Disassembly/Reassembly of The Henry Golden Boy Rifle

What you’ll notice immediately about this little .22 LR’whether it’s just out of the box or in the grasp of a customer’ is the octagonal 20-inch barrel and brass receiver. Well, the barrel does have the flats, but the receiver isn’t really brass. What catches your eye is a receiver cover of brass-plated zinc, and you’ll note that it’s quite thin when you remove it. Too thin, actually, to be drilled and tapped for a scope mount. Mounting a scope is probably the first job you’ll be asked to do.

Fortunately, the folks at Henry Repeating Arms Company in Brooklyn, New York, anticipated such requests, and offer a cantilever scope base/mount combo with the base extending well to the rear over the receiver. It retails for a little over 20 bucks. In our opinion, it’s esthetically the best way to scope a Golden Boy, the alternative being long-eye-relief optics that would have to be planted somewhere on the barrel. With the Golden Boy’s combination, the rear sight is removed to provide room for the mount.

After establishing dead center of the top barrel flat, temporarily glue or tape the mount on about 1/8 inch ahead of the receiver and mark the hole locations on the barrel. Drill and tap the barrel for #8-40 screws to a 5/32-inch tap-drill depth. Install the screws and secure them with threadlocker. The mount and scope base are pre-drilled for two #6-48 screws. Assemble the base to the mount, making sure they are centerbored and fit tightly together.

Make certain they remain that way with two more drops of thread locker. So much for the first job you’ll be asked to do on a Golden Boy. The second one’d ue primarily to the use of cheap .22 ammo and its penchant for fouling’will be a total cleaning. Stripping Down the Rifle Remove both tang screws. Number 55 is the one on top and #50 is under the stock aft of the lever (#14). The stock is taken off to the rear. Cock the hammer fully back and turn out the four cover screws (#42), two on each side of the receiver.

You may have to rock the cover (#2) side to side a bit as you slide it back off the receiver. The bolt (#35) could come along with it. If not, it slips out easily once the cover is off. Drift out the locking-bar pin (#18) in either direction to free the locking bar (#16) and its spring (#18). Before taking this disassembly step, notice how the locking bar fits under the lever. Restrain the hammer, pull the trigger, and ease the hammer completely forward past the rear of the receiver.

This will relieve the tension on the hammer spring (#24). Remove the spring and hammer-spring guide (#23). Drift out the hammer, trigger, and lever pins in either direction. They’re identified in the accompanying photo, as are the carrier screws. Remove all parts related to the pins. The trigger spring (#20) will remain seated in the trigger if you’re lucky. Remove the inner magazine tube 22 LR, .17 HMR, and .22 WMR. In .44 Magnum it is called the Big Boy’a totally different animal to be featured in a later issue.

None of the parts are listed as restricted on the schematic including the barrel, but we doubt the receiver would be available separately. Receivers are considered to be a firearm by BATF. from the rifle to clear the follower from the carrier, and back out the carrier screws. The carrier will rise slightly above the upper edge of the receiver due to the feed-lever spring (#13) and tube (#12) housed in its bottom. Inside the receiver is a stud riveted to its right side. It stays where it is’ Dforever.

What this stud does is anchor the carrier lever (#11); in other words, the entire carrier assembly. Grasp the carrier with one hand, pivot it above the receiver, and unhook the lever from the stud. As the assembly is lifted away, the lever spring and tube will fall out the bottom of the carrier. Usually, they drop into the receiver, but be alert for other routes they may choose to take.

Before this removal process, take note of how the lever rests inside the carrier, and remember it when the The upper pins are tapered. The lower is a roll pin. A B Ctime arrives for reassembly. Disassembly of the receiver is complete, leaving the bolt yet to be undone. All the keys to its undoing are not shown in the schematic, so refer to the photo.

There are three pins: one for the ejector and one for the extractor (#38) and their common spring (#41), and one for the firing pin (#36) and its spring, also not shown in the schematic. The extractor and ejector pins are drifted downward. The firing-pin assembly pin moves in either direction. Aha! It seems this Golden Boy’s owner has been a slob. He not only chose to aim low on the price of ammo, but the bore and chamber of his year-old rifle are badly pitted.

You smile and inform him as pleasantly as your resentment over his lack of care will allow that the pits are too deep to be polished out and leave any semblance of effective rifling behind. You might also mention the polishing required would enlarge the chamber to a point where extraction would become at least balky. The good news is you can order and install anew barrel. (What you neglect to mention is the simplicity of the job.) Two tapered pins (#7) retain the barrel.

They’re driven out right to left, and driven in left to right. Beneath the two tapered pins is a roll pin that

Henry Golden Boy Lever-Action Rifle (Specifications subject to change without notice) 1 Receiver Cover 2 Tang 3 Receiver 4 Barrel 6 Barrel extension 7 Taper Pin 8/9 Carrier 10 Carrier Screw (2) 11 Carrier Feed Lever 12 Carrier Feed Lever Tube 13 Carrier Feed Lever Spring retains the magazine outer tube and drifts right to left as well. Once all the pins are removed, secure the barrel between padded vise jaws, and tap the gutted receiver off to the rear. Use a wooden, plastic, or leather mallet for this.

The new barrel will go on as easily as the old one came off. Chances are this particularly neglectful owner has also mistreated the magazine-tube assembly. You can take care of that, too. Remove the barrelband screw (#30), drift out the frontsight, and drive off the band toward the muzzle. Separate the forearm (#52) from the receiver. Drift the tube support (#56) from its dovetail in the barrel.

Now the outer tube (#48) and 14 Action Lever 15 Action Lever Pin 16 Locking Bar 17 Locking Bar Spring 18 Locking Bar Pin 19 Trigger 20 Trigger Spring 21 Hammer 22 Hammer Pin 23 Hammer Guide (Strut) 24 Hammer Spring inner tube (#44) can be withdrawn as a unit for cleaning, repair, or replacement. I didn’t see a single part for the Golden Boy identified as being restricted, so I assume that none are (a welcome rarity these days).

Reassembly Tips To reassemble the carrier, remove the inner magazine tube from the rifle and rest the rifle on its finger lever. Attach the feed lever to its receiver stud. Hold the carrier in your left hand and insert the lever fully into the carrier body.

Swipe the bottom of the carrier with alcohol to degrease it, and have a small square of cellophane 25 Rear Sight 27 Rear Sight Elevator 29 Barrel Band 30 Barrel Band Screw 31 Front Sight 35 Bolt 36 Firing Pin 37 Firing Pin Spring 38 Extractor 41 Ext/Eject Spring 42 Cover Screws 44 Inner Magazine Tube 45 Magazine Follower 46 Magazine Spring (not shown) 47 Magazine Button 48 Outer Magazine Tube 49 Magazine Tube Stud Pin 50 Stock Screw, Top 51 Butt Stock 52 Forearm 53 Butt Plate Screw (2) 54 Trigger Pin 55 Stock Screw, Bottom 56 Magazine Tube Support tape standing by.

Insert the feed-lever spring and tube into the carrier, compress the tube to be flush with the base of the carrier, and cover it with the tape to keep it captured. Check to see that the spring has not been crimped or trapped between the carrier feed lips and the feed lever. Pivot the assembled unit down into the receiver to align the carrier-screw holes. Reinstall the inner mag tube. When the follower enters the carrier, you’ll know you’re in good shape and can tighten down the screws.

To reinstall the hammer strut and spring, push the hammer forward beyond the rear of the receiver. This will provide ample room to position