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Anyone reload for H&R's

Mike Bellam has a great explanation on how to reload for encore and contender rifles. His information translates directly to the h&r rifles.


Step 4 and on will help.
 
Got my super Varmint I've been searching for for a while but I'm learning these things are.... Interesting to reload for. Curious as to those who mess with them alot what have Yall found out about them compared to other rifles ?
Thanks
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Hadn't ever seen one. What cartridge is it chambered for? Many years ago I had an H&R Topper chambered in .22 Remington Jet as my first center-fire ground hog rifle.
 
You might also google David White, Bixby Oklahoma. He’s an expert in gunsmithing these unique rifles and has lots of good information.

ive messed with them in 223, 44 and 25-06. 223 was tricky. 44 and 25-06 were dandy little rifles.
 
Mines
Hadn't ever seen one. What cartridge is it chambered for? Many years ago I had an H&R Topper chambered in .22 Remington Jet as my first center-fire ground hog rifle.
A .223. definitely better rifles out there but always wanted this one in perticular sooooo lol
 
I have the answer for you if it is a 223.

Once fired brass, trimmed. FL size.

CCI 400, 40 grain Vmax and 27 grains Varget. Seat the bullet long.

You can also use Federal GM primers.

The Ultra Rifle /SB2 will sometimes "double group" and this is more a function of bench manners and getting a consistent "close_ but you might be amazed with the accuracy potential of these rifles.

Your biggest challenge will be learning how to do pull ups with your trigger finger to get your finger strong enough to pull it! The SB2 has a HEAVY trigger.

In every case on an Ultra Rifle I had little success getting good groups with 50-55 grain bullets, but the 40 rocked.
 
I have the answer for you if it is a 223.

Once fired brass, trimmed. FL size.

CCI 400, 40 grain Vmax and 27 grains Varget. Seat the bullet long.

You can also use Federal GM primers.

The Ultra Rifle /SB2 will sometimes "double group" and this is more a function of bench manners and getting a consistent "close_ but you might be amazed with the accuracy potential of these rifles.

Your biggest challenge will be learning how to do pull ups with your trigger finger to get your finger strong enough to pull it! The SB2 has a HEAVY trigger.

In every case on an Ultra Rifle I had little success getting good groups with 50-55 grain bullets, but the 40 rocked.
Actually figured out a way to get that trigger down without a tone if work. You can order a rebounding trigger for a H&R 155 I think from numeric gun parts. Gets rid of the transfer bar makes it easy to get a light trigger with a little file work and lubbing.only thing is you gotta streach your original hammer spring out some or find a replacement at the hardWare store . The deal is your gonna have a half cock deal like the old guns but I don't mind too much
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Ive come across a few of them. Only owned one personally but shot a handful and i havent once seen one that shot worth a dang. Even a pie plate at 100 yards was dang near impossible to keep shots on. My uncle has one in 223 he gave up on after buying ever brand and grain ammo he could find to try. I never tried reloading for it. They have always seemed like duds. That dang 223 gave him the fits. 2 shots an inch apart, 3rd shot 10 inches off, 4th 10 inches the other way. We never could figure them things out. Ive always chalked them up to you pay for what you get.
 
There’s a write up on the web, very thorough and sound, with plenty of pictures. I followed it to a T and it yielded a very serviceable trigger on an ultra.
 

Fun article pitting H&R 25-06 against a very fine rifle.
 
Wolfdog I know you from Cast Bullets, glad you are here! This is a very god group, I think you will like it here.
 
Keep in mind that every one of them is a wildcat. The headspace is different between them. Use the Bellm method to reload. Headspace is critical, if the case rubs on the breech, you lose accuracy, it the case is too short you will get case head separation. Have to keep the headspace between .001 and .003.

AND you got to do something to that trigger!
 
Actually figured out a way to get that trigger down without a tone if work. You can order a rebounding trigger for a H&R 155 I think from numeric gun parts. Gets rid of the transfer bar makes it easy to get a light trigger with a little file work and lubbing.only thing is you gotta streach your original hammer spring out some or find a replacement at the hardWare store . The deal is your gonna have a half cock deal like the old guns but I don't mind too much
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Very interesting thread Wolfdog. Good information on a very simple but handy little rifle! Makes me want to get one of my own and do some of the same. Keep up the good work!
 
I was annoyed beyond belief with the SB2 that my buddy bought. I had a 40x 22-250. he had that stupid cheap HR 223. At first it wouldn't group under 2 inches. Tried every 55/50 grain bullet combo, did powder changes, OAL changes blah blah. Then in desperation loaded a case full of varget and a 40vmax and the stupid thing went to a 3/4 inch gun. Sick thing was it was three clovered, then two clovered about 1/4 inch below, every stinking time. (if it were not for that double grouping thing, it was a half inch or less rifle. Considering my 40X was $1200 dollars plus the VX2 6.5-20 EFR and his was $225 plus a Weaver GS, and mine was a 1/4 inch gun, and his was a (2) 1/4 inch gun, it really ticked me off. And out to 350 yards the groundhogs didn't seem to notice. I was glad when he stopped hunting with me...

The big deal is getting the case sized right, and consistent headspace. Add to that the "two part" gun and it has limitations. But as a pure groundhog whacking murdering meat gun, hard to beat the price.

I hunted for a while with another local guy who had an early Ultra Rifle in 223. His was the same. That is where I went to find the 40 Vmax idea. He was a groundhog killing machine with it. He had no compunctions about whacking them from ten feet to 350 yards. See groundhog, shoot same. We once hit an overgrown field of 90 acres and in two days of walking/stalking killed over 65 groundhogs on it. I' never saw anything like that place before or since. And when we went back a week later it stunk like a roadkill deer! He showed me the utulity of that HR as we walked. Darn hard to "jump shoot" a standing groundhog at 75 yards with a 40X 22-250 and a one ounce trigger. He, on the other hand, was making meat plops all day.
 
I hope I don't go too far off the original subject.

I have an NEF Handi Rifle. Bought it in the late '90s I guess. It was a 223, heavy barrel 12 twist. I never got it to shoot well at all. First I noticed fired cases had a big bulge on the top side when they came out of the chamber, like an oversize chamber. But what made me give up was using an old Stoney Point OAL tool I could push 55 grain bullets completely out of the case neck without ever contacting the lands.

I was kind of obsessed with the idea of a single-shot break barrel rifle so Idecided to barrel-stub it using a new barrel blank. After I sawed off the barrel just in front of the hinge I realized I was holding a perfectly good 20-some inch 12 twist 223 blank in my hand. A quick look around found a K-Hornet reamer and I immediately envisioned a short, suppressed 22 K-Hornet hand loaded with 60 grain subsonics, like a hard hitting 22 LR, up to supersonic 35 and 40 grainers. Cool!

I threaded the stub internally like a bolt-action receiver and cut a shank on and threaded the sawed-off barrel. Chambered in 22 K-Hornet. Suppressed, scoped, look out varmints!

At first it was pretty dang cool but soon, as my brass got harder, I began having neck tension issues. Not enough tension, bullets would collapse into the case while handling rounds. I tried undersized expanders and mandrels. No good size was found. I had either insufficient tension or smashed, collapsed cases during bullet seating, even with a chamfer and a boat tail like a Hornady 40 V-Max. They collapse right at the shoulder.

I tried annealing the case necks and back to the original expander. No luck, about one out of three cases collapse when bullet seating. Too many to loose in my opinion. I actually resorted to super-gluing bullets for a little while there :p

I know others have good luck with the K-Hornet but I ran out of patience. It just sits in the safe these days.
 

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