An iconic American firearm honors the US Border Patrol

In 1860, Benjamin Tyler Henry patented the Henry repeating lever-action rifle. A breakthrough in firepower, the Henry's use by some Union soldiers in the Civil War made an impression on Confederate officer John Mosby, who called it “that damn Yankee rifle that can be loaded on Sunday and fired all week.”

In 1996 in Brooklyn, New York, Louis Imperato and his son Anthony resurrected the Henry name for their own line of lever-action firearms. Twenty-eight years later, Henry Repeating Arms is the largest domestic manufacturer of this iconic American design. With factories in New Jersey and Wisconsin, Henry serves the hunting, home defense, and sporting needs of its customers while honoring its motto, “Made in America, or Not Made at All.”

It's fitting, then, that Henry should pay tribute to the men and women who keep our borders secure, especially at a time when incoherent immigration policy has made their jobs that much harder. For the U.S. Border Patrol's 100th anniversary, Henry has issued two different, officially licensed tribute edition rifles, available to active-duty, retired, and former Border Patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection employees at a factory-direct discount.

A part of each sale goes to support the the Border Patrol Museum and Memorial Library Foundation, which relies exclusively on donations for its funding.

"Our company has been a longtime supporter of law enforcement going back to when our founders worked behind the the counter of a gun shop in Little Italy selling firearms to NYPD officers," company spokesman Daniel Clayton-Luce tells Align.

That would be downtown New York City's storied John Jovino Gun Shop. Opened in 1911, Jovino's was the oldest gun shop in the country before it closed in 2020, a casualty of the lockdowns and rising rents. The Imperato family bought the business in the 1920s. Both Louis, who died in 2007, and his son Anthony worked for the family business, which also included a gun factory in Brooklyn.

William Bell

According to Clayton-Luce, the response from consumers has been enthusiastic. He cited a retired Border Patrol chief who bought both rifles and sent a photograph displaying them with his Border Patrol hat and patch.

For those not affiliated with the Border Patrol, Henry offers a wide range of other fine lever-action rifles, shotguns, and pistols.

In Clayton-Luce's opinion, one of the strengths of a lever-action rifle is its versatility: "We have this theme called 'Protect and Provide,' meaning that [with a Henry lever-action firearm] you can protect your family and property and provide food for your table."