Henry Rifle Forums

What is the best way to unload a lever action when you only want to take one out of the chamber and leave
the tube magazine filled? I tried to release the mag spring rod and then cycle without the spring pressure.
I had two results...if the gun was still pointed up, gravity caused the next round to load anyway.
If I did not cycle fast enough the exiting round jammed up.

Is the safest best way to just cycle the entire magazine out. Of course the trigger should likely be released safely each time.
This is my first lever action and having the firearm getting set to single action every cycle takes some getting used to, from
a safety perspective.

I've not figured out how to do what you want to do; not sure if it can be done. I have a .22 rimfire, and my Henry SGC manual has these unloading instructions. It's the way I do it, and I think it is better than cycling each individual round out:

HOW TO UNLOAD THE MAGAZINE AND CHAMBER OF YOUR HENRY LEVER ACTION .22LR / .22MAG / .17HMR RIFLE To unload the magazine and chamber, the hammer should be resting in the safe (down) position (Figure A-2). With the rifle pointing upward, completely withdraw the inner magazine tube from the gun. Tip the gun downward, allowing the cartridges to slide out into a suitable container. Replace the inner magazine tube. Open the action again, making sure there are no cartridges in the chamber or receiver.

Maybe someone else has a method to accomplish your question. Trust this is a helpful start.

hbob wrote:What is the best way to unload a lever action when you only want to take one out of the chamber and leave
the tube magazine filled? I tried to release the mag spring rod and then cycle without the spring pressure.
I had two results...if the gun was still pointed up, gravity caused the next round to load anyway.
If I did not cycle fast enough the exiting round jammed up.

Is the safest best way to just cycle the entire magazine out. Of course the trigger should likely be released safely each time.
This is my first lever action and having the firearm getting set to single action every cycle takes some getting used to, from
a safety perspective.

Thank you...that is the best way to unload entire rifle...just hoping for easy way to just unload the one in chamber without dumping the magazine.
One thing to do...make sure you don't load up the chamber till you are absolutely ready to fire. My carbine is rated at 7+1, but that +1 is not really to be used except in rare occasions, like I know I am going to be under attack.

If you have loaded a round into the chamber, and want to extract it, just operate the lever again .... but leave it open. That will eject the chambered round without loading a fresh one. Or am I missing something here?

Les wrote:If you have loaded a round into the chamber, and want to extract it, just operate the lever again .... but leave it open. That will eject the chambered round without loading a fresh one. Or am I missing something here?

I understand that....its what happens when I return the lever to shut action again...new round is chambered...just looking for a way to return to un chambered..perhaps releasing spring tension on magazine rod. Looks like dumping our the magazine either by removing rod or cycling entire mag through are the two options.

I've done it once .... with the hammer on safe, I unlocked the magazine rod and held it while pointing the barrel down until the end of the muzzle touched the wooden deck .... turned lose of the magazine rod, it slid down until the cap was also touching the deck .... using one hand to cover the opening where the shells are inserted in the magazine while having a finger tip on the magazine rod, I worked the lever with the other and the shell in the chamber was ejected .... with the pressure off of the shells, none slid into place ....closed the lever, turned the rifle up while holding the magazine cap, locked it back into place .... if it hadn't of worked, my plan was to lift the rifle to where the magazine rod would fall out, allowing the shells to be dumped


I'm not recommending this to anyone, the response is in direct answer to the opening question

Yikes! I think I'm dumping the rounds out. Better safe than sorry.

I think RR has the perfect answer to the subject and the OP's question:

RanchRoper wrote:Yikes! I think I'm dumping the rounds out. Better safe than sorry.

Earlier in this thread I printed out the info from the Henry rimfire instruction manual for unloading. Just because I haven't read through the entire manual for a while, I did so today. In the Welcome/Introduction from Henry, they include a caution to the rifle owner:

"It is imperative that the following cautions and operating instructions be thoroughly studied and understood before using your new rifle, in order to insure proper and safe gun handling. Failure to follow these cautions, warnings and operating instructions could result in damage to your gun or to other property or could result in injury or death to yourself or to others." [Note: The boldface is my doing...]

I think I needed to read that again, because I sometimes might get a little too comfortable/relaxed when handling my SGC. That's because it's both easy and fun to operate. I tend to forget sometimes that I'm handling a potentially "dangerous weapon."

RR's response and choice to "dump the rounds out" aligns with the unloading instruction given by Henry.
I agree with his perspective: Better safe than sorry.
Thanks, RR!

After reading all this I will follow the dump the rounds suggestion in the manual. I have handled the Henry enough now to fell very comfortable
with it and am understanding how to handle it safely.....I think it is easier to get comfortable and safe with than any semi-auto.
I am always aware of the hammer position and how to safely release the hammer from cocked/single action ready.
This is by far the most comfortable handling long arm I own.

Most levers, don't have a removable tube, so the concept is not inherent to the design. Adding a tube didn't make it a bolt action. Even some of those don't easily unload without chambering each cartridge.

If you are done hunting, empty the rifle.

If you are at the range during a cease fire, open the lever and leave the chamber empty (or follow the range rules).

If you are still hunting, lower the hammer to the safe position. Re-cock before firing.

In all cases, don't point a loaded barrel at anything you wouldn't be willing to shoot.

Lever actions are a primitive design. They are not for everyone.

^^ Good safety practice, Frontiersman ^^

I unload my 45lc Big Boy with the same quick loaders I made, I just reverse the procedure and dump them back into the spare tube and install the plug. Ready to go again at any time.

I'm a fairly new gun owner and have a very real (and maybe healthy) fear of jammed rounds or anything that doesn't fire as planned. Be safe folks. It only takes 1 bad scene to forever change things.

Open the action first. NO cartridge in the chamber. Then put your hand at the muzzle to remove the magazine tube and all the loaded cartridges. Install the magazine tube and work the action to remove any remaining ammunition. I've read the manuals and watched the videos. An unloaded chamber can't fire no matter where the hammer is.

And I would like to point out to the gate load folks, this is where a Henry rocks. You drop the mag rod and rounds out, cycle the action to clear and you are done. No need to cycle every round in the tube through the action and chamber them, I feel a much safer option. I have had, and still have gate loaders, just thought it was a plus on the Henry's.

I have found that you can slowly move the lever until the round or empty case in the chamber is extracted but stop before it gets to the point where the case or round is actually ejected. Tilt the rifle to the side and the case/round will fall out. If done this way the bolt has not moved rearward enough to allow the next round to rise up on the carrier. Slowly close the bolt watching to make sure that the next round is not chambered when you close the lever.
I do this sometimes when hunting coyotes and run across some juicy rabbits. I empty the magnum load from the chamber then drop a 38 spec round in to pop the rabbit.

I can't do it by way of Hogstir's method. If you can do it as he does, that is perfect. A round pops out of the magazine tube each time I attempt.

But, the following method works very well for me. I slowly open the lever to carefully eject the round in the chamber, usually into my hand. The next round has fed out of the magazine tube at this point. I tilt the rifle so that the ejection port is toward the ground with my hand underneath it. I can almost always clear it this way. May have to shake it just a little for the round to drop out. Then I can close the action on an empty chamber and top off the magazine tube safely. I just tried this again with dummy rounds and it works smoothly and safely.