Henry Repeating Arms is one of the OG’s of the gun world. For those who aren’t aware, just do a quick google search on them and learn you somethin’; we don’t have time for that right now. Despite being one of the first, I’ve never personally been drawn to them, or really liked them at all for that matter. There are pro’s and cons to all of the “original” and “traditional” companies but I’ve always just preferred a Winchester. This year though, Henry may have pleasantly surprised me and persuaded me to finally buy one of their products.
Henry unveiled the Homesteader this year at SHOT show and while some people may be entirely indifferent to this modern model with some classic flare, I think it was a great move by Henry and I personally hope to see some of the OG companies like Winchester and S&W and Remington make an effort to potentially follow suit.
The Homesteader is a 9mm direct gas blowback pistol caliber carbine designed to be a small utility item. Ranch gun, truck gun, home defense; pick your poison. What’s refreshing about the Homesteader though, aside from its quirky traditional name, is that it’s not another AR platform, or really anything of the sort. The Homesteader looks like something you saw in a black and white photo of your grandfather showing off the fruits of a rabbit hunt. Sporting a beautiful, traditional, American Walnut stock and basic bluing on the receiver and barrel, the only noticeable modern touches are the side-swappable charging handle and the Glock mag sticking out from its undercarriage.
With a barrel length of 16.37 inches, there’s no worry about NFA restrictions or having to purchase as a pistol or anything like that. Being that it’s designed with a fixed wooden stock and no pistol grip as opposed to being another AR, you don’t have to worry about restrictions on AR’s in your state. It’s the same as peepaw’s hunting rifle. The Homesteader comes drilled and tapped to accept a Weaver 63B picatinny rail so you’re able to mount all your favorite modern optics and fixin’s up top. It’s also threaded to ½” - 28 to allow you to slap on your favorite muzzle device and/or suppressor. You can purchase the Homesteader with Henry magazines, or choose an adapter for Glock mags or Sig and S&W mags. This gives you the ability to potentially shoot it with whatever mags you already own for your pistol.
The Henry Homesteader, for me, was a nice, refreshing addition to see this year amongst all the different types of AR’s and high speed tacticool guns and accessories flooding the market. A tasteful ode to how things used to be, in a world that sometimes feels lost on us. Coming in at right around $900 retail, it seems like it may be a little steep for such a basic, direct blowback 9mm carbine, but too steep to stop me from trying to get one? We’ll have to just wait and see I suppose.
- Jay Pelletier