Quote History Quoted:
Tradition. Original Henry's were tube loaded. Just took me a few times to get used to it on the .44. Now after a couple tubes full, the barrel does get a bit warm when reloading.
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Loading the magazine on an 1860 Henry is entirely different from the modern "Henry" rifles that load like .22s. Below is my Uberti-made replica of an 1860 Henry. To load it, you pull the magazine follower up towards the muzzle and then rotate a sleeve containing the follower and now-compressed magazine spring to one side. You can then insert cartridges into the end of the magazine tube.
You pull the follower towards the muzzle using the tab protruding through a slot in the bottom of the mag. It's visible under the front of the receiver in the picture below.
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The downside to this arrangement is that you have to do the "Henry Hop" to allow the follower to continued its way towards the receiver as you shoot. The slot also can allow dirt into the magazine, but an Uberti 1860 Henry did surprisingly well in an InRangeTV mud test.
In contrast, the "Henry" rifles made today have an internal tube in the magazine that you twist to unlock, then pull out of the outer magazine tube, uncovering a loading port.
As for "tradition," The current Henry Repeating Arms has no connection with the New Haven Arms Company, which made the original 1860 Henry Rifles. The NHAC was dissolved in 1866 and it then became Winchester Repeating Arms. HRA's marketing trying to link themselves with the 19th Century company is misleading.