The Henry Bear’s Leg is a lever-action pistol with a 13.8-inch barrel and no shoulder stock, putting it in the same federal classification as the Rossi Ranch Hand and the original Winchester Mare’s Leg used by Steve McQueen’s Josh Randall character in Wanted: Dead or Alive. What separates it from traditional lever-action pistols is the build: a blued steel receiver and barrel paired with a black synthetic pistol-grip stock, a polymer handguard with M-LOK slots and a Picatinny rail section, a factory-threaded 5/8x24 muzzle, and fiber-optic sights. The large-loop lever and side loading gate are carryovers from Henry’s suppressor-friendly Side Gate line.

Henry CEO Anthony Imperato described the design as “our take on what a modern lever action pistol can be, cranked up to 11.” That framing is accurate. This is not a cosmetic rework of the existing Henry Mare’s Leg (H006MML). It is a purpose-built platform for shooters who want to run a red dot, a weapon light, and a suppressor on a lever action pistol, with a legal path to short-barrel-rifle conversion. If you want a cowboy-action lever pistol with brass and walnut, the H006 is still the right choice. If you want the platform that pairs with modern accessories, this is Henry’s answer.

Four calibers at the same $1,129 MSRP forces the decision onto use case rather than price. The H12 .357 Magnum is the most practical pick for range use, small-to-medium game, and recoil management. It holds 4 rounds, weighs 5.75 lbs, shoots cheap .38 Special for practice, and generates manageable muzzle rise from a 13.8-inch barrel (which also extracts more velocity from .357 than a 4-inch revolver, pushing 158gr loads past 1,800 fps). The H12 .44 Magnum is the better choice if you want more terminal energy without jumping to .45-70 recoil, and it shoots .44 Special for lighter practice loads.

The H10 .45-70 Government is the statement piece. A .45-70 round from a 13.8-inch barrel with no shoulder stock is a brutal combo, with recoil closer to a 12-gauge slug than a conventional pistol round. Capacity drops to 3 rounds and weight climbs to 6.59 lbs. It makes sense as a bear-country camp gun, a truck gun in dense cover, or an SBR host after Form 1 conversion. The H9 .30-30 Winchester is the odd one out: 3-round capacity, rifle-cartridge recoil in a pistol frame, and ammo that was engineered for 20-inch barrels (expect 200-300 fps velocity loss from the 13.8). Unless you specifically want .30-30 for handloading or commonality with a .30-30 rifle, the .357 or .44 Magnum H12 models are the sharper buys.

Factory-threaded barrels on lever-action pistols are the exception, not the rule. Most competitors require aftermarket threading at $150-250 per barrel plus re-bluing, which often voids warranty coverage. The Bear’s Leg ships with a 5/8x24 thread pitch standard across all four calibers, which is the common multi-caliber suppressor thread for .30, .357, .44, and .45 cans rated to appropriate pressures. Verify your suppressor is rated for the specific caliber and barrel length before mounting. A lever-action pistol is a high-pressure host, especially in .45-70 and .44 Magnum.

The side loading gate, pulled from Henry’s Side Gate rifles, solves the practical problem of reloading a suppressed lever gun. A tube-loading Mare’s Leg requires removing the magazine tube plunger, which puts the can in the way of the reload stroke. The Bear’s Leg lets you top off through the loading gate with the suppressor still mounted, matching how most shooters actually run a suppressed lever gun in 2026. For a deeper look at suppressor hosts and thread standards, see our suppressor compatibility guide.

Henry designed the Bear’s Leg with short-barreled-rifle conversion in mind. The pistol grip stock and frame geometry accept a shoulder stock after a successful ATF Form 1 and $200 tax stamp. In states that permit SBRs, this is the fastest and cheapest route to a shoulderable 13.8-inch lever action in .45-70 or .44 Magnum. A factory SBR lever gun would require an FFL-to-SOT transfer, Form 4, and a $2,500+ retail platform. Converting a $1,129 Bear’s Leg via Form 1 puts the same capability in your hands for $1,329 plus an aftermarket stock.

The practical payoff of SBR conversion is shoulder-stabilized recoil management on the heavier calibers. Shooting .45-70 from a pistol platform one-handed is a novelty; shooting it from a shouldered 13.8-inch SBR with a suppressor is a useful brush gun. Form 1 wait times are currently running 30-90 days via eForms. Do not convert until the stamp is approved, and confirm your state allows SBRs before starting the process. Washington, California, and several other states restrict or prohibit civilian SBR ownership.

The Bear’s Leg is drilled and tapped for a scope mount from the factory. The H9 .30-30 and H10 .45-70 use the Weaver 63B base, while both H12 models use Henry’s BB-RSM base. Either accepts a standard red dot or scout scope mount. A skeletonized red dot like the Holosun 507K or Trijicon MRO fits the compact profile better than a full-size LPVO. The fiber optic front sight and fully adjustable semi-buckhorn rear with diamond insert are usable irons out of the box, which is rare at this price point.

For shooters planning a scout-mount optic, a forward-mounted red dot on a long rail keeps the sight picture natural when levering between shots. The polymer handguard’s Picatinny rail section can host a forward-mounted dot or a weapon light. For a full breakdown of compatible optics, see our best pistol red dot guide and optic selection matrix. The comparison tool is useful for checking weight and mounting footprint side-by-side before committing to a scope mount.

The Bear’s Leg is the lever-action pistol Henry should have built five years ago. A factory-threaded barrel, M-LOK handguard, fiber-optic sights, side loading gate, and SBR-conversion geometry are all features that aftermarket smiths have been retrofitting onto Henry H006 Mare’s Legs and Rossi Ranch Hands for the past decade. Shipping them from the factory for $1,129 undercuts a custom build that easily runs $1,500+ once you add threading, a replacement handguard, and a gunsmith fit.

The $1,129 price is aggressive for what you get, but not cheap in absolute terms. A Rossi Ranch Hand sells for $850-950 street and covers the same legal category without the modern accessories. The Bear’s Leg is the right choice for shooters who want to run a suppressor, a red dot, and a weapon light from day one, or who plan to Form 1 it into an SBR. For shooters who just want a traditional lever-action pistol to shoot .357 at the range, the Ranch Hand or Henry H006 is cheaper. For a broader look at pistol platforms under $1,200, see our pistol buying guide, or build a matching suppressed truck gun loadout in the configurator.

The value-per-dollar pick of the lineup is the H12 .357 Magnum. Four rounds, 5.75 lbs, cheap .38 Special practice ammo, and a 13.8-inch barrel that extracts serious velocity from Magnum loads. The H10 .45-70 is the better camp-and-brush gun, and the correct host if SBR conversion is the endgame. Skip the H9 .30-30 unless you specifically need caliber commonality with a rifle you already own.