The Briggs Patent Henry Rifle,During the Civil War, the legendary Henry rifle was a game changer.  I

The Briggs Patent Henry Rifle,During the Civil War, the legendary Henry rifle was a game changer.  It was the one of the first practical repeating rifles that used a self contained metallic cartridge, giving the user a major advantage over most others who used muzzleloading rifled muskets.  While the Henry was revolutionary, it was far from perfect.  The rifle lacked a forward grip, which served to protect a user’s hands in case of heat from sustained fire.  More importantly, the Henry’s loading mechanism, which featured a loading gate near the muzzle of the rifle through which cartridges were dropped into, was fragile, awkward to use, created balance issues, and was prone to failure.  It was easy for dirt or mud to enter the mechanism, causing jams.After the Henry rifle was first introduced, the New Haven Arms Company was re-organized into the the Winchester Arms Company.  Oliver Winchester wanted to improve the design, and sought the help of designer George W. Briggs.  Briggs took the Henry rifle and modified it, adding a brass or iron front grip.  More importantly a new loading mechanism was introduced, by pushing the forward grip forward, the magazine gate was opened near the receiver through which cartridges could be inserted into the tube magazine.  The forward grip also functioned to protect the loading mechanism.While the invention was certainly an improvement, another designer named Nelson King invented a much better design.  Kings design would also feature a forward grip, made of wood.  More importantly King placed the new loading port on the right hand side of the receiver.  This reduced the number of steps needed to load the rifle, while increasing the speed at which it could be loaded.  Furthermore the King design featured several other improvements to the Henry’s internal working mechanisms.  Kings design would be accepted be Oliver Winchester as a replacement for the Henry, becoming the legendary Winchester Model 1866 lever action rifle.Very few Briggs Patent Henry’s would be produced, basically only a few dozen prototypes, or which only ten survive today.  The rifle featured above was formerly of the Winchester Museum Collection and has an estimated value between $180,000 - $275,000. -- source link

More pics about