The Decline of the Handi Rifle

[stsimons]

A Savage Axis is $260-$280. A Stevens 200 or Marlin XL7 or XS7 are commonly available for $300-$320. CDNN has the Howa 243 with a pillar bedded hogue stock for $329.

There are much better choices out there, but the Handi Rifles do fill a niche in certain calibers as detailed in previous posts. Personally, I don't like them one bit... with the notable exception of the heavy barreled 12 & 20 gauge slug guns... They are accurate and useful - if you can stand the recoil, which is fierce.

 

[natman]

Any clue if the new barrels will fit my decades old 20ga?

The barrels have to be fitted at the factory and they won't fit a rifle barrel on a shotgun frame.

 

[DNS]

Really like my heavy barrel Handi in .223 and its surprisingly accurate enough. Not moa accuracy but for $249 (September 2010) I really can't complain.

Barrels are a little rough in the blueing finish but its a tool not a wall hangar so I'm good.

Last i heard the .243s did suffer from headspacing issues.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Not much to add here, except that I have an old (~1975, I think) H&R Topper in 30/30...it needs to be reblued but its a perfectly usable rifle. Not really a tack driver...but good enough.

I've never hunted with, just bought it a few years ago for the heck of it.

 

[Boo-Radley]

One probable I see with the Handi Rifle in certain calibers is the short barrel. The barrels are not long enough to take full advantage of the potential of certain cartridges.

I only have one pistol at the moment. A S&W 29-2. I really want to start hand loading for it. A Handi Rifle in 44 mag, and a Lee Loader, would make for a pretty darn simple operation. Of course, the 44 mag has the same type of trajectory issues that steer me away from a 30-30.

I had a meeting yesterday with my new boss, and my finances may loosen up a lot faster than I thought, so this entire discussion may be moot. However, I did learn a few things on this thread.

 

[doubleh]

I owned a Handi in .223. I spent much more than it cost in reloading ammo and driving back and forth and never got a decent group at 50 yards. It was so bad I never even tried 100 yards. The only way I'll own another is if someone gives me one and I'll immediately head to the LWS to trade it off.

 

[mooner]

The plastic on the savage axis magazine seems very strong. I doubt you could wreck it by stepping on it, but maybe. I don't think I have ever stepped on any of my magazines. I have a Tikka and I am not sure the plastic magazines would hold up to being stepped on unless they were full. Function wise, they are much nicer than the steel magazines for a Rem. 760.

To me, if you do view the rifle as a "tool", if it works, who cares what it is made out of. I believe the modern guns using plastics have discounted any misgivings about it's durability. If it is done right they can be at least as good as the metal ones.

 

[wrangler708]

edit

 

[wrangler708]

Somebody lead you astray: FAR ASTRAY! The Mosin Nagant was once one of the foremost sniper rifles in the world. There is video on You Tube of a guy making a 1000 (one-thousand!) yard shot with one. i cannot imagine where you came up with this 150-200 yard idea. Anyone who read a single article, or fired even a few rounds ought to know better.

OK man. You go cut one down, stick it in a cheap composite stock and put a scout scope on it (cause thats all you can do with the mentioned budget) and I'll meet you at the range for your 1000 yard demonstration.

When I'm not here, I spend a lot of my time reading here, http://russian-mosin-nagant.com/ and even unaltered rifles that have had a scope mounted often only manage 2-3 MOA. Not saying that an ex-sniper with a really good bore, or even a never issued 91/30 which would also have a very good bore, can't do better but on average, they're just not all that great. I like to hit my game animals in the heart/lung area with near 100% certainty and even with a dedicated bolt action hunting rifle and quality optics, only really good shooters shoot 250 and beyond. I stand by my statement that a sporterized scout scope Mosin is a 200 yard hunting rifle at best.

Now, I have watched a complete youtube series of some professionals who cut one down then put a good crown on it, bought a very nice Boyd stock that they glass bedded and custom fitted, replaced the straight bold with a bent and then drilled and tapped for a normal scope and they ended up with a good shooter. I will concede that THIS example of a sporterized Mosin in the hands of a competent shot will exceed the capabilities of a 30-30. My post was intended to illustrate that to get the same result, it is not worth the effort and will actually exceed your stated budget.

 

[Boo-Radley]

Fair enough. Have you personally looked at the $199.00 sporter kit? I have not. I asked earlier on the thread, but no one piped up. I'd still like to hear from someone who has actually used, or at least handled one.

 

[420Stainless]

I hunt in MS and have similar experiences. .45-70 is my poison too.

BTW, the law is that it must be .35 Cal or larger, single shot, breach loading, with an exposed hammer.

Thanks BBQLS1. I couldn't remember the specifics for MS primative weapon season, but I knew the Handi Rifle and Encore type rifles qualified in 45-70 and .35 Whelen. Since I already have a lever action 45-70 I chose that one. I've had mine for a little over a year and have probably put about 200 rounds through it with consistent results.

Looking forward to hunting with it for the first time in December and at the end of the season.

 

[Agent1209]

I have a ultra Handi Rifle in 444 Marlin with the laminated stock, it shoots a 1.5 inch group at 100 yards with a 4x scope. I paid $230.00 after shipping about ten years ago. It is a lil nicer than the regular Handi's you see today. I like it and would not sell it for anything. Fixing to send it in and get the 44 mag barrel and maybe a 243 barrel!

 

[elmerfudd]

I've owned and shot a lot of Mosin Nagants, and while they can be very accurate rifles, an awful lot are genuine POS's. There's nothing innaccurate about the design, but all too many of them were made quick and dirty during the height of WW2. Too many others have shot out or corroded bores. I really can't think of any other rifle that's a bigger crap shoot than a Mosin Nagant.

 

[bluetopper]

My Handi-rifle in 500 S&W Magnum is the most fun $300 can buy in the firearms world. I replaced the plastic sights with iron sights from a Rem. 700, filled the cavity in the stock with lead shot and put a slip on recoil pad over the stock recoil pad. It's really not bad to shoot now at all, and is deadly accurate. I shoot nothing but hard cast gas check bullets in it and my barrel stays shiney clean.

 

[Lincoln4]

I flirted with the idea of a Handi-rifle, until three years ago when my buddy shot his deer only to find that the now empty .270 brass wouldn't extract. Had to send it to the factory. He got a new barrel, but that was the end of his trust in it. He now shoots an Encore. I'll stick to one of my many "cheap" Savages that have never failed over the many years I've owned them. Oh yeah, they all have shot sub moa out of the box. Just sayin'

 

[Stantdm]

I have a SB-2 with a bull barrel .223 that shoots pretty well. It does fail to eject about once every fifty shots. It has taken a fair number of coyotes out to 200 yds. Off the bench its a 1 to 2 inch gun if I pay attention to what I am doing. Its a good ranch gun and I don't have a fit when its rolling around in the backseat of the pickup.

NEF just changed the rules on accessory barrels. They will put any offered center fire barrel on a SB-2 receiver made in 2000 and later if it passes their inspection. SB-2 receivers made before 2000 are limited to black powder or shotgun. This change was made a couple of weeks ago.

They did bring back the 35 Whelen last month and a couple of other calibers that were not there last year when I looked earlier in the year.

 

[fallout mike]

I'm gonna call BS on the mosin being at best a 200 yard gun and that inexperienced shooters not being able to shoot past 200 yards. I know many people that doesn't shoot guns and on there first deer hunting trip kill one at 300+ yards. The statement that the mosin is a 150-200 yard gun at best doesn't even deserve a explanation.

 

[Picher]

I have a used Handi-Rifle in .243 Win and it's been an okay rifle for the grandkids to shoot/hunt with, but accuracy is in the 2 MOA range unless one is very careful about how it's rested and pulled tight to the shoulder.

Mine has experienced extraction problems and tends to fail when there isn't a cleaning rod around to pop the case out.

The new Ruger American seems like a good alternative to the Handi-Rifle. Bolt actions are so much better IMHO, and the new Ruger might be had for about a hundred dollars more than the Handi-Rifle. A recent test indicates the Ruger is quite accurate.

 

[Curator]

I bought my Handi back in the early 80s in .45-70. The gun shot well but kicked way too much to be fun. I later bought .30-30, .223 Rem, .44 RemMag, and 2-12 gauge shotgun barrels (one rifled) Now, this is a "Handi" combination. One rifle to do multiple tasks. The frame hardly ever wears the original .45-70 barrel. The other barrels give good to great accuracy with the exception of the .44 Rem Mag which has 1 in 38 inch twist and will not shoot the 240 grain bullets very well past 25 yards. The .30-30 and .223 barrels are exceptionally accurate with handloads and "O" ring under the forearm screw. Ejection is sometimes uncertain with dirty brass or high-pressure loads.

 

[Boomie]

I've had two Handi rifles. One, an older 20 gauge shotgun, has been 100%. The other a new manufacture "Ultra Varmint" in .243. That was the biggest lemon gun I've ever gotten and customer service was useless. I won't buy another SB2 platform gun again.

 

[ClusterNukes]

I have a gunsmiths special Handi Rifle based on a Model 37 Winchester shotgun and a god knows what barrel. The maker even took the time to scribe "Handi Rifle" on it. It's chambered for .223 rem only. Fun li'l shooter

 

[fallout mike]

Most people buy handi rifles to hunt with, not try to shoot moa groups. Their accuracy is fine for shooting a deer unless you get a serious lemon.