i liked the look of the handi rifle over the contender but without the ability to swap barrels without special fitting from the factory it was fireseeable the handi rifle would be discontinued. In a limited market already it cannot compete with the competiton that doesnt require any fitting at all.
I think it's this as much as anything else is what contributed the end of the single shot offerings from H&R.
The only reason to send receivers in for new barrel fitting is the difference in receivers themselves. They had one built to sustain shotgun and pistol caliber pressures and another to sustain the rifle pressures. Put a rifle barrel on a pistol/ shotgun frame and you run the risk of having it blow up in your face. Not exactly a risk a company like H&R or Freedom Group or whoever they're owned by would be willing to take.
Rossi, on the other hand, built frames strong enough to contain pressures for all barrels/ calibers on a single frame (with a few exceptions, I think).
This alone is what held me back from buying an H&R Handi. I wanted barrels for shotgun, rifle and pistol calibers, but they never had a full set in what I wanted, so I never bothered because I didn't want the hassle of shipping the thing back and forth every time I wanted a new caliber.
I never got the Rossi, and I'm pretty sure their Wizard line got nixed also, so the budget line of single shot, easy swap long guns is pretty much gone.
The appeal of the Handi was the idea of one receiver, many barrels, just like a T/C Encore or Contender, but at a lower price point.
I love my single shot 20 gauge, and wanted a Handi and barrels for 12 & 20 gauge, .223, and something like .44 magnum. I even found a .44 mag Handi locally at an LGS, but it didn't have the rifle frame, so .223 was out.
Anyway, I'm not a big hunter or bullseye/ target shooter, so the single shot concept only had so much appeal. Not enough even at the H&R price point to drive home the purchase. It's highly unlikely I'll get a T/C, the appeal just isn't there for me.