I have a Henry. Any small game within two hundred yards (up to coyotes and coons) is food on the table. Beyond that range I cannot see well enough to make the shot, even with a 9x12x40. Something like a head in a blue helmet could get one In the eye socket at that range. There are nice soft point rounds at 40 grains running over 1800 ft/sec. After collapse of law, a liter soda bottle will actually muffle a shot enough to make locating the shooter very difficult at 100 + yards ... for survival skills, of course. The AR sends a 55 grain projectile at around 3000 ft/sec and tumbles nicely.
I got my son one of those Henry’s. Slick gun. I don’t know why people discount the venerable .22 LR. I know I sure wouldn’t want to get shot with one.
I consider a .22 to be a “must have”. For novice shooters it should be the only thing on the menu. You can learn the fundamentals of sight picture, breathing, and trigger pull without having to worry about recoil. And despite the recent shortages ammo is comparatively cheap so you can practice more.
I take one of my .22s to the range every time I go no matter what other stuff I’m bringing. As far as lethality goes, well, it’ll do the job more times than not if you place your shots correctly.
I have never fired one of the Henry rifles but have seen them in the racks at Wal-Mart. They look very much like the old Erma-Werke lever actions made in Germany.
If they are indeed the same design, that is not a criticism of the Henrys as they were a really slick action. I will say the Henry brand appear to be a little better finished.