Chapter 1 - Chosing The Right Lever-Action Rifle
I know, it’s 2024 and the modern lever action craze was so two years ago but after drooling over AR platforms for the better part of those past two years, I started to crave something different. And although I am definitely late to the game, it’s never too late; here’s my Henry Repeating Arms Big Boy Model X in .357 magnum.
Like most other “space cowboy” rifles, this Henry started life as a factory Model X with the synthetic stock and foregrip handguard and even though those two black pieces of plastic gave the Henry a fresher, more modern look, it was far from the space cowboy rifle I had hoped to create. To be clear, there isn’t any real art behind what I created. Everything I placed on this Henry was right off the shelf, with no modifications or tweaks necessary; they bolted right on. Having said that, they did come with a heavy price, so when you see these modern lever actions floating around on the internet, know that they can get spendy real quick – more about that later.
The first real question when considering one of these builds is the caliber and the answer to that depends on your intended use or the story you are trying to tell. For me, this being my first lever action, the fact that I have never hunted before and that I wanted a rifle that my daughter and wife could shoot, I figured the right answer was in the .357 or .45 ballpark. Also, truth be told, when choosing the caliber for this first build, I also considered that it wouldn’t likely be my last lever action build. I do have dreams of building a .30-30, 20-inch octagonal barrel lever-action hunting rifle but on that build, I’ll be keeping the wood stock and adding a minimal handguard and short optic rail.
The second and equally important question is which rifle manufacturer is right for the build and for you. The answer, in this case, was more or less made up for me since many of the manufacturers, like Marlin, are very hard to come by, especially if you wanted an all-black .357 lever action. The Marlin Dark Series rifles are impossible to find and if you do find one, they are marked up nearly 2.5 to 3 times their MSRP, so that’s a no-go. I considered all of the brands but the more and more I researched, the more the Henry Big Boy series seemed like the right choice because of its specs, availability, reviews, and price point.
Speaking of price, I paid $873 shipped for my Henry from Sportsman Fulfillment. It was the best price on the internet at the time and although I’m sure I could have waited to find something cheaper, based on the trends, I didn’t see a lot of new Henrys hitting the inventory shelves anytime soon and figured I best “pull the trigger” before I lose out. By the way, I use gun.deals to find the best prices for all of the guns I buy.
Continuing on with the price theme, I worked really hard to get the price down on the entire build. There were some really good sales during Labor Day weekend which helped to save some cash. Optics Planet had a 12% site-wide sale, plus they had some “blazin deals” and to top it off, the Holosun OPMOD red dot had a $75 gift card attached to its purchase. After it was all said and done and tallied up, I had saved a whopping 26% on the build.
Chapter 2 - The Build
The rifle, accessories, and all additional parts were sourced and paid for by me. I do have an affiliation with Amazon but not with any of the other sellers in the list below. With that said, here is the list of parts I used and their associated links:
I won’t go into detail on each of the parts/accessories in the list but I would like to give credit to a few videos that I used to guide me in the installation of the Midwest Industries stock and handguard. Since this is my first lever-action and lever-action build, I had next to no knowledge when it came to working on a lever-action. But just like anything else, sometimes you have to get your hands dirty to understand how they work.
- Henry Repeating Arms Big Boy Model X .357
- Magpul Industries M-LOK QD Sling Mount
- BCM Gunfighter KAG MLOK
- Weapon Light -NOBUHIRO M600C 800 Lumens
- Remote Pressure Switch Mount Plate
- Rail Accessory plates MLOK
- Midwest Industries Handguard Sight System
- Midwest Industries Lever Stock Henry Pistol Grip
- Midwest Industries Lever Stock Shell Holder Plate
- Midwest Industries Universal Shell
- Holosun HS510C Red Dot Sight, (OPMOD version)
There are a few different handguard/stock manufacturers that have products on the market for the various lever-action rifles out there and although I did read that the Midwest Industries version had some weaknesses in their handguard, I didn’t find any of these issues to be present in my particular handguard, perhaps because I have a newer, improved version of the handguard or maybe I simply installed the handguard differently and achieved a better result. Either way, I’m happy with the outcome but it was a learning experience for which I needed some help.
The first video below is a full installation video of the handguard by Brownells. And although the handguard Caleb installed is an older version of the one I have, the general steps are the same. Watch it through in its entirety before you start your installation if you are new to lever-actions.
One thing to note from the Brownells’ video is that the set screw at the base of the receiver that holds the mag tube in place that Caleb points out is not exposed/visible in the base of the receiver in the .357 variants of the Henry lever-action. For this, use the following video to learn how to disassemble the .357 receiver to access the set screw.
Since the stock of the rifle needed to be removed to remove the trigger plate to access the set screw, I took the opportunity to install the new Midwest Industries stock before I installed the new handguard.
Beyond the minor challenge of accessing the mag tube set screw and the stress of pulling a lever-action receiver apart for the first time, the rest of the build was straightforward and uneventful.
Chapter 3 - The Results
Anyone… and everyone, in the last couple of years, who uploads a video or writes a blog about how fun it is to shoot a lever-action, more specifically a .357 magnum lever-action, will tell you how fun it is. Ugh, yeah, well, they are right. It’s really fun. However, the one thing they always hint on but don’t emphasize is the weight of the rifle once you make all of the changes. With ammo on the rifle but none in the rifle and with the handgaurd, stock and accessories installed, she comes in at 10.1 pounds. She’s a bit thick.
To be transparent, I was a little nervous, based on some of the videos I had seen that the .357 out of a long rifle was too much like a .22 caliber. I’ve shot a .22 caliber rifle, and no disrespect to the abilities of the .22, it’s kind of boring. Shooting a .357 magnum out of a 17.4-inch barrel is nothing like a .22, it’s much closer to a 5.56. There’s a good and fun amount of recoil that lets you know you are shooting a “real” rifle. Enough to feel like a rifle but enjoyable enough to rip through 50 rounds in no time. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed my first time on the range with my .357 magnum Henry lever-action
I sighted my Henry at 50-200 with the assumption that if it was ever needed in a self-defense situation it was a close-range rifle but also knowing I could check off some 100-yard bad guys with a bit of correction.
Accuracy was decent for a red dot at 50 yards in a dark range with non-contrasting targets. Once I stretch it out to 100 yards in daylight, I’ll have a better idea of what a .357 magnum can do for me but until then, I’ll continue to stare at my new “space cowboy” rifle and wonder what’s next on its agenda.
Overall, the Henry Big Boy Model X in .357 is a real win in my book. It’s solid, durable, shoots a very common .357 magnum round, and provides a lot of fun for the entire family, if, of course, they are willing to enjoy a 10-pound rifle. You might consider table top shooting or even installing a bipod to help everyone have an enjoyable time.
