A few years ago I took a deep dive into single-shot, bolt-action .22 LR rifles. In particular, the goal was to learn more about the models sized for the more youthful members of the shooting sports community. The more popular options at the time included the Keystone Sporting Arms Crickett, the Savage Arms Rascal and the Henry Repeating Arms' Mini Bolt.
Henry revives the Mini Bolt with new G2 models.
The Mini-Bolt was one that caught my eye. Based on the company's adult-size Acu-Bolt design, it had a useful feature set that proved to be reliable and easy to use. But not long after working with the Mini Bolts for the first time, the entire Acu-Bolt series was phased out of production and disappeared from the marketplace for nearly a decade.
The one-piece polymer stocks are compact and light weight.
In September of 2025, Henry decided it was time to bring the Mini Bolts back into production. Rather than simply re-introduce the first iteration of the platform, they've launched the next generation model with a useful upgrade. Here is a closer look at what the new G2 Mini Bolts have to offer.
Stock color options include black and Muddy Girl options.
The Henry Mini Bolts sent for this evaluation weighed in at just 2 lbs. 14 oz. They sport a weather-resistant matte stainless steel construction, including the 16.15" round-profile barrel, receiver, bolt assembly and the controls. The European-style bolt features a flattened bolt handle and a knurled cocking knob. A sliding safety lever is located on the left side of the receiver. When pulled back into the SAFE position, the safety blocks the trigger from cycling.
The bolt features a European "spoon" style handle.
The top of the barrel is fitted with a 3-dot fiber-optic sight set. The front sight supports a single green fiber optic while the height and drift adjustable rear sight, which is dovetailed into the barrel, has two red fiber optics to either side of the square notch. Underneath the rear sight, the top of the barrel is drilled and tapped for Henry's H005 Mini Bolt cantilevered Weaver rail (MB-CSM $28.89). It is available along with other accessories on the henryoutfitters.com website.
The bolt’s cocking knob works as a second external safety.
The one-piece polymer stocks have diamond checkered grip surfaces for added purchase and they are currently available in either a black or a hydro-dipped Muddy Girl camouflage finish. The single-stage, stainless steel trigger of the black stock G2 rifle exhibited a 2 lbs. 12 oz. trigger pull that broke cleanly with some travel after the break. The Muddy Girl's trigger was also clean and weighed in at 2 lbs. 14 oz. according to a Lyman Products digital trigger gauge.
The first generation models (left) lack the spring loaded feed ramp of the G2 models (right).
Readying the Mini Bolt to fire is a deliberate process, and intentionally so. Begin with the rifle pointed in a safe direction and the thumb safety engaged. Swing up the bolt handle up and open the action. With a round in place on the feed ramp, close the bolt. Shoulder the rifle, pull back on the cocking knob until it locks and then thumb off the safety. Press the trigger to fire and then repeat. This is not a high-speed, low-drag design. Instead, slow, safe operations are one of the top priorities.
The rear sight is adjustable for height and windage.
The key change to the G2 models is a new, bright orange polymer feed ramp. To better understand the importance of the ramp, it's helpful to know that the Mini Bolt's barrel has an exterior diameter of 0.65" while the sharp-edged chamber mouth is 0.225" across. This leaves roughly a quarter inch of empty space around the opening of the chamber on all sides. If a fresh cartridge was dropped into the receiver of a first-generation Mini Bolt, it rested too low to feed properly. In fact, if the bolt was closed it would mash the bullet against the chamber ledge and deform it. The solution to the receiver-to-chamber gap was to press the round directly into chamber manually, at least halfway, before closing the bolt.
Henry offers a cantilever optics rail for the Mini Bolts.
The G2 Mini Bolt's polymer feed ramp was developed specifically to address the gap between the bottom of the chamber and the floor of the receiver. At the time of this writing, Henry's website states, "Simply drop a .22 cartridge into the receiver and the feed ramp will help guide the round right into the chamber." The key word there is help. If the rifle is level, so that the cartridge drops directly into the ramp's shallow groove, then the round will chamber successfully most of the time without any further assistance.
The front sight sports a bright-green fiber optic.
However, if the rifle's receiver is canted a bit to the right or the left, the cartridge can roll out of the feed ramp groove. As a result, the bullet tip is pointed into the quarter-inch gap to either side of the chamber. Is the new feed ramp an improvement? Absolutely! It is much easier to load than it used to be. And you don't have to dump a dropped cartridge out of the receiver if it slips out of your fingers on the way into chamber. But keep an eye on the cartridge to make sure it is properly aligned before closing the action.
The Mini Bolt proved to be reliable and fun to shoot.
For the range work, the black stocked Mini Bolt's rear sight was removed to install a rail. It was used to support a Burris Fullfield 2-8 x 35mm rifle scope with a simple, but effective, Plex reticle (#201501; $192) using a pair of 1" Medium Weaver-style Zee Rings (#420081; $38). This affordably priced optic sports a rugged, single-piece aluminum body and a double-spring turret system. Its size, features and bright sight picture make it a great fit for a beginner while being an optic and ring set that can be used with larger rimfire or centerfire rifles when the Mini Bolt is outgrown.
The author used commonly available .22 LR loads for formal performance testing.
This little bolt gun was put through its paces at the shooting range using a mix of readily available practice and hunting-grade .22 LR ammunition. Usually a bad primer or two will crop up in the course of testing, especially with the bulk-box practice loads. But in this case, all the ammunition tested operated properly. The gun itself proved to be a smooth, reliable operator.
The best individual 3-shot group of 0.72” was fired using the Remington Hunter load.
Formal bench-rested accuracy testing was conducted by firing three 3-shot groups using three loads into paper targets posted at 50 yards. The barrel is stamped to show that this rifle can safely chamber .22 Short, .22 Long and .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR). But for this evaluation, I went with the most common option, which is .22 LR. The ammunition used included CCI's Clean-22 40-gr. polymer-coated target shooting load, Remington's recently released Hunter 40-gr. plated hollow point and Winchester's Wildcat Super Speed 40-gr. copper plated Dynapoint hollow points. A Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph was used to measure bullet velocities for 10-shot strings. Here are the results:
In some circles, the consensus is that a .22 LR carbine that keeps 3-shot groups hovering around 1" in size at 50 yards is shooting nicely. In this case, the Mini Bolt did just that with two of the loads tested averaging at or below an inch. This level of accuracy potential is ideal for building confidence in those who are just learning how to shoot.
For those who are in the market for a compact .22 LR to use for training, the Henry Mini Bolt Youth G2 line up is a great place to start. These rimfires are light weight, tough and easy to use. In fact, based on the accuracy results, I've got my fingers crossed that Henry will launch some G2 models with an adult-size stock. For more information about this and other American-made Henry rifles, visit henryusa.com.
Henry Mini Bolt Specifications:
Manufacturer: Henry Repeating Arms
Models: H005R (Black Stock), H005RMG (Muddy Girl Stock)
Action Type: manual cocking bolt-action
Chambering: .22 LR, .22 Long, .22 Short
Barrel: 16.25”, round profile, 6-groove 1:16” RH rifling
Finish: matte stainless steel
Sights: fiber optic
Stock: polymer
Trigger: single-stage, 2 lbs. 12 oz. pull
Overall Length: 30.25”
Length of Pull: 11.50”
Weight: 2 lbs. 14 oz.
Capacity: 1 round
Accessories: lock, owner’s manual
MSRP: $335
Scope Mount: Henry Mini Bolt Cantilever (MB-CSM) $28.89
