Henry Rifles introduced the Special Products Division (SPD) in 2025, a line dedicated to innovating the lever-action rifle to meet the needs of modern outdoorsmen, hunters, and hobbyists. The early models were the SPD HUSH Series, dedicated suppressor-host lever-action rifles. With the tax stamp decreasing from $200 to $0 in 2026, I think this was an excellent decision to start the SPD line-up there. Now, the latest introduction is the SPD Predator, a carbon-fiber-wrapped, sub-MOA lever gun designed for hunters and precision shooters.
SPD Predator Barrel
At the heart of the SPD Predator rifle is a match-grade 416R stainless steel barrel. It is tension-wrapped in carbon fiber, which reduces the barrel’s overall weight, improves cooling, and maintains the rigidity required for sub-MOA repeatability. Henry Rifles guarantees sub-MOA performance from this rifle, but I’d also like to add that it’s important to use high-quality ammunition to achieve that level. Too many people buy cheap ammunition when they buy a rifle with a high-quality barrel, expecting peak performance no matter what. I’ll cover the ammunition I tested through this rifle a little later on in this review. Henry also has a barrel break-in procedure video on their website that I highly recommend watching before hitting the range.
Adjustable Cheek Riser
My absolute favorite feature of the SPD Predator rifle is the adjustable cheek riser on the stock. I almost always have to mount a red dot on the lowest height mount possible to get a good line of sight through the optic when I go to mount a lever-action rifle. Even with a low sight setup, I usually can’t get a cheek weld on a lever-action stock, so my face is left floating around until I can find my red dot or crosshairs.
This is a really inconsistent way to shoot a rifle or any long gun, and it can take me even longer to reacquire my sights after firing a round because of the gun’s movement during recoil. When a lever action doesn’t come with an adjustable cheek riser, I typically purchase an aftermarket stock with one, or I use Goon Tape to attach soft cheek riser pads to my long guns to give me a proper line of sight.
All that said, the Henry SPD Predator rifle has a single set screw on the side of the stock that you loosen to adjust the cheek riser height, then tighten once you have it at the height that works best for you.
Bipod Included
The Henry USA Predator SPD ships with a Harris S-LM Bipod in the box, so you’re ready to shoot from the bench immediately. The rifle has sling swivel studs on the bottom of the forend and on the bottom of the stock, so you can mount a sling or bipod. The bipod requires one knob to tighten it to the gun, so it can also be removed just as quickly by loosening this knob.
If you’re unfamiliar with this bipod, it’s simple to use. The legs are spring-loaded and can fold up when not in use, making the gun easy to carry or transport in a bag with the bipod mounted. You can pull on the feet to adjust the height and reset them just as easily.
EOTECH DCBL 556 Suppressor
I mounted the tan EOTECH DCBL 556 Suppressor on the SPD Predator, and it sounds excellent with heavier-grain ammunition and subsonic loads. It also doesn’t affect the rifle’s accuracy in any way. The DCBL suppressor can be mounted via HUB or with a flash hider, which is what I have on the Henry rifle. It’s made of Grade 5 Titanium and measures 7.1 inches in length. The weight of the suppressor body is 13.7 ounces.
Depending on what mount and system you use, it will add additional weight to the gun. Because this suppressor is designed for use with 5.56 caliber rifles (.283 bore), it performed really well on the Henry. It’s almost always better to have a dedicated 5.56-caliber suppressor on a 5.56-caliber rifle than to use a 30-caliber suppressor with a larger bore diameter and a 30-caliber end cap/end design. You’ll also find that a suppressed lever-action sounds much better than a suppressed semi-automatic rifle.
This is because the manual action stays closed, and there is no brass ejecting or any gases (and therefore noise) escaping through the ejection port. If you ever want to truly hear how well a suppressor can perform, use a bolt-action or lever-action rifle.
Ammunition Testing & Consideration
As I mentioned earlier, I highly recommend feeding Henry high-quality ammunition to match the barrel’s quality. I pulled out some of the best ammunition I had on hand, and after zeroing the rifle, my friends, TC and Brittany, and I went to town on some steel targets. We shot from the bench rest and offhand, hitting center mass on steel targets at 50-100 yards.
On paper, I shot a sub-MOA group with the Super Vel 77-grain ammunition, as that’s what I zeroed the gun and optic with. The different loads all ran reliably and smoothly through the action with no malfunctions. I recommend using a Real Avid Ratchet Rest bag for rear support from the bench rest. These bags make it easy to adjust the bag’s height by loosening or tightening the ratchet strap. They are available in three sizes or as a complete set.
- Barnes Precision Match 77 gr OTM BT
- Hornady Match 75 gr BTHP
- Super Vel 77 gr OTM BT
- Lehigh Defense 62 gr CC
- HOP Munitions 77 gr HPBT
EOTECH Vudu 4-12x Scope
My goal with the SPD Predator rifle was to keep the entire build as lightweight as possible while still having a scope I could use for hunting. That meant finding a lightweight scope with an MRAD reticle with holdovers. The EOTECH Vudu 4-12×36 first-focal-plane riflescope couldn’t have been more perfect for this rifle. It weighs 16.9 ounces, comes with a simple Picatinny-style scope mount, and is available with your choice of MR5 or MD5 MRAD reticles. The turrets are capped to keep them protected once you zero the scope.
The rotary dial on the left lets you adjust the brightness of the illuminated reticle. You can also order the scope with a ring mount and EFLX optic that can be mounted at the 12 o’clock or 45-degree position. I’ve hunted with EOTECH products before, and I can tell you their scopes are durable, rugged, and will not lose zero.
Compatible with MSR Style Magazines
The Henry USA SPD Predator is compatible with MSR-style magazines and even ships with a 10-round magazine. This is the first lever action I’ve had that is magazine-fed, and I tell you what, it beats loading a tube any day of the week. I used a regular 30-round Magpul PMAG with this rifle and had no problems levering the loop or loading the gun. The lever stops moving right at the back of the magazine without interfering with it. You will have to close the lever somewhat to depress the magazine release button to remove the magazine.
Final Thoughts
The Henry USA SPD line-up of lever actions is where it’s at. These rifles have been excellent suppressor hosts, reliable, accurate, and just plain fun to shoot. I don’t think you can go wrong with the SPD Predator or another option from Henry.
Nice article !Kenzie