Henry Repeating Arms offers an impressive selection of center-fire rifles, including the Long Ranger Express, the modernized X Models and the semi-automatic Homesteader. One of this company's most popular product lines has been its lever-action .22 LR rimfire rifles and carbines. For many folks, the sleek, handy H001 models have been the very first gun they have ever owned and the one they will never sell. When word got around that Henry was going to launch a new in-house series of double-action revolvers, there were those of us who just assumed it would be a .22 LR. However, the first models out the door were medium-framed Big Boy .357 Magnums which share the same name as their revolver-caliber lever guns. Although I certainly had no complaints about Henry leading off with revolvers chambered in one of my all-time favorite wheelgun calibers, I did hold out hopes that a .22 LR version would not be too far behind.
Henry’s revolvers are American made just like their rifles and shotguns.
This year that wish was granted in the form of the recently released Golden Boy models chambered in .22 LR. Once again, the moniker is borrowed from another Henry model, namely, its brass receiver rimfire models. And there is no doubt that these revolvers are intended to be just as pleasing to the eye and as handy as the namesakes.
The Golden Boy series does not fall far from the Big Boy revolver tree. In fact, the only differences cosmetically or mechanically are those modifications necessary to accommodate the switch from .357 Mag. to .22 LR ammunition. This includes a smaller bore, smaller chambers and a rimfire-type firing pin. As a result, the Golden Boys will fit into the existing Big Boy holsters and their grip panels are compatible.
The blued steel Golden Boy sports a brightly polished brass grip frame and walnut grips.
In the past, when some other companies have converted their medium-framed guns to rimfire, they would stick with a 6-shot cylinder. Thankfully, Henry did the work to modify the Golden Boy's timing to accommodate a much more sensible 10-shot cylinder. This gives these revolvers an ammunition capacity that is just one shot shy of many popular single-stack .22 LR semi-automatic pistols.
The medium-size cylinder provides enough room for 10 rounds of .22 LR.
Most of the Golden Boy is made of polished blued carbon steel with an Old West look and feel that borrows from different revolver designs. However, the one-piece grip frame with its rounded trigger guard is made of brass and polished to a high shine. Inside of the brass frame is a steel extension mounted into the revolver's receiver. It’s this extension which supports the hammer spring assembly and grip screw to remove those sources of mechanical stress from the brass of the grip frame.
With the hammer cocked the rear sight notch, the firing pin and the transfer bar safety are clearly visible.
Customers can choose from two grip frame shapes, including a rounded birdshead version or the square-butt gunfighter grip which I worked with for this review. The gun arrives with smooth walnut grip panels laser engraved with the Henry cowboy logo. Henry offers additional wood replacement grips through their henryoutfitters.com online store, including the cocobolo wood set shown here.
Henry’s revolvers are classically styled to fit in with their Old West lever-action rifles.
The factory installed iron sights include a narrow blade front sight and a milled-in groove along the top of the receiver caped off with a fixed square notch rear sight. The 4" long barrel has a round profile that, like some other older revolver models, does not shroud the cylinder's ejector rod. Instead, a shallow cutout allows the ejector rod to fit in up close to the barrel when the cylinder is closed. The 10-shot cylinder rotates counterclockwise and swings out to the left side of the frame. Perhaps the most notable visible change to the Golden Boy is the cylinder’s additional flutes. The textured, pie-wedge shaped cylinder release, located on the left side of the frame, is pressed forward towards the barrel's muzzle to open the action.
Additional wood grip options are available, including the cocobolo panels shown here next to the factory-installed walnut grips.
The deeply curved, smooth-faced trigger is paired with a fully exposed spurred hammer that is fitted with a transfer bar safety. This action configuration allows the Golden Boy to be fired in either single-action (SA) or double-action (DA) mode. Manually cocking the hammer sets the trigger to single action, which significantly shortens the trigger's arch of travel. It also reduces the trigger pull to just 3 lbs. 9 oz. of pressure in this case. For those times when it's preferable to fire without taking the time to cock the hammer, the trigger can be cycled with the hammer forward. In this instance, the trigger exhibits a longer, heavier pull of 11 lbs. 12 oz.
Henry’s leather holster selection include the Sourdough Pancake made by Simply Rugged Holsters
The Golden Boy weighs a bit more than the Big Boy revolver with an unloaded weight of 38 oz. This is because of the extra metal left in place due to the .22 LR cartridge's significantly smaller size. Henry is known for being a company that pays attention to details and this revolver model is no exceptions. The fit and finish throughout are excellent along with controls that are smooth, clean and consistent in their operations.
The Golden Boy’s weight and smooth action make for an enjoyable shooting experience.
Henry's selection of holsters for its revolvers continues to expand. I was happy to learn that the lineup includes the top-notch leather Sourdough Pancake made for Henry by Simply Rugged Holsters of Alaska. I've worked with Simply Rugged products for several years now and find their quality and design to be durable, useful and comfortable to wear. The Sourdough is designed to cover up as much of the gun as possible while providing easy access to the grip. This protects the gun's finish from the dings and scratches that can occur while walking through the woods. This holster's trio of slots allows it to be worn three ways. It can be worn on a belt in either a strong-side hip or a cross-draw position. The slots also accommodate Simply Rugged's Chesty Puller Suspension System ($70) which is a set of leather straps that can be attached to the holster to convert it into a chest rig.
Revolvers don’t suffer from the same kinds of "ammunition sensitivity" as rimfire semi-automatic pistols.
At the shooting range, the Golden Boy deftly exemplified one of the often-overlooked advantages of rimfire double-action revolvers which is their ammunition flexibility. Semi-automatic .22 LR pistols are often “ammunition sensitive,” meaning, they are finicky about which loads of ammunition they will fed, fire and eject reliably. This is not the case with revolvers. If the cartridge is not defective, it will fire in a wheelgun. In fact, the Golden boy can fire specialized rounds, like pest control shells, along with .22 Long and .22 Short cartridges (if you can find them). Of course, accuracy and shot placement potential changes from load to load but it's nice to know that this gun won't complain if you use the ammunition you either have on hand or that happens to be on sale.
The best 5-shot group of 2.45” was fired using the CCI Clean-22 load.
It operated flawlessly throughout the course of testing. There was one bulk box load with a faulty primer that would not fire but that was not the fault of the gun and just par for the course when using less expensive .22 LR loads. Benchrested accuracy testing consisted of 5-shot groups fired at 15 yards into paper targets with a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph used to measure bullet velocities for 10-shot strings. The ammunition used included CCI Clean-22, Federal Champion and Winchester Wildcat Super Speed loads. Here are the results:
Taking the Golden Boy double-action .22 LR revolver to the range was a real treat, one that I don't get as often as I would prefer now that semi-automatics are the more popular of the .22 LR handguns. Due to its weight and grip shape, this gun gets about as close to no recoil as possible with a handgun. And unlike the single-action cowboy guns, which require spent cases to be poked out one at a time, all 10 chambers can be cleared with a single stroke of the ejector. With a suggested retail price of $928, it’s not only a smooth-operating, handsome gun but one that is well suited to those enthusiasts who enjoy Henry products or the .22 LR cartridge. For more information, visit henryusa.com.
