Hell Freezes Over

[Netpackrat]

Henry adds a side loading gate to some of their lever actions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FboK4wA1y7A

I guess they finally figured out that King's patent expired a while ago.

[blackeagle603]

I'll be in my rack.

[JKosprey]

Hopefully they stick around a few years. I have wanted a lever-gun for awhile (sold my Marlin .35 years ago), but I have zero budget for firearms at the moment.

I *really* hope they're successful enough to add the loading gate to the pistol calibers. What I really want is a .357 mag.

Perusing the website, it looks like they've expanded the lineup quite a bit recently. Anyone try one of the break-action single shot rifles?

[scipioafricanus]

Why didn't they do this to begin with?

[Netpackrat]

Why didn't they do this to begin with?

I think because they started out making .22s, and then because the CEO had something against loading gates.

[HTRN]

Cost. They started out making much cheaper alternatives to the likes of Win94/22, Marlin 39s, etc. And the gate adds a bit of money to the construction cost of the receiver, vs a simple slide kp mag tube.

[Old Grafton]

If Henry starts making receivers from steel, not ZAMAK, I'll prolly buy some. Meanwhile my Marlin lever guns are just fine. Not knocking Henry; just had bad experiences with ZAMAK over last 50 years.

[Netpackrat]

Cost. They started out making much cheaper alternatives to the likes of Win94/22, Marlin 39s, etc. And the gate adds a bit of money to the construction cost of the receiver, vs a simple slide kp mag tube.

I'm not sure I buy that entirely. Yeah, there is more machining of the receiver, but the loading gate is just a tab of metal on a leaf spring, and you can eliminate the inner liner of the magazine tube, the magazine spring doesn't have to be captive, and the bayonet latch arrangement at the end of the tube is replaced by a relatively simple plug with a screw. Of course, the way Henry is doing it is more expensive than either, since they are keeping the stupid tube loading mechanism; they just added a loading gate as an alternate method.

[Netpackrat]

If Henry starts making receivers from steel, not ZAMAK, I'll prolly buy some. Meanwhile my Marlin lever guns are just fine. Not knocking Henry; just had bad experiences with ZAMAK over last 50 years.

Gunsmith friend and I discussed them briefly a few days ago, and that was basically his take as well. Said he has transferred a couple of them but he's never had to work on one. Wasn't sure if that is due to inherent reliability, or just because most of them probably aren't shot extensively. Of course, he's a member of the local machine gun club, so his definition of "shot extensively" may be different from that of most people.

[Vonz90]

I don't have one, but they have been advertising steel receiver rifles for years.