H&R single shot accuracy
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All you ever want to know about Handis...
All you ever want to know about Handis...
I had two both poor in terms of accuracy one sets in safe I would not sell to anyone as is. They are low cost truck/farm guns and can at times achieve accuracy with tinkering but consistent accuracy is doubtful. The two piece stock and break open action does not lend itself to accuracy. If your aware of this you wont be disappointed when buying.
They're the answer to a question, but we're having trouble deciding what the question might be. I've got four of the darned things and I like tinkering with them.
Several years ago, Louisiana and Mississippi made them legal to use for deer under what we loosely call the primitive weapons season. All of us guys who previously used front-stuffer muzzleloaders went out and bought .45-70s or .444 Handi-rifles, those being the two calibers most common on the approved caliber list.
The most common accuracy fix is a neoprene o-ring between the barrel and the forearm, over the barrel stud. That seems to settle them down some. Some guys report amazing accuracy, but my experience doesn't bear that out.
My .45-70 gives me accuracy in the 3" range, with lead bullets at 100 yards. Good for minute of deer.
My .308 gives me 1.5" accuracy at 100 yards. Also good for minute of deer.
My .30-30 gives me 2.0" inch accuracy at 100 yards. Deer, coyote, pig, whatever. This is the rifle for the thickets, along with the .45-70. It's a good grandkid training rifle.
My .223 often gives me 1.5" accuracy, but occasionally seems to want to stack them all in the same hole. It's a consistent 1.5 inch rifle, but sometimes does much better.
The graybeard's forums linked above is the place to go to talk about Handi rifles.
Several years ago, Louisiana and Mississippi made them legal to use for deer under what we loosely call the primitive weapons season. All of us guys who previously used front-stuffer muzzleloaders went out and bought .45-70s or .444 Handi-rifles, those being the two calibers most common on the approved caliber list.
The most common accuracy fix is a neoprene o-ring between the barrel and the forearm, over the barrel stud. That seems to settle them down some. Some guys report amazing accuracy, but my experience doesn't bear that out.
My .45-70 gives me accuracy in the 3" range, with lead bullets at 100 yards. Good for minute of deer.
My .308 gives me 1.5" accuracy at 100 yards. Also good for minute of deer.
My .30-30 gives me 2.0" inch accuracy at 100 yards. Deer, coyote, pig, whatever. This is the rifle for the thickets, along with the .45-70. It's a good grandkid training rifle.
My .223 often gives me 1.5" accuracy, but occasionally seems to want to stack them all in the same hole. It's a consistent 1.5 inch rifle, but sometimes does much better.
The graybeard's forums linked above is the place to go to talk about Handi rifles.
H&R
I first got one in 243 Win. with a heavy barrel and with most varmit loads I tried it was prety good. I did find a 65gr. v-max load that it will shoot very well. The 444 Marlin and 45/70 barrels I have shoot better than they need to for there purpose, close in horespower. The only thing I've had a problem with is the horrendous triger. I could not find a gunsmith here close that will touch it but I heard a few years back that H&R would adjust it for free. I guess I waited too long because I tried to contact them 2 weeks ago and found out Remington owns them now. It is now $50 for that triger job but if you are buying another barrel, they will do it for free. My receiver is packed up and ready to go in to be fitted for a 280 Rem. barrel. I think this is still a great deal all together.
If I had to do it on a budget, like you I would get the 223 rifle, and for another $96-$114 get a 308 or 30/06 barrel fitted and get the triger done at that time and you would have a set up to cover most hunting.
Tim.
I first got one in 243 Win. with a heavy barrel and with most varmit loads I tried it was prety good. I did find a 65gr. v-max load that it will shoot very well. The 444 Marlin and 45/70 barrels I have shoot better than they need to for there purpose, close in horespower. The only thing I've had a problem with is the horrendous triger. I could not find a gunsmith here close that will touch it but I heard a few years back that H&R would adjust it for free. I guess I waited too long because I tried to contact them 2 weeks ago and found out Remington owns them now. It is now $50 for that triger job but if you are buying another barrel, they will do it for free. My receiver is packed up and ready to go in to be fitted for a 280 Rem. barrel. I think this is still a great deal all together.
If I had to do it on a budget, like you I would get the 223 rifle, and for another $96-$114 get a 308 or 30/06 barrel fitted and get the triger done at that time and you would have a set up to cover most hunting.
Tim.
Agreed if tinkering is your thing the Handi is your rifle, I've purchased few guns that I would write a bad review on because I like most firearms,low cost and high end however if I make a bad purchase I prefer to give folks full disclosure, but like all points it's only opinion and the original poster may buy the gun and find it meets his needs.
aarondhgraham
New member
I have 2 H&R Rifles,,,
One in .22 LR and the other in .357 Magnum,,,
Neither is a tack driver but both are perfectly acceptable.
The .22 is minute of soda can at 100 yards,,,
The .357 is Minute of Armadillo out to 150 yards,,,
It might even be better but that's the longest shot I have made.
These aren't silhouette rifles,,,
But they are as accurate as I need them to be,,,
I have outshot people with their tricked out 10/22 rifles,,,
And this is amazing because I'm only a mediocre shot on my best days.
Aarond
One in .22 LR and the other in .357 Magnum,,,
Neither is a tack driver but both are perfectly acceptable.
The .22 is minute of soda can at 100 yards,,,
The .357 is Minute of Armadillo out to 150 yards,,,
It might even be better but that's the longest shot I have made.
These aren't silhouette rifles,,,
But they are as accurate as I need them to be,,,
I have outshot people with their tricked out 10/22 rifles,,,
And this is amazing because I'm only a mediocre shot on my best days.
Aarond
I have a NEF in .223 with heavy barrel. The best 5 shot group I have shot with it to date was just a few weeks ago. 0.515 inch at 100 yards. Not too bad for a rifle that cost me $400, that’s the rifle, aftermarket target stock and a cheap Wal-Mart scope. I took it to South Dakota back in 1999 to spank some prairie dogs. It was deadly out to 200 yards, very good out to 300 yards. My longest shot that week was 429 yards, measured with a rolling yardage measurer. I was trying to get into the 500 yard club, but didn’t make it.
From what I read on various forums, the NEF / H&R rifles are hit and miss. Either you get a good one like I did, or you get something barely acceptable. There are many little tricks you can do to one of these rifles to make them work better. Check out the forum at Grey Beard Outdoors to see all of those tricks. Mine started off as a 1 inch rifle. After doing all those little tricks, I got it down to half that. If you start with a 2 inch rifle, you may get it down to 1 inch, maybe. But I have read about people that can never get anything to brag about with them, no matter what they do. For the money, I think they work just fine.
From what I read on various forums, the NEF / H&R rifles are hit and miss. Either you get a good one like I did, or you get something barely acceptable. There are many little tricks you can do to one of these rifles to make them work better. Check out the forum at Grey Beard Outdoors to see all of those tricks. Mine started off as a 1 inch rifle. After doing all those little tricks, I got it down to half that. If you start with a 2 inch rifle, you may get it down to 1 inch, maybe. But I have read about people that can never get anything to brag about with them, no matter what they do. For the money, I think they work just fine.
wingman said:
You're right that they're not target rifles and aren't meant to be. They're a break-open rifle with a two piece stock, both of which mitigates against target accuracy. You won't see any Handis at benchrest matches.
But, it's a $400.00 rifle. It's got a transfer bar safety system, and every one that I've shot is capable of perfectly acceptable field accuracy for the game intended.
I think that we have come to expect MOA accuracy from every beginner-level rifle out of the box. Surprisingly, the manufacturers give us that level of excellence in nearly every rifle line. The low cost rifles by Marlin, Remington, Savage, Tikka, all are much better than we had any right to expect 20 years ago.
What I like about the Handi is that it is a single-shot and is a great rifle to teach a neophyte about gun-handling skills. They're rugged, durable and reasonably accurate. Both my .30-30 and my .45-70 are the standard hunter weight rifles and they're light enough to carry all day. Even with a 22 inch harrel, the action length is such that the little rifles are short for the brushy areas I hunt.
Do I recognize their shortcomings? Absolutely! I also believe in full disclosure, and I don't pretend that my Handi rifles are anything but hunting rifles.
Keg said:
Yeah, that's a failing with the design of the ejector. It's operated by a little lever rod and there isn't much leverage in the opening stroke, unless you open the action with authority. It's only a problem with the rimless cartridges. The rimmed cartridge guns are fitted with extractors, rather than ejectors, and in my experience the extractors work better than the ejectors.
Lube the heck out of it with a good lubricant. I use Break-Free or (dare I say it) Dexron ATF on the ejector rod. A good lube will work its way in there and help with the ejection. Once you get it to eject, lube the ejector, taking care to not get any oil on the latch or latch shelf.
remington does this?
also, because i am too (1)lazy and (2)permanently time crunched to go read through different forums to find the answers i seek, can anyone tell me about these "tricks" to improve the handi? are they expensive or difficult? i have some very basic smithing tools (various punch kits, a rather large bit set, electronic calipers, a few types of vices, etc)...would i need more than that?
Edward429451
Moderator
400 bucks?
These things were 79 dollars for the longest time...
These things were 79 dollars for the longest time...My Ultra Varmint in .223 is about 2-ish MOA at 100 yards. Here is a sample group I shot a couple months ago. This was with inexpensive Wal-Mart ammo.
I have not modified it, but I'd like to (thinking about the washer trick). I would also like to do some handload development to see what I can do.
BTW, I only spent $230 on it a couple years ago, so. I don't know where this $400 number comes from.
I have not modified it, but I'd like to (thinking about the washer trick). I would also like to do some handload development to see what I can do.
BTW, I only spent $230 on it a couple years ago, so. I don't know where this $400 number comes from.
jephthai said:
That $400 number came from me. The last one I bought cost about $300.00 and after I put a hundred dollar scope on it I have $400.00 in the rifle.
You can pick up a new Handi, right now, at Bud's Gun Shop for ~$300 price riange. Your .223 Ultra is listing there at $310.00. With shipping, handling, and a halfway decent scope you'll have nearly $500.00 in the rifle before you're ready to shoot.
Full disclosure, and all that.