Good lever gun for a kid?

[Jason]

I'm hoping to get my 11-year-old 68lb daughter into smallbore cowboy levergun this year. Anyone got advice on a good rifle to use for her? I'm considering just using a tube-fed autoloader or something since there's a lot better selection of those and they fit the rules, but I would rather get her a lever gun if I can find one small enough.

[hambone49]

Hi fellow Embers dweller, I would think one of those Henrys would be easy to use and not too much dough, even if you had chop the stock down.

[Jason]

I saw this Henry youth rifle on their website.

http://www.henryrepeating.com/rifle-lever-youth.cfm

What would a good sight setup be for one of the kid-size Henry rifles? Is it legal to chop the stock down on a cowboy rifle according to NRA rules? I thought I remembered something about "original configuration" mentioned somewhere.

[cslcAl]

Jason, It's hard to tell by the picture on their website if that model has a grooved receiver. If it does I'd put a Williams FP TK GR on it. If not they can be drilled and tapped for a side mount Williams. You could probably use the factory front sight with the hood on it to start her out with, if the highth is correct for the Williams. I hope she likes shooting cowboy. Al

[PhxShooter]

I agree that the Henry Youth would be a good choice "if" she can shoot the original barrel sights. I'm pretty sure the receiver is grooved for a sight but if you put on the Williams it's pretty much a sure thing that you're going to need to put on a taller front sight. That's where the problem comes in. Again, hard to tell from the picture but if I remember correctly the front sight is part of the barrel band and as such you can't replace it like a normal ramp or dovetail front sight. Before you spend the bucks I'd find one at a local gun shop and check out the front sight. Failing that I'd contact Henry and ask them about changing the front sight to a taller version.

I hope this works out because if you can introduce them early enough they'll be hooked for life. They may not become lifelong competitive shooters but they'll always have an appreciation for firearms as fun useful tools rather than evil things with minds of their own.

[edgehit]

I bought my daughter a Norinco knock off of the browning take down auto loader. It's super light, accurate, and it came with a scope mount so a Williams peep went right on. The trigger is easily adjusted for a proper trigger pull. And did I mention it's accurate? Easily 1/2" with Federal 510 at 50 yds using a scope.

Down side is it's bottom eject can be uncomfortable with HV loads. You can feel hot powder on your wrist when you shoot it and it can be unpleasant. It was manageable with sub sonic loads.

Other than that, get her a 9422 or 39M carbine, then tell your wife it's an investment!

Best wishes and happy fathers day.

[Bear]

Hi All,

I got my 10 yr old 70lb Daughter a Henry youth had to shortern butt by about 2".
Receivers are dovetailed so put a williams fp-gr sight on it & letf the original front sight on but needs to be thinner.
Haven't tested ammo at this stage but seams to shoot Fed 714 ok will test ammo when she get used to it.

Bear

[Jason]

I found a good deal locally on a lightly used Henry youth lever gun. It came with the plastic front sight/band and barrel band, and the very wide plastic blade was dinged up. I now have the metal front sight/band and barrel band coming from Henry and am going to start out with the Williams FP-GR on the rear. I'm fairly certain that the metal front sight is going to be one solid piece (not counting the hood) like the plastic one is, so I'm not certain what way I'm going with the front sight in the future. I have two ideas currently. The first is to modify the front sight/band to make it only a barrel band, move it back slightly and drill/tap a hole to anchor it there, and then drill/tap the barrel for a ramp that I can insert a Lyman 17A into. The second is to just cut a dovetail in where the sight bead is and insert a Lyman 17A there. I'm not sure how well the "metal" would hold a sight for durability, though, even with epoxy to help it.

That little Henry action sure is slick compared to my much more expensive Marlins....