Non stress relieved barrels

[Wolfdog91]

So gotta question. I have and H&R ultra varmint that is.... temperamental to say the least. Absolutely love this gun , for some reason the more irritating a gun is the more I like it.... Idk what's wrong with me

Anyhow I learned from some experts on the matter ,that a lot of these barrels where not stress relieved and are EXTREMELY temp sensitive. And I've done a good bit of testing to confirm this. So I'm curious with a non stress relieved barrel, is there anything that can be done to mitigate or cute the problems associated with a barrel not being stress relieved?

Also anyone on here happen to do barrel stubbing on H&R's ?

 

[jackieschmidt]

What sort of accuracy are you expecting from your H&R?

 

[BoydAllen]

I think that your conclusion that your rifle's issues are caused by lack of stress relieving may be incorrect. Savage varmint rifles have excellent reputations for accuracy, within the class of factory rifles that are affordable, and their barrels are not stress relieved. Break open actions are not the best for accuracy, and IMO that is probably the main reason for your issues. How do you handle the rifle when shooting it? Also, have you tried different front bag positions on the forend. My experience that for two piece stocks that making a change there can make a big difference.

 

[Wolfdog91]

What sort of accuracy are you expecting from your H&R?

As best as I can make it shoot honestly I've actually gotten some really good groups out of it when I do everything just right. Again the thing is pretty temperamental ( hence why I like it so much ,I kno I'm not right in the head what can I say ) but I can get it to do this semi regularly

I mean it's a 1.5-2.5" gun all day long and honestly for smacking varmit at 100yd it's all you really need.
I mean I have a "throw together load" that lets me smack a 4" gong off hand @100 all day long


Deal is ive gotten it to shoot super tiny ( .5" is pretty small for me and my abilities) and idk like to keep it shooting like that. Especially since is one of my favorite guns to shoot.
Will say though it will shoot my little cast bunny fart load small at short range all day long so if anything I can just reserve it to that

 

[Wolfdog91]

I think that your conclusion that your rifle's issues are caused by lack of stress relieving may be incorrect. Savage varmint rifles have excellent reputations for accuracy, within the class of factory rifles that are affordable, and their barrels are not stress relieved. Break open actions are not the best for accuracy, and IMO that is probably the main reason for your issues. How do you handle the rifle when shooting it? Also, have you tried different front bag positions on the forend. My experience that for two piece stocks that making a change there can make a big difference.

I did along with the O Ring truck with did help, doesn't like a bipod being shot really close to the forend....that being said I did start shooting it more towards the middle instead of under the receiver lately..hmmmm

But again something I noticed is if I just rip give rounds down range with no cooling time, legit looks like I was hail marrying shots. No matter how good I do my basic and how good the shot feels it just goes to crap as soon as as I get some barrel heat.

Or mabye my reloads are just complete crap lol ! My chrony never seems to work when I bring this gun out so maybe that's it ?

But was told by the fellas over on grey beards ( H&R experts from what eveyone tell me) they they all said it's a stress relive problem

 

[Tommie]

What @BoydAllen is trying to say without hurting your feelings is the non stress-relieved barrel is the least of your concerns.

 

[boltfluter]

Break actions make it very, very hard to shoot small groups. No question about it, and probably the biggest factor holding you back. A flat plate on forearm may help with consistency. Just a thought. Good luck.
Paul

 

[AlNyhus]

Years back, I bought a heavy barrel H&R Ultra Varmint in 223 just for the heck of it. It turned into a bit of an obsession to see just how well I could get it to shoot. Sparing all the gorey details, I finally got it to a point where it will shoot honest 1/2" 5 shot groups with 748 and the 40 gr. VMax.

After finishing with it, I bought another for my daughter and did all the modifications from mine to her gun before ever taking it to the range. It shoots just as well.

Typical bolt gun stuff doesn't really apply to these guns. The transfer bar trigger is a bigger part of accuracy in these guns than you would think, for example. The vertical shown on the posted targets are typical of what these guns do, unmodified.

And while the barrels run from acceptable to fairly nasty, the stress relief issue is not the magic pixie dust that will make these guns magically start shooting dots. Nice Urban Legend and Interweb blah-blah but the facts and reality are a different matter.

Both these guns and the tweaks done were written up in the now defunct Varmint Hunter Magazine. Both guns are still in the gun safe.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[Rat Rifle]

Wolfdog91, as a fellow H&R/Handi Rifle owner, I must say;

YOU DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM !

IMO, Your getting excellent accuracy from that rifle. Stay with the guys at GBO, no group knows more about those rifles.

Edit: I just caught Your last sentence on post #5. I disagree with the guys on GBO about stress relieving, especially with that rifle, and the likes.

 

[Will Henry]

I once contoured and fitted a Bauska barrel blank which, plainly, was not stress relieved. After every pass, I would have to take the barrel out of the lathe and straighten it. Sometimes. I would have to straighten it halfway through. I turned it to about .625 at the muzzle (roughly, a #2 Douglas contour) and chambered it to 6.5/06. It was obvious this material had a lot of stress in it and my straightening had likely not helped any. I decided I had better try it out before wasting any time on the rest of the build. I screwed it into an old 98 Mauser stock I had, loaded up 20 rounds, and went to the range. I fired those twenty rounds as fast as I could load, aim, and pull the trigger and got a round group of about 2 1/2 inches. No signs of walking at all and that barrel was hot enough to sizzle. When a rifle isn't shooting well, barrel stress is way down the list of things I worry about. WH

 

[Wolfdog91]

Years back, I bought a heavy barrel H&R Ultra Varmint in 223 just for the heck of it. It turned into a bit of an obsession to see just how well I could get it to shoot. Sparing all the gorey details, I finally got it to a point where it will shoot honest 1/2" 5 shot groups with 748 and the 40 gr. VMax.

After finishing with it, I bought another for my daughter and did all the modifications from mine to her gun before ever taking it to the range. It shoots just as well.

Typical bolt gun stuff doesn't really apply to these guns. The transfer bar trigger is a bigger part of accuracy in these guns than you would think, for example. The vertical shown on the posted targets are typical of what these guns do, unmodified.

And while the barrels run from acceptable to fairly nasty, the stress relief issue is not the magic pixie dust that will make these guns magically start shooting dots. Nice Urban Legend and Interweb blah-blah but the facts and reality are a different matter.

Both these guns and the tweaks done were written up in the now defunct Varmint Hunter Magazine. Both guns are still in the gun safe.

Good shootin' -Al

Intresting. I know what your talking about when it comes to the transfer bar trigger deal though. I actually replaced it with a rebounding trigger from a topper 155. It's not drop safe anymore but I don't know who would just walk around with one of these things cocked to begin with. Anyway it's down to a 14oz trigger with is really light for me and I love it. That being said I have considered from the time I pull the trigger to the hammer hitting the firing pin is a long time then in like a bolt gun so maybe I'm just moving too much in between that time ?

 

[Wolfdog91]

Years back, I bought a heavy barrel H&R Ultra Varmint in 223 just for the heck of it. It turned into a bit of an obsession to see just how well I could get it to shoot. Sparing all the gorey details, I finally got it to a point where it will shoot honest 1/2" 5 shot groups with 748 and the 40 gr. VMax.

After finishing with it, I bought another for my daughter and did all the modifications from mine to her gun before ever taking it to the range. It shoots just as well.

Typical bolt gun stuff doesn't really apply to these guns. The transfer bar trigger is a bigger part of accuracy in these guns than you would think, for example. The vertical shown on the posted targets are typical of what these guns do, unmodified.

And while the barrels run from acceptable to fairly nasty, the stress relief issue is not the magic pixie dust that will make these guns magically start shooting dots. Nice Urban Legend and Interweb blah-blah but the facts and reality are a different matter.

Both these guns and the tweaks done were written up in the now defunct Varmint Hunter Magazine. Both guns are still in the gun safe.

Good shootin' -Al

O and another question! Did yours happen to fire form it's brass short ? I'd have to look into my notes but mine is a .223 as well and it just plain won't fire form like any other rifle