Gate vs Tube

I think both methods have their advantages and disadvantages...

Tubes unload quicker without running each round through the action, and are arguably safer to unload at the end of the hunt.

Gates load easier and quicker with less fussing around and for lack of a better phrase, partially dismantling your rifle.

I find gates more attractive to my eye on the receiver of a lever rifle. It completes the look.

My personal preference favors the gate. But I do appreciate a nice Henry, my father has a Henry 30-30 brass and it is very well made, and pretty to look at. But I do notice that the fit and finish is not quite as refined as a Winchester where the steel meets the wood. By no means a piece of junk though...

I have a circa 1980 Winchester 94 Big Bore 375, and it is very well made with very good fit and finish.

Next two lever rifles I get will be a new Winchester 1892 Short Rifle in 44mag and a new 1886 Short Rifle. I don't care a rip that they are made in Japan, they know how to build quality. And I have seen next to nothing bad said about them by their owners in terms of function or form. I will buy a Miroku Winchester with confidence.
 
Right now the front runner is a Henry H009B mainly because the Model 94 Winchester is a whopping $1200
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Why when a Marlin 336 is around $400 NIB? Cheaper when on sale.

I've never had a loading gate twist loose, and release the magazine spring tension, or fall out of the gun. Can't say the same about rimfires, or bolt shotguns I've had with removable tubes.
 
I HATE GATES.when firing my .357 rifle, a few rounds in, my fingers are cut up and something bleeding.
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If you are pinching and cutting your fingers on a loading gate, you aren't doing it right. Even fat fingers won't get pinched if you do it right. Although I admit to not doing it right sometimes my self, and sometimes get pinched.

To "do it right" don't push the rounds in with your fingers, use the next round to puss it all the way in. When the tube is full, the last round goes back in the box.

Tube in tube mag ok for rimfires, had them as a kid. My grown up self today likes the 10/22 mags. ;)

Marlin and Winchester, loading gates, I know. Never had a Henry, sorry.

$1200 for a Winchester 94 that isn't a rare collector variant is just BARKING STUPID, and if you pay that, you have $1200 more to waste than I do...

There are MILLIONS of Win 94s, literally, over 6 million I think, maybe more than that. I realize money ain't worth what it used to be but that price (and willingly paying it) is foolish to me.
 
I also feel that a gate is pleasing to the eye, along with the square breech bolt of an old Marlin, or newer 1894.
 
You have to put the butt end on the ground, pull out the follower and find someplace to stash that so it wont get any dirt/moisture on it so as not to ruin your tube or action. Once that is done, then you need to point the muzzle in a safe direction for all (including yourself), then one by one, drop live cartridges down on top of each other. Even with a clear chamber, IF (big if) a round went off in the tube, it will act somewhat like a barrel. You either have one or more projectiles coming out the tube or you have the tube blowing out and possibly making contact with your... legs?
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Good God, if that's how I had to reload my lever gun I wouldn't do it either . . .
 
That guy had much bigger problems than the rifles loading gate. Sounds like a real bad ammunition problem to me. Could he have had pointed bullets loaded in the magazine?
 
Doing some googling/searching to try to find some instances of a tube mag type gun detonating. I've found a couple of references to the 45-70 incident (using a Marlin) but involved "custom" Buffalo Bore loads. Other hits generally reference warnings to not use pointy bullets--which as far as I know is true of both tube and gate guns.

I can't find a single instance of a Henry tube lever gun detonation in the magazine tube that is strictly the fault of the tube--does anyone know of a documented one?
 
The "tube" makes the rifle look like an obese 22.
My experience with "out the front" tube loading magazines is narrow and probably a poor example but have stuck with me for 50 years. My teenage hunting buddy had an old J C Higgins 22 with a tube mag. I have no idea how far we walked on several occasions looking for his mag follower. He liked to carry his rifle muzzle down because he'd seen some one on a movie do it that way. I did too but my rifle was a Nylon 66 with the tube magazine in the butt.
I'm simply not much of a "tube magazine" guy and having a separate follower doesn't make things more appealing.
 
I don't need either a tube or a gate, when it comes to lever guns I'll keep my Savage 99 F (Feather weight) model in 300 Savage caliber, a darn good rifle caliber at that.

With it's shorter slimmer barrel it's light and fast to handle, carries good in a saddle scabbard, five rounds in a rotary magazine, it's easy to load and no need to unload as you can just push down on the top round and send the bolt home on an empty chamber, the safety locks the lever so you have no problem with the lever flopping open.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
. . . it's easy to load and no need to unload as you can just push down on the top round and send the bolt home on an empty chamber . . .
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Little known, but easily done, is the fact that if you don't want a round in the chamber of your Model 1892 or 1894 Winchester (or clone) and your 1860, 1866, or 1873 Winchester (or clone) you don't have to empty the tube. Simply cycle the lever to open the chamber, then push the round on the lifter down below the bolt, and close the bolt on an empty chamber. I do it on my 2 Rossi 357mags and both my Uberti 1866 and 1873 45Colts as well as my Mossberg 464 30-30 all the time.

As to the tube vs loading gate question the OP raised, I feel that tipping the muzzle up to load the tube is far more dangerous than pointing the muzzle down and away from you to load through the side loading gate. With the side loading gate, you can point the muzzle down and away in a safe direction. On the other hand, it is impossible to load a Henry with the muzzle pointing down and away from the shooter and therefore it is inherently more dangerous to load it as the muzzle must be pointed in an unsafe direction; gravity demands it.

I teach muzzle control as one of the 4 basic tenets of shooting and purposely pointing the muzzle in the direction of anyone is unacceptable for me. Whether loading or unloading a side loading gate rifle, the muzzle can always be pointed down and away from people, out of danger while the Henry cannot and that is why I won't ever consider a Henry centerfire without a side loading gate. YMMV
 
Howdy

I have been shooting my Dad's old Winchester Model '06 since he gave it to me about 50 years ago. With a rifle like this, there is no need to totally remove the magazine insert in order to load it. You simply pull the insert forward enough to be clear of the loading slot on the bottom of the magazine. The insert will still be about halfway in the magazine. Tilt the rifle slightly so the rounds will naturally slide down the tube, then push the insert back in and twist it to lock it. Simple, and you don't have to put your hand over the muzzle. Guns like this were used in shooting galleries for many years, if they were dangerous we would have heard about it.

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Same with the Model 1890.

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And the Model 61.

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The 1860 Henry is a horse of a different color. You pull the follower tab all the way forward until the barrel sleeve assembly unlatches. Then you rotate it 45 degrees exposing the end of the magazine for loading.

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You NEVER drop rounds straight down the tube, I always tilt the gun a few degrees and allow the rounds to trickle down the tube one at a time. And you NEVER lose control of the follower when you close the magazine up. You ALWAYS maintain control of it and gently lower the follower onto the stack of cartridges. NEVER allow the follower to slam down onto a stack of cartridges in the magazine. Yes, bad things have happened when these precautions are not followed, even with flat point bullets.

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Side loading gates are easy. No need to scrape your fingers. Push in the first round and find the sweet spot where friction keeps it partway in the gate. Don't push it all the way in, use a thumb to hold it in place. Then just use each succeeding round to push the last one all the way in. Only with the very last round do you have to shove it all the way in, possibly endangering your fingers. I have about seven or eight lever guns with side loading gates, 38-40, 44-40, 30-30. I never scrape my fingers loading them.

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Only with the very last round do you have to shove it all the way in, possibly endangering your fingers.
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You can, but you don't have to. Simply use another round. IF the tube holds 5, use #6 to push #5 all the way in, and then put #6 back in the box for the next time.
 
You can, but you don't have to. Simply use another round. IF the tube holds 5, use #6 to push #5 all the way in, and then put #6 back in the box for the next time.
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Hey that's a good idea. I know about some of these tricks but my dexterity is not up for it working most of the time (and I used to play piano). My thumb always winds up sore and sometimes cut after 50 rounds of 357/41/44/44-40/45 Colt whereas the tube is all gain and no pain.
 
You can, but you don't have to. Simply use another round. IF the tube holds 5, use #6 to push #5 all the way in, and then put #6 back in the box for the next time.
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When my wife was shooting CAS with me one of my friends made up a nice wooden 'ammo pusher' for her so she wouldn't split her lovely fingernails when loading her rifle. She was shooting a Marlin and could never quite get the knack of getting the angle just right with each round as it went into the loading gate. She found this very frustrating. So my friend made up a nice 'ammo pusher' on his lathe from a piece of cherry. She used it all the time.
 
Nuttin wrong with the tube. It worked on all my .22's growing up and works fine on my Big Boy Steel .357 mag. Now I'm just saving for my .41 Mag, can't wait for that.
 
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