlin 39, but they're SMOOTH to operate. You don't even have to remove your trigger hand from the grip to cycle the action. A VERY short 33* throw angle is all you need. They're definitely accurate enough, too.

And if you want bolt action... Savage Mk II and/or the CZ-452/453 (think the 453 are the newer ones?) are freakishly accurate.

In Semi-auto... Ubiquitous Ruger 10/22; probably the most fully customizable rifle on the market save for the AR-15. You can build a 10/22 without ever having bought one, too. (aftermarket receiver).

Browning's little take-down .22 is a neat little rifle, too.

-J-

 

[Avi8tor]

I agree with a few previous posts that the Golden Boy is more of a show piece that people tend to shy away from shooting. I think your grandchildren will be just as happy with the basic Henry as they would with the Golden Boy.

I think with the grandchildren you aren't looking for a competition target rifle, or a $600 show piece. You are probably wanting ease of use, durability/reliability, and for it to be fun to shoot. For those three things, my vote is on the Ruger 10/22 and Henry H001.

The Rugers run about $200
The Henrys start at about $250 for the basic model

 

[snapping turtle]

The lever action rifle is a fine piece to start out young guns with, However.

How young. If very young the stock needs to be short. My 11 year old has trouble with most of my accurate rifles becasue she can see in the scope or the sights and eyes do not line up on stock with her short arms. For some reason she shoots my model 39a well and i think that scope (a leopold ultra light 2.5) is easy for here to find targets in. I like it and she just likes it because she can see in it without blackout.

The one she does shoot well is an old stevens model 15 single shot. It fits her correctly as it is a smaller gun. No walnut at 40 yards is safe so she shoots it well.

Still she prefers to shoot the ruger 10-22 target because of the ability to put rounds down range while keeping the scope where she can see it.

My marlins 39a's (I have 4) are all pre safety versions and until one gets used to useing them (the 9422 and others as well.) They are not the safest guns for inexperanced kids to use. The swinging on the lever and a new round is read to fire.

I rememer shooting a tree rat once and racking the lever thinking i was going to have to finish off. 3 minutes later while walking to the tree rat i remembered to put it on safety. Also in thick brush the hammer can go from half cock to full cock on a limb.

For he birthday this year she is getting something like this.

CZ-USA -> CZ 452 Scout

I say something like it as I might just buy her the scout stock and the trainer rifle so she can shoot the same rifle her whole life if she wants. If she has kids then she can stick the youth stock back on and it is ready to go. I like the longer barrel of the trainer rifle with the nice open sights. The trainer stock is the lux version and once again it would not fit her till she is at least 16-18 years old with the comb drop.

 

[pig957]

I have a Marlin 39A, Browning BL-22, and a 10/22. All fun guns to shoot. I'm making room for a Henry Golden Boy.

 

[Simon6101]

Henry

I love my Henry Lever gun but don't like the extra care that the brass requires on the Golden boy. Check out the Henry H001T. You still get the octagonal barrel and the Buckhorn sights that the golden boy has but this model is all blued.


Henry also makes the Hoo1Y that is smaller for the kids

 

[toddk]

Hmm, For semi auto, go with a 10-22 by ruger. (One without a barrel band for better accuracy.)
For bolt action Go with a Savage Mk. II.

Both are affordable and are rugged firearms.

 

[IndianaGTI]

I own a lot of .22's. I think I have $1400 in my 10/22. My recommendation is the Marlin 39A.