Benjamin's Step-Grandpa gave him a Henry .22 Levergun
He was really excited about it. Previously he had given him an old Remington M33 single shot that I really liked and we shot a bunch. He learned a bunch but you could tell it was just the first step. The slow shooting and difficult cocking piece slowed the fun down some, which was OK for a while.
He was so excited I thought he was going to shoot it out the back door in the dark when we got home. The next day he and his big Bro. shot it out back at 25 yds. It shot poorly due to the front sight being all knackered up and the rear bent to the right. The front sight is a really, really cheesy plastic unit built into a equally cheesy plastic barrel/mag band. It looks like a poor choice for a BB gun. Someone had leaned up the gun against a hard wall repeatedly (the original hood was missing) and flared out the plastic blade. From some white residue on the receiver and a light ding in the wood it looks like it was handled roughly around a sheet rock wall. I took a crescent and straightened the rear sight straight with the barrel to the best of my eye. With my sharp knife I shaved the flaring off the front post making it crisp and square again. A bit miffed at the crappy plastic on what originally was a $400 rifle I got on the website to see if they had something better.
My attitude of complaint changed after looking over the website. The attitude of the owner really won me over and I'm now rooting for them. Henry Firearms whole company vibe seems very positive and I like it. The front sights have been upgraded, although still some sort of plastic, I appreciate the effort. I'm not a fan of the painted potmetal receivers and note the rifles look an awfully lot like the old German(?) made (Same Co. as RG?) rimfires that Ithaca imported in the 1970's, called the M72? Maybe they were made stateside, I don't remember a lot of the 70's. I personally think it's the same gun and design, just made locally. They do work very slick and seem to be a value. For the price point and alternative to tactical type arms I applaud them.
The rest of their lineup seems to be very competitive and fresh for today's shooters. A nice alternative and I'm a won over fan. Benjamin's rifle is shooting fine now and I may upgrade the front sight for him. It sure needs a hood to protect that plastic blade at minimum. He's loving it and that is all that really matters, another enthusiast in the making.