FALL 2019
likea Henry,withitshandsomepolished
brassreceiver,butwiththeside-loading
and side-ejecting system of a MarlinModel- But here’s the twist: It also loadsrounds
using a Henry-style magazine tube.Callit a
best-of-both-worlds option.
The Henry Side Gate is currentlybeing
offered in three classic chamberings:the
.30-30 and .38-55 Winchester as wellasthe
.35 Remington. The obvious choice today
would be the .30-30, one of the mostsuc-
cessful hunting rounds ever designed,but
Henry also decided to offer the gun inone
of the Model 1893’s original calibers,the
.38-55. Originally a blackpowder cartridge
favored by hunters in the late 19th century,
this grand old cartridge was developedin
1884 by Ballard as a blackpowder target
round. The .38-55 was used for single-shot
target rifles as well as Winchester andMarlin
lever actions. Regarded as a vintage caliber
today and generally no longer in use,the.38-
55 is still manufactured for older gunsand
Cowboy Action Shooting, which is why,of
the three calibers offered for the newHenry
model, I chose to go with the “classic”.38-55.
TheHenryhasa round,20-inchbarrel
liketheoriginalMarlinModel 1893 and
holdsfive.38-55roundsinitsmagazine.
LikeallcurrentHenrymodels,theSide
Gateshowsexcellentattentiontodetailand
craftsmanship,andthatgreatpolishedbrass
receiver,withthesametensilestrengthasa
st eelreceiver.Brassaccents areusedforthe
buttplateandbarrelbandaswell,butthe
realeye-catchingfeaturesofthisgunarethe
Americanwalnutstockandforendwiththeir
intricate,deepcheckeringandelegantborder
carvings.Atraditionalsemi-buckhornrear
sightandwhitebeadfrontsightsitatopthe
bluedbarrel.It’sa good-lookinggun.¢
Although it’s an anemic cartridge by today’s
standards, the .38-55 appeared in an age
when heavy bullets, low muzzle velocity and
black powder were the norm. Modern Black
Hills cartridges use smokeless powderbut
have the appropriate 255-grain bullet.While
it was used for hunting in the 1890s, the .38-
55 was more at home on the target range.BeforeI getintothevelocityand
accuracyresults,I havetosaythatthis is
one sweet-shooting rifle. The action is as
smooth as glass, and the light trigger lets
you touch off shots with absolute confi-
dence. My test rifle’s trigger broke at 4.26
pounds on average with just 0.13 inches
of take-up. With this trigger and sighting
arrangement, you can hold this gun on tar-
get all day long. And it’s easy to see why the
.38-55 cartridge was well liked back in the
day. It shoots true, and the recoil, even with
smokeless powder, isn’t punishing.
It might feel a little hard to push those
long cartridges into the receiver loading
gate after the first two rounds, as spring
tension builds up, but for the initial loading,
the old Henry-style magazine tube makes
it as easy as ever to load your five rounds.
After that, I topped off using the loading
gate. With two ways to fill this rifle, you
truly do have the best of both worlds.
The Black Hills ammunition clocked in
at 1,182 fps, and my best five-shot group
at 25 yards measured 1.25 inches, with five
more shots creating a 2.37-inch cluster in
the A-zone of an IPSC target.
While there may never have been a
Henry with side ejection and a receiver
loading gate, or a Marlin 1893 with a Henry-
style tube magazine, the combination of
both makes the Side Gate a brilliant design
in any century. For more information, visit
henryusa.com or call 201-858-4400. ✪44 GUNS OF THE OLD WEST
HENRY HYBRID
(Above) In the field, the Henry’s short
length makes it quick to shoulder, aim
and fire. The length of pull is 14 inches.
(Right) Shooting from the shoulder at 25
yards, the author was able to put 10 shots
into this IPSC target’s A-zone, with the best
five shots clustering into 1.25 inches.
(Far Right) The Henry’s lever action works
as smooth as glass from shot to shot.