In 2023, Henry made waves with the announcement of the Homesteader 9mm semi-auto rifle. With it's wood stocks and threaded barrel, it's right up my alley. Some much so, that I'm thinking of put off my Marlin 336 rifle project and buy the Homesteader around the middle to end of 2023.
My initial idea for the rifle is to use it exactly as Henry named it, the Homesteader. I have been wanting a semi-auto PCC for home defense and as we build up this farm, this rifle makes a lot of sense. Sometimes, I carry a rifle around the farm while I check trees, walk fence, clean up trash and look for small game. My primary AR is heavy with all the parts, so I'm thinking I want to keep the weight down on this one. The Marlin 1894 is light enough to do the job but I do prefer a semi-auto for real defensive use. At 6.6 pounds, the Homesteader should be easy to pretty lightweight. Even with just a red dot, it'll be pretty light. I'm thinking 9mm would be pretty great if the gun runs hollow points just fine. If that's the case, then I can use the existing Glock mags and self defense hollow points I already have.
I ran a rough calculation through a ballistic calculator for Speer Gold Dot 124 gr over at GunData.org based on values from Ballistic By the Inch with a velocity of 1379 feet per second and found that with a 50 yard zero, the rifle should be capable of minute of whistle pig (ground hog) out to 70 yards. That means you can hold the crosshairs or red dot directly on the vitals of the animal and be within 1 inch of impact. At those distances, the hollow point should still open up based on the 1100+ fps values BBTI got and from what I think the velocity envelope is for the Speer 124 gr 9mm hollow point. I have a theory that at shorter ranges, those Speer Gold Dots can take a whitetail deer. I don't know they would get out the other side of the deer on a broadside shot but I absolutely believe they would make it into the opposite side lung with a broadside shot. I'm also thinking about the Federal 147 gr HST rounds for subsonic hunting but the drop shortens the small game utility by about 5 yards. The 124 gr loads seem to be a better choice but I do like the idea of having a semi-auto rifle for subsonic shooting. I could tinker with the zero for something like 65 yards. The GunData calculator puts the bullet high of 1.09 inch at 40 yards but does give you 5 inches of drop at 100 yards. A little hold over would put that bullet into the vitals of the deer. I think maybe stick with the 50 yard zero since it's easier to work with. The 124 gr loads will be louder since they are supersonic but they do give a much flatter trajectory which would work better for small game and hunting in general. I also already a bunch in my inventory.
While I'm thinking about ammo choices, I've been looking at what options I have for general subsonic plinking. I found a few recipes with one for HS-6 and 147 gr bullets. The 147 gr bullets from GT Bullets would be a good, inexpensive choice and are generally the cheapest heavy bullets I can get. I did find a company called Bayou Bullets that does 160 gr round nose bullets for a little more money. The 160 gr RN bullets are the best choice for my AR-9. It may be time to start learning to reload for 9mm and pick up a new bottle of HS-6.
For optics, I think I want to use a low power scope. Leupold has an inexpensive 1.5-4x scope that's lightweight and a little magnification would be great for taking small game like ground hogs, rabbits and beavers. Too bad they don't make a Firedot version anymore (they used to). I'm also thinking about the Primary Arms 3x prism. The eye relief is a little short on the PA 3x scope so it may not work with the traditional layout of the Homesteader. They do have mounts that push the optic rearward. I'll have to think that one through. Experimenting with low power scopes and red dots with this rifle will be fun.
For accessories, a basic leather sling will be ideal but I reached out to Lee Mason who owns Mason Leather down in Celina Texas. He has cuffs for Mini-14 stocks to hold a 20 round magazine and stuff for 10/22's and I wanted to see if he would be making any stock cuffs for the Homesteader to hold a magazine. He said he thinks it could be easy to do but didn't note any plans. I'll see about pestering him later on.
I was blown away when I saw the first video of the Homesteader that came out of SHOT Show 2023 from TopShotDustin's Instagram page. There haven't been a huge number of guns that really caught my attention so I think this project will be a great idea and a wonderful addition to my family's inventory. All in all, I think the Homesteader is going to be an amazing rifle and that Henry has absolutely nailed it. As a plinker, this rifle should end up being inexpensive enough ammo-wise for people to be able to shoot. The recoil should be light, working well for sensitive shooters. The cartridge is substantial enough to do various work with. The caliber isn't so powerful that if you shot a big rabbit, beaver or ground hog, you'd obliterate it. The 9mm cartirdge will never be as cheap as .22 LR to shoot but .22 LR won't ethically take deer. 9mm works well as a defensive cartridge more so than a .22.
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