The eyes of soldiers, notables and frontiersmen, posing with their sleek, efficient Henry repeating rifles in century-and-a-half-old photographs, typically reflect pride and confidence, and imply that the rifle’s users know they’re holding something special. Such feelings are understandable. The 16-shot Henry lever-action set the owner above the norm. It was truly one of the mechanical wonders of its era. During a time when most military and sporting arms were single-shots or cumbersome percussion repeaters, a gun that effortlessly spat out a rapid stream of bullets with only one charging of handy, self-contained cartridges was something to be admired and coveted....