I ain't happy

[Dan Cash]

Sounds like a .223 M70 I had back in the late 80s. Would not hit an 8 1/2 x 11 inch piece of paper at 100 yards. Hit it once at fifty but bullet was in full keyhole mode. Winchester said was not anything wrong with gun but it was unsafe as I had adjusted the trigger down from 15 pounds. Turned the gunm into an Bropwing Auto 5 12 ga. Problem solved.

[Mike in TX]

Check your forearm. It may be too tight. Use "o" rings to loosen up.

[tacklebury]

75 Gr. will likely be too much for a 1:9 twist even. You should try nothing over 70 gr. in that twist. You really need a 1:7 twist to stabilize the longer pills. If you are shooting a 1:12, you should stick to 40 or 45 gr. mainly.

[Fishman]

75 Gr. will likely be too much for a 1:9 twist even. You should try nothing over 70 gr. in that twist. You really need a 1:7 twist to stabilize the longer pills. If you are shooting a 1:12, you should stick to 40 or 45 gr. mainly.

Yes I concur. 75 gr is too heavy for 1:12

I have not tested it but one of the no-no's with handi-rifles is oil on the barrel latch. Dry that and snap the action closed with authority to ensure repeatability. If this is a second-hand barrel you may have fitment issues.

[torpedoman]

actually you do sound more like grumpy ! LOL

[Taylor]

I agree on the 75 being a bit much,that was all I could find.They didn't work either.

Range report:
Went to the range today with my son and a friend. Between me and Roger,we had 45gr,3 different 55gr and the 75 grain.My 55gr was remington that had be stored for 20 years,8 out of 20 misfired.The other seemed to group OK,at about 4"-6" at 100 yards.But they did group. The 45 gr actually did the best,with a 3 shot group that could be covered with a dime.Nothing else did any good at distances past 50 yards. At 50 everything is spot on. We talked about twist rates and bullets weights without any real satisfaction.

Everything so far that I have read leads me to believe that a 45gr is to light for a 1-9 twist,yet it worked today.Also I was assured by H&R that my barrel is a 1-9.However,after returning home I decided to check for my self (using a cleaning rod a piece of tape).I measured a 1-10. Measured 4X,each time it came out to 1-10. As far as I know they didn't make that twist rate in 223.

Another thought,if I take a sized a trimmed case,insert bullet lightly and close the barrel,and then inspect the round it does not move from it's original position.Normally this would seat the bullet deeper into the case.But not in this case.

I have tried the O ring trick,no difference noted. All firing has been done from a lead sled and good solid bench.

At this point I feel I have made no actual improvement nor come to any reasonable conclusion.Now I am not the best shot in the world,but I ain't all that bad either. I had ordered 69gr sierra matchking for this barrel ( they are on backorder) because of the 1-9 rate.

[selmerfan]

One word: Scope. You're wasting ammo until you try a different scope.

[bstarling]

I had the exact same problem with mine and it was the scope.

Bill

[Taylor]

The scope works fine on other rifles,but that was my first concern.At this point it is being return to H&R for evaluation.We'll go from there,wait and see what happens.

[selmerfan]

So since you've had your troubles with the Handi-rifle you've swapped out scopes? Tried the Weaver on other rifles? I'm not sure if you've ever had a scope go south on you, but I have. It happens in a heartbeat, or more likely, a trigger pull. I hope the Weaver is just fine - the rifle is probably the easier fix!

[Taylor]

Yep,been there done that with scopes.Will drive you crazy.

[selmerfan]

Amen!

[Taz700]

Had a buddy with a rifle that would shoot high, low, left, right, up, down, found out the rings were shot (the screws were tight) but the scope wasn't. You should get great groups out of a 24" barrel. I can keep 1.5" or less at 200 with a 20" 1in9 twist barrel shooting fast. Timed rounds under .75" (that's a 55 gr, mixed case, rem primer, 24.5 gr of H335). I think the scope is up.

[Jack D]

My .357 mag. Handi came with a scope base from the factory. It was not installed properly. One hole was drilled off center and only one of the three screws were tight. I was blaming the scope until I heard it rattle and discovered the base was loose and off center. I disposed of the base and installed a 12" picatinney rail in its place. Problem solved.

[M-Tecs]

Some 9 twists will shoot 75’s OK but most will not. A 12 twist should handle 62’s OK. A 9 twist will handle 40 to 69 grain bullets just fine. The closest thing that I have found to a magic load is my favorite prairie dog load of 27.5 of H335 under a 40 grain Nosler ballistic tip or 40 grain Hornady V-max. I have shot this load in 20 plus 223 rifles with 6.5, 7, 7.7, 8, 9, 12, 13 & 14 twists. I have yet to find a rifle that did not like this load.

I build match rifles on the side. I use the 40grs/H335 for barrel break in and initial test firing. I just did two AR’s with Krieger barrels. One for myself and on for a friend. Mine is a 9 twist and my friends is a 13 twist. Both will consistently do 3/8” moa for five shots with the 40 grain loads. With a good bullet over spinning is generally not a problem. Some of the cheap bulk bullets will open up if spun to fast. It shouldn’t be an issue with a 9 twist.

[Taylor]

Thanks for the help guys,just waiting on HR to get back with me.

[slammer1]

Taylor,
1 thing I keyed on was that you're shooting from a lead sled. The lead sled's front rest supports the forearm. Handi's don't typically shoot as well if any pressure is put on the forend. I understand they shoot better by placing the front rest right in front of the trigger guard (touching receiver metal). To get this kind of a support requires a tripod rest (I use a Caldwell Rock jr. and a support bag under the buttstock). Something worth trying when your Handi comes back...

[country gent]

The 75s should shine in your 9 twist barrel I use the for 200-300 yard lines in my AR. When the targets come up golf tees spotting the bullet holes heads are ussually touching. WHat do your groups look like stringing vertical or horizontal just a spray of holes or start of a group and fliers. Many things affect how a barrel shoots. Fit, finnish, tensions, internal stresses in the metals, Bench technique, cleaning, and recoil managment. Need a little more info actually. I have the same handi rifle slightly older with 12 twist barrel it is very accurate and a good shooter with 50-55 grn bullets but go any heavier and things go south real quick. My High Power 75 grn hornady load key holed at 50 yds in it. I gave it to Dad to use on the farm with a couple hundred 50 grn load that it liked for wood chucks and pests.

[Taylor]

I got the rifle back from H&R,along with a target,shows 3 shots at 100 yards with a 62gr bullet--nice and tight.They chamfered the barrel is all they said.I have not had the time to take it to the range yet.

[ACrowe25]

Glad H&R made it right, I had problems with my ultra slug (ejection problems) and they fixed it for me no problem.