Tube loaders?

Almost any issue involving durability between the two is negligible. Outer tubes of either one should be steel, both will be mounted to action and barrel well. If there were any genuine concerns about breakage of the follower it would be shipped with a flexible one. Since the Henry has a loading slot, if there were concerns about losing the follower, a dead simple lip on the road and retaining bolt on the tube would lock it in place.

Judging by my own tube fed rifles, gated and otherwise, I can see no concerns for either system, they are both subject to the same damage, both have the same strengths.

We could look at tube fed shotguns, and notice that for a variety of reasons, they are all gated. That brings up one of the only benefits that I have ever seen for a gated magazine. A person can sit on a duck blind, fire one of three rounds, and replace that round with minimal hand movement, leaving the gun in place.
 
They use tubes on the Henrys for the sake of tradition, just like on their old rifles. They have been making the same design for over 150 years.
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The Henry Arms Co. was founded in 1996. The original Henry was made by the New Haven Arms Co. later Winchester Repeating Arms Co. There is no connection between the two altho they would like you to believe there is.
 
So I guess my question is 1. are the tubes on Henry's durable and does the spring in the tube hold up to very frequent use?
2. Does the tube get loose and pop out easily when there is only one or two rounds left in the magazine?
3. And finally are there ANY other side eject gate loaders out there I can get in .44?
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1. I'm sure it does otherwise you'd read allot of belly aching.

2. I highly doubt it. I assume there made to last a lifetime.

3. The last {side eject} lever 44 Mag I seen. A discontinued Ruger model 96. Got to shoot one once. I wasn't impressed.
 
Do I want to jam my pistol rounds, with my big fingers, through that tiny gate? NO! That causes pain.
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We've all done it, but if you pinch your finger in the loading gate of a lever gun, its because you did it wrong. ;)

The "right " way is simple, easy, and almost universally overlooked. Use ANOTHER CARTRIGE to put the round beyond the loading gate, NOT you fingers!!

I believe that the 94 is a side eject.
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Lets settle this, it is not more complicated than it sounds. The model 94 is a TOP EJECT, always has been. The change to the Angle Eject model, only changed the angle the cases come out of the top.

The Marlin is a SIDE eject. It has a solid top.
 
human error

Yes, most of my earlier comments are connected in some fashion to human error. Stuff happens. Stupid stuff happens. I've done some stupid things, and will likely do some more before I'm done. Sometimes stupid things and it is not your fault, but you are still stuck with the consequences.

A detachable magazine system of any kind is a liability of sorts. Surley all have seen repeating firearms for sale here and there "w/ no magazine". It happens. It takes only a bit of creativity to create a scenario where a tube mag gets separated from its rifle, then lost or damaged.

For total reliability, especially when the lever rifle was cutting edge, an integral mag eliminates the possibility of human error, basically, the design regards the mag defeats stupidity. I believe Browning/Marlin saw this and designed accordingly. The sliding tube faded from the scene on serious rifles, till the "New Henry" resurrected the idea.
 
But the improvements to those designs, as done by Browning for Winchester, all used gated/fixed tubes ( Win. 66, 73 and all others 'till the '95) as did the competition, namely the Marlins. Perhaps there was some type of patent on the sliding tube, but my suspicion is that Browning/Marlin saw the gated/fixed tube as an improvement over the earlier designs.
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Browning didn't invent the the side loading gate. Nelson King a Winchester employee did.

"In 1866, employee Nelson King's new improved patent remedied flaws in the Henry rifle by incorporating a loading gate on the side of the frame and integrating a round sealed magazine which was covered by a fore stock. The first Winchester rifle was the Model 1866, the Yellow Boy".
 
The 94 is a top eject.
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The 94 hasn't been true top eject since the late 1980's. Not true side eject either. They are "angle eject" now. Empties come out at an angle and they have been drilled and tapped for scopes for years now.

If I want a period correct Henry rifle that loads from the tube then tube loading is fine. If I"m buying a reproduction of a Marlin or Winchester that were originally side loading gate models then the reproductions should be of the correct style.

I have no use for modern lever action designs. The Henry's, all of them, are neither fish nor fowl. Not saying they aren't good guns, but I they are over priced for what you get and none are true to the traditional lever action styling. If I want a modern rifle design I'll look else where. If I want a 19th century style lever action rifle Marlin and Winchester combined to produce over 14 million of them. Lots of good used ones out there.
 
Rossi and Chiappa make 92 clones and Uberti makes 66 and 73 clones plus Winchester(Miroku) makes 92's and 73's but they have safeties on them which besides the price would be a deal breaker for me. Chiappa and Rossi have safeties but you can find older guns that don't.
 
I have a few lever actions... the one with the least amount of use is my Glenfield Model 30. Nice gun, but can’t hunt with rifles in NJ. Was a present from my dad, but as a design, I do like loading from the gate. A lot easier.

The other two are a Century PW87 and a Uberti 1860 Henry (steel frame, in .45 Colt). The 1887/1901 clone is actually pretty fun to shoot... but loading 12 Gauge shells through the top is not extremely easy to do. Kind of need to have a system. But once you load up the tube, one on the lifter, and one for the chamber is a pretty unique design... especially for the late 1800s.

The Uberti is a very nice rifle, and from everything I’ve seen, a better rifle than the Henry reproduction. The tube is ok to load, but it isn’t something too easy to top off. What I’d love to do is find a gunsmith to convert it to a transitional rifle... take the tab off the follower, weld the front end so it doesn’t rotate, and cut in a loading gate. Taylors did a run of them, once. I like uncommon stuff like that, which is why I went steel frame in the first place.
 
A Marlin 336 has never failed me. If I keep it clean, my Henry .22 has been good to me since I was like 7. The one time I had an issue was the tube rolling off a table and the plastic follower broke. Contacted them, told them about it, they asked my shipping info so they could mail me a new tube with thicker follower at no charge. So one tube related failure after almost 20 years of steady use with their cheapest rifle, it was an easy fix, I was pleased with their customer service. I could of still used it by not letting it completely empty the tube, after that there we wouldn't be enough pressure to engage them or jam. So definitely not something catastrophic.
 
Lets settle this, it is not more complicated than it sounds. The model 94 is a TOP EJECT
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Unless it's a Marlin. Then it's a side eject. "always has been.":D
Exactly what the OP asked for in his first post.
And finally are there ANY other side eject gate loaders out there I can get in .44?
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The 1887/1901 clone is actually pretty fun to shoot... but loading 12 Gauge shells through the top is not extremely easy to do. Kind of need to have a system. But once you load up the tube, one on the lifter, and one for the chamber is a pretty unique design... especially for the late 1800s.
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I grew up hunting with an 87. Once you get used to it it's pretty easy. When I got my first pump I thought it was odd loading from the bottom.
 
Nelson King

Ratshooter, got it, thanks. All I was sure of was that the multitude of Brownings lever rifles as produced by Winchester had the gate.
 
Mobuck said:
"Gate loader" allows topping up the magazine any time you're not actually firing which the tube loaders don't. If that's not a factor, I don't see much diff other than the tube loader reduces the number of cuts and dirt entry points in the receiver.
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I have no problem topping off my "tube loaders" when not actually firing them, I cannot think of a firearm you couldn't top off, although it gets pretty interesting trying to top 'em off while firing.
 
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Ratshooter, got it, thanks. All I was sure of was that the multitude of Brownings lever rifles as produced by Winchester had the gate.
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I bet if Mr King hadn't have invented the loading gate JMB would have. King just beat him to it.:D

I have a Marlin 32 mag cowboy and it uses the tube loading system and for me its is just a non issue. It loads how it loads and its not a problem. And it IS fast to unload. The solid receiver just looks like a bigger version of the Marlin 39A I own that loads through the tube.
 
Cheapshooter said:
How do they not? Twist the tube, retract it, drop in as many rounds as needed.
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Gun is out of action at that point... once you toss in a round through the gate, gun is ready to fire.

If it is a twist tube, you need to toss them in and maneuver the gun so they don’t fall out, and know how many you need (latter is in both designs). Install tube and lock.

If it is a Henry design, pull the follower up, rotate housing, then load. Same as the other tube, then have to rotate it closed, and slow the follower down.
 
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