After going about 10 years without a lever action (sold two Marlins, one in .30-30 and one in .41Mag) the Henry's are bringing me back. Have a .41Mag on order. I like the .41Mag more than the .357, but it was a hard choice with the .357 having a side gate. I'd certainly pick a Henry with a side gate if I was getting a .357 Mag.
Lever advice
- Thread starter chris in va
- Start date
stagpanther
New member
We expect a full report.
44caliberkid
New member
How do the Henry and the Rossi compare? For a .357 specifically, the Rossi (or any other Winchester 92 or replica 92) will be substantially smaller, lighter, and with that, faster handling, in theory. The Henry is a substantial chunk of steel, and in 41 or 44, I find them awesome. But a lot of heavy metal there in 357, but recoil is probably like a .22.
FoghornLeghorn
New member
Side gate came later. The original configuration was loading from the muzzle end of the gun.
But it's also true that topping off a partially loaded gun could be risky in the heat of battle/hunting.
FoghornLeghorn
New member
I have both iterations.
The side gate allows the shooter to top off the gun with more bullets without putting his hands near the muzzle (of a loaded gun). On the con side, I've gotten owies from loading side gates. Especially in cold weather.
The side gate allows the shooter to top off the gun with more bullets without putting his hands near the muzzle (of a loaded gun). On the con side, I've gotten owies from loading side gates. Especially in cold weather.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Ask and ye shall receive.
The 1860 Henry rifle (not to be confused with modern rifles made by a company claiming to be descended from that rifle) had the barrel and magazine formed from one solid bar of steel. The magazine follower had a tab that extended down through a slot that ran the length of the magazine. The tab can be seen extending down below the magazine in this photo of my 'iron frame' Uberti 1860 Henry replica. (Originals usually go for six figures and ammunition for them is not made anymore anyway) Every time a round was stripped from the magazine by working the lever, the follower jumped back the length of a cartridge as it shoved the column of cartridges in the magazine back. The slot at the underside of the magazine, and the motion of the follower tab in it, made it impractical for the Henry rifle to have a wooden fore stock.
To reload one grasped the tab of the follower and pulled it all the way forward, compressing the magazine spring all the way. Once the spring was completely compressed and the follower was clear of the end of the magazine, the 'false muzzle', for want of a better word, was rotated about 45 degrees or so to one side, exposing the end of the magazine. Fresh cartridges could then be inserted into the end of the magazine. When done loading, the shooter grabbed the follower and rotated the false muzzle back to its normal position. This allowed the follower to realign with the slot, and the false muzzle to be latched in the normal position again. Under combat conditions, an assist from gravity was needed for the fresh cartridges to slide down the magazine, so loading prone from a concealed position could be problematic, the shooter needed to stand to allow the cartridges to fall down the magazine with the help of gravity.
It should be noted here a that it is NOT recommended to load a replica of the 1860 Henry, chambered for centerfire cartridges, vertically, with the rounds falling down the magazine under the acceleration of gravity. The original 1860 Henry was chambered for a rimfire 44 caliber cartridge. There was no danger of the pointy end of a bullet hitting the rim of a cartridge falling onto it and igniting the primer. That is not the case with the centerfire 44-40 and 45 Colt cartridges that the modern replicas are chambered for. While it is unlikely a primer will fall hard enough onto a bullet to ignite the primer, if the tab of the follower slips out of the hand of the shooter while he is closing the false muzzle, the magazine spring will accelerate it back with a great deal of force. Yes, there have been instances of cartridges firing in the magazine when a follower slipped out of the hand of the shooter. Hard to believe with the flat nosed bullets we always load into our rifles, but I am here to tell you it has happened. That is the reason there is a rubber insert in the follower, to lessen its impact in case the follower slips out of the shooter's hand while he is loading.
In CAS we load our firearms while standing at the 'loading table'. My technique with my Henry is to turn the rifle upside down, so the magazine follower and slot are easy to grasp. With the muzzle pointed away from me in a safe direction I pull the follower all the way forward and unlatch the false muzzle so I can feed rounds into the open end of the magazine. I tilt the rifle at a slight angle so the rounds can 'trickle' down the magazine gently, I never allow them to fall with the full acceleration of gravity. I also carefully wrap my left hand around the barrel and magazine almost all the way at the front of the magazine, while loading with my right hand. The point is, if the false muzzle should accidentally close while I am loading, the follower will be free to jump back with great force and slam into the rounds already loaded in the magazine. The fewer rounds that have been loaded, the more space the spring will have to accelerate the follower violently back. That is why I wrap my left hand around the barrel and magazine. The follower tab will slap against my hand, preventing it from moving any further. Yes, it will hurt, but it is better than rounds firing in the magazine.
Oliver Winchester, who was the chief investor in the New Haven Arms Company, which made the 1860 Henry, tried to get government contracts to purchase the Henry rifle during the Civil War, but he was largely unsuccessful. A few Union Army regiments did buy the rifles, but Winchester was not successful in procuring a major contract to provide the rifle to the Army. One of the complaints was the open slot under the magazine allowing dirt and other debris into the mechanism which could possibly disable the arm. Yes, it was the 1866 Winchester that first employed the Kings Patent side loading gate. Winchester had renamed the company after a dispute with Benjamin Tyler Henry, the designer of the rifle. Winchester renamed the company the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, and the Winchester Model 1866, sometimes called the Improved Henry, was the first product. The side loading gate made the slot under the magazine, and the protruding follower tab obsolete. This also allowed a fore stock to be added to the rifle. In addition, the barrel and magazine were no longer formed from a solid bar of steel, the magazine was made from a thin walled tube hung under the barrel. This reduced the weight of the rifle by about a pound.
I can tell you, firing a magazine full of Black Powder 44-40 cartridges from my Henry on a hot summer day, the steel barrel/magazine gets too hot to hold and I always wear a glove on my left hand when playing cowboy in the summer.
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