FALL 2019
downward and out of alignment with the
front until the action was closed again and
fully locked up. Only then would the firing
pin function when the trigger was pulled.
Marlin considered the entire design bet-
ter than a Winchester. If nothing else,it
was easier to mount a telescopic sightona
Marlin, since the spent shells ejected from
the side and not out the top of the receiver.
The Model 1893 rifle and carbine were
originally offered with round or octagonal
barrels and blued or color-casehardened
receivers and chambered for blackpowder
loads in .32-40 and .38-55 Winchester.
From the start, the 1893 receivers hadbeen
designed to fire smokeless-powder cartridges.
Andstartingin1895,Marlinaddedthe.30-
30 Winchester,.32Specialand.25-36Marlin.
In1905,theModel1893’s namewas short-
enedtotheModel93.Overtime,theModel
93 wasrebrandedastheModel36,andthen
theModel336.Today,Marlinstilloffersan
extensiveline of Model 336 variations.
¢
To fully appreciate the new Henry Side
Gate, you have to go back even further,to
the 1860s collaboration between Benjamin
Tyler Henry and Oliver F. Winchesteron
th e Henry lever action. Winchestersup-
plied the money and the earlier Smith&
Wesson Volcanic design (which he had
purchased from Horace Smith and Daniel
B. Wesson). Henry provided the expertise
to take what was given him (he hadworked
on the Volcanic with Smith
and Wesson) and in 1860
turn it into the first successful
magazine-fed, breech-loading,
lever-action rifle in American
history. Unfortunately, Henry
let his success go to his head,
and after the Civil War he
tried to leverage control of
the company from Oliver
Winchester.Thatdidn’tturnoutwellfor
Henry.HeforcedWinchestertowithdraw
hisfinancialsupport—alongwithHenry’s
right-handman,armsdesignerNelson
King—andstarttheWinchesterRepeating
ArmsCompanywiththenewKing-
engineeredModel1866.
Evenwiththegreatersuccessofthe
1866,andalltheWinchestersthatfollowed
inthe19thcentury,theoldbrass-framed
Henryremainedamongthemostenduring
riflesof thepost-Civil-Warera.The guns
werebuiltruggedlyenoughthattheywere
stillbeingcarriedbycowboysandranch-
ers—aswellascattlerustlers,bankrobbers
andthelawmenwhopursuedthem—
wellintothe1870s.Today,theoriginal
Henrysarecollectible,butthedesignis
nicelyreproduced,particularlybyHenry
RepeatingArms(HRA).
HRAoriginallybuilt.22-calibermodels
basedonthebrass-framedHenry,butnot
anactualB.-Tyler-Henry-designedrifle
until fiveyearsago,whenthecompany
decideditwastimetoreproduceanorigi-
nalCivil-War-eraHenry.HRAstartedby
purchasinganoriginalriflemanufactured
inNewHavenin1865.Thatwell-worn
repeater,serialnumber8261,wasdisassem-
bledandusedtoreverse-engineerB.Tyler
Henry’sclassicdesignanddevelopthetool-
ingforthenewOriginalHenryRifleline.
Thesegunsareauthenticineveryimportant
detail,makingthemthefirstAmerican-
madeHenryriflesinover 150 years.
HRAhadalsobeenmanufacturing
larger-caliberriflesforyearspriortothe
OriginalHenry,buthadneverdoneany-
thinglikethenewSideGate,thethird
pieceofthelever-actionpuzzle.
¢
Thesamequestionthathasbeggedanswer-
ingfromWinchesterandMarlinowners
sincethe1890siswhethertheside-ejecting,
side-loadingcombinationisbetterthan
Winchester’stop-ejecting,side-loading
design,whichwasalsoembracedbyJohn
MosesBrowning.Thatdebatestillcon-
tinues,butHenryhasgivenusthisthird
option,a Marlin-likedesignthatlooks
GUNS OF THE OLD WEST 43
TherearetwowaystoloadtheSideGate:thesideloadingportandtheHenrymagazine tube.
The Side Gate earns itname
by offering a loading gateon
the right side of the receiver
as well as an ejectionport.
