New to me handi-rifles

[Barbaroja]

444 brass for .62 each?! Woof! Its regular .90 i think. Take advantage of that price! 444 works as a brass 410 shell as well...

Ive got an NEF SB2 chambered in 22 hornet. Its a fun little gun and accurate too. But man is it heavy with that big ol barrel and tiny 22 caliber hole.

If that hornet gets to be a burden you let me know

 

[Charlie98]

But man is it heavy with that big ol barrel and tiny 22 caliber hole.

I know what you mean. my 223 Handi Rifle wasn't light either with its bull barrel.

I've got a Handi in .45 Colt... it's more like a shotgun than a rifle, weight-wise.

 

[BigBlue 94]

I've got a Handi in .45 Colt... it's more like a shotgun than a rifle, weight-wise.

The handy hornet feels like it weighs 9 pounds or so. And its the shortest rifle i own!

 

[Barbaroja]

Yea the weight difference is definitely noticed between the 444 and the 308. I understand the reason for them being made that way but it sure would be nice to have a sporter profile on the 308 barrel. It chips away from the “handi” of the handi rifle, in my opinion.

 

[JDeere]

Good luck with yours. I bought one in 7-08 once and never could get it to group well enough for my liking. Tried all of the handi tricks suggested over on the handi forum. Sold the damn thing. Maybe you will get a good one...

 

[Barbaroja]

The survivor stock setup could easily be sold to offset the cost of a new stock set, and anything is more comfortable than the plastic stock butt plate. That said, I'd be interested in the survivor stock, and might even trade you for a decent wood set.

Try the 308 with a better butt pad before giving up on it as a full powered rifle. If it's still too punishing find a good cast bullet and have fun with reduced loads!

Others have addressed it, but if the lockup is solid there isn't an issue swapping barrels. Saying it needs to be done by h&r is like saying only your car dealership can change the brake pads on your car. It takes some intelligence and knowledge to fit a barrel, but it ain't rocket science.

Send me a PM I’d be happy to swap let’s chat

 

[BigBlue 94]

Good luck with yours. I bought one in 7-08 once and never could get it to group well enough for my liking. Tried all of the handi tricks suggested over on the handi forum. Sold the damn thing. Maybe you will get a good one...

Mine is minute of 9" AR500 plate at 75 yards offhand. Might do better if i were to actually shoot a bullseye target with it.

 

[12Bravo20]

Others have addressed it, but if the lockup is solid there isn't an issue swapping barrels. Saying it needs to be done by h&r is like saying only your car dealership can change the brake pads on your car. It takes some intelligence and knowledge to fit a barrel, but it ain't rocket science.

While this is very true, H&R/Marlin made it a policy for the receivers to be sent back to them to cover any liability. Not everyone is smart enough or will take the time to check for proper lockup. And no it definitely isn't rocket science if you know what to check and how to fix any issue. The Graybeard forum is an excellent source for information.

Now it has been a long time since I messed with any Handi-Rifle. Sometime the lockup is good to go while other times you either have to shim the receiver or remove material in order to get the proper lockup.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

I had that happen with my H&R Handi Rifle chambered in .223 when I fired a 5.56 round in it. The action popping open definitely gets your attention.

Note: Always make sure that the breech face is dry and oil free. I have seen oil on the breech face cause the action to pop open too.

That happened to our son. Pierced the primer too.

 

[Charlie98]

I would add that when checking function upside-down, release lever should hang free, lift up as the action closes and then drop back down to nearly the same position if the lug is fully engaging.

Now I'm going to have to dig out my H&R's from the back of the safe just to try that...

Edit to add: Interesting...

My H&R 088 .410 bore, certainly on an SB1 frame, locks up like a vault, the H&R Classic in .45 Colt, SB2, not so much. I'll have to look at that next time I have it apart for cleaning...

 

[hdbiker]

I bought a new Handi Rifle in 270 Win., every 3-4 rounds the extractor would get stuck on the rim of the case and had to be knocked out. I took it back to the sport shop and they exchanged it for another new one that did the same thing. I got my money back

 

[Barbaroja]

Some updates!
I fitted the 308win barrel to the same receiver that the 444 is on. It locks up tight and the latch is behaving as it should when tested. I shot it starting with a cast load of 21gn of 2400 under a 170gn lee bullet, no problems with lockup so after about 20 of those I tested it with 3 rounds of federal blue box 150gn sp and the barrel held firm in place. Very pleased.
Don’t be intimidated by the job if considering trying it. Required a few light strokes with a small flat file then some 800 then 1200 wet/dry sand paper to do the job.

Turns out the 308 handi rifle has a very long throat so I’m thinking about a heavy 30 cal cast bullet, maybe in the 220 range if it will stabilize. Gotta dig in a bit more.

Still anxiously awaiting my 444 brass and dies, should arrive tomorrow. I’m thinking a 320-350gn bullet for that. Any mold remediations are welcome. Going to be loading some 265gn kieth Bullets and 240gn xtps until I get a mold figured out.
Picked up a pound of IMR4198 to try as suggested by @Charlie98

 

[Charlie98]

Picked up a pound of IMR4198 to try as suggested by @Charlie98

For reference... 20grn IMR4198 and a 170grn cast FP/GC bullet gives me 1625fps out of my 22" Savage 99, 24grn 1850fps with very good accuracy. Neither are heavy on recoil.

Let us know how it goes. Be aware, depending how those cast bullets of yours shot, you may have to go up to .310" for best accuracy.

 

[Barbaroja]

For reference... 20grn IMR4198 and a 170grn cast FP/GC bullet gives me 1625fps out of my 22" Savage 99, 24grn 1850fps with very good accuracy. Neither are heavy on recoil.

Let us know how it goes. Be aware, depending how those cast bullets of yours shot, you may have to go up to .310" for best accuracy.

I load cast for my 30-30 already and I size them to .311 and that size seemed to work well for the .308win barrel today too. I usually load 18gn of 2400 under the Lee 170 in 30-30 for an about 1825 average. Mild and easy shooting load that I plan to test on game this year. To that end I don’t have much practical need
of this 308 barrel besides having a bit of fun so that’s why I’m thinking making it different from the 30-30 by using as heavy a bullet as it the barrel will stabilize at around that 1800-2000fps range.

 

[Charlie98]

I load cast for my 30-30 already and I size them to .311 and that size seemed to work well for the .308win barrel today too.

Nice!

 

[Blkhrt13]

A good way to check lock-up on the H&R/NEF platform is to close the action with the gun held upside down and see how much movement of the release level occurs. Lots of movement equals full engagement of the lug, little movement equals limited (unsatisfactory / potentially dangerous) engagement of the lug. A black sharpie can also be used to check engagement by "painting" the lug with marker and seeing how much gets scratched/removed in operation. On one of my guns, a couple minutes with a fine file cleaned-up the lug's burrs and roughness that were preventing full engagement.

I tried this with my new to me Handi Rifle and it looks good. Thank you for the instructions.