Henry Homesteader 9mm Pistol Caliber Carbine Review

Why a pistol caliber carbine? There are several reasons that a pistol caliber carbine can be considered the ideal home and garden gun. A good pistol caliber carbine is easy and fun to shoot, with readily available ammo, and more stability (and accuracy) than you can expect from a handgun. The exterior ballistics jump that you get from the 16.37 inch barrel of the Henry Homesteader is significant. Where you might see 988 fps from a 3 inch barrel with a Federal 124 grain Hydra-Shok, the 16 inch barrel may well net you 1243 fps. A 25% or so velocity increase from the same ammo you use in your pistol is significant.

Here's the basic specs of the Homesteader.

Barrel Length 16.37"

Barrel Type Round Blued Steel

Rate of Twist 1:10

Overall Length 35.75"

Weight 6.6 lbs.

Receiver Finish Hard Anodized Black

Rear Sight Adjustable Aperture

Front Sight Screw-On Post

Scopeability Drilled and Tapped

Scope Mount Type Weaver 63B

Stock Material American Walnut

Buttplate/Pad Rubber

Length of Pull 14"

Safety Top-Mounted Thumb Switch

Swivel Studs. 5-round and 10-round Henry magazines included. Threaded Barrel (1/2x28). Ambidextrous bolt handle. Additional magazines and adapters available separately.

The Homesteader as supplied weighs 7 lbs. on the nose, unloaded with a 10 round Henry Magazine attached. The trigger is crisp enough, but excessively heavy breaking at 6-1/4 lbs. This gun reminds me of the old Marlin Camp 9 and Camp 45 models I once had. Years ago, when shooting in a muddy CMP match to qualify for the Garand, my Dad used his Colt AR, I used a Russian SKS, and Dad wanted more than one M1 Garand. Somehow, Dad talked Mom into shooting as well and she used my Camp 9. Dad got his pair of Garand's. The Marlin Camp 9, that I used on groundhogs from time to time, was discontinued 24 years ago, in 1999. The Camp 9 was just okay, for the bolt buffers destroyed themselves rather quickly.

My aversion to several of the subsequent 9mm PCC's is one of extreme ugliness. In stark contrast, the Henry Homesteader is a gentleman's gun, with beautiful walnut, nice lines, and excellent build quality with a very solid feel. It was a big, surprise hit at the 2023 SHOT Show. The recoil pad is well-fitted, and the American walnut stock set has a stippled type of checkering that feels great. Although I'm using only Henry magazines, Adapters are available for other magazine types: “Henry recommends the use of double-stack 3rd, 4th, or 5th Gen OEM Glock^® G17 or G19 magazines, OEM SIG^® P320 magazines, and OEM M&P^® double-stack magazines with their respective magazine well adapters.”

The Henry looks and feels like a real gun. Recoil is barely felt, yet for home defense, boat defense, small game, and plinking as well, it fits the bill. I like it just as supplied, the factory Henry aperture sight is intuitive, and the Homesteader function is flawless.

Henry, though the tireless efforts of Anthony Imperato with a devout attention to quality, customer service, and “Made in the USA . . . or not at all” has grown Henry Repeating Arms into the third largest long gun manufacturer in the United States, excepting AR's. It is important to trust your gun company, and Henry has earned that trust like few others. Sticker price is $928, though I've seen them at the $750 mark street price. Highly recommended!