Lever-action rifles continue to enjoy increased popularity, presenting today’s riflemen with more choices than ever. With those choices comes nuance and performance. A fun rifle that advances the modern lever action is the Special Products Division (SPD) Henry Ultimate Suppressor Host (HUSH). The SPD HUSH combines classic lever-action design with cutting-edge materials and accessories to give the lever-gun enthusiast a light yet fully featured rifle.
Party Up Front
The SPD HUSH is Henry’s best effort at creating a lever-action rifle ideally suited to suppressor use. When viewed through that lens, the components used in this configuration make a lot of sense. The short carbon-fiber barrel cuts weight out front because a suppressor adds both weight and length. Henry decided it might as well get in front of the challenge by trimming as much weight and length from the barrel as possible. Also unique to the SPD HUSH is the M-Lok aluminum forend. It is light and hugs the barrel contour, keeping the forend’s girth to a minimum. The resulting combination is a rifle that feels heavier in the buttstock without a suppressor attached. Install a suppressor, though, and it balances like a traditional rifle.
The barrel on the SPD HUSH is made by BSF Barrels, a Wisconsin company that specializes in carbon fiber. Shooting a bunch of rounds quickly through a carbon-fiber-wrapped barrel results in a lot of heat, as any other. The concern for years has been that the difference in thermal expansion between steel and carbon fiber could, or would, lead to the carbon fiber delaminating from the steel. I think this problem was solved long ago because I’ve never seen a carbon-fiber-wrapped barrel from a quality manufacturer delaminate, even at shooting matches where barrels go through several hot/cold cycles across several days.
BSF doesn’t wrap carbon fiber around the barrel as other manufacturers do, but instead uses a carbon-fiber sleeve that barely touches the barrel. BSF preferred to leave internal channels and cavities that allow air to flow around the steel while also using their sleeve like a tensioner. I like the idea of giving the barrel a better chance to breathe, but what I really like about BSF barrels I’ve tested in the past was their accuracy. I think BSF barrels last as long as every other carbon fiber barrel, but it’s less expensive and is as accurate in the three or four models I’ve used. I think the BSF barrel was a wise choice for the Henry rifle because it doesn’t drive the price sky-high. It’s accurate and shaves a lot of weight from the muzzle end of the rifle. These are all great contributions for a rifle that is meant to host a suppressor.
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The BSF barrel on the SPD HUSH is also unique because it has a steel band midway down the barrel that allows for attachment of the M-Lok handguard. This requires the barrel to have two tensioning sleeves, but accuracy was still excellent for this rifle. G&A’s test gun was chambered in .44 Special/.44 Magnum and had a muzzle threaded at 5/8×24. Henry uses a 5/8x24 thread on all of its HUSH rifles, simplifying the suppressor attachment effort by using the most common thread pattern.
The M-Lok handguard is made by TAPCO and shows fine workmanship. For those who are decisively into middle age or older, this is not the TAPCO of 15 years ago. Today’s TAPCO has a narrow and focused product portfolio with an official name of “The American Parts Company.” When testing various handguards for the SPD HUSH, Henry sampled nearly all forends. TAPCO reportedly beat the competition by a wide margin. The TAPCO handguard fits the rifle well, allowing users to attach sling mounting points or lights where desired. It is also comfortable in the hand and exhibits excellent machining with no sharp edges. The handguard is lighter than Henry’s polymer handguard, and was selected for its ergonomics, rigidity and light weight.
There will undoubtedly be the temptation to attach a bipod to this forend for accuracy testing, a practice that I discourage on any lever-action rifle. Lever-action rifles shoot best when the entire forend is supported by a bag, spreading the load evenly across its length. Using a bipod puts a point load near the muzzle of the barrel, making consistency difficult from one shot to another. I’ve had a lever rifle struggle to group well with a bipod but shoot just fine once the bipod is removed.
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Business in the Back
Everything from the receiver on back is traditional Henry manufacturing. The receiver is machined from forged steel and incorporates all of the best practices seen in lever-action rifles through the decades. The receiver is enclosed up top and uses a round bolt to create as strong an action as possible.
The receiver design, material, and forging all combine for a robust rifle. Henry chambers some of its rifles with this receiver type in .360 Buckhammer, which has a maximum chamber pressure of 50,000 pounds per square inch (psi). While this specific receiver is too short for the Buckhammer cartridge, it has the same materials and design, and is capable of handling similar pressure. Any factory-loaded .44 Special of .44 Magnum ammunition is likely going to be fine in the SPD HUSH, to include the offerings from Buffalo Bore, Double Tap and Grizzly. I don’t think anyone is loading .44 Magnum ammunition above 50,000 psi.
Safety is also a priority for the folks at Henry. The two-piece firing pin only aligns when the lever is fully closed, preventing an out-of-battery discharge. Henry was thoughtful enough to do away with unsightly and unnecessary crossbolt or tang safeties, abominations in the eyes of our ancestors but a common scourge in today’s lawyer-fearing society. Instead, Henry used an internal transfer bar safety that prevents firing unless the trigger is held down the entire time the hammer falls. There is no half-cock on the SPD HUSH.
Like other Henry levers, the SPD HUSH can be loaded through the loading gate or through the underbarrel magazine tube. I like the idea of easy unloading and would prefer loading through the tube on lengthy range days. The loading gate worked well, but it took more deliberate effort to use the gate than the tube.
The test rifle was chambered in .44 Magnum/.44 Special, and it cycled loads in these two cartridges with equal ease. Accuracy was excellent and akin to other premium lever-action rifles.
When I called Henry to discuss this rifle’s provenance, I also inquired about the quality control. Henry rifles receive some inspection before being boxed up and shipped off. However, SPD HUSH rifles have an additional detailed inspection of the barrel and bore where critical dimensions are checked. The forend also receives additional verification. When these steps are complete, the individual doing the inspection stamps the rifle’s paperwork with a unique mark. The mark confirms who checked the parts, should the rifle ever need factory service.
I spoke with George Thompson, Henry’s director of products, when gathering information for this review. One observation he mentioned that bears sharing is how significantly manufacturing has changed in the last 10 years, which allows rifle manufacturers to craft details consistently that were not possible before. The SPD HUSH is a prime example. Even if we overlook the advanced BSF barrel, and all the complex shapes of the handguard, we still have a rifle made from precision-machined parts that is far more consistent and smoother than hand-fit lever guns of yesteryear. This means the rifle found in the local gun shop will likely perform identically to the one seen on these pages.
The SPD HUSH from Henry is a unique rifle designed for today’s suppressor and rifleman. It’s a growing demographic. The lever-action rifle offers fast follow-up shots while still remaining as quiet as any bolt-action rifle when suppressed. All of the chamberings in the HUSH are available with factory-loaded subsonic ammunition, making this a fast-shooting and nearly silent rifle. When unsuppressed, it is a light lever gun that puts most of the weight in the rear and close to the shooter’s body. That makes it easy to shoot offhand. While excelling in the niche for which it was designed, the SPD HUSH is a high-tech rifle at home in any lever-action enthusiast’s hands.
Henry Repeating Arms SPD HUSH
- Type: Lever action
- Cartridge: .44 Mag./.44 Spl. (tested), .357 Mag./.38 Spl., .45 Colt, .30-30 Win., .45-70 Gov’t
- Capacity: 7 rds.
- Barrel: 16.5 in.; 1:16-in. twist
- Length: 34.3 in.
- Weight: 6 lbs.,15 oz.
- Stock: American hardwood laminate
- Length of Pull: 14 in.
- Finish: Matte blue (steel), anodized (aluminum)
- Sights: None; optic rail, incl.
- Trigger: 6 lbs., 8 oz. (tested)
- Safety: Transfer bar
- MSRP: $1,999
- Manufacturer: Henry Repeating Arms, 866-200-2354, henryusa.com
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