Henry Repeating Arms has confirmed with us via Electronic Mail that they will indeed put to market a classic repeater in the patriarchal .45-70.  It’s going to be a mid-sized 20-inch rifle, and with a stark steel build with vintage wood furniture, we’re pleased with it already.

While Henry’s brass-receivered rifles are without any reservation gorgeous, the all-steel construction means you can shoot modern smokeless powder loads with confidence.  This is absolutely a gun to take outside.  Other modern, exacting features of this rifle are XS Sight Systems peep sights, and dual swing swivel studs.

A 20-inch barrel means a 20-inch magazine, and history tells us this, in .45-70, with its cartridges over two-and-a-half inches long, means the rifle will be either 5+1 or 6+1, and history will also tell you that if six shots of forty-five government doesn’t solve your problems then you should set aside your pride and ask for help.

No launch date’s been established yet, but the price has been: $800; that’s the MSRP.  Back of the napkin math says you should find this in stores for $600 or a little more; there’s always a markup on the big-bore guns.

This is a classic rifle with classic style.  So we need to set up a pool, then: by what date will this have been converted to a tactical defense platform with at least three rails, a forward grip, a light or laser or both, and a reflex sight?  Flip-up iron sights optional.