Thoughts on an H&R Handi 18" in 45-70?

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Col. Plink

Col. Plink

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Have a line on one of these in like-new condition for a good price but didn't know if the barrel length was an issue for that caliber (and don't know much about the performance of the round in general beyond its energy delivery).
Your thoughts welcome! Thanks!
 
I have a Thompson Condender in 45-70 and a 16 inch barrel. I use H322 powder to reduce the muzzle flash. It shoots clover leafs at 50, one inch at 100 and three inches at 150. Good enough for me....you should have no problem with an 18 inch barrel. Just remember a carbine length rifle is for shorter ranges.....chris3

Forgot to mention, that short barrel will kick your a$$.....chris3
 
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The biggest problem with my Handi-rifle in .45-70 is that it kicks the bejesus out of me with even mild loads. It is about one pound lighter than my Springfield 1873 carbine and even with a recoil pad makes a good size bruise on my shoulder after 10 or so shots. My "standard" load is the Lyman 405 grain slug and 21 grains of SR 4759 for a velocity of about 1050 fps.
 
I have a Handi in 22-250 already; what a pair of compliments they would make! I could start looking for all the calibers in between! Mmmmm, breachloaders!
 
You know, when I first saw the handy rifles, I thought they were pieces of junk. I'm pretty much a regular at the range where I shoot; and when the hunting season comes around every year, the range gets flooded with handi rifles in .444 and .45-70 to sight in.

Naturally, having to sight in 10 of these in a day could be quite a chore so I've "helped" them out a couple of times with zeroing these rifles. I've found them to shoot remarkably well for such a handy little rifle. Most hold 1-2 MOA at 100 and the recoil wasn't that bad. I mean, I don't think I'd want to shoot more than 20 rounds or so at one sitting, but it wasn't bad at all.
 
Buy the titanium screws you'll need for your shoulder when you pick up that rifle.

;) Handi rifles are lightweight, that's gonna have one heck of a thump.
 
Most hold 1-2 MOA at 100 and the recoil wasn't that bad. I mean, I don't think I'd want to shoot more than 20 rounds or so at one sitting, but it wasn't bad at all.
Click to expand...

The two I owned would not hold 2 moa at 25 yards, either I purchased 2 really bad ones
or just can't shoot the Handi. The recoil would be interesting in a 45-70.
 
I think a Handi Rifle in .45/70 is going to kick the snot out of you.
Put some weight in the buttstock and add a Kick-Eze pad for shooter comfort or you will develop a flinch of epic proportions from the recoil and the heavy trigger pull.
 
Holy cow folks, I hate recoil and 20 rounds of 300 grain JHPs was about like shooting 20 gauge buckshot in an 1100. Rifle is factory stock, no scope, no nothing. :p

Have not ordered the Skinner sights, but accuracy at 65 yards was minute-of-clay-pigeon to the point that I quit shooting as it was boring. :)
 
TxPat: 'tendency to break open when you fire'?

Seems like this would be a fire-hot issue around here if this is true of H&R Handi's, no?
 
I have heard about the guns breaking open too and speculate it is more about shooter thumb and hand control rather than poor gun design.
I know a lefty who will pop one open because of the position of his hand he insists on using.
 
I have an H&R Buffalo Classic and I love it. Recoil isn't bad but it doe shave a 32 inch barrel and weighs quite a bit more.

Mine has opened up when I fired it only with the heaviest handloads I have tried in it. That was more umpf than I would ever need in a rifle so I stick to the milder loads now.

The 45-70 is a great round. Very versatile, and cheap and easy to reload.
 
the action breaking open when firing is a well know issue, has been discssed before. I dont have this problem with other rifles in this configuration. mine was .22-250 and did it regular, got rid of it.
 
I say buy it and try it. If recoil is too much modify ammo and/or gun. Resale of the rifle is always an option. Hornady is bring out a 250 gr. no lead load. Might be fun load. Barnes already makes a 250 gr. jacketed .458 head. Their load data is slower than a 300 gr. head. Boo on that. I saw a web site where they shoot 45-70 lead heads in air rifles. 700 fps with 510 gr. heads and they successfully dump big African animals nine years in a row. This kind of speed is attainable with trailboss and should not kick much. My 28 inch H&R Shikari hits hard (both ends) at 1900 fps and 300 JSP and makes 3/4 in groups at 75 yards. Brought home a tasty moose. Please report back on your decision and hopefully range/hunting time. I shoot a 30-30 and hornet in handy rifles too. Have fun and bangaway.
 
TxPat: 'tendency to break open when you fire'?

Seems like this would be a fire-hot issue around here if this is true of H&R Handi's, no?
Click to expand...

Seen this issue on many forums,while the 2 I owned were 22lr and 223 neither broke open on firing however the accuracy was poor and very inconsistent depending on how a rest was used and sometimes point of impact changed after reloading, poor mating of the break open action IMO. Triggers were horrible, now I understand many tweaks on line for some of the faults but all in all not worth the effort, I believe they make a OK farm/truck gun but not for serious target shooting or hunting. In 50 some odd years of buying the handi and an EAA 22 pistol are the two worst I've owned and there have been many.
I simply avoid break open two piece stocks if you want accuracy out of the box. I'm not trying to diss someones purchase for I understand others use and like the Handi and that's fine if they work for you all is good but my experience was poor with the rifle.
 
my marlin, with modern "magnum loads" kicks like a blue freakin mule, the handi rifle is going to kill you. if you don't mind the recoil than buy it, I would highly recomend spending a little more on a nice used marlin. you'll get a lot better bang for your buck. but I've never had any reason not to like my handi rifles that I have owned. but my marlin is a cadillac by comparison
 
I guess I need a rundown on how and why this issue occurs, and how much it affects performance (mechanically and accurately). I don't know if I could shoot a caliber like that in a set-up that was popping open on me. My 22-250 did it but was easily remedied by cleaning and keeping the locking mechanism dry (no oil). If there are more fundamental issues with this issue in Handi's that would be different. Thanks in advance for anything y'all might know.
 
I have one with a 22' barrell and the kick isn't bad at all. The shorter barrell is proabablty an issue though. I get mine to shoot minute of saucer at 100 yard with factory sights.
 
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