I am new to lever action rimfire rifles, having grown up with auto-loading 22 rifles like the Mossberg 702 and the Ruger 10/22. However, I was eager to review my Henry Golden Boy Silver the moment I picked it up at my local dealer, both as a firearm and from a perspective of someone completely new to the platform.
The folks at Henry Repeating Arms Company made another gun to be proud of with the Small Game Carbine, chambered in .22 Magnum. This lever-action rifle delivers on several levels. The gun is handsome and plain, reminiscent of a grandpa’s pocket knife. There’s no pizzazz, as well as nothing unappealing in its appearance. It’s a utilitarian tool, and a perfect example of form following function.
At a cursory glance, Henry’s Pump Octagon looks very much like old gallery guns—such as the 1890 and 1906 series that Winchester once produced. The overlooked Henry Pump Action Octagon may not be as romantic as the lever gun of Western lore; but it is a well made send-off to the gallery guns of the county carnival era and just as formidable of a rimfire platform now as it was then.
The Henry Pump Action Octagon .22 joins faded jeans, mom’s apple pie, and a restored ’57 Chevy as an all-American icon. Now fitted with a blue octagonal barrel, it resurrects the great old days of the traditional shooting gallery. The Henry Pump Octagon, available in calibers .22LR or .22 Magnum, is one gun that is built for fun.
