ORIGINAL: IndyHunter83
Well, I guess I'm the only person who's had a bad experience with a Henry Golden Boy. Mine was 17hmr though. I bought mine brand new, took it home and cleaned it real good and make sure it was ready go to the range. I got half way through the first box of shells and it just started jamming. So I put it up and decided to send it to the manufacture. They replaced the mechanism and sent it back. I took it out to the range and same thing. Make a long story short I went through this three times and the darn thing kept on jamming and they finally told me that they messed up in the boring of the barrel. Six months later I got it back and then sold it for a marlin 22 mag bolt action.
Overall opinion of the golden boy is that for target shooting it may not be a bad gun. It's definately a smooth little gun but I've heard of more than one other person having a similar situation to mine with acouple of the henry rimfire rifles so I don't usually recommend them.
Might be an Indiana thing, since so many lever actions have hit the state in the last couple of years? However, I have seen good and bad. They all shootpretty well and cycle very smoothly, for the most part.
The thingsI have seen with rifles that have come in for repair are more of misuse and type of oil used. I'm going to say something and please take heed. If you have a lever action rifle(not just Henry's) DO NOT USE REM OIL ON THEM!!!!
That is the worst(IMO) you can use. It gums and varnishes up extremely bad!
Also as stated the aluminum cast framesare no steel receiver rifle and the finish and wear and tear shows immediately on these, Henry's. A Marlin and or Winchester will definately out last them, hands down. However, for a casual shooter for the most part they are a pretty good buy. Henry also has a very good service dept. from my experience working with them.
Hope that helps you decide, what is best for your needs?
Good Luck