Gun of the Week: Henry Repeating Arms SPD Predator

The modern Henry Repeating Arms is known for taking the classic American lever-action design and bringing it into the 21st century with a number of modernized variants. The new SPD Predator, an extension of its magazine-fed Lever Action Supreme Rifle design, looks to extract the greatest possible degree of accuracy and precision from a modern lever gun. Watch our "Gun of the Week" episode above to see how the SPD Predator's construction lends itself to long-range use.

"Henry established its SPD, its Special Products Division, to bring out unique designs based on Henry's line of lever-action rifles," American Rifleman Executive Editor Evan Brune said. "And the SPD predator is designed explicitly to be the most accurate lever-action rifle ever built."

At the heart of the SPD Predator is a match-grade, carbon-fiber-wrapped, 416R stainless-steel barrel that measures 18 inches long and accommodates the gun's .223 Rem./5.56 NATO chambering. Not only did Henry envision this as a precision platform, they also ensured that it's handy enough to take into the field, and the company's designers envisioned the SPD Predator being used in the field against "agile targets over range," like coyotes and other varmints.

"Like some of the company's other designs, like the Lever Action Supreme Rifle, the SPD Predator has the ability to take all STANAG magazines," Brune said. "So you've got this bilateral magazine release lever right at the rear of the magazine well. You can put in your 20s, your 30s, you can go higher than that. It'll latch in."

A Picatinny optics rail tops the anodized aluminum receiver, making it easy to mount a magnified optic, and the wood-laminate stock has an adjustable comb built into it that allows users to match their comb height to the height of a mounted optic.

"It's got a rotating bolt up there. That's part of the reason that this has the inherent accuracy capability that it does is you've got that rotating bolt head that locks up consistently," Brune said. "So, you know, if you were really looking to reach out and touch something with your lever-action rifle, the Henry SPD Predator is the platform to do it with."

Unloaded, the overall weight of the Henry SPD Predator is 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and the gun measures just over 38 inches in overall length. The rifle ships with a Harris S-LM bipod and also includes an adjustable trigger. Suggested retail pricing on the rifle is $2,510. For more information, visit henryusa.com.