Although Henry Repeating Arms offers a wide range of firearms, including handguns and shotguns, when most folks think of a Henry, we think of a lever-action rifle. Henry offers an extensive array of lever guns, some emulating the Marlin Model 336 and 1895, and others that look like old Winchesters and the original Henry lever-action rifle. Henry’s latest lever gun, dubbed the Lever Action Supreme, is a radical departure from anything they have ever made—and from just about any lever-action rifle you’ve ever seen. I’ll admit, initially I had little interest in this rifle, but after testing and working with one for a while, I can see its appeal and application. Here's a closer look.
Henry Lever Action Supreme Specs
Length: 38.14 inches
Weight: 6.7 pounds
Barrel: 18 inches (223 Remington), 16.5-inches (300 Blackout), threaded and capped
Action: Lever action
Trigger: Adjustable (3.25 pounds as tested)
Capacity: 10 rounds + (Feeds from Magpul PMAGs)
Chamberings: 223 Remington/5.56 NATO w 1-in-8 twist (tested) and 300 Blackout w/ 1-in-7 twist
Finish: Blued steel
Stock: American walnut
Price: $1,299
Related: The Best Lever-Action Rifles of 2025, Tested and Reviewed
Henry Lever Action Supreme Overview
Henry’s Lever Action Supreme is built on a brand-new action that seems like a cross between their Long Ranger rifle and an AR15. Like the Long Ranger rifle, the Lever Action Supreme’s action is operated with a lever. Like an AR15, it has a bolt carrier and a seven-lug bolt—there is also a lug on the M16-style extractor—that rotates into the barrel extension for lock up. Unlike tube-fed lever guns, there is no carrier required to lift the cartridge from the magazine tube up in line with the chamber. The Lever Action Supreme feeds from a detachable AR15-compatible magazine, and the bolt just pushes a cartridge from the top of the magazine into the chamber. All this results in a lever action that is smooth and very effortless to cycle.
Just forward of the lever you’ll find the magazine release. This is a grooved pad, and when you press it forward the magazine drops free. There is no external hammer on the Lever Action Supreme. For a long time, lever-gun shooters found this a bit disconcerting, because you want to lower the hammer to half-cock when you chamber a cartridge. But here, in place of where you would expect to find a hammer, there is a safety. The safety blocks the trigger but does not lock the lever. This means you can load and unload the rifle while it is on “safe.”
All the metal parts of the Lever Action Supreme are blued steel, and they pair nicely with the two-piece—butt and forend—American walnut stock. The wood grain of the walnut stock would be best described as plain, but there are checkering panels at the grip and on the forend. Sling swivel studs are standard on the butt and forend also. Like most traditional lever-action rifles, the drop in the stock is excessive and ideally configured for open sights.
Out of the box, the Lever Action Supreme comes with a fully adjustable rear sight paired with a ramped front sight at the end of the 18-inch (223 Remington) or 16.5-inch (300 Blackout) barrel. Barrels in both chamberings are threaded and capped. The receiver is also drilled for scope mounts, and the Lever Action Supreme will accept any scope mount designed to fit a Marlin Model 336.
Henry Lever Action Supreme Test Results
I did only minimal shooting with the factory open sights, mostly to get a feel for their serviceability and to check point of impact. The sights were effective and provided a good sight picture, and the rifle shot to point of aim right out of the box. Next, I mounted a Leupold VX-Freedom 2-7x33mm riflescope in Talley Lightweight Alloy rings intended for a Marlin Model 336, and then I did the precision testing from a bench rest at 100 yards. With the five loads tested, overall, the rifle averaged right at an inch and a quarter for all five-shot groups fired. Based on my testing over the years, that is about par for the course when it comes to AR15 rifles in 223 Remington, and a bit better than average for a lever-action rifle in any chambering.
Henry got the balance right on the Lever Action Supreme; without a riflescope and with the lightweight Leupold scope, the balance point was right between the hands. That, combined with the rifle’s short length and moderate weight, makes for a snappy-handling lever gun. As expected, adding a suppressor made the rifle noticeably muzzle heavy. During offhand shooting, the Supreme handled well, especially with open sights. However, the low comb on the stock requires you to lift your head a bit when shooting with a riflescope.
There were no malfunctions or stoppages of any kind during testing. The rifle fed, fired, extracted, and ejected every load tried. The lever was very easy to operate, which made the action lightning-fast to cycle, and this made the rifle a lot of fun to shoot. The magazine was also easy to insert and remove, and though the position of the magazine release would suggest it could be pressed with the trigger finger, it was most comfortably operated with the thumb of the support hand as you grabbed the magazine to remove it. The adjustable trigger is also nice on a lever gun and tripped with just a slight bit of take-up at a pleasing 3.25 pounds. My biggest complaint was with the magazine, which just like with an AR, makes the Lever Action Supreme impossible to carry in one hand at the balance point. This is something lever-gun aficionados really like about traditional lever guns. Of course, the Lever Action Supreme is a long way from a traditional lever gun.
Related: The Best Lever-Action Rifles Ever Made
Final Thoughts on the New Lever Action Supreme
Pros
Adjustable trigger
Great for jurisdictions unfriendly to ARs
Compact and reasonably light
Fun to shoot
Cons
Magazine makes rifle uncomfortable to carry at balance point
Limited chamberings
Some might bark at what they think is Henry’s attempt to reinvent the lever-action rifle. But the truth is that firearms manufactures have been trying to reinvent or at least modernize the lever gun since Winchester introduced the magazine fed Model 1895, or since Savage brought out their legendary 1899 “99” with its non-tubular rotary magazine. Then, of course, Browning introduced their magazine-fed BLR in 1971. The point is, while these nontraditional lever-action rifles might not be your thing, some find their ability to handle varied and more powerful cartridges loaded with pointy-tip bullets appealing.
For those who like high capacity, the Lever Action Supreme brings that to the lever-action platform with its AR15 magazine compatibility. It also comes in two chamberings—223 Remington and 300 Blackout—not commonly available in lever guns. Finally, with its compactness and suppressor compatibility, it makes a great stand-in for an AR15 in jurisdictions unfriendly to them.
The Henry Lever Action Supreme is a fun rifle to shoot. I- will serve most very well as a general purpose/ranch type rifle, and it could be a great first hunting rifle for youths and others who may be recoil-shy. And if you really like the idea of subsonic shooting with the 300 Blackout, but do not want an AR or a bolt-action, the Lever Action Supreme is a fantastic option. True, it’s not a traditional lever-action cowboy gun, but today you can get a modernized cowboy hat to go with your renovated lever gun. Both might be somewhat atrocious to some, but both will do the job.
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