Gallery gun speed loader|Winchester .22 Rim Fire|Forum|Winchester Collector

jerry thomas said
I know I have read in this forum about the history of the Gallery Speed loaders but I can not seem to find the same.  I was wondering when they first came out.  Seems I remember they were actually made by Western for Winchester and later Winchester sold the business to Western and they had Westerns name only after that.

I see a lot of 1890’s that the seller claims were gallery guns and most that I have seen have a modified magazine, pretty easy to spot in most cases.   I would think there was 1890 shorts used in galleries but were they really specifically manufactured for that purpose as the 62 was?  Did Winchester build a 1890 with the special magazine for a gallery speed loader or did the speed loader even exist at the time the 1890 was manufactured.    

Hi Jerry,

Sorry I am late to the conversation, have not been home and have had little access to the forum.  I wrote a book (now out of print) on the history of mechanical shooting galleries and co-authored another book on shooting gallery targets titled Step Right Up! with the Tuckers.  

Here is a review of the Tucker’s book – https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/fun-with-guns-the-art-of-the-arcade-target/

To answer your specific question, and for some additional background information, here is a chronological excerpt from my previous book entitled “A History of Mechanical Shooting Galleries“ Copyright (c) 2010 by Jeffery W. Abendshien (reprinted here by permission);

– The loading tube concept was patented in 1879 by T.G. Bennet (a Winchester employee).

– The concept was first designed for the lever action rifles with the King’s improvement loading gate and later adapted to gallery rifles.

– In 1907 E. E. Drake patented a similar loading tube (after the Winchester patent expired) but it was made of cardboard.

– In 1909 A. F. Laudensack invented the metal tube we see today but with a spring loaded lever at the end to regulate the cartridges and keep them from falling out when transporting the tube.

– The tubular carrier/cartridge loader was patented in 1912 by F. O. Hoagland. This is the loader made from sheetmetal with simple crimps to retain the cartridges and marks to indicate the number of cartridges loaded.

– In 1913 F. O. Hoagland updated the patent with an additional modification of numbers and holes on the tube to indicate the number of inserted cartridges but the extra cost of manufacturing these made them short-lived.

– In 1914 John M. Browning patented a cardboard loading tube with a simple crimped end. Although John Browning produced a great many firearm innovations this patent does not seem to be unique or a large improvement over Drake’s 1907 patent.

– In 1926/27 when Winchester began expanding its line to include hardware items they manufactured the plain steel loading tubes, the concept of which, ironically, they had originally patented 47 years earlier in 1879. The tubes are listed in their catalogs of the period for .15 cents each.

– In 1927 R. G. Clyne invented the rotating cartridge magazine loader. Since Winchester was starting to sell the gallery tubes they immediately bought the patent rights and produced the loader almost identical to the submitted patent drawings.

– The tubes produced by Winchester from 1927 – 1931 are marked Winchester Trademark Made in USA (with several variations).  Note: These are the same markings as on the rotating cartridge carriers.

– The tubes made after the purchase of Winchester by the Western Cartridge Company in 1931 are marked Winchester Western or Western Trademarks Winchester Made in USA.  Note: These are the same markings as on the rotating cartridge carriers.

– The tubes made after WWII are unmarked. 

– Winchester made tubes of blued steel (most common), in the white (no bluing or coating) and some nickel plated tubes.

– The last tubes supplied by Winchester in the 1950’s and through the 1960’s were simple copper tubes crimped on one end and beveled on the opposite end. These tubes do not work well with the rotating magazine loader and were normally filled by hand.

The Winchester steel magazine tube was designed to be specifically used in the rotating magazine tube loader. After the original patent expiration, many companies manufactured and sold magazine loading tubes. Most were simple affairs that required loading by hand. Due to the simple tube design, many galleries made their own loading tubes.