Rifle Review: Henry Golden Boy Cody Firearm Museum Collector’s Series

Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of trying out a limited-edition Henry rifle. The Golden Boy CFM (Cody Firearm Museum) is a Davidson’s exclusive, meaning the 1,000 rifles are only distributed by that company. This is a gorgeous rifle that’s also a fine shooter — and it’s the first-ever Cody Firearms Museum Collector’s Series rifle.

The story behind this rifle is worth talking about. You can click here for a complete account, but here are the high points:

• Collector’s Series gives the public the opportunity to own collectible firearms inspired by prized pieces in Cody Firearm Museum’s collection.
• This is the first firearm in that series.
• It’s a Henry Repeating Arms Golden Boy engraved by Baron Engraving of Trumbull, CT, and distributed by Davidson’s of Prescott, AZ.
• The engraving is based on a Samuel Hoggson factory-engraved 1860s-era Henry rifle currently in the Cody Firearms Museum.
• Both sides of receiver cover have large grape leaf motif on the front panel and a leafy scroll pattern on the main panel.
• Top tang is engraved, “Cody Firearms Museum Collectors Series.”
• American Walnut stock.
• Blued steel octagonal barrel
• The 1,000 rifles in the initial offering will be serialized 2019CFM0001 – 2019CFM1000.
• A portion of the proceeds — roughly $100,000 — supports the revitalization of the Cody Firearms Museum
• Available to retailers only through Davidson’s and also available to the public at Davidson’s Gallery of Guns.

Manufacturer Specs

• Model: H004CFM
• Action: Lever
• Caliber: 22 Short, Long, or Long Rifle
• Lever loop: Blued steel, standard size
• Trigger: Blued steel, grooved
• Receiver: Engraved Brasslite; Large Grape Leaf Motif & Leafy Scroll Design
• Barrel: Blued octagonal, 19-3/4″
• Stock: Walnut, Straight grip, Non-Checkered
• Front sight: Blued steel with brass bead
• Rear sight: Blued steel leaf-type semi-buckhorn with white diamond
• Butt plate: Brass
• Safety: Half cock
• Magazine: Tubular under barrel, holds 16 rounds of 22 LR
• Overall Length: 38-3/8″
• Weight: 6.75 pounds
• MSRP: $799

Should I ever start feeling sorry for myself, all it takes is a reminder that I get to do things like taking a one-of-one-thousand collector’s series Henry rifle to the range so I can share that experience with you. Nice!

It’s evident from the start that this is no wall-hanger. Like all Henry rifles, this one was made to shoot… and it does that job well. It also looks like a million bucks.

The blued steel lever is standard size, and the action is slick as a whistle. Running it fast or slow, I never had a hiccup while shooting this rifle.

I love a nice walnut stock, and this rifle has one. Although the butt stock has less figuring than the forend, it still manages to be eye-catching. I also appreciate the tasteful satin finish.

The forend is lovely as well, and the shiny brass barrel band makes a nice accent.

The blued octagonal stock is marked on both sides. The rear leaf-style sight is fully adjustable; loosen the set screw and drift it sideways in its dovetail slot for windage adjustment.

To adjust for elevation you can slide the elevator to the rear for large adjustments. For finer elevation adjustments you can raise or lower the notched insert by loosening the screw.

The screw is difficult to see in the photo below, but it’s there. Loosen it to move the insert with the white diamond vertically.

I found this rifle to be accurate, hitting steel targets with shot after shot… but for my half-century-old eyes, this style of rear sight was not easy to use. I greatly prefer the peep sight on my Henry Small Game Rifle because an aperture sight allows easier sighting with little concentration. It was almost as if the tall “horns” on this sight are a bit too tall for me to focus on the front sight well, and I had to work at aiming.

I like this rifle’s front sight. It’s the same one used on my Henry Small Game Rifle. Made of blued steel with a brass insert, it provides a round “bead” for aiming when viewed from the rear.

The rear face of the steel on the front sight is grooved to prevent glare & to help make the brass bead stand out.

The gleaming polish of the brass and brasslite (plated alloy) make an attractive counterpoint to the non-reflective satin finish on the walnut stock.

The under-barrel tubular magazine will hold 16 rounds of 22 Long Rifle ammunition, so with one in the chamber you’d have a 17-shooter.

The muzzle of the octagon barrel is not crowned deeply.

Although the trigger pull is a tad creepy, it breaks at about 3.5 pounds and there’s nothing wrong with that.

If you want an engraved Henry Golden Boy 22, this might be the only way you’ll get one. The “brasslite” receiver on an unengraved Golden Boy can’t be engraved after the fact, because it’s made of a lightweight “white” alloy with a thin plating; engravers are likely to cut right through the plating, thus ruining the rifle.

If you want a great-looking engraved Henry Golden Boy 22 rifle that also helps support the Cody Firearms Museum, you owe it to yourself to check out this rifle. And although you might not want to shoot yours, I can attest that this one shoots quite well.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.