The Rimfire Report: The Henry Golden Boy 22LR Rifle

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world, its many guns, shooting sports, and gear, as well as reviews on virtually anything and everything related to rimfire shooting. This week, I’m happy to announce that we’ll be getting back to some more firearm reviews, specifically with the help of the guys from Henry Repeating Arms. In the last couple of months, I’ve been using a variety of their rifles for most of our ammunition tests, and I’ve also been able to put some of their most common models through a lot of testing. One of the most well-loved Henry lever-action rimfire series of rifles is undoubtedly the Golden Boy Rifle. Today, we’ll take a closer look at this rifle, what it offers, and why shooters love it so much.

More Rimfire Report @ TFB:

• The Rimfire Report: A Closer Look at Remington Standard V Ammo
• The Rimfire Report: Beretta Olympia – The Dual-Action Italian Trainer
• The Rimfire Report: New Distributor Exclusive Ruger 10/22 Rifles

The Rimfire Report: The Henry Golden Boy 22LR Rifle

The Golden Boy rimfire rifle comes in a variety of configurations, including a standard and large loop version for every single caliber offering that Henry Currrently offers (.22LR, .17 HMR, .22 WMR). The rifle typically retails for around $650 MSRP for the .22LR versions and goes up to about $750 for the magnum and .17 HMR variants. However, caliber offerings and large loops aren’t really what’s on display with the Golden Boy series. Instead, the real draw here is, of course, the aesthetics of the rifle.

The Golden Boy lives up to its namesake with the standard black “Brasslite” being replaced by a much more complex plating method that finally ends in the final high-polish gold plating. Henry is quite proud of this look, and to complement the receiver, real brass barrel bands and a matching buttplate are there to round out the look, along with a brass front sight as well. Finally, the Golden Boy features real American Walnut, which can vary slightly from rifle to rifle, but always features a great satin finish that perfectly syncs up with the octagonal 20” barrel to round out the classic western look.

Home on the Range

The Golden Boy isn’t necessarily an ideal varmint or small-game hunting rifle, but it certainly isn’t out of place when doing either of those things. The Golden Boy is probably more often than not used as a fun at-home plinking rifle. Henry even has youth models that feature a shorter barrel and shorter length of pull. This indicates to me that the Golden Boy is meant to serve as somewhat of a “coming of age” or rite of passage firearm you’d gift to your young ones as they mature into responsible gun owners. The golden features, while durable enough to withstand some light range abuse, do take on some scuffs, scratches, and dents if you’re not careful, but I think these marks only serve to add to the heirloom quality that Henry is going for with the Golden Boy Series.

Over the last few months, I’ve been running a box or two of various ammo through the Golden Boy at virtually every range session. Part of what makes the Golden Boy a joy to shoot is the extremely smooth action it has, paired with the seemingly hand-fit lockup it has throughout cycling. There is virtually no wobble or rattling when the action is open or closed, yet the action remains smooth and easy to operate with very light inputs from the user. The small loop is probably going to be a less attractive option for those who shoot with gloves or who have meatier hands than I, but that is more of a personal preference, as the large loop model is only $20 more than the standard lever.

The Golden Boy comes equipped with adjustable rear buckhorn sights, which are indeed adjustable for both elevation and windage with a small screwdriver. Paired with the front brass-bead sight, you’ve got a great zero-fuss setup for plinking and even varmint hunting out to about 25-50 yards. If you’re after longer range targets or your eyes are starting to fade in ability, the Golden Boy series also comes pre-drilled and tapped to accept rails and optics. However, I like the Golden Boy just the way it is. If I have any complaints about the setup as it comes from the factory, it is that the brass bead front sight is more difficult to use than a more modern fiber optic sight, especially on days when the sun isn’t at your back. However, for the sake of matching the rest of the gun, I’ll give this one a pass.

Reliability and Accuracy

When it comes to reliability, I’ve probably shot close to 1,000 rounds through this rifle already, with a majority of that being some of the Remington loads we’ve seen tested in the last couple of months. The rifle has shown itself to be 100% reliable, and probably even helps some of the cheaper bulk ammo run a little better, as it seems like the lever action puts a bit of a deeper dent in the rims than most of my 10/22s do. Manual action firearms already get a boost in reliability when it comes to rimfire ammo simply because we don’t have to deal with gas, but even when I run the rifle quickly and aggressively, it seems to give back just as much as I put into it without a hiccup.

Accuracy-wise, I’m happy to say the rifle is likely more accurate than I am. I used some cheap Remington Standard V To put together this 10-round group at 25 yards with the buckhorn-brass bead setup. I’ll note that my eyes got pretty fatigued due to my previous complaint about the brass bead being difficult to see in some lighting conditions. That being said, this small group with this ammo and this rifle is more than enough to prove to me that it's accurate enough for most shooters after small game shooting freehand.

Closing Thoughts

I’m not completely done with the Henry Golden Boy Rifle. On a mechanical level, I think the rifle ticks all the boxes. It’s accurate, reliable, and the fit and finish are top-notch as I’d expect from any American arms company worth its salt. Beyond those physical characteristics are all the more abstract or intangible things that I think make this rifle worth its typical asking price (about $550). First and foremost, Henry Rifles are all-American rifles. Henry has built up a big reputation for its tagline “Made in America or Not Made at All.” Henry is dead set on keeping the American Spirit alive in these rifles by using American wood, American metal, as well as American labor to give us shooters guns that are worth passing on down to our kids.

While you don’t need to have the glitzy Golden Boy rifle to pass down to your kids, and they pass on down to their kids, the golden highlights evoke a certain look that I think makes them extra special, and reflects the exceptionalism that many Americans pride themselves on.

Of course, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Golden Boy Rifle as well as the base model H001. I do happen to have a quite old H001, which I think we could do a similar review on to see how well the rifle has held up over the years. In the coming weeks, we’ll also be taking a good look at the perfect piece to complement the Golden Boy Rifle, with a review of the Golden Boy Revolver. Stay tuned for that and more, and thanks as always for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report, and we’ll see you all again next week!