I owned a Henry "survival" rifle (aka AR-7) for several months before selling it. I had horrible luck trying to get it to run reliability. It was very finicky on ammo and always had FTF and FTE issues.

I highly recommend a Ruger 10/22 with several of the new Ruger BX-25 magazines. They are rock solid. If you want something more compact take a look at the new take-down 10/22.