Henry's New Single Shot Rifle: Making the First Shot Count

Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We earn from qualifying purchases.

Fate does indeed love irony. I grew up and lived in Illinois for most of my life, but it wasn’t until shortly after I’d moved to Missouri that rifle hunting for whitetails was legalized in my home state. I don’t regret leaving Chicago’s antigun fiefdom, but it sure would’ve been nice to have rifle hunting as an option when I was growing up. Fortunately, I was able to go on a whitetail hunt the first season rifle hunting was legalized for deer in 2023. My hunt with Performance Outdoors turned into one amazing trip, culminating with tagging a brute of a 10-point buck. While I can’t say that I tagged the very first whitetail buck with a rifle in Illinois, I was certainly one of the first, lawfully at least. For the hunt, I used Henry’s new Single Shot Rifle chambered for the hard-hitting .360 Buckhammer cartridge. Now, there are quite a few rules and regulations on rifles and calibers you can use for Illinois rifle season, but the short version of this story is that the Henry Single Shot Rifle in .360 Buckhammer is one sweetheart setup for hunting deer in Illinois.

The Rifle

Illinois was one of the last Midwest holdouts to legalize deer hunting with rifles. As in many other states, the new Illinois season comes with many different stipulations, namely that only single-shot rifles are allowed, chambered for a limited number of straight-wall cartridges. While it is legal to modify an existing rifle to fit the single-shot regulation, a manufactured single-shot rifle like the Henry seems to be the best way to go. Why? Simplicity—like the Henry Single Shot Rifle is itself.

The Henry Single Shot Rifle is a simple break-action hammer-fired design, but it gets the job done well for its intended purpose. The .360 Buckhammer model has a 22-inch barrel with a 1:12-inch twist rate and features a blued finish. It weighs in at just under seven pounds, and I found the rifle to be well-balanced and easy to carry. The stock is American walnut, and it looks much nicer than the $597 price tag should afford. As you’d expect, there are swivel studs in the stock for mounting a sling as well as a rubber recoil pad at the butt of the stock.

Like the barrel, the action features a blued finish, and it utilizes a rebounding hammer, which also operates as the rifle’s safety. The rebounding hammer can’t touch the firing pin unless the trigger is squeezed. The action release lever is ambidextrous, so even those with a cow-pawed affliction will find easy use with the Henry Single Shot Rifle. Back to the barrel, you’ll find a brass bead front sight and an adjustable folding leaf-style rear sight integral to the barrel. The rifle is also drilled and tapped to mount an optic. For my Illinois hunt, I used a Bushnell Trophy 1-6X 24mm scope.

As I just mentioned, the Henry Single Shot Rifle is a simple rifle, which is the case for pretty much any single-shot firearm. Truthfully, I’ve never had a need for single-shot rifles in the past, but with the laws in place for Illinois deer season, the Henry fits the bill perfectly. While it may be a requirement in Illinois, I also see a lot of advantages for new hunters in other states, too, even if they allow bolt-action or semiautomatic rifles. The Henry Single Shot Rifle is remarkably safe, and with only one shot, new shooters can learn the importance of shot placement. With that being said, though, you’d be surprised how quickly you can reload the rifle.

An accessory I used on my hunt is a .360 Buckhammer Cartridge Cuff with Riser from Simply Rugged. It holds six extra rounds. While zeroing my rifle, I could break the action and swap the expended brass for a new round from the cuff remarkably fast. The rifle has a non-ejecting extractor, so you need to manually remove the fired case, but with some practice that is easily accomplished. In addition to the handy placement of extra rounds on the cuff, the built-in riser makes cheek placement on the stock much more comfortable, especially when using a scope.

While most people associate single-shot rifles with young hunters or new shooters, I know several experienced hunters who prefer them for their minimal maintenance, simple use and operation in the field, and excellent safety. You have to be pretty special to have a negligent discharge with the Henry Single Shot Rifle getting to and from your stand. So, young shooters, new shooters, experienced hunters, or any type of hunters can experience the many good things to be said about using a single-shot rifle like the Henry in whatever state one resides. However, I expect a substantial number of these new single-shot rifles will make their way to Illinois. I don’t expect the Illinois single-shot rifle law for whitetails to change anytime soon, if ever, so the Henry Single Shot Rifle makes a lot of sense for Illinois whitetail season. But it’s not just the gun that makes it a sweet setup for Illinois.

The Cartridge

With so many Midwest states allowing straight-wall cartridge rifle hunting now, we’ve seen an explosion in new straight-wall cartridges. You can’t talk about straight-wall cartridges without acknowledging the .350 Legend from Winchester, which gained popularity at a pace few expected. There is also the classic .450 Bushmaster, .45-70 Gov’t., .357 and .44 Magnums, and even the new .400 Legend, almost all of which are available in the Henry Single Shot Rifle and are legal to use in Illinois and other states. So why should you go with the .360 Buckhammer? In short, the .360 Buckhammer arguably represents the ideal combination of stopping power, recoil management, and availability for an Illinois whitetail setup.

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll compare the .360 Buckhammer to the .350 Legend and the .450 Bushmaster for an Illinois whitetail hunt. Starting with a cartridge breakdown, the .360 Buckhammer utilizes a 0.358-inch diameter bullet and has an overall length of 2.350 to 2.50 inches. It was developed with the .30-30 Winchester as the parent case and was designed primarily for single-shot and lever-action rifles. This is the first contrast of note between the three cartridges. Both the .350 Legend and .450 Bushmaster are rimless cartridges, which means they are set up for use in semiautomatic firearms, which are not legal for Illinois whitetails unless modified. Like the .30-30 Win. parent case, the .360 Buckhammer is rimmed, which, again, makes it ideal for lever-action and single-shot rifles.

Compared to the .350 Legend’s 0.357-inch diameter and the .450 Bushmaster’s 0.452-inch bullet diameter, the .360 Buckhammer sits pretty much in the middle when it comes to size. At the time of this publication, the most common loads for the .360 Buckhammer come from Remington and Federal, with offerings ranging from 180 grains on the light end to 220 grains on the heavy side. The .350 Legend maxes out at about 170 grains on the heavy end for hunting offerings, and the .450 Bushmaster sits at around 250 grains for common hunting bullet weights. I would argue that this puts the .360 Buckhammer in the just-right “Goldilocks” zone for straight-wall deer cartridges for hunting deer in Illinois. With a muzzle velocity of around 2,200 fps, the .360 Buckhammer has more downrange punch than the .350 Legend while recoiling much less than the .450 Bushmaster. I found the recoil in the Henry Single Shot Rifle to be quite manageable, and you can expect the same in a lever gun.

Now, when it comes to accuracy, it’s important not to compare the .360 Buckhammer, or other straight-wall cartridges for that matter, to modern, sleek high-ballistic-coefficient centerfire ammo. After spending some time at the bench zeroing and shooting the Henry rifle, I’d say a good group is anything around two inches, which is perfectly within “minute of deer” for pretty much anywhere in Illinois and the greater Midwest. That brings up another good point about the .360 Buckhammer, which is that this is not by any means a Western deer cartridge. Truthfully, if it weren’t for so many Midwest states mandating the use of straight-wall ammo, new straight-wall cartridges like the .360 Buckhammer, .350 Legend, and .400 Legend probably would’ve never seen store shelves. However, niche situations breed niche products, and the .360 Buckhammer is one powerful performer in its intended deer-hunting role. I’d say about 250 yards is your absolute max effective range for an ethical shot with the .360 Buckhammer, which is more than enough. Few deer are taken beyond that distance in the Midwest, with most probably being within 100 yards.

Put everything together, and I’d argue that the .360 Buckhammer is the way to go if you’re deciding on a new setup to take advantage of Illinois’ new rifle season. It hits hard, has manageable recoil, and is optimized for single-shot rifles required by Illinois law. It’s also a solid choice outside of Illinois if you want to go the lever-gun route on your next deer hunt. Henry also has lever guns chambered for the .360 Buckhammer.

The Hunt

The Performance Outdoors lodge is your classic deer camp setup, but it has a fun, modern twist. The outfitter is kitted with a few dozen QuietKat e-bikes for use getting to and from the hunting stands. This was my first experience on an e-bike for a hunt, but it’s readily apparent how much of an advantage one offers. It was usually around a mile from where I’d part to my hunting spot, but I got there quickly yet with virtually no sound and leaving no smell. Deer are well used to the scent of tires, but big bucks can easily detect small scents left from walking to a blind. I kept mostly to the trails, but the QuietKat is adapted for rough, off-road use, too. Up and down hills, across small streams, the QuietKat was an awesome tool for hunting I’d never considered before. Add it to the list of things I need to start saving for. They start at around $3K, but I’d say they’re well worth the price.

The weather was not our friend for me and a few other media attendees. It was raining or snowing for the first three days of our four-day hunt, and I saw virtually nothing in the field. On the third day, a small but legal-shooting buck appeared at last light, and I was sorely tempted to tag out and be done with the cold. However, patience won the day, and I was rewarded with a big-bodied, 10-point brute at last light on the final day of the hunt. I was hunting in a stand over a turnip field, and the buck appeared maybe 20 minutes before last light. I ranged him at 200 yards with my Bushnell rangefinder and hoped he’d come a bit closer. No luck. He had no interest in coming closer, so I put the Bushnell BDC reticle over him and held accordingly.

I don’t think I’ve covered 200 yards faster after I squeezed that trigger, and I quickly came upon what would be the largest buck I’ve ever tagged. Four days of miserable sits suddenly became worth it all at once, and I can hardly wait for the shoulder mount to be finished. It was an amazing experience, and I count myself incredibly fortunate that I had such success in the first Illinois rifle season. For me at least, the Henry Single Shot Rifle in .360 Buckhammer is indeed one sweet setup for Illinois whitetails.

Henry Single Shot Rifle Specs

• Type: Break-Action Single-Shot
• Caliber: .360 Buckhammer
• Capacity: 1 Round
• Barrel Length: 22 in.
• Overall Length: 37.5 in.
• Weight (empty): 6.7 lbs.
• Stock: American Walnut
• LOP: 14 in.
• Finish: Blued
• Sights: Adjustable folding-leaf rear, brass-bead front, receiver is drilled and tapped for scope mounts
• Trigger: 2.75 lb. (as tested)
• Safety: Rebounding Hammer
• MSRP: $597
• Manufacturer: Henry Repeating Arms henryusa.com

---