Henry sidegate possibility?

J

Jacket67

New member
Hey TFL,

With Henry now beginning to release rifles with sideloading gates, do any of you think it would be possible to contact Henry about milling one in to my current rifle? It would be a really great service that I feel could be very lucrative for them, but just didn't know if it was already a thing or if it's even mechanically possible.

I absolutely love my Henry and feel it is more superior of a rifle than my Marlin 336, but having a loading gate added would make it even that much better. Best of both worlds.
 
You can always ask. Worst they can do is say no. My guess is that's what they'll say though. As awesome as it would be if they could do that, if that was an option, everybody would just send in their old rifles and not buy the new one with the side gate.
I had the same idea for the Ruger Mark III pistol: to send it in and get a modification to where you can take it apart as fast as the Mark IV. Same thing though. Can't sell the new product if you are able to update the old product at lower cost.
 
That's very true, I did not consider that. I do still think there would be a good market for it given the people like me who already have a rifle they love but would like the new addition.
 
Almost anything can be done, but whether it can be done at a price people will pay is another matter.

Converting an existing Henry to gate loading would literally require remanufacture of part of the receiver, and some internal parts.

Cartridge stops, and perhaps the lifter (carrier) would have to have the clearance to load rounds past them through the gate. Their shape and location in the receiver might have to be changed. There's more involved than just cutting a port in the receiver and fitting a spring loaded cover.

Tooling set up for a conversion would have to be designed, and possibly new parts, as there's no guarantee that the parts used in the new loading gate models could be used in a conversion.

Add to this the cost to the factory of tooling being used doing the conversion is not making new guns.

Its quite possible the cost to the company to design and do a conversion would exceed the cost of a new gate model rifle.

AND, the company would have to charge enough for the conversion to not only cover the costs, but also to make a degree of profit.

If it turns out to be something that can be done easily enough to be profitable at a cost the market will bear, some other company will set up to do it, once they know there is a market.

Other than that, you might possibly find a "mad machinist" willing to take on the project as a one off, simply for its technical challenge (and, of course, some cash). Sometimes that's how a new company get into the business, the fellow who figures out how to do it, for your gun, might go on and sell the service to others.

Probably the most practical thing is to get one of the gate models with as many of the features of the originals that you like, as possible.

Good Luck.
 
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