H&R Ultra Rifle "Hand Rifle" in .25-06; yes, no, maybe

[kmrcstintn]

I recently saw an H&R Ultra Rilfe "Handi Rifle" at a local superchain store marked down in price to $199 (MSRP is $328) http://www.hr1871.com/Firearms/Rifles/hunter.asp (midway down page);

I already own a Savage 111G with a Simmons ProHunter 6 - 21 x44 scope in .25-06 that is setup for groundhogs, coyote, fox, etc using Winchester 90gr Positive Expanding Point Super-X bullets;

I've been wanting to try .25-06 in its heavier loadings (115gr to 120 gr) for whitetail deer hunting & don't want to change the setup on the Savage to switch it to deer hunting;

I have a Busnell Trophy 3 - 9 x 40 scope leftover from another rifle & feel that shots past 100 yards is unlikely due to the wooded areas that I hunt;

does anyone have an opinion about HR handi rifles? thanks

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

It's a long-distance cartridge, so it's really unnecessary/overkill for hunting the woods. Having said that, it will work well. So this is the blued one with the long 26" bbl and a laminated stock? I'd probably pick that up for 2 bills - pretty good deal on it. That's a bit unweildy of a length for a woods gun. You might pick it up to see how it does long range bench rest, but it's not an ideal hunter. Well, it *IS* an ideal hunter for wide open west - quite a pronghorn / sheep / goat rifle you'd have there.

But check into the rifling twist on that Handi - if it's 1 in 10 then I'd pass for your purpose of trying out the heavy loadings. Look for 1 in 9".

 

[JShirley]

Yup. Faster twist if you want heavier bullets.

In general, I have a lot of respect for NEF/H&R offerings.

 

[coop4u2c]

Buy it! I have owned many H&R/NEF firearms without any problems. I have another one on order right now.

 

[rbernie]

That's a bit unweildy of a length for a woods gun.

The nice thing about a single shot is that they're very compact for their barrel length, since they effectively have no receiver length. You can get a 24" single shot and have it be as compact in OAL as a 18"-20" bolt gun.

I have three NEF/H&R HandiRifles, and am well pleased with them all.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

The nice thing about a single shot is that they're very compact for their barrel length, since they effectively have no receiver length. You can get a 24" single shot and have it be as compact in OAL as a 18"-20" bolt gun.

Well, this is a good point; thank you. If you really want a 26" bbl for hunting for some reason, then this is definitely the one to get. As I say, is arguably about the ultimate Western open plains & mountain rifle, except it needs a slightly lighter contour bbl.