I have a Henry in 44 and a new Ruger/Marlin in 357. The Marlin is a nicer built rifle than the Henry. Haven't had any trouble with the Henry and I don't hunt with either. But I think they are in the same ballpark pricewise, so I would give the edge to the Marlin.
I have Skinner sights on the Henry and I am going to do the same on the Marlin.
Purpose will be for shooting whitetail.I really like my Henry Model X. It's in 30-30 though. What's the purpose of the gun?
The old Marlins are definitely nice and I would buy one if I could find one for a decent price. The new ones are less money..I have an '80-ish Marlin and a Henry , both in .44 mag.
I prefer the Marlin as the Henry is really heavy for a LA.
I have seen those S&W's.....in a magazine and internet, but don't know much about them. They definitely intrigue me. I would like to handle one. I much prefer walnut and blued, but I do see that S&W now makes that 44 in that configuration, so, we'll see.Have yet to see a henry that makes me wanna take my wallet out. They all just seem like a knock off of somebody elses rifle.....
Older marlin/winchester/browning?...oh yea an theres plenty of em out there.
The rossi is another choice that most folks seem to like. Though I havnt got my hands on one yet
Another thought. Local shop had one of the S&W stainless leverguns. As much as I wanted to hate it. That sumbitch almost came home with me. An it still might