Thursday, January 26, 2017

What A Pleasant Surprise



About a month ago I had stopped by to visit my son and he gave me a "beater" of a .22 Henry pump-action rifle that would not cycle. He told me I could try to repair it, scavenge parts from it or simply throw it away. My son had obtained the rifle in a trade. Until recently, I had never owned a Henry. About four months ago I purchased one of the Henry "SURVIVAL RIFLES" that disassembles and fits into the buttsock,  The gun is lightweight, compact, and it floats (it is a copy of the Armalite model made for the Air Force in the late 60's early 70's). While this pack/canoe gun is a good value for what it is, the gun is not representative of the nicer lever actions and pumps that is Henry's mainstay. The Henry rifles I had seen and fired in the past were of very good quality. If this "beater"given to me by my son had not have been marked Henry, I would have thought it to be some cheap import of a rifle. I never had known Henry to make a gun that looked as "cheap" as this one. The stock and fore-end did not even look like real wood and was orange in color. The receiver was painted black instead of having the traditional "blued" metal finish. The metal underneath the paint looked like "pot-metal". Anyhow, on with the story. I took the rifle home and disassembled it to some degree, but did not get the rifle to function properly. That night I went to Henry Repeating Arms' website and did some reading. I learned that there was a "lifetime warranty" on their products and clicked on the "Service/Repair" section of their site. It was from there I contacted a customer service representative who promptly replied  the next morning. He informed me that I would need to send the rifle in for evaluation, etc. and instructed me that there was a form to be filled out and shipped with the gun. This I did the Tuesday after Christmas. I figured the cost of mailing the gun would be a small investment if they repaired it and I would have a minor investment in  a .22 shooter. Fast forward to January 23rd when the UPS driver delivered a box to me Monday night right after dark. He informed me a that my signature was required. I asked him if the package was from Henry and he said yes. I briefly told him the story of my son giving me the gun and me sending it to Henry, etc. I took the box into the house and began to open it. I could not have been more surprised when I discovered it was brand new rifle similar to the one I had sent but a whole lot nicer. There was a packing slip that was marked "serial #XXXXXX replaced by serial #XXXXXXXX". The balance due stated $0.00. I could hardly believe it. I wrote Henry a nice letter thanking them for going above and beyond expected customer service. My POC simply replied, "thank you for owning a Henry and I hope you enjoy your new rifle". I am sure I will and thanks again to Henry Repeating Arms!

Jeffery in Alabama

4 comments:

  1. Looks like your son kind of screwed up by not doing that himself. Your good luck. It's good to see a company that really stands by its products and they are great products. I stopped by a friends shop to pick up a shotgun that I ordered and he had just gotten in a Henry Big Boy and a Golden Boy. I got to handle and cycle both of them. Smooth as butter. After hearing your story of their service I may have to get one for myself..........

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  2. Wow, what a great story and a fine piece you've wound up with. Cudos to Henry firearms or their diligence and customer service.

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  3. The rifle sent back for repair sounds . . . very atypical . . . of Henry products, based on my experience and that of many other people I know who own Henrys. I imagine some of Henry's QC people are wondering how a POS like that even made it out of the factory.

    I'm a proud owner of a Henry Lever Octagon Frontier in .22 LR. "Smooth as butter," indeed, with impeccable fit and finish and tack-driving accuracy.

    --Wes S.

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    1. I think you may be right Wes. I stopped by and showed both of my Henry's to a gun friend of mine yesterday and he says "Henry has upped their game". He said they may have even been shamed (by the inferior gun I sent) into sending me a quality gun. He says that until a couple of years ago their quality control had been "hit and miss", but what he has seen most recent years is good stuff. I hope my friend is correct and that they continue to produce firearms such as the one they sent me as it is a honey.

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