Henry Lever Action Supreme Rifle: Dropping the Hammer

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Henry is an iconic name in American firearms, and most shooters associate the brand with lever-action rifles. Benjamin Tyler Henry’s groundbreaking .44 lever action, which debuted in 1860, changed the course of the Civil War and became known as the “rifle you load on Sunday and shoot all week.”

Modern Henry rifles like the Golden Boy and Side Gate are among the most popular lever actions available today. Further, the company has launched a new Special Products Division that’s designing advanced lever-action rifles for the next generation of shooters. But I didn’t see the Lever Action Supreme rifle coming. While most of Henry’s modern lever-action designs reflect their roots, this one is a substantial departure.

The Henry Lever Action Supreme Rifle—or, as Henry abbreviates it, LASR—still has a hammer, but it rides inside the anodized aluminum receiver. The rear of the receiver is boxy and angular, reminiscent of Winchester’s Model 63 or even Browning’s A5 as well as Henry’s new semiauto Homesteader rifle.

But the internal hammer design serves two important functions. First, the receiver is free of gaps and holes that could let debris enter and potentially foul the action. Second, the internal hammer eliminates the need for manual hammer operation and simplifies shooting.

Design

In simpler times, lever-action rifles had only a hammer, but many companies eventually opted for a hammer and a crossbolt safety. The system was anything but streamlined. However, the LASR’s internal hammer is coupled with a tang-mounted safety that’s readily accessible for both right- and left-handed shooters. The safety is not only easy to reach but also moves positively from Safe to Fire.

The clever safety design locks the trigger when the lever is in operation. Because the trigger is locked, there’s no way that dropping the rifle while cycling the lever could cause a discharge. The safety also locks the trigger when the bolt is closed, making this one of the safest and simplest lever-action rifles to operate.

Lever operation is silky smooth on this rifle—smooth enough that it’s easy to overlook all the mechanical wizardry happening within the receiver. To witness this wizardry firsthand, simply drive out the two transverse pins in the receiver using a non-marring punch. Once they are removed you can separate the barrel/fore-end/upper receiver assembly from the lower assembly. The lower assembly contains the trigger mechanism, bolt and firing pin.

If you’re thinking that upper receiver/lower receiver verbiage sounds very much like AR-15 talk, you’re spot-on. But the upper/lower receiver design is not the only DNA that this rifle shares with an AR. When you understand that, you know why this model is chambered to .223 Rem. and .300 BLK, both popular AR cartridges.

AR Inspiration

The bolt body looks very much like an AR bolt, from the eight lugs to the M16-style extractor to the ejector. A cotter pin allows you to remove the firing pin, and from there you can pull the cam pin and remove the bolt.

Effectively, the LASR bolt operates much like an AR bolt, but it uses mechanical energy instead of gas to cycle the action. But that’s easier said than done, and it’s difficult to transfer the rotational movement of the rifle’s lever into the smooth lateral movement of the bolt.

Henry managed to accomplish just that, using a clever system the company calls the quad bar linkage and slider crank mechanism. Essentially, there are four arms—two in the front, two in the rear—attached by a linkage. As the lever is lowered, the linkage drops and the forward bars draw the bolt carrier and bolt rearward. The bolt carrier itself is machined from 416 polished stainless steel and rides smoothly on rails when the lever operates.

The result is pure magic. What’s most impressive to me is that cycling the bolt is extraordinarily smooth. Drop the large loop lever and the quad bar linkage folds in and draws the bolt back with svelte precision. There’s no ratcheting, no grinding.

Hex Key

The simple two-pin takedown offers several advantages. First, should some stray piece of vegetation or dirt find its way into the receiver, you can easily remove it. Cleaning and lubricating is also quite simple, and even if you never disassemble the bolt you can at the very least wipe down the internals and add a thin layer of lubricant to the lugs and the rails upon which the bolt carrier group rides. You can also break down the rifle for easy transport.

Each LASR rifle ships with a 10-round PMag and a five-round limiter. Limiters are necessary in some states that restrict capacities for hunting. Installing the limiter is simple, and directions are included in the manual. Speaking of manuals, Henry’s manuals are excellent. They cover all the basic operations and include useful photos and plain English instructions, which doesn’t seem noteworthy unless you’ve tried to piece together a firearm using only a poorly written manual for reference.

While flipping through the manual I came across something that surprised me: directions to adjust trigger pull. If you know lever-action rifles, you understand how unusual an adjustable trigger is. One of the primary reasons many lever actions don’t shoot well is that they come with heavy, gritty triggers. Not so the LASR. To adjust trigger pull weight, after making sure the rifle is unloaded, insert the included 1/20 hex key through the hole in the front of the trigger. Then turn counterclockwise to lighten the pull.

You’ll want to keep that hex key close by because it is also required to adjust the rear sight for windage and elevation. Two set screws lock the sight in place. The rear sight features a flat top and a trapezoidal cutout that corresponds with the pyramid-shaped front sight.

Natural Balance

This sounds odd, but it works. The eye naturally balances the front sight in the trapezoid notch, and the peak of the front sight aligns naturally with the peak of the rear sight. It works well for close shots, and I find it far more intuitive than the buckhorn sight favored by some lever-action fans.

If iron sights aren’t your bag, the top of the receiver is drilled and tapped to accept a rail or bases and rings. This sleek woods rifle pairs perfectly with a light red dot, and I mounted a Vortex SPARC AR atop a Ranger Point Precision rail on my .300 BLK sample. So equipped, the gun weighed just seven pounds. Couple that with an overall length of just over 36 inches, and you can see why the compact LASR is well suited for hunting in heavy timber or from a tree stand or blind.

Henry uses premium checkered American walnut for its stocks, and the wood on my test rifle was exceptionally good. The checkering is clean and offers a secure grip.

The .300 BLK version sports a 16.5-inch barrel, while the .223/5.56 features an 18-inch pipe. The .300 BLK gets a 1:7 twist rate while the .223/5.56 has a 1:8 twist. Both barrels are threaded—1/2x28 for the .223, 5/8x24 for the .300—and both are free-floated.

Free Floated Barrel

You read that last bit correctly. Henry barrels are free-floated thanks to an aluminum extension on the front of the receiver that supports the fore-end. The fore-end is press fitted and not designed to be removed, but it works well and allows the barrel to be truly free-floated. That feature, combined with the trigger design and lack of a barrel band, improves the LASR’s accuracy potential compared to other lever-action rifles.

It’s easy to fall in love with the Henry, thanks to its novel design, sleek lines and beautiful walnut stock—plus being made in America—but good looks and domestic pride don’t make up for poor performance. I hoped that the Henry would not disappoint on the range.

No need to worry. This gun shoots exceptionally well for a lever action and will go head-to-head with many bolt-action rifles and ARs. It’s not a match rifle, but the numbers are impressive.

The best 100-yard, three-shot group of the day came via Federal’s new 190-grain Fusion Tipped load (see sidebar), which managed a 1.15-inch group at 100 yards. All the ammo grouped under 1.5 inches, and most groups were in the 1.3- to 1.4-inch range. And that’s with a two m.o.a. red dot. A riflescope would potentially turn the LASR into a one m.o.a. rifle.

Accurate and Smooth

The LASR is the smoothest lever action I’ve ever fired, with no wobble or ratcheting while cycling. The AR-style bolt worked in perfect synchronicity with the PMag, and there wasn’t a single issue during cycling, aside from the magazine failing to lock in position a couple times. I found that I had to wiggle the mag back and forth to secure it, and it seemed to work better with the action either completely closed or open.

Trigger break weight averaged 3.5 pounds out of the box, and I like the wide trigger shoe. The recoil pad is dense and comfortable, although as a wingshooter I do wish the heel had a bit more radius for snap shooting. Recoil with this .300 BLK was hardly noticeable.

There aren’t a lot of controls on this rifle, and I like that. The simple tang safety is easy to access for right- or left-handed shooters, and it’s easy to lower the lever to check the status of the chamber with the safety engaged. The only other control of note is the magazine release tab in front of the lever. It’s a bit stiff, but it works very well.

My only other complaint is really a plea to the folks at Henry: Chamber the LASR for straight-wall cartridges. This is the type of rifle for which the .350 and .400 Legends were created, and a LASR in either cartridge would be a top-shelf Eastern whitetail rifle that would also work on hogs and bears over bait.

Application

The LASR is beautiful, handy and lots of fun to shoot, and it would make a terrific saddle or truck rifle. It also makes a compelling case as a home defense rifle, especially in areas where magazine capacities are restricted and/or semiauto rifles are not allowed.

By dropping the hammer, Henry has opened a new chapter in lever-action design, and it’s impossible to ignore a rifle that’s this innovative, well-built and accurate.

Henry LASR Specs

• Type: lever-action centerfire
• Caliber: .223/5.56, .300 BLK (tested)
• Capacity: 10; 5-round limiter included
• Barrel: 16.5-inch, 1:7 twist; threaded 5/8x24
• Overall Length: 36.65 in.
• Weight: 6 lb., 7 oz.
• Stock: checkered American walnut
• Finish: blued barrel, anodized black receiver
• Trigger: adjustable; 3 lb., 8 oz. (measured, as received)
• Sights: adjustable rear, pyramid front
• Price: $1,299
• Manufacturer: Henry Repeating Arms, HenryUSA.com

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