Description
The Henry Golden Boy 22 Magnum is the rifle people point at when they want to explain why lever guns still matter. Model H004M puts a 20.5 inch octagon blued barrel in front of a brasslite receiver, wraps it in American walnut, caps it with a brass buttplate, and holds twelve rounds of 22 WMR in the tube. It weighs 6.75 pounds and measures 39 inches.
It is also, quietly, a serious small-game rifle. The 22 Magnum pushes a 40 grain bullet fast enough to be honest out to 125 yards, which is well beyond what 22 Long Rifle will do, and the Henry Golden Boy 22 Magnum shoots it from a barrel long enough to get the velocity the cartridge is capable of.
Everything about this rifle is made in the United States, and Henry says so loudly enough that it has become the company identity. The lever is smooth from the first cycle rather than after a break-in period, and the wood-to-metal fit is better than the price suggests.
Features of the Henry Golden Boy 22 Magnum
- 20.5 inch octagon blued barrel with a 1:16 rate of twist
- Twelve rounds of 22 WMR in the tubular magazine
- Brasslite receiver with a matching brass buttplate
- American walnut straight-grip stock and forend
- Brass bead front sight and a fully adjustable semi-buckhorn rear with a diamond insert
- Quarter-cock hammer safety, in the traditional lever gun pattern
- 39 inches overall, 14 inch length of pull, 6.75 pounds
- Made in the United States
What the 22 WMR lever action rifle does that a 22 LR will not
- A 40 grain 22 WMR bullet leaves a 20.5 inch barrel around 1,900 feet per second, roughly 700 faster than a standard 22 LR
- That extra speed is worth about double the practical range on squirrels, rabbits and groundhogs
- A 22 WMR lever action rifle hits hard enough for coyote and fox at moderate distance, which 22 LR does not
- The trade is noise and cost: 22 Magnum is louder and several times the price per round, so this is not a bulk plinking rifle
- It is also a rimfire, so the whole package stays light, low recoiling and pleasant to carry all day
Henry H004M specifications
- Model: H004M
- Caliber: 22 Magnum, also written 22 WMR
- Capacity: 12 rounds
- Barrel: 20.5 inches, octagon, blued steel
- Rate of twist: 1:16
- Overall length: 39 inches
- Length of pull: 14 inches
- Weight: 6.75 pounds
- Receiver finish: brasslite
- Stock: American walnut
- Buttplate: brass
- Front sight: brass bead
- Rear sight: fully adjustable semi-buckhorn with a diamond insert
- Safety: quarter cock
- UPC: 619835016003
The octagon blued barrel and the brasslite receiver
The octagon blued barrel is not decoration. An octagon profile puts more steel out front than a round barrel of the same length, which settles the rifle in the hands and damps the small movements that spoil offhand shots. It also gives the front sight a flat to sit on rather than a curve. On a rimfire this is as much about feel as ballistics, and the feel is the reason people buy these.
The brasslite receiver is Henry’s own term for the finish. It is an alloy receiver with a brass-colored plating rather than solid brass, which is why the rifle weighs 6.75 pounds instead of the eight-plus a solid brass frame would add. It polishes up, it patinas slowly with handling, and it is what makes a Golden Boy recognizable across a gun shop.
Note that the 22 WMR is a rimfire and Henry loads it through a tube under the barrel, removed from the front rather than through a loading gate. That is the Henry system and it is genuinely faster once you are used to it, though it does mean the rifle must be pointed in a safe direction while you feed the tube.
Sights, scopes and the hammer extension
The factory irons are good: a brass bead front against a fully adjustable semi-buckhorn rear with a white diamond under the notch, which is the classic sight picture these rifles have always used. If you prefer fiber optics, the TruGlo sight set cut for the Henry 22 WMR drops straight in.
If you scope it, buy a hammer extension at the same time. A mounted scope sits directly over the hammer spur and leaves nowhere for your thumb, and the Grovtec hammer extension for the Henry 22 Magnum is the correct part for this rifle. It is the single most commonly forgotten accessory on a scoped lever gun and it costs very little.
Ammunition for the Henry Golden Boy 22 Magnum
For general small game, CCI Maxi-Mag 40 grain jacketed hollow point is the standard against which everything else is measured, and we keep it very deep. For varmints and longer shots, Hornady 30 grain V-MAX trades bullet weight for velocity and a flatter trajectory.
One warning that matters. 22 WMR and 22 Long Rifle are not interchangeable. A 22 LR cartridge will drop into a 22 Magnum chamber and fire, and the result is a split case, gas venting where it should not, and a ruined day. Keep the two on separate shelves. If you want a rifle that shoots the cheap stuff, buy the Golden Boy in 22 Long Rifle instead, or the Golden Boy Youth for a smaller shooter.
Full factory specifications are published on the Henry Repeating Arms Golden Boy page.
Why this firearm earns its place
- Made in the United States, and Henry backs it with a lifetime guarantee that is genuinely honored
- An octagon barrel, real walnut and a brass buttplate at a price where competitors use birch and plastic
- Twelve rounds of 22 Magnum, which is a serious small-game and varmint capability rather than a novelty
- The smoothest factory lever action in the rimfire class, smooth from the first cycle rather than after 500
- It is the rifle a young shooter remembers, and the one they ask for when the time comes
This suits the small-game hunter who wants more reach than 22 Long Rifle gives, the shooter who simply wants a beautiful rifle to own, and the parent or grandparent buying the gun that will get handed down. It is not the rifle for high-volume plinking, because 22 Magnum is several times the price of 22 LR per round.
Every firearm we ship goes to a licensed dealer in your state for the transfer and the background check. Call us if you need help finding a shop near you that accepts transfers.
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