Six months ago today Hurricane Sandy slammed into coastal New Jersey, leaving devastation in its wake. Amongst its victims: lever gun manufacturer Henry Repeating Arms. Henry’s factory was hit head on, with waves crashing into the side of its plant and wind tearing at its roof. The day after the storm, Henry’s CEO toured the five-year-old facility, taking stock of the damage. “The storm blew off a major section of our roof,” Anthony Imperato told TTAG. “There was three feet of water in the factory; it covered 100 machine centers. There was a sinkhole in one of the buildings.” Imperato’s a man of few words, all of them carefully chosen. I asked him if Sandy harshed his mellow . . .
“I was calm,” Imperato said. “I guess it’s because I live with the daily stress of running a factory . . . At the time all I could think about what had to be done to get us back in production. Maybe I’ll have PTSD later.”
And maybe not. Applying his characteristic sang froid, Imperato oversaw the recovery operation, including major structural repairs and changing or rewiring the low-profile motors powering their machines. None of which was cheap. “We have an open [insurance] claim of several million dollars.”
Luckily, Henry’s ammunition stores survive the hurricane intact. ‘Cause Henry has LOTS of .22’s. “We test fire 10 rounds per gun. We make 300 thousand guns per year . . . So we buy a healthy amount of all types of ammo, Federal, Winchester, Remington and others.”
Six weeks later, the first pre-fired new firearm left the factory. In January, Henry Repeating Arms had shipped 27k firearms to grateful gun dealers. And the hits keep coming. “People ask me if we’re still in business,” Imperator said. “We’re not just back, we’re shipping record numbers of guns.”
If another hurricane hits Henry (which hardly ever happens) the manufacturer won’t have all its eggs in a Garden State-shaped basket. “We’re going to start buildings guns in Rice Lake, Wisconsin,” Imperato reveals.
I didn’t have the heart to point out that Wisconsin is prey to blizzards, blazing heat and tornados. Still, if anyone can cope with whatever Mother Nature throws down, it’s Imperato. The man’s rock solid and ready to rock and roll. Kinda like Henry’s guns, really.
Yes, we had to shelter in place under our school desks in the old days. That was so you didn’t take the ICBM on the bridge of the nose, it was much safer under your desk. We had laws in Wisconsin before we got asshole doyle out that were too stupid to even repeat, Randy
I wonder how Obumer is speeding assistance thru the Fed system for a firearms mfg?
Perhaps you’ve read in the mainstream media on the effectiveness and effiency of the current adminstration in Sandy recovery? NO? Move along nothing to see here.
Actually I have. Gov. Christy said today that “Obama has kept all of his promises.” Doesn’t mean that it won’t take a lot of time to recover.
Gov. Chrisy saying Obama kept all his promises has about the same trust level as him saying he had a light lunch.
But I do understand. He probably couldn’t push himself away from the table, and was trying to lighten it up.
+1. ” light lunch ” LMAO !
Ahh good ol’ victim-blaming. The pro 2a bread ‘n butter.
Pocket knives and bar-time girlfriends have an awful lot in common- they should be easy and inexpensive…usually for all the same reasons. I know full well that a good knife comes in handy, but forking over more than $50 for one is just shy of insane to me. I have somehow managed to lose many knives, usually just doing what I have considered every-day-living. So, no, the notion of burning enough cash to pick up a great side-arm with enough practice ammunition to get me proficient does not sound like a wise investment (in an easy to lose package).
Some things are just too stupid to comment on.
I have a Taurus pt 24/7 g2 45 and it is an awesome gun always has shot without any flaws or misfeeds I don’t know why people hate them maybe because there competing with bigger names in the game and still perform with performance right out of the box
My father just got a Henry lever action .22 and that thing is beautiful. I have never used a lever action that was as smooth as this one, it was like butter!! Beautiful guns, a bit on the heavy side but that is because it is solid construction. It Shoots straight and tight little groups with good ammo, can’t ask for much more out of a gun like that. Probably just one of the best “fun guns” I have ever shot!! Fill the tube magazine up and you can shoot down more than a dozen cans at a time when plinking. A Henry is my next .22 that is for sure.
A very personable man that would be a privilage to vote for, Randy
Hi
I’d just like to mention a gun collector who offers his guns at very fair prices compared to auction prices I’ve seen. I suggest you give him a look! I found him @
Legacy Firearms, not Legacy Sports. Good hunting!
They should bring their lever action manufacture plant to a much friendlier state like Texas.
Just like a Democrat — if you don’t win, demand a recount and keep recounting until you win. [Just kidding — Congrats!]
The xd9 is also my first gun and i do love it but mine seems to have a fault in it that being that after only 120 rounds down the barrel the barrel of the gun developed a expanded bubble right at the base. It apears that the barrel was not tempered correctly and there was pressure fractures all along the base of the barrel. It worried me cause i know these are very well made guns and am confused as to if this is unusual or if it has happened before.
I also have heard conflicting reports as to speingfields willingness to repair it. The shop said they would possibly not want to but i have also heard from other gun owners that they will…
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Ugh! If it wasn’t for the digging up of this as apparent fact (or at least based on it) I’d say it was a piece of fiction by a writer. For all we know, while based on a truth, it could still be a piece of historical fiction.
His story: I knew jack about what I was doing, and I killed my pal. IF society didn’t idolize the things I’d have not been so stupid with it. Umm, that’s a stretch of logic that is weak and circumstantial.
Am I the only guy in the world who doesn’t have disposable income to waste on stupid, useless crap like this?
Life is hard enough the way it is.
How come gun control advocates don’t understand why supply side gun control won’t work to reduce gun violence? Would we try to reduce drunk driving deaths by making it more difficult for sober drivers to buy cars? That’s the logic gun control advocates use. Lets make it difficult for law abiding people to buy and or properly use a firearm to defend themselves and that will somehow limit what a criminal will do with a gun. Let’s be honest criminals aren’t going to buy a gun and go through a background check. The truth is expanding background checks for gun buyers will not impede criminals. This failed legislation that would have criminalized the shipping or transfer of guns to someone who is barred from possessing a firearm is a bit redundant since transferring a gun to someone you know or have reasonable cause to believe falls into a prohibited category is already a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. This would make it even more illegal, which is somehow complementary to background checks? So there you have it none of these measures on its own will do anything to reduce crime, but if we pass them all together…well, they still won’t do anything, but they will create the appearance of doing something. Ultimately, a firearm is a mere tool – an inanimate piece of metal incapable of action without human intervention. Any real solution attempting to prevent future mass shootings must focus less on the gun, and more on what factors drive people to pick up that gun and engage in indiscriminate killing. In particular, preventing future mass shootings requires a frank look at underlying, and often unaddressed, mental illness and social isolation in America. Simply making assault rifles harder to obtain will not solve the problem of mass violence. If an individual is desperate or delusional enough, he will simply move to the next available weapon. By addressing the underlying causes behind mass shootings, the US also has the opportunity to avoid a response that restricts rights in the wake of a national tragedy. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, part of the government’s domestic response was an arguable curtailing of privacy, speech, and association rights. Now, in the wake of Newtown, comes the prospect of undermining rights to gun ownership. We must not allow our government to fall back on simplistic answers. While it may be uncomfortable and expensive, the real solution lies in addressing mental health issues and the social isolation that drive individuals to commit acts of mass murder. Unfortunately, no one can write a law against mothers’ owning guns that one day might be turned against them by deranged sons who then commit horrific acts of murder-suicide. Shooting rampages are very hard to prevent because they are so often committed by disturbed young men without criminal records who don’t care if they are caught and usually want to die. You don’t get more security by giving up your freedom and liberty. That’s impossible. It’s the other way around. The truth is the more freedom and liberty you have, the more security you have. There is a crucial sticking point that shows the naivety of supply side gun control and it’s supporters. Some of us genuinely appreciate that it is impossible to ban all guns in The US. Others of us still, deep down, imagine that we might someday fulfill the supply control dreams hatched in the 1970’s and actually get rid of all guns. Indeed, if Obama didn’t believe that this is possible, gun control is just nonsense. Obama is saying we want to stop mass shootings against innocents using certain semiautomatic rifles, but shootings using other semiautomatics, pumps, lever actions, revolvers, double barrels or bolt actions are ok. If Obama means to reduce gun violence is supply controls, you must ban all those guns too. (2nd amendment supporters know this. So they will fight all gun control until its repealed or found unconstitutional). The worst thing though is that supply side gun control ignores the core question of how to protect the 7 year old in the classroom, with tired oversold ideas that mainly serve to mask the structural state incompetence that the progressive political class cannot profitably acknowledge.
I wish all presidents would follow Harrison’s example.
if guns are dangerous in the hands of good guys then why should police have them?
I’ve stated this before. Have a two part downloadable form, buyer calls in and gets his/her approval at no cost, puts his approval code on both parts, gives seller his half with no privacy info (SS # etc) shows seller his ID (drivers license, etc) and keeps their half for verification. No firearm information, covers both the seller and buyer!
Firearms that require any sort of software are a fuc#ing stupid idea for many reasons. Consider the poor reliability of computer software, and the near-fatal spike in blood pressure that we have to endure when trying to speak to the Pakistani tech-support drones who understand neither the software or the English language.
Add to that the very likelihood that the scope will record and upload your shot information just like a cell phone reporting your location, and then consider that the company will be able to remotely deactivate your scope and turn it into a fancy but useless spyglass.
No firearm system should be tethered to its manufacturer, or to any active information network in any way. This has the potential to be even more intrusive to privacy than Chiappa’s ill-considered RFID fiasco a few years ago.
This whole concept just went from being a fascinating leap forward in gun tech, to being a huge leap backward in liberty and privacy. Count me out. Forever.