Upping the Game
Henry Repeating Firearms takes the lever-action to the next level.
by David Maccar
There was a time, not all that long ago, when lever-action rifles were seen solely as antiques, range toys for cowboy-action shooters, or affordable and reliable game getters for hunters on a budget. But a lot of things in the gun world have changed in the past decade--and that includes the way people think about lever guns and those who buy them.
As a result, Henry Repeating Rifles has become the dominant lever-gun manufacturer in the U.S. Springing from a family long ensconced in the firearms industry, it all began with a single lever-action rimfire rifle prototype introduced in the late 1990s.
“I remember sitting at an eight-foot-long table in the basement of the SHOT Show,” says Henry founder and CEO Anthony Imperato. “We had one product to show, a Henry H001 prototype. That’s how it all got started. The lever-action .22LR Model H001 is still in our catalog today, and it’s our biggest seller by volume.”
Sales of the model H001 hit the 1 million mark in 2017. Today Henry’s diverse catalog not only features a wide variety of lever-action rifles and .410 shotguns, but also many popular single-shot break-action guns, lever-action pistols, and even the semi-auto AR7 Survival Rifle, all made in the U.S.A.
To be sure, Marlin’s extended hiatus (due to the bankruptcy of Remington) certainly helped Henry, but the company was already on an upward trajectory, allowing it to seize market share from Marlin when its parent company faltered.
The new Marlin Firearms, now under Ruger ownership, is currently spinning up its social media channels and is promising new guns and some healthy competition in the lever-gun market. Henry says its more than ready to meet the challenge.
“There's certainly room for everyone, and we welcome them back,” says Dan Clayton-Luce, Henry’s director of public affairs. “Competition is what drives everyone to produce their best results, and we're ready to compete.”
MARKET SHIFT
The folks at Henry stay on the balls of their feet, ready to pivot. They’ve definitely seen a shift in their target demographic, and their product lines have evolved accordingly without ignoring fans of classic lever guns. There’s a lesson there for other companies.
“We are appealing to a much wider and younger audience than we were even 10 years ago,” Clayton-Luce says. “We believe many are looking to the lever-action platform as something different from what they currently own. Then there are those who grew up with their father or grandfather hunting with a lever-action .30-30, and they want to experience that for themselves.
“There are also people who saw a unique-looking custom build on Instagram and want something similar; others may have seen something similar in their favorite video game or movie and want to play out that fantasy at the shooting range. Our feeling is that the audienceis not just shifting younger, but expanding to include younger buyers.”
These days, the sheer number of younger gun buyers and new gun owners has to be taken into consideration at every turn by retailers and manufacturers. NSSF estimates that of the astonishing 21 million background checks conducted for gun sales in 2020, 8.4 million were purchases made by first-time gun buyers. You ignore these numbers at your peril.
A sizable cohort of these new customers will want synthetic furniture, fiber-optic sights, different colors, threaded barrels for suppressors or comps, and rails and M-Lok slots for red-dots, optics, and accessories. They basically want the versatility they’ve come to expect from the MSR platform, and that includes non-traditional forend options. The days when the most modern elements of a lever gun were dovetails in the receiver for scope mounts are long gone. Henry understands this, which is why it released the X Model line at the 2020 SHOT Show, with most of the aforementioned features included.
“One of the biggest universal gripes about Henry rifles was they didn’t feature a loading gate, while guns produced by Marlin and most other companies did. It may seem like a small gripe, but for a lot of people, it was a deal breaker,” Clayton-Luce says.
A couple years ago, that all changed. Side-gate models are now available for nearly all contemporary Henry centerfire models, but the guns also include Henry’s traditional tube magazine that can be loaded, and more importantly unloaded, from the muzzle end. In short, the decision was a hit.
“To say that the response has been overwhelming would be an understatement. Since our traditional tube-loading magazine didn’t go anywhere, we really are providing the best of both worlds,” Clayton-Luce says. “The transition to side-loading gates on the vast majority of our centerfire models simply added a highly requested feature without taking anything away.”
Although customer response to models with side-loading gates has been great, Clayton-Luce says the classic brass models will always be available in their original configuration. “Most of our brass centerfire rifles will always be available without a side-loading gate, even if we add side-loading gate versions at some point in the future,” he says. “We get the appeal and added versatility of a side-loading gate, but we also don't want to entirely lose that clean look of a brass receiver without a side-loading gate.”
BROAD APPEAL
In some ways Henry has pulled the proverbial rabbit out of its hat. The product line still has models that appeal to a traditionalist, but it has also broadened the line to appeal to a new breed of lever-action fan. The guns remain practical for a variety of hunting applications and varmint control, and they continue to be popular
as a go-to truck gun. Lever guns are also just plain fun to shoot, and as more custom options are introduced, the fun factor increases exponentially.
The lever gun is alive and well, and Henry is ready to open its next chapter with exciting, but still secret, new releases planned for the coming months. Make sure your customers know about Henry. You’ll be glad you did. (henryusa.com)
THE LEADERSHIP FACTOR
Great product is one key to a successful operation. Another is inspired leadership. Over the summer Henry appointed Andy Wickstrom as company president. In that capacity he will provide leadership directing the future of Henry Repeating Arms while preserving the company’s core values, relationships with employees, vendors, distributors, dealers, and the company’s obsessive focus on the customer.
Employed by Henry Repeating Arms since November 2006, Wickstrom started as the general manager of the company’s Rice Lake, Wisconsin, manufacturing facility. He began his career as a manufacturing engineer and then director of operations at Wright Products, a key Henry supplier starting in 1998. In 2006, certain assets of Wright Products, as well as its 140,000-square-foot Wisconsin facility, were acquired by Henry.
In 2015, Wickstrom was promoted to vice president and general manager to oversee all company activity, including its 110,000-square-foot facility in Bayonne, New Jersey. During his 15-year tenure with Henry Repeating Arms, he facilitated the growth of operations, company-wide improvements, and new product development while implementing lean manufacturing practices and cost-saving methods. Today Henry Repeating Arms has more than 550 employees between its two locations and manufactures a growing catalog of more than 200 different models of firearms in a variety of calibers and finishes.
