I first laid eyes on the Henry Repeating Arms (HRA) Lever Action Supreme Rifle during Industry Day at the Range, preceding the 2024 SHOT Show. My first impression was that it looked “retro-cool.” Its blue steel, anodized aluminum and American walnut construction gave it traditional styling, and the design seemed out of the 1920’s rather that the 2020’s. It reminded me of a Browning BAR, with shades of a Model 1907 Winchester, but with a finger lever. The box magazine protruding from the bottom of the receiver might have caught the eye of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. I shot a magazine full of cartridges from it at the range event and afterwards requested a test sample. It showed up on my doorstep in February 2025. Now to see if it was worth the wait.

Lever Action Supreme Rifle Revolution

The past couple of years have seen a resurgence in the popularity of lever action rifles and carbines. Old models are being re-introduced by new manufacturers; rifles that came into being 130+ years ago, are being updated with synthetic stocks, Picatinny rails and M-LOK slots. Then there are entirely new models, some built on AR or similar platforms that chamber modern cartridges, and use box magazines. HRA started with a clean slate when designing the Supreme Rifle to come up with something different for the time-honored lever action.

Nestled inside the black, hard-anodized, aero-space grade, aluminum receiver is a patent-pending quad bar linkage and slider crank mechanism that delivers a smooth action, which is the hallmark of HRA lever-guns. This action operates a multi-lug, rotating bolt that looks very “ARish” and provides positive lockup, extraction, and ejection. The hammer is internal, which seals the action against weather, dust, dirt, and debris. Like all Henry lever-guns, the Supreme Rifle has side ejection, but a new twist is that it feeds from a detachable magazine. The rifle comes with a 10-round MagPul PMAG magazine, which includes a 5-round limiter, to comply with certain state’s hunting regulations. It’s time to mention that the Supreme Rifle comes in .223/5.56 NATO or .300 BLK versions. My test rifle was in .223/5.56mm.

The magazine catch on the Supreme Rifle is just to the rear of the magazine well, and is pushed forward to eject the magazine. BTW, standard AR/MSR magazines can also be used in the new Henry. There’s a tang-mounted manual safety that once the action is worked and the internal hammer cocked, can be pulled to the rear for ‘safe’ and pushed forward, exposing a red dot for ‘fire.’ The top of the receiver is drilled and tapped for optics. It will accept a Weaver 63 type scope mount, the same as that on a Marlin 336. The smooth-faced, curved trigger is 0.30-in. wide, has a pull weight of 3 lbs. 5.2 oz. (on my test gun), and there’s just a hint of take-up. The trigger is also adjustable via a small hole in the trigger face. Use the factory-supplied 1/20 hex key, and insert it in the hole, turning it clockwise to increase the pull weight and counter-clockwise to reduce it. There’s a one-pound weight change limit.   

An unusual feature for a lever-gun; the polished blue steel barrel is free-floating, making it capable of sub-MOA groups. The barrel on the test gun is 18-inches long (with 1:8 twist) and on the .300 BLK, it’s 16.5-inches in length. Both are 1/2×28 threaded at the muzzle and come with a knurled protective cover. The rear sight has a unique, patent-pending, trapezoidal notch, and it’s fully adjustable, using the same hex key that adjusts the trigger pull weight. Triangular in shape, the blade front sight makes for a natural, and quick to acquire sight picture, much like an express-type sight. Take-down for cleaning is accomplished using the familiar punch pin disassembly. I won’t detail this here, but if you purchase a Supreme Rifle, read the detailed instruction manual.

Another Henry hallmark is the genuine American walnut stock and forend. The wood has a dark coloration, straight-grained, and mates perfectly with the receiver. Both have precise diamond checkering for a firm hold, a satin finish, and sling swivel studs. The pistol grip butt-stock has a solid rubber recoil pad. Length of pull is 14-inches. The blue steel finger lever is oversized to allow comfortable manipulation with gloved hands.

Ammo & Optics

I wanted a versatile array of .223 ammunition to use in the Supreme Rifle as this cartridge is legal for use on deer in several states, plus it is an excellent varmint cartridge, be the critters four or two-legged. Checking the shelves in my ammo locker, I came up with five different loads. The first was Barnes VOR-TX Ammunition that has a 62 gr. TSX bullet, which is a boat-tail HP. Next was Black Hills Factory New cartridges that have a 68 gr. Heavy Match HP bullet. From Federal/American Eagle I had their Varmint & Predator load that has a 50 gr. JHP bullet. Another load came from Hunting Shack Munitions (HSM) and its bullet is a 62 gr. bonded soft point. Winchester’s entry was their Ranger Law Enforcement Ammunition. These cartridges carry a 64 gr. Power-Point bullet; the soft-point nose is notched for rapid expansion and energy dump.

For an optic, I first had a obtain a suitable base/rail. Some web surfing located an inexpensive Monstrum Picatinny/Weaver Rail Mount for a Marlin 336. It’s black anodized aluminum and came with mounting screws. Onto this rail I attached my old faithful Bushnell Trophy Dot Sight. I’ve had this sight for quite a while; it’s bulky and somewhat heavy, but is reliable. I like its integral claw mount that uses large, heavy-duty screws with knurled and coin-slotted heads for attachment and quick detachment. An open space between the mount and rails allows you to see the rifles iron sights if worse comes to worse, and your optic fails at an inopportune time. It has good eye relief, a sunshade extension over its polarized lens in front, covered turrets for elevation and windage adjustments, plus a large turret on the left side the encloses the lithium battery and operates the 11-position brightness control. The reticle is a T-dot with choices of red or green illumination.

Running on the Range  

Part one of my T&E was done at an indoor range due to weather considerations. I had previously used a laser bore sighter to get my Bushnell dot sight lined up at 25 yards. At the range, I sent a target down to the 25-yard line and did some final tweaking to get the sight properly aligned. I then set up my Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph to get velocity measurements; which you will find in the performance table. This done, I sent a large 5-target sheet down to 25 yards. Shooting was done from a rest and I used green illumination. I fired three 5-shot groups with each of the test cartridges. The tightest group at 0.78-inches was made using Black Hills Factory New .223 cartridges. It also had the best 3-group average at 0.83-inches. Only one 3-group average barely went over 1.5-inches.

I wanted to see if I could be more precise with the Supreme Rifle, so I sent a Big Dawg “Hostage” target down to 25 yards. It had a blue silhouette in front of two black silhouettes, covering all but the heads. I switched my dot sight to the finest green dot I could see and fired 5 shots at each head. Each group made with the 5 test cartridges. Believe me these reduced-size targets look tiny at 75 feet, but I kept all the impacts in the heads, and the best group measured 1.32-inches. Next, I sent a Shoot-N-C bullseye down to the 15-yard mark. Using two rounds from each of the test loads, I aimed looking under the sight, in the space beneath it and the rail, and shot using the iron sights. I managed a 10-shot group that measured 2.61” and was a bit below point of aim. For my last indoor exercise, I loaded a MagPul PMAG 30 magazine with 20 rounds of mixed test ammo. I sent a huge Shoot-N-C bullseye down 45 feet, turned on the brightest green dot, and from a standing, unsupported position, fired 20 rounds as fast as I could pull the trigger and work the lever. None of the bullet impacts strayed out of the 10-ring.

A few days later, the weather improved and I moved outdoors to do some 50- and 100-yard shooting. For the 50-yard evaluation, I again used the 5-target sheets and shot 5-shot groups from a sandbag rest with all five .223 test cartridges. Once more, Black Hills produced the best group at 1.18-inches. Point of aim/point of impact was close to what I got at 25 yards. At 100 yards, I put up another big Shoot-N-C bullseye target. I loaded two rounds of each test cartridge into the Supreme Rifle 10-round magazine, put the sight on bright red and aimed for the orange center circle. All my shots went about 3-inches high and right, between 1 and 2 o’clock. All but 2 hits were in the 10-ring for a 7-shot group measuring 2.59-inches. For a practical shooting exercise, I put up a “Big Bad Wolf” head target from TargetVendor.com at 40 yards. I loaded the PMAG 30 magazine with 20 rounds of mixed test ammo. I then engaged the target standing, unsupported, with 5 shots at 40 yards, walked up 10 steps, 5 more shots…you get it. All twenty bullet impacts were in the snout or forehead of the wolf. No Little Red Riding Hood for him!

The Down and Out

I thought I put the Henry Supreme Rifle through a pretty through test. I know it is capable of better accuracy than I was able to coax out of it. I’m curious to see what I could do with a 4X scope attached, instead of a dot sight. I also didn’t have time to let the barrel cool between groups; those .223/5.56 rounds really heat things up fast, and the barrel stays hot. I noted that with the hot barrel, the empty brass cases on some of the hotter test loads tended to stick in the chambers and I had to work the lever vigorously. However, I had zero feeding or ejection issues. Both MagPul magazines dropped out when I pushed forward on the mag release, but you had to seat them with a good whack on the base. Recoil was negligible. 

I basically have only good things to say about the new Henry lever-gun. I like the looks, was impressed with the performance, and I hope to get it out in the field as the days grow warmer and pot some varmints. I know it will go with me on my June foray out to the NRA Whittington Center for the annual Shootists Holiday. I plan to use it on the “Walk and Shoot” event. The Supreme Rifle is proudly made in the USA. Nuff said.

Henry Lever Action Supreme Rifle Specifications  

MECHANISM: Lever action

CALIBER:  .223/5.56 NATO

CAPACITY: 10+1 cartridges (takes any MSR mag.)

BARREL: 18 in.

OA LENGTH: 38.15 in.

EMPTY WEIGHT: 6.65 lbs.

SIGHTS: Adj. trapezoidal rear, ramped blade front (optics ready)

FINISH: Blue barrel, black anodized receiver

STOCKS: Checkered American walnut

MSRP: $1,299.00

Henry Lever Action Supreme Rifle .223/5.56 Performance

NOTE:  Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in feet per second 15 in. from the muzzle by a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph, and accuracy in inches for three 5-shot groups at 25 yards. FPE based on bullet weight and velocity.