What's the reason for the Henry lever rifle loading from the front of the tube?

Wow.
Much ado with little substance.

Saying Henry has never wandered far from its "cheap pot metal .22 origins" is far from true.

I've had more Henrys in hand than anybody else here has, or ever will, over a period of 15+ years.
I've had their little bottom-end intro-level .22 levergun.
I've had their top-end Model 1860.
I've had their Golden Boys, their Big Boys, their special tribute editions, I've had handgun calibers, I've had .45-70s.
I've had steel rifle calibers, I've had brass rifle calibers.
I've had the Long Ranger.
I've had the new shotguns.
I've had the new single-shots.
I've had the Mare's Leg.
I've had the pump.

Henry has the widest spread of leverguns made in the US.
Henry covers the widest levergun market range in the country, from the basic beginner .22 lever on up to very nice levers in more standard production calibers & configurations than Winchester AND Marlin combined ever put out.

Pot metal?
In the 28,000-round torture test I did on a Golden Boy, two parts were replaced.
A STEEL extractor, and a STEEL locking block spring.
Sent back to the factory for evaluation & refurb as necessary after testing was done, I had already replaced the extractor myself, and the ONLY thing they said needed any replacement at all (as in nothing else worn or broken) was that busted spring.
No other unsafe wear, and the tough gold-colored finish on the receiver cover didn't even show any wear, despite all the handling with those 28,000 rounds, WITH a gloved hand because it got too hot to hold.
After all that, I bought the rifle from Henry.

Side by side shootout between a Henry Golden Boy with Zamak receiver & cover Youth & a Browning Micro BL-22 with an aluminum internal receiver.
The Henry was light years smoother, had distinctly better sights, was markedly more accurate.
I bought the Henry, returned the Browning.

A Henry brass .357 Big Boy put 3 100-yard holes inside half an inch, outshooting with iron sights several scoped boltguns I've worked with.

I thought enough of the GB platform to give a Scout Tribute version to a buddy of mine who's working on his Eagle Scout achievement.
I thought enough of the GB to give an Evil Roy model to a nephew.
I do not give friends & relatives junk guns.

All this pure unadulterated BS about Henry's "pot-metal" is flat old & totally irrelevant.
Their Zamak is produced in-house on one of the most sophisticated die-casting machines in the nation, to their formulation.

Used as Henry uses it, that Zamak functions every bit as well as steel where it needs to, and those rimfires that use it are VERY far from cheap pot metal guns.
The basic model is intended to be just that- a very basic model at a low price.

Otherwise, Henry has moved FAR beyond that little entry-level .22 levergun.

Pointless to wrangle for three pages over why the centerfire levers are tube loaders.
Imperato told me back when he brought out the first centerfire he was going to make it a tube-loader because he wanted it to be a tube-loader.
The subsequent success of his company, and the recent substantial expansion into other areas like the Long Ranger and the single-shots, are more than proof enough that the market at large is not throwing a tizzy fit over the tube-loading & shunning the company in droves.

If you don't like that set-up, don't buy it.
Go with all of the huge number of model & caliber options that Marlin & Winchester are offering right now.

Don't like the marketing verbiage?
OK.
But also consider that Imperato puts more into charity and gun rights support than any other ten gunmakers anywhere.
How many other gunmakers donated 1000 rifles for the 1000-shooter "Let Freedom Ring!" event?
How many other makers donate hundreds of thousands of dollars in support to our gun rights?
How many other gunmakers do an appearance with Daniels at a tour concert & donate $100,000 to veterans? And on the spot double that?

Cheap pot metal?
Don't like their ads?

Get down to what REALLY matters- the guns are quality, they are US-made, they are a family-owned business, they are run with an extremely customer-friendly support system, the president is deeply and actively involved, and those guns WORK!

You don't like the tube-loading, just don't buy one.
You want a levergun that's quality-made, smooth, reliable, and accurate, do buy one.
Denis

Jack B. said:

If you haven't shot it how can you judge it .Just because you dislike it
PLEASE.

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I don't have to shoot it to determine that it's:
1. Ugly as homemade sin
2. Poorly polished
3. Overweight
4. Everything about them reeks of a cheap rifle with a not-so-cheap price tag.
5. Cheap materials. I don't care how it is justified, pot metal is a cheap material that is only present on cheap guns. Period.

After all that, how it shoots is irrelevant. I'm going to buy a rifle that all those strikes against it just to see how it shoots? Seriously???

Sorry Denis but I will never see them as anything but a cheap gun. You know, kinda like how you look at Uberti.

The fact that SO MANY people are acquainted with their stellar customer service should be a red flag but for some reason, it ain't.

I'm sorry that I bought one because it's probably going to have to go back.

I see you bought one. Oh well. Guess you know.

Yeah, after all those years of turning my nose up at them, I decided to give them a chance and bought one.

It took me over a decade to get over my doubts about the Henry rimfire leverguns.
After working with so many, and not hearing any reports of the Zamak failing, I was pretty much sold.
The 28,000-round GB test clinched it.
The material used is more than up to the job, as the guns are designed.
I have no more reservations about them.

Yeah- I COULD have gone with a brand new Marlin 39, with lotsa factory support in parts & service.
I COULD have gone with a brand new Winchester 9422, with lotsa factory support in parts & service.

But, after my experiences with the torture test & the two-gun shoot-out, I sold my old 9422 & my old Marlin sits in the vault.
Both Henrys are more accurate than either, and I can easily order parts to keep 'em going from Henry.

I could also have gone with a brand new Marlin Mare's Leg as an SBR project.
Or, I could have gone with a brand new Winchester Mare's Leg as an SBR project.
But, I didn't. I got a Henry .45 Colt Mare's Leg, with a personalized serial number.

As far as the centerfires go, my only criticism of those is the weight of the brass models.
And I can either live with that, or go with steel versions.
The tube-loading is really no issue at all, for me.
It's just an alternative design feature.
Denis

I sincerely hope they do release a loading gate model in 44 magnum for a reasonable price as I will probably buy one. It will be that or an 1894. I will probably buy one of the new singe shots as well pending getting to play with one.

Stay tuned on the loading gate....
Denis

DPris said:

Stay tuned on the loading gate....
Denis

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Is it going to be a new model or did they put it on the side of the existing big boy?

Stay tuned on the loading gate.
Denis

Varminterror in post #67 you make good point with that BLR that's loads from a magazine. I had forgot about that one. But I always thought they were an ugly rifle. But a lot like them.

Post #76 Bravo Dennis. Excellent information.

fpgt72 said:

How about a nice internal magazine like on a Savage 99.

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I believe the question was for a detachable box magazine. Savage 99s are awesome rifles. I wish Istill had the 99E I bought for $250 OTD and sold for $500 a few weeks later.

We have 2 Savage 99s, 2 Marlins, 1 Winchester and 1 Henry. For quality, the Savages are hard to beat; one was made about 1901 and the other in the 1950s. The Marlins are pre-Remington and the Winchester is a Big Bore 94. The Henry has to be right near the Savage for quality and they both are a little better than the Marlins and the Winchester. I like them all but the Henry is much more forgiving for OAL and handles a wider range of rounds length. The Henry's simple, closed system with the tube loading just works over a very broad range of cartridge length and the solid sides make for a strong action.

Unless you live in California, where the anti-semi-automatic rifle frenzy continues, lever-action rifles for self-defense are not an optimum choice. Since self-defense issues are off the table, the side-gate vs. tube loading debate isn't critical. Most lever-action rifles are used for plinking or short-range hunting. I like my Henry model 001 .22 lever action and I was very fond of my Marlin 1894 in .44 mag (even if it did make my right forefinger hurt a little) which I foolishly sold. I like both kinds of lever-actions.

The ability to quickly reload through a side port in a running gun battle belongs, for 99% of the levergun-buying population, on the movie screen.

In a hunting scenario, it's completely irrelevant.
In a defensive scenario against critters, if you've run dry on a charging bear without stopping it, you can direct-chamber-load in a Henry for another quick shot, without going through the mag tube at all, just as easily as you can with a port-loader.

As far as the "cheaper to manufacture" goes- Internally, the adaptations to the guts required to match up with a port loading system would be no more expensive than a tube loading mechanism.
Cutting a loading port hole wouldn't add any real expense.
The trombone tube mag is actually more expensive to manufacture than a conventional tube mag.
You have an entire removable tube section in the Henry that you don't have in a conventional port loader.

The tube loading was done because Imperato wanted to do it that way.
It offers no practical impediment to hunting, range plinking, or defense against large critters.
It IS much easier on the "loading" thumb.
It's simply different.
An alternative.
Nothing more, nothing less.
If you can't tolerate "different", then go elsewhere.
Denis

Arguing over whether a Henry should have tube or side gate loading is like arguing over whether an ugly girl is right or left handed. Who cares, she's still butt ugly.

Here, I fixed your last post:

DPris said:

Wow.

Henry has the widest spread of ugly leverguns made in the US.
Henry covers the widest and ugliest levergun market range in the country, from the basic homely beginner .22 lever on up to very butt ugly levers in more standard production calibers & configurations than Winchester AND Marlin combined ever put out, (This is easily explained since John M. Browning designed the majority of Winchester's lever and pump guns and he simply had a better sense of style and design. There is no explanation for Marlin, since they are the original unattractive lever gun.)

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Life is just too short to own ugly firearms.

Ratshooter said:

Varminterror in post #67 you make good point with that BLR that's loads from a magazine. I had forgot about that one. But I always thought they were an ugly rifle. But a lot like them.

Post #76 Bravo Dennis. Excellent information.

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We already have "The BLR is Ugly" thread running about half way down the page

Well I do go elsewhere...henry gets none of my money....thing is they have the market a bit to themselves....cashing in on the made in america craze they have it made.

Me thinks if another company pulled its head out and made a good lever gun in a way that all lever guns got made after the 1860's they will sell like hot cakes.

fpgt72 said:

Me thinks if another company pulled its head out and made a good lever gun in a way that all lever guns got made after the 1860's they will sell like hot cakes.

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Ah but there's the rub. Not everyone feels a single point (loading gate) outweighs poor QC, ill fitting, and rough internals. If my aunt were a man she'd be my uncle but until then I still se Henry as a valid option and so do many others.

Discounting all that's been noted in this thread to claim Henry buyers are so obtuse that they're falling in love with a Made in Merica sticker is without merit.

Bushpilot said:

In my opinion, HRA is a company built on copying other guns, not designing them. When they started their business they did it by resurrecting a lever action .22 that Ithaca used to import from West Germany. When that turned into a success and they came out with their Big Boy, it immediately reminded me of a fat, highly simplified, Marlin 1894 with a front loading tube mag. Not too close to the Marlin to be obvious, but you could tell they had a Marlin in mind when they were roughing it out. Then, when they came out with their "Large Rifle" and lever action shotguns, that clinched it. Now it seemed like they really were unabashedly copying Marlin. The "Large Rifle" is very, very similar to a Marlin 336, with out the loading gate. Look at the bolt, extractor, the receiver, the location of screws in the receiver. All way too similar. The US AR-7 survival rifle is a copy of an earlier gun. The so-called "Original" Henry Rifle," of course is a copy. So, back to why did HRA use a front loading tube, I'm guessing they did it to keep it simple, cheap and not look too much like a Marlin..... Just my opinion mind you but look at it then decide for yourself...

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Assuming this is what happened, how is it any different than companies who primarily make 1911s, AR-15s, or Glock-esque pistols? Or every Mauser-98-style bolt action rifle?

It isn't.
At all.

People will cheerfully buy 1911s from a couple dozen makers, without ever a squawk from anybody about those makers borrowing, stealing, or copying.

All the Italian leverguns from '60, '66, '73, to '86 and '92 are "borrowed".
What difference does it make with Henry?

You either find the product useful, or you don't.
It either appeals FOR WHAT IT IS & DOES, or it doesn't.
If it doesn't, go elsewhere.

These peripheral manufactured non-issues get old.
Denis

Skylerbone said:

Ah but there's the rub. Not everyone feels a single point (loading gate) outweighs poor QC, ill fitting, and rough internals. If my aunt were a man she'd be my uncle but until then I still se Henry as a valid option and so do many others.

Discounting all that's been noted in this thread to claim Henry buyers are so obtuse that they're falling in love with a Made in Merica sticker is without merit.

Click to expand...

And there is the other rub.....I said GOOD.

So make a GOOD rifle with a gate and I bet you would see henry come out with one in very short order.

Reeding iz hard fer somz.

My reading is fine despite your personal slight. Still waiting on what makes all Henry rifles "not good".

To date the list is:
"I want a loading gate so I can top off rounds"
"I want a loading gate because I'm a 'traditionalist'"
"I want a loading gate because despite pinching my thumb constantly, it's safer than being near the muzzle"
"Henry rifles are ugly to me"
"Some Henry rifles weigh 1/2 pound more than my ____"

I realize there are bull headed people who will not be swayed, and I'll point that out next time I see them write "Only accurate rifles are interesting" as if they bought into the mantra. I say if the thing don't work we'll never know and I have less patience or spare time to correct poor machining and driftwood. Besides, the threads been so derailed by filler as to have garnered us nothing unique or useful.

I LOVE my Henry lever rimfires, they have been trouble free and a joy to shoot.

I don't want/need another CF lever gun, BUT as soon as Henry gets their single shot on the market chambered in 30-30, I AM going to buy one...

I "may" even buy a second one, "if" they chamber it in 35 Remington?

DM

I don't currently have a lever gun, but I'm casually in the market for one in 357 Magnum (ie, when finances permit). The Henry is at the top of the list for me.

Why I like it:

1. By all accounts, it has a smoother action then competitors.

2. By all accounts, it cycles 38 special better than many competitors.

3. By all accounts, it's quite accurate with 357 Magnum.

4. It's relatively cheap, especially compared to a Winchester.

What I don't care about:

1. It's "traditional"-ish but isn't historically accurate? So what, neither is my SP101.

2. No loading gate for topping off? So what, I'm not buying it to be a defensive firearm for extended gunfights.

3. Hand gets near the muzzle? No nearer than when reloading a snubnose revolver or racking a subcompact pistol. I'm not worried.

What bothers me

1. "Big Boy" is the second dumbest trademark in firearms after Springfield Armory's "Grip Zone."

When I bought my Henry I didn't know anything about them. Just happened to pick one up at the gun shop and instantly fell for the octagon barrel and brass receiver and it was a very good looking lever gun and hey this thing shoots 44 Magnum and I already have a couple of revolvers in 44 magnum and reload for them. My only question I had was , how much do I owe you. I guess I'm old fashioned because that octagon barrel and brass receiver sold me. Then I found out later how smooth it is and accurate it is. Just felt like I got lucky and stumbled upon something good. Didn't know till later about the American made hype.