I have a Henry .22 which I love for the lever action but I find the loading system to be a big pain. It is the system where you have to remove the spring assembly out of the front of the magazine and load the cartridges in from the front. I find it cumbersome and awkward in the field, especially for gopher hunting. Is there, or was there ever a lever .22 that loaded from the receiver like a 30-30?
Question about .22 lever feeding
- Thread starter sa227
- Start date
there's a trick to that- you don't use the port at all, or put a plastic straw over the hole- then you can pour the rounds right in- you just pull the feeder tube all the way out to begin with unless it's pinned in there- used to do that with any of the old tube fed rifles- cooyes, ithica 49s, bl22, etc- the reason you block the hole is so that the rounds don't hang up in the port- then when you're done, you draw out the straw and put the feeder tube- you can use hollow arrow tubes in the same fashion- it's like one of those shotgun speedloaders, but in a smaller scale- or you can just stick your thumb over the hole and feed the rounds in by hand-or a piece of electrician's tape- i just looked on the henry specs and i don't see any reason you can't do this
Not to my knowledge.
I can't imagine loading a .22rimfire through a loading gate in the receiver....you'd need small fingers!
If you need "speedloads" your best bet is to carry extra rounds in tubes and then just dump them in.
Once you get the hang of the tube mag it's not so bad. I don't fully remove the plunger when I load and find it pretty quick and easy to drop them in the slot.
I can't imagine loading a .22rimfire through a loading gate in the receiver....you'd need small fingers!
If you need "speedloads" your best bet is to carry extra rounds in tubes and then just dump them in.
Once you get the hang of the tube mag it's not so bad. I don't fully remove the plunger when I load and find it pretty quick and easy to drop them in the slot.
Beaver Skin
CGN Regular
- Location
- Lower Mainland, BC
I've found an old aluminum arrow makes the perfect speed loader. You can pre-load as many as you wish and keep the rounds in place with a piece of tape or a cotter pin. Just remove the tube mag follower, the pin in the arrow, and dump them in.
i am with sa227,
it is not about speed just the nuisance of the system. my lever .22 is my first tube fed rifle, i love the way it shoots but hate loading the damn thing.
pulling out the mag follower is a pain in the ass especially if it's raining or snowing
i had it fall out once,i followed my trail of ,22's back to it!
a little piece of black tape can help the flaws but i really wish it had a loading gate or a box type mag.
it is not about speed just the nuisance of the system. my lever .22 is my first tube fed rifle, i love the way it shoots but hate loading the damn thing.
pulling out the mag follower is a pain in the ass especially if it's raining or snowing
i had it fall out once,i followed my trail of ,22's back to it!
a little piece of black tape can help the flaws but i really wish it had a loading gate or a box type mag.
I have a .22 Henry and I actually like the tube mag....On the range I can load 15 rounds a lot quicker than I can fire them off....My concern with this firearm is that I haven't come across a truly effective mechanism to lock the gun....For now I wrap a cable lock around the lever , but I would like to have somthing that actually locks the mechanism or trigger..any suggestions ?
I've never tried but maybe you could run the cable through the action when the bolt is open? Are you worried that someone can access the gun by simply removing the stock?
I forgot a key one time and had to do that at the range so I actually like that feature! But I have since gone away from the cable locks ( don't like keys) and I've made some simple lock straps and use combo locks now...
I forgot a key one time and had to do that at the range so I actually like that feature! But I have since gone away from the cable locks ( don't like keys) and I've made some simple lock straps and use combo locks now...
The only .22RF rifle with a tube magazine with a loading port in the receiver was the first variation of the Marlin 1891. The small size of the cartridges does not lend itself well to conventional loading ports.
The .22 Short version of the Winchester 1873 was the first repeating .22 rifle and it introduced the inner tube used to this day with .22 tube magazines.
The .22 Short version of the Winchester 1873 was the first repeating .22 rifle and it introduced the inner tube used to this day with .22 tube magazines.
those locks are easy to find the comboor just bring some tin snips.
Yup.. tin snips, bolt cutters, grinders, screwdrivers will all defeat trigger locks.
I figure on a lever all it takes is a flat head screwdriver to remove the stock then the cable can be released from around the stock and left on the lever....put the stock back on and you are ready to go!
Given how easy it is to defeat a keyed cable lock on a lever,I simplified my system.
