Henry Golden Boy: Now Released as a Youth Rifle

The Henry Golden Boy just might be one of the most popular lever action rifles in the USA. This combination of an octagonal barrel, brasslite receiver, and American walnut stocks lends some bigger-bore nostalgia to this little .22 rimfire rifle. It also helps that the Golden Boy could shoot. In 2001, the Golden Boy was the first rimfire to win Guns & Ammo’s Gun of the Year Award. Since then, millions of units have been sold. The one downside of the Golden Boy is that it is too long for some smaller-statured shooters. Henry Repeating Arms has remedied that with the new Golden Boy and Golden Boy Silver Youth models.

henry golden boy youth — The Henry Golden Boy and Golden Boy Silver are now available as youth rifles. [Henry Repeating Arms]

Quick Specs:

Models: Golden Boy Youth/Golden Boy Silver Youth
Caliber: .22 Short/Long/Long Rifle
Barrel Length: 17 inches
Overall Length: 33.75 inches
Length of Pull: 13 inches
Weight: 6.25 lbs.
Capacity: 12+1 in 22 LR; 17+1 in .22 Short

henry golden boy silver — Both rifles come with abbreviated buttstocks and seventeen-inch barrels. [Henry Repeating Arms]

The Henry Golden Boy and the nickel-plated Golden Boy Silver are excellent plinking and small game rifles with a traditional flare. But both models weigh close to seven pounds fully loaded and come with twenty-inch barrels and a fourteen-inch-long buttstock that is best set up for adult shooters.

The new Golden Boy and Golden Boy Silver Youth models have a shorter 13-inch length-of-pull for easier reach from shoulder to trigger. The blued octagonal barrels are trimmed to 17 inches to make the rifle handier and a touch less heavy. While the shorter barrel reduces the capacity of the tubular magazine, the rifle will still hold twelve rounds of .22 LR or sixteen rounds of the shorter .22 Short round.

The Golden Boy Youth models use the same Wisconsin walnut stocks, curved metal buttplates, and heat-beating octagonal barrels as the full-sized models. It also uses the same instinctive semi-buckhorn rear sight and gold-beaded post front. Overall, the Youths are handier overall and come at an overall length of only 33.75 inches and at a more friendly weight of 6.25 lbs. The MSRP on these new rifles is $654 for the Golden Boy Youth and $716 for the Golden Boy Silver Youth.