H&R Handy Rifle

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WisBorn

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I have always liked the simple design of the H&R (type) break action single shot rifles, but never tried one. What kind of accuracy can I expect from one if I find and purchase one?
 
well for what i have read they kinda:barf: overall not well made i guess
https://answers.fieldandstream.com/...he-quality-and-accuracy-of-the-h-r-handirifle
Unfortunately, all Handi-Rifle's aren't "accurate". They aren't "bench rest" material, but with a little TLC, can be inexpensive guns for beginners and as "knock-around's".
I'd say quality and accuracy on the Handi-Rifle is pretty much average. Just like anything else in life, some are diamonds, some are stones. LOL!!!
Let's be honest. You get what you pay for. A Handi-Rifle isn't expensive, don't "expect" cloverleaf accuracy.
Sufficient accuracy to kill a deer? YEP!

Bubba
 
If you can get one with a scope mount. They can pretty accurate. I would love to get ahold of one in some kind of rifle/pistol round. I only have a 20 gauge.
 
The triggers vary quite a bit too. Some are like 9lbs and gritty, some are like 4-5 lbs and really nice. When they were still in business you could send the receiver to them to fit new barrels and they would do a trigger job on them for free on request.
 
Oh and there is a bunch of little tips and tricks and things you can do to them to tighten them up and shoot better if you like to tinker. Lots of write ups online.
 
As someguy2800 says, accuracy is hit or miss. (Parodon the pun.) I had two of them, both in .223, and the Survivor version was more accurate than the Sporter, mostly due to barrel profile. The Sporter was plenty good out to 100 yards for coyotes.
The downside of doing any internals work on them is they are a PITA to do. I made a jig for trigger work on my Survivor .223, driving those pins in and out gets to be tedious.
 
Mostly they are decent-to-better guns.

Trigger usually sucks, sights are marginal and most often, fellas limit optics spending to the cost of the gun.

Good optics, a little trigger and spring tweaking and attending to the crown has made a great difference on the half-dozen or so that I have dealt with.

Limited to three rounds or less at a time often makes a difference too. It's a gun you REALLY wasn't to cold-zero.

Todd.
 
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I have one in .223 with a 1/9 twist. The first time I shot it I just used some blaster ammo I had loaded for my Mini-14. I just picked a load and loaded a couple hundred rounds with 55gr bullets and crimped in the cannelure. I went to the range and once sighted in I was putting round after round inside of a 2" bullseye. I was having so much fun I had shot 30 rounds into the bull before I realized it. All stayed well inside the lines. It really impressed me.

My trigger isn't that great. It breaks clean but you need to give it a good pull. I have no idea what the pull weight is. I guess 6+ pounds. But its usable. If I still shot as much as I used to do I would take it apart and find some reduced power springs. Maybe Wolffe makes a set. You can go to graybeardoutdoors and find instructions on working on them.
 
I dont think you will see outstanding accuracy from any of mine. They have all been within my loose standards of acceptable accuracy.
The .204 has proven to be the most accurate of my three handi-rifles.
It is easily minute of red-tailed hhhhhha......groundhog.
I just like the simplicity of them.
A decent scope, an ammo sleeve, a sling, and you're set.
20170427_162300.jpg
 
I have an older one in .223; with a scope and some handloads I can get ~1.5" @100 yards; but it is work to find a decent load
 
Don't have one now but have had many variations over the years in 30-30, 223, 44 mag, 45-70, and IIRC 221 Fireball (pre-handi but H&R around '70). Some scoped, some not. Memories are sketchy but what I remember was the 221 was pretty accurate, the 45-70 kicked, the 44 wasn't bad and my kid won't part with the 30-30. I had an earlier 30-30/12ga convertible and the 30-30 leaded from chamber to muzzle with the same loads that shot clean in both my Marlin and Winchester. I have "graduated " to Contender carbines, neither of which cost more than most of the Handis.. 22, 223, and 30-30, all of which will and have done 1.5" and better.
 
I've got five barrels (.223, .300 AAC, .357 Max, .38 Super [custom rebore], and .22 Hornet [Kilbourn chamber]) for three Handi receivers, plus a .22 LR Sportster, so that's either four rifles or six, depending. Best accuracy is from the 22 K Hornet which has put 5-shots into one ragged hole at 50 yards with Privi factory ammo when I've done my part, but all of them shoot reasonably well out to 100 yards. The little .38 Super carbine is easily the most fun to shoot, the .300 Blackout is the coolest looking with the sinister (and totally unnecessary) flash hider. I suppose I like my TC Encore carbines about equally well, but the first new rifle I bought with my own savings was an H&R Topper in .357 Magnum and I have a warm spot for the format.

38NickelSuper.jpg H&RSportster.jpg HandiRifles.jpg
 
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I have one in .17 HMR with a 3.5x10 Leupold scope. Plenty accurate for ground squirrels out to 50 yards. Probably accurate beyond that, but old age, bad eyesight, and a bit of palsy limit me to 50 yards.
 
They can be pretty hit or miss. Depends on what your expectations are. I have had them shoot as good as 1" at 100 yards, and as bad as 4" at 100 yards. I would say 2" is about the average. They are fun little rifles to shoot.

Basically, that describes anything inside 4MOA... should bust clay birds on the 100yd berm. Good for deer at average woods distances... anything inside 150yds if the user does his/her part.

Something calmly enjoyable about a single-shot.
 
If you can get one with a scope mount. They can pretty accurate. I would love to get ahold of one in some kind of rifle/pistol round. I only have a 20 gauge.

You can do a lot with that 20guage too... nothing wrong with it. As long as you can get ammo.

I've seen what a 20guage Foster slug did to a 6" diameter pine tree... wouldn't want to be behind that tree or one a bit bigger.
 
I have had them shoot as good as 1" at 100 yards, and as bad as 4" at 100 yards.

I had a Handi Rifle in .280 Rem and it was both of those, depending on the ammo. Love the caliber. Enjoyed shooting the rifle.
It was an MOA shooter with Winchester ballistic silvertips. With any other type of ammo, it looked like you shot the target with a shotgun.
I tried a dozen combinations of bullets and powders trying to replicate the accuracy of the Winchester bullets, to no avail.
You would reload a piece of brass once or twice and it would eject about a 3/4" piece of the case and leave the rest in the chamber. So I guess it had bad headspace problems.

I traded it, with a full disclosure of the issues. Glad to see it go.

I have heard good things about them chambered for straight walled cartridges.
 
I have four currently (and a 20ga) and have owned orhers.

Finicky. I have never owned a sub MOA Handi Rifle not gotten one to shoot sub MOA. But I have two currently that will deliver 1-1.5" five shot groups. One is sub 2 MOA and one is a 2" rifle. All of my current Handis are chambered in rimmed cartridges. Two that I previously owned - in 30-06 and 270 Win - were somewhat unreliable with factory ammo. The 30-06 would shoot well with neck sized only brass and 180s. It wasn't great otherwise. The 270 was awful and had extraction issues.

Load development is important. Seating depth is an important consideration. Releaving pressure points in the barrel and playing with forend pressure will all make a difference.
 
I have always liked the simple design of the H&R (type) break action single shot rifles, but never tried one. What kind of accuracy can I expect from one if I find and purchase one?

You're going to need a scope, and you're going to need to hand load. I didn't get sub MOA in my .223 Remington version, until hand loading, and I have the thicker barrel. I put a simple, used 4X on it.
What you're buying is super durable, and quite simple. That's the point of them. I don't wonder that the .308 is very finicky. You have to pay attention to the twist rate of the barrel in the version that you get and accordingly hand load to those specs. I've seen some in .243 that were quite accurate, but that's .243 which seems to inherently be accurate.

LD
 
What kind of accuracy can I expect from one if I find and purchase one?
I suspect a lot of that's going to depend on what cartridge it's chambered for. The Handy Rifle sitting by our back door is chambered in .17HMR. To be honest, I've never even shot it off a bench, checking group sizes or anything like that. All I know is it makes a real mess of starlings in the currant bushes 30 yards from our rear deck. But starlings in the apple tree 80 yards from our rear deck would give me one of these :neener: if they could.:mad:
 
They range from tolerable to horrible. I’ve never had one I would call good. My advice would be to buy one of the CVA guns. They are still in production and have much better triggers.
 
I would like to thank everyone who added comments/posts to this thread. I will keep my eyes open for a single shot break action. Thanks to those who mentioned the CVA single shots they look like a good option.

Stay safe with this virus, and as always on the range, woods.
 
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