Thank YouBeautiful rifles.
Thank YouBeautiful rifles.
What has kept me from buying Henry's were no load gate, only loading at the end of the tube. I also wasn't crazy about the ejection port. With their newer and more flexible options (loading) it's become more appealing. I used to reload .410's and lots of 22's at the end of the tube and never liked doing it that way. I do like the wood/brass combo! I have 4 lever guns, blr in 270win with dbm and 3 side gates (1895sbl 45-70, 1895cb 45-70 and R92 44mag). The sbl I changed the side gate out with a lower tension gate, got rid of the floppy trigger by adding a ranger point trigger, swapped out the followers and changed out the ejector for a WWG bear proof ejector. The trigger pull is about 3# lighter and the action is smooth as silk straight from marlin. The only action smoother is the blr. Ranger Point Precesion has some upgrades for Henry's also. I'll upgrade my rossi soon. They have a skeleton buttstock that looks less frankengun, but still a no go for me!I have become quite fond of leverguns over the years. This is one of only a handful of articles I have seen that mentions the Mossberg 464. The first levergun I ever bought was a 464. I purchased it because I like Mossberg shotguns, and I had heard a lot of negative talk regarding Marlin rifles made after Remington acquired the company (i.e. Remlins).
I hate to say it, because I generally like Mossberg products, but I wouldn't recommend the 464 to someone looking for a levergun. The 464 has been reliable, but the fit and finish leave something to be desired. I later bought a Remlin .357 Mag/.38 Spl. carbine, and was much more impressed with the fitment and the smoothness of the action.
The Henrys I eventually bought are my best leverguns. As with most things, you tend to get what you pay for with leverguns. Unless the 464 winds up being significantly cheaper than the new Ruger produced Marlins, I would recommend spending the extra money for a Henry or Marlin.