The Henry Side Gate is a walnut-stocked lever-action .45-70 Government built for hunting large game in heavy cover. Henry no longer makes it and has replaced it with the longer-barreled H10 Provider, so it is a used buy. Its tube loads two ways, through a gate in the right side of the receiver and out the front, so it can be topped up with the rifle shouldered and unloaded without cycling live rounds through the action.

It comes sighted, with a brass bead under a fully adjustable semi-buckhorn rear carrying a diamond insert, and the receiver is drilled and tapped for a base. Side ejection keeps brass clear of the top of the receiver, so a conventional scope mounts low instead of forcing a scout setup. A transfer bar handles the safety, so there is no lever or button to find. Length of pull is a fixed 14 inches, which is long under a hunting coat, and the muzzle is unthreaded.

If you're cross-shopping, the Henry H10 Provider has an MSRP of $1,135.00 and is the rifle Henry points buyers at instead, with a 20-inch barrel, two more rounds in the tube, a checkered pistol grip and 0.17 lbs more weight. The Rossi R95 has an MSRP of $1,060.99, also holds six, and weighs 0.25 lbs less than this rifle's 7.08 lbs. Both of those are current production, so parts and accessories for them stay easy to come by.