Has anyone every seen a H&R Handi-Rifle built up to shoot long range? It would be a great for a budget built long range rifle, no expensive action to buy. I want to build something in a .243 and thought this would be a little different. Give me some input on what you think. Or let me know if you've seen something like this done.
Handi-Rifle???
- Thread starter jtschweizer
- Start date
jt, I owned an H&R Handi-Rifle chambered in .223 and to be honest, it left me wanting. I hate to be the bringer of bad news but, that rifle just didn't shoot well. It just barely shot MOA @ 100 yds. and the trigger....well....it just sucked. Sorry if I'm coming off rather harsh but, lets just say "that dog didn't hunt!" Maybe some other people have had better luck with those rifles and God bless them if they have! Just my opinion!
Mike
Mike
JT -
Howdy !
Something like an SB2 Ultra in .25-06 would " in theory"; be capable of 1,000yd hits. If memory serves, the .25-06 has a 26" barrel.
The rifle can be sent back to the factory ( now Remington ??? ) to have its OSHA trigger pull reduced. Factory contact told me ( a few years ago ) trigger pull could be reduced to 4lb; but they'd adjust mine no lower than 4.5lb . That's not a "benchrest" trigger pull, in the classic sense.
I suppose even a .270 or .30-06 H & R could be impressed into service @ distance.
The fore-end and it's method of attachment are often cited as detriments to good accuracy; with these rifles.
With regards,
357Mag
Howdy !
Something like an SB2 Ultra in .25-06 would " in theory"; be capable of 1,000yd hits. If memory serves, the .25-06 has a 26" barrel.
The rifle can be sent back to the factory ( now Remington ??? ) to have its OSHA trigger pull reduced. Factory contact told me ( a few years ago ) trigger pull could be reduced to 4lb; but they'd adjust mine no lower than 4.5lb . That's not a "benchrest" trigger pull, in the classic sense.
I suppose even a .270 or .30-06 H & R could be impressed into service @ distance.
The fore-end and it's method of attachment are often cited as detriments to good accuracy; with these rifles.
With regards,
357Mag
I had one in 223 that aggravated me to the point of separating it into different dumpsters across town, so that no human would be so bothered with it again..
While it was handy, and possibly the safest gun I've had, there was zero potential for accuracy. POI shifted upward of +2moa on a 5 shot string. Copper fouled out by 8th shot(throwing +3moa flyers). ES? ~60fps! OMG!!
If you really want a light weight single shot with potential, I'd go toward falling block designs. Maybe one of these M97s:
http://www.eabco.com/97ref.html
While it was handy, and possibly the safest gun I've had, there was zero potential for accuracy. POI shifted upward of +2moa on a 5 shot string. Copper fouled out by 8th shot(throwing +3moa flyers). ES? ~60fps! OMG!!
If you really want a light weight single shot with potential, I'd go toward falling block designs. Maybe one of these M97s:
http://www.eabco.com/97ref.html
I had one, at least for a few months… It was the Ultra varmint .243win 24in fluted BBL, and it shot exceptionally well. My only issue with it was what looked like a headspace issue. Fired cases would bulge around case head area. Sent it back to H&R/Remington and they told me that it’s normal and that it happens on all of their rifles…. Didn’t make sense because the .308 barrel I had fitted didn’t cause the cases to bulge like that.… If you’re interested here is a neat forum on the handy rifle. http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/index.php just go to the H@R section…
ShaneG.
Silver $$ Contributor
mikejmarine said:
My buddy picked up a 22/250 H&R and it had the same problem, his cases blew the heads on on the first reload with mild charges. Also the action would pop open upon firing and had a rough chamber. I had him call H&R and they told him to send it back to them and they would fix it. After getting it back the chamber looked better and action stayed closed but it would still close on a No-Go gauge. I had one also and it would also close on a no-go gauge.
If you load your own and get a rifle that will close on the no go gage just don`t set back the shoulder and the hand loaded ammo will head space corectly. If it get hard to chamber just bump the shoulder alittle, but not clear back to factory. I have a Handy in 243 right now. It`s not a super tack driver but should take a coyote at 500 yrds. with no problem and get most at 600 to 700 yrds.
I have a SB2 in .223 and this is the second barrel as I took advantage of the factory barrel program. My first barrel shot well for what it was; not spectacular but well. It was capable of shooting a 1" group @100 yds. with handloads. For a $200.00 dollar rifle, I considered that acceptable. I've had the trigger parts out of that rifle 4 different times to get the trigger I wanted. This consisted of polishing all contact surfaces to a mirror like finish. The current trigger pull is approx. 1 3/4 lbs. and the trigger breaks cleanly. I installed a trigger over travel screw in the rear of the trigger guard and epoxied it in place once set.
Several years ago I sent the receiver back to get another .223 SB2 barrel. It was at the time they were switching over to 1 in 9" twists which is what I wanted. I had to patiently wait until the 1 in 9" twist barrels began coming on line but the wait was worth it. I was working up loads for it in the usual fashion and the barrel was showing promise. I happened to have some .223 rounds loaded for my Mini-14 which I decided to shoot in the Handi Rifle. The overall length of the loaded round was approx. .105 off the lands. The first five shot group I shot was beyond belief. A one hole group at 100 yds. Now the important element to take note of here is that I would have never arrived at this jump through normal load development as these rounds were intended for the Mini-14, with the magazine restricting the OAL.
Several years ago I sent the receiver back to get another .223 SB2 barrel. It was at the time they were switching over to 1 in 9" twists which is what I wanted. I had to patiently wait until the 1 in 9" twist barrels began coming on line but the wait was worth it. I was working up loads for it in the usual fashion and the barrel was showing promise. I happened to have some .223 rounds loaded for my Mini-14 which I decided to shoot in the Handi Rifle. The overall length of the loaded round was approx. .105 off the lands. The first five shot group I shot was beyond belief. A one hole group at 100 yds. Now the important element to take note of here is that I would have never arrived at this jump through normal load development as these rounds were intended for the Mini-14, with the magazine restricting the OAL.
bozo699
Gold $$ Contributor
Way better off!bsekf said:
I have had the same experiences as the rest with a 1/2 dozen or so handi rifles, the T/C won't shoot much if any better from the factory but there are after market options for it.
I did have one Handi rifle in 25-06 laminate stock heavy barrel that consistently shot under a inch a 100 yards with factory ballistic tip bullets, it was my pack around coyote rifle. catfish is correct on the headspace issues.
Wayne.
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