The lever-action rifle is experiencing a revival that has not been seen in over a century, and Henry Repeating Arms has been on the forefront. Henry saved the standard lever motion alive when Winchester and Marlin went into the doldrums. Later, they embraced the tactical lever motion idea with aspect loading gates, M-Lok rails, and adjustable furnishings. Henry even popularized the magazine-fed lever motion rifle with their Lengthy Ranger sequence. Or it could be higher mentioned that they re-popularized the idea.
After a lot anticipation, the Henry Lever Motion Supreme (LASR) made its concrete debut throughout SHOT Present 2025. The Supreme is suppressor suitable, takes AR-15 magazines, and is available in two widespread chamberings: 5.56 NATO and .300 Blackout. However does the Supreme’s accessibility take away from the authenticity of the lever motion expertise? Moreover, is the Supreme itself definitely worth the purchase over the options? I had the chance to spring for the .300 Blackout Supreme and run it via the ringer. Here’s what I realized:
Ordinarily, my first impressions come after the acquisition. However the Henry Supreme is a singular case, as I had the chance to shoot each the 5.56 and .300 Blackout variations on the 2025 Vary Day throughout my solely SHOT Present go to. It was bitter, blustery, and dusty, however I vividly remembered the Supreme. Each rifles shot simply and cycled readily, however I couldn’t recover from the juxtaposition of wood-and-steel with a reflex optic, suppressor, and AR magazines. However as I warmed up and chewed on the expertise, I obtained to considering of one other hammerless magazine-fed lever motion rifle that sat in my protected: a Savage Mannequin 99 in .300 Savage.
The Supreme might not have had the appears to be like of a Marlin or Winchester, however it appeared like a logical successor to the outdated 99. Savage Arms debuted a rifle with comparable strains in 1895 and the improved Mannequin 1899 was produced from that yr till 1999 with over 1 million produced. The 99 is older than pointed spitzer bullets, however its rotary journal future-proofed it as soon as that expertise turned obtainable. Evidently, I needed to have a Supreme simply to pair it with my Savage. It additionally needed to be in .300 Blackout.
Supreme: Quirks and Options
The Henry Supreme is a Hegelian contradiction. It’s each a conventional and non-traditional lever motion tackle the AR-15. The Supreme is constructed across the two hottest AR chamberings. It additionally feeds from removable AR-magazines. Like an AR, the Supreme makes use of an anodized billet aluminum receiver and has a glossy hammerless design.
It additionally makes use of a forward-locking rotating bolt not far faraway from an AR’s bolt provider group. It additionally comes threaded for five/8×24″ equipment like flash hiders and suppressors. However the Supreme continues to be mechanically lever motion and shies away from the extra tactical aesthetics by retaining conventional sling studs, a cultured blue 16 1/2 inch barrel, and checkered walnut shares.
Because it comes out of the field, the Henry Supreme weighs an trustworthy 6 1/2 lbs. and balances on the journal nicely. The rifle is gentle and has a helpful barrel size, notably when paired with .300 Blackout as that cartridge tends to do higher in shorter barrels. However the Supreme isn’t a child’s rifle, because the buttstock has a 14-inch size of pull and a beneficiant rubber butt pad.
The controls are few however simple. Like a late-stage Savage 99, the Supreme has a tang-mounted security and a standard-sized lever loop. Apparently, the Supreme makes use of an AK-like latch because the journal launch. The Supreme comes geared up with a set barleycorn entrance sight and a rear sight that’s mounted however screw-adjustable for windage and elevation. Like most Henry rifles, the Supreme is drilled and tapped for an optic through a Weaver 63B mount.
This eclectic mixture of outdated and new is on the market in both 5.56 NATO or .300 AAC Blackout and ships with one ten-round PMag. MSRP is $1,299.
Accessorizing Aplenty
I modified the setup of the Henry Supreme over the course of my two-hundred spherical check. At first, I added a Triple Okay leather-based sling and ran the rifle with the inventory iron sights. Then, I added a SilencerCo Velos 7.62 suppressor. Lastly, for the accuracy and distance capturing portion of the check, I added my venerable Vortex Crossfire II 3-9×40 rifle scope. Putting in Weaver or Picatinny mount is straightforward on the Weaver 63B base, however if you wish to mount a pink dot, a Picatinny rail adapter will probably be wanted.
On the Vary with the Henry Supreme
Over the course of a number of vary periods, I put 200 rounds via the Henry Supreme. First, I ran some close-range drills on paper at distances starting from 7-50 yards to get on high of the iron sights. Then on got here the optic for an accuracy check from a bench relaxation at 100 yards after which some offhand capturing at metal at 200 yards.
Fast Hearth
Loading the Supreme is light-years forward of different lever actions, and it takes some getting used to. Insert the loaded journal straight in and provides it a pointy wrap to seat it into the journal nicely. With the bolt closed, it’s a tight match however it’s easy to seat the journal with the motion open. In any occasion, biking the motion chambers a spherical and you might be able to shoot.
The iron sights are huge, pistol-like, and made for snap capturing however are surprisingly exact. The rear sight is trapezoidal, permitting you to get a wonderful bead on the tip of the entrance sight. Most Henry rifles include a Marbles’ buckhorn/entrance bead association that may cowl up fairly a little bit of the supposed goal. These sights don’t have that situation and are excessive sufficient to clear a suppressor with ease. With or and not using a can, it was easy to select up the sights and never lose them, even when transitioning from goal to focus on.
Talking of transitioning, my first pictures have been with Federal 220 grain subsonic masses, which scarcely moved the rifle beneath recoil. The SilencerCo Velos dampened the recoil extra by giving the Supreme a barely muzzle-heavy stability. The also can drops noise low sufficient to the place I can hear the smack of the bullet on the goal and the autumn of the hammer when firing. Noise was extra pronounced with the supersonic masses I attempted however the report was listening to protected. Recoil with these extra highly effective rounds was negligibly extra.
One worth of the lever motion that’s being rediscovered is its excellence as a suppressor host with out sacrificing quick-handling. The Supreme’s lever motion is fast and ambidextrous. It is usually the smoothest I’ve seen on a lever motion. There is no such thing as a resistance, even when the inner hammer is cocked. An off-the-cuff flick of the wrist works the motion and there’s no gasoline blowback like what you’d get with an autoloading rifle. Even and not using a can, the usage of AR magazines places the Supreme solely barely behind a contemporary rifle when it comes to firing rapidly. Certainly, the shortage of an exterior hammer brought about me to achieve for the hammer after I give up capturing just for me to thumb the protection on after which again off.
Accuracy
All through the check, I fired 4 sorts of ammunition via the Supreme. These included:
After doing a 100-yard sight-in, I benched the Supreme and took some three-shot teams at that distance. The tip end result was no scarcity of nickel-sized teams from the Wolf and Black Hills masses. Regardless of being low-cost and solely on the listing to see if the Supreme can feed steel-cased ammunition, the Wolf load constantly gave me the very best outcomes with the very best group measuring at 1.05 inches. The Black Hills load got here barely behind with a 1.18-inch group. Constant fliers with the Federal and Underwood masses resulted in a greatest effort of two.4 inches and 1.75 inches, respectively. All masses shot close to the identical level of purpose, aside from the subsonic Federal load, which drops 18 inches and is mainly on the finish of its efficient vary.
The accuracy of the 1.5-inch was helped by the adjustable set off, which has the tiniest little bit of mush and a clear break. Out of the field, mine broke at 3 1/2 lbs. and I noticed no want to alter it. The barrel doesn’t appear to be a determent both, however its profile does fall in step with typical tapered looking barrels that are likely to warmth up after a number of correct pictures. Once I went for five-round teams, that Wolf load was nonetheless the very best, however the group opened as much as 1.5 inches. Certainly, throughout my rapid-fire drills, the barrel is noticeably heat after the primary twenty pictures downrange. But it surely was nonetheless attainable to make good hits. However, 1.5-inch teams are stellar in comparison with your typical lever motion and lots of trendy rifles.
At 200 yards, I ran via the remainder of my ammunition in speedy succession whereas capturing the Supreme in a sitting place or off a barricade. Regardless of my caffeinated state, all of the supersonic masses sailed into my 12 inch plates with solely about 6 inches of holdover with extra hits than misses.
Reliability
The Henry Lever Motion Supreme cycled and fired 200 rounds of brass cased and metal cased ammunitions with no malfunctions. The MagPul ten-round PMags I used all through the check additionally functioned flawlessly, as did a DuraMag metal journal I had available. The polymer PMags induced some slight resistance when chambering a spherical, although hardly sufficient to note whereas the Supreme with the metal journal cycled as if there have been no journal in any respect.
The Backside Line
For the consumer searching for an up to date lever motion platform, the Henry Supreme is price a tough look. You’ll get a glossy snag free design, available journal choices, and optics/can functionality if wanted. The 5.56 or .300 Blackout should not acceptable for all functions, however the ammunition is reasonable, obtainable, and might do greater than you assume.
Whereas we coated some foibles right here, the one materials one is the very fact the Supreme isn’t your grandad’s lever motion rifle. We are able to’t ignore the attract of the tube-fed lever actions from Marlin and Winchester, their connection to the West, or their connection to us as a reasonable deer woods rifle. However we now have had magazine-fed lever actions for so long as we now have had smokeless powder. However Henry has a penchant for giving conventional designs a brand new lease on life. They did it earlier than and so they have finished it as soon as once more by bringing us what the Savage 99 might have turn into within the Henry Lever Motion Supreme.
About Terril Hebert:
Terril Hebert is a firearm author native to south Louisiana. Underneath his motto—Weapons, By no means Politics—he tackles firearm and reloading matters each in print and on his Mark3smle YouTube channel, the place he obtained his begin. He has a delicate spot for ballistics testing, pocket pistols, and French rifles. When he isn’t burning ammo, he’s indulging his unhealthy wildlife pictures obsession or engaged on his newest novel. Scourge of God was revealed in 2017.”
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