Yes I own one and yes I have shot it and Yes I have watched others attempt to load it. If you examine the procedure to load it, not just where the port is, you'll see my point.
The knurled nut you turn to release the tube is just below the muzzle, then the tube must be extended approx. 15 inches PAST THE MUZZLE. As the human hand is rather large and the tube is attached to the bottom of the barrel directly, when you pull the tube out your hand is in front of the muzzle.
The next move this rifle lends itself to during loading if there is no bench to lay it on is holding it between your knees while holding the tube out with one hand and trying to put rounds in with the other, or cradling the rifle upside down in your weakhand arm pointed off to the side.
I'm wondering if YOU'VE ever shot one. How you can dispute the muzzle sweep when pulling the tube out is beyond me, Mr.100% wrong.