Built & Tested: Midwest Industries ‘Cyborg’ Henry All-Weather Big Boy

B. Gil Horman

posted on September 25, 2024

News, Guns & Gear, Rifles, Review, New For 2024

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I'll admit that at times I've been less than generous with some of my comments regarding efforts to modernize the venerable lever-action rifle. These classic, manually-operated actions are reliable, quick handling and enjoyable to use in a variety of calibers. And these days their 19th century design is usually unencumbered by the regulations which stymie the use and ownership of semi-automatic rifles in some regions of the country. So, it only makes sense that they would continue to be modified and upgraded right alongside of their bolt-action and semi-automatic compatriots.

However, the evolution of what I've lovingly dubbed the 'cyborg' segment of the lever-action market has not always gone smoothly. And as we all know, first impressions can be some of the most lasting. The first cyborg that I laid eye on was actually a product of the zombie gun craze of the 2010s. It was the ZMB version of the Mossberg Model 464 released in 2012.

Those who remember this lever-action and its AR-pattern features could rightfully say it was ahead of its time. Perhaps this gun was even the forerunner to today's fully modernized lever guns. But for me, it was hard to look at. The short tri-rail fore-end was not too bad. But the way the AR buffer tube was crammed into the straight grip almost made my eyes water, and not in a good way. And what about that A2 flash hider mounted to the .30-30 Win. barrel. . . mercy, please! My guess is that other folks agreed with these sentiments since this particular model is long out of production.

Henry Barrel Stamp

But here we are more than a decade later and the lessons learned from the tepid consumer response to the Model 464 ZMB have been thoughtfully applied by those manufacturing today's factory-configured cyborg rifles and components. The lesson is this: Yes, you can blend modern sporting rifle (MSR) features into a lever-action rifle, just so long as you don't obscure the lever gun's profile in the process.

Left Side Henry Big Boy All Weather

While researching the cyborg aftermarket stock systems available for lever-action carbines these days, I came across the aluminum furniture sets available from Midwest Industries. The MLOK handguards don't pull any punches when it comes to duplicating an AR format. The receiver top optics rails will accommodate a full range of micro red dot and magnified rifle scopes. The shoulder stocks are skeletonized aluminum with polymer, G10 or rubber features in the appropriate places. However, the outline of the traditional fixed shoulder stock remains. I liked what I saw, so I decided to conduct a cyborg parts swap for myself.

Midwest Industries Rails

When it came to selecting a rifle to be the subject of these modifications, I wanted a model known to be reliable, accurate and in a configuration that's already a step or two into the modern era. Midwest Industries offers stocks, fore-ends and accessory sets sized for a variety of Henry, Marlin, Rossi USA, Smith & Wesson and Winchester lever-action models, so the field of options was wide open.

For this evaluation, I went with a Henry Big Boy All-Weather chambered in .44 Magnum, which is a lever action I’ve wanted to test drive for some time now. This model also safely chambers .44 Special, which provides a broad range of ammunition performance from soft-shooting subsonic rounds with modest levels of felt recoil all the way up to the heavy weight monolithic bullets at increased velocities for defense against dangerous game. The Big Boy models are also available chambered in .357 Mag./.38 Spec. and .45 Colt.

Midwest Industries Stock

This version of the Big Boy keeps the traditional features of the of the blued steel, revolver-caliber models. The round-profile barrel is 20-inches long with a set of fully adjustable semi-Buckhorn sights. The 10-round tubular magazine can be loaded by either pulling out the brass magazine liner or through the receiver's right-side loading gate. The steel receiver is drilled and tapped for optics rails, it's fitted with a standard-size lever loop and it supports a straight-grip shoulder stock. The two-position hammer features a grooved hammer spur and an internal transfer-bar safety. A pair of sling swivel studs is also included.

Midwest Shell Caddy

Henry's All Weather options have two features which distinctly set them apart from the company's traditional and X Model offerings. The most noticeable is the satin hard-chrome finish applied to all of the external metallic components, including the fore-end cap, trigger and the receiver screws. The other notable difference is the furniture. The smooth hardwood fore-end and shoulder stock are stained a dark gray/black color and treated with an industrial-grade, moisture-resistant coating to protect the wood from harsh weather conditions. These changes make for a handsome and practical package for hunting and other outdoor endeavors.

Cyborg Henry Midwest industries

This particular Big Boy definitely met my criteria for a lever gun that already has a 21st century twist of some kind. It should be mentioned here that I have no complaints about the factory installed All Weather stocks which look great and handle nicely. But like all traditional wood stocks, they lack the modularity of the polymer and aluminum AR-inspired updates. The cyborg conversion of the Henry included the installation of a Midwest Industries handguard, optics rail, a shoulder stock and some accessories for the stock.

This company offers two types of handguard systems for lever-action rifles. For some gun models the handguard is topped with an optics rail which replaces the factory rear sight and overlaps onto the receiver. At the back end of the rail is a mounting point for an adjustable-aperture rear sight. A replacement adjustable post front sight is also provided in the kit.

Henry Cyborg Midwest Right Side

For this stock swap, the Big Boy's fore-end and cap were traded out for the hardcoat anodized 6061 aluminum Henry M-LOK G2 Handguard. This version is 13.625-inches long with an open-top design intended for use with steel receivers, round barrels and models that do not have a barrel band. This allows the existing sight system to be left in place, and for the gun owner to use the receiver optics rail they prefer should they choose to install one.

Midwest Industry Stock with Full Shell Caddy

This aluminum handguard locks into the receiver at three points along with a brass tension screw to secure it in place. About 7.5-inches forward of the receiver is a junction point between the barrel and the magazine tube used to secure the fore-end in place. A small cross bar with a set of mounting and tension screws are provided to secure the forward portion of the handguard at this point. A forward sling swivel and a polymer five-slot accessory rail are also provided. The handguard slightly overlaps the bottom of the magazine tube's loading port. But at the shooting range there proved to be just enough room to slip fresh cartridges through it.

Red Dot on Henry Cyborg

What I like best about this particular handguard is that it does not obscure the satin chrome finish of the rifle. In fact, the 0.15-inch gap to either side of the top of the barrel, along with all of the M-LOK slots, gives the impression that the guard is hovering in the space around the barrel and magazine tube. It's a terrific look for the rifle while providing a rock-solid gripping surface and plenty of attachment points for AR-compatible accessories.

The Optic Rail Shell Holder includes a five-inch long hardcoat anodized 6061 aluminum Picatinny rail which is deeply grooved in the center. This groove allows the rifle's brass bead front sight and the white diamond rear sight to be used when an optic is not installed. The left side extension supports up to three, two-round polymer MI-USH universal shell holders. Thankfully the three shell holders provided in the kit can be rotated or removed with the kit installed on the receiver. In this case, one shell holder was set forward and rotated horizontally to keep two extra rounds handy.

Midwest Industries Handguard

This brings us to the 1-pound 4-ounce skeletonized aluminum shoulder stock. The straight grip is nicely rounded like that of a typical hardwood stock, with a set of removable checkered polymer grip inserts. The four-position, height-adjustable polymer cheek piece can be raised or lowered by removing a pair of support screws. This stock has a traditional profile with two support struts featuring left and right side M-LOK slots. Other features include a sling swivel stud, three QD sling ports and a thick, soft rubber recoil pad.

This stock's polymer grip panels are perfectly serviceable. But the online catalog also includes sets of textured, black G10 grip inserts with a choice of gray, OD green, red or tan layers. Whether or not this is a strictly necessary upgrade can be debated. However, I really like G10 for gun grips and knife handles. In this case, I went with the black and gray inserts which provided an effective amount of purchase when shooting while cosmetically tying the matte black of the aluminum stocks in with the satin chrome finish of the rifle.

Ammo Boxes Stacked

One more accessory included here is the Midwest Industries Lever Stock Shell Holder Plate Bundle. The aluminum plate arrives with six MI-USH two-round shell holders, like those included with the optics rail, and the M-LOK mounting hardware needed to attach it to the right or left side of the shoulder stock. Since the polymer holders can be rotated or removed, the number and position of the rounds can be adjusted to suit a hunter's preferences. As shown here, the plate is set on the right side of the stock and configured to a 10-round capacity in order to refill the rifle's magazine tube.

Fully assembled with all of the accessories installed, including the optic, the Henry/Midwest .44 Mag. cyborg tipped the scales at 8 pounds 1.6 ounces, unloaded. Despite the changes in the furniture, the balance point is still right at the front end of the receiver, giving this gun a handy feel and an easy swing. The thick recoil pad contributed to moderate, all-day-comfortable levels of felt recoil, and the rifle fed, fired and ejected all of the .44 Mag. ammunition tested without any hitches, hang-ups or malfunctions.

Groups from Henry Cyborg

For the informal and formal range testing, a compact, AR-type optic was selected to complete the rifle's transition into the modern shooting era. The flexible Swampfox Raider (#RMPS120-G6; $279) is a 1x20 etched micro prism optic available with either red or green illumination using a BRC reticle or a single 6-MOA dot. The model shown here is the green 6 MOA dot version. Weighing 7.69 ounces, the zinc alloy housing is shock resistant with a T-2 footprint. Other features include 10 illumination settings, 1 MOA click adjustments, an IPX7 waterproof rating and up to 35,000 hours of run time with a single CR2032 battery. Setting the shoulder stock's cheek piece to its maximum height was a just-right fit for the one-inch tall riser shipped with the Raider. Some folks may point out that in the photos I have this optic installed too far forward on the rail. However, I wear corrective lenses. This particular optic has more forgiving eye relief than some models and moving it towards the muzzle a bit was the best fit for my eyes.

The formal bench-rested accuracy testing was conducted at 50-yards. Three, 3-shot groups were fired using three loads from Hornady and Remington with a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph on hand to measure bullet velocities for 10-shot strings. Here are the results:

Ballistic Table

Now that the project is complete I can safely say that the results of my first ever lever-action cyborg rifle conversion exceeded my expectations. The rifle looks great, handles nicely and the feature set is flexible and useful. This is due in no small part to the rifle and the accessory manufacturers’ dedication to providing top-shelf products. Midwest Industries and Henry Repeating Arms do not offer the very least expensive options available. But this is because they are both companies that put product quality, American-sourced material and a U.S.-based work force ahead of rock-bottom pricing. And based on the results, this configuration is well worth the investment.

Henry Cyborg on stump