I agree. If you pick one up expecting a fine firearm with nice fit and finish, just put it down and walk away, because you won't like it.
If you expect a utilitarian, functional firearm for the price point, then it just might work OK for you.
Just for the record, I'd much prefer an old H&R too, all else being equal. A few years ago I passed up a used Single Six for $200. I'm still kicking myself over that. Every time I say "That's it, no more guns, no matter what", I end up seeing a good deal.
I bought 2 heritage 22 one for me one for the wife. My wife wanted a 22 revolver and the price was right for a plinker. When compere it to one of my ruger it makes me wounded if it could hit the broadside side of a barn then look at the tolerance on my bfr 45-70 and the old sane you get what you pay for comes to mind. Over all it is actually a pretty accurate the tolerances are lose to make it cheaper and easier to mass produce kinda like hi point and glock compared to a browning hi power or a Wilson combat. And yes I just put hi point and glock in the same category because they belong together one of the things that make glock so great is their lose tolerances allowing for interchangeability and helps prevent jamming kinda same reason ak47 never jam. Plus the production price of a glock is pretty cheap. Not saying glocks are a bad gun just speaking on pearly mechanical stand point of the gun.
My previous posts on the Heritage were based on casual plinking and making some good shots with it. There were also misses that I blamed on my slipping handgun skills. I guess not...
Turns out I'm coughing up black feathers concerning my Heritage. I shot it and my Ruger today and the targets tell the truth. Sandbag rest at 15 yds. I did find an ammo it likes, though.
I guess I'll see how the warranty works
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@Texas by God... are those keyholes? What would cause that?
I have a Heritage Bounty Hunter I got in partial trade I have yet to shoot. Now I’m curious about it.
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It's interesting that you post that. I had an odd incident with mine that I didn't mention before because I thought it was a fluke, but now I wonder. I posted some targets that I shot back on post 51. That target being proof that this little gun can shoot fairly respectable groups from sandbags, at 25 yards.
However: I previously had it at the 7 yard line shooting offhand. The first two cylinders it was flinging them just like your targets here, scattered buckshot groups of tumbling bullets. What the heck?! I was scratching my head looking at the darn thing, and decided to try one more cylinder. The next six rounds went into a nice little ragged one-hole group! I then put another six bullets through the same ragged hole. Then I shot two cylinders worth into a respectable group at 25 yards. I scratched it up to a fluke of some kind and forgot about it. Looking back, I had been previously fiddling with it and had the mag cylinder on it, and had just put the LR cylinder back on before going to the range. I don't see how that could have anything to do with it.
I still like the gun and think it was a good value for the money, but I wouldn't want to rely on it in any serious situation.
Definite keyholes. Today if I get time I'll try it with .22 shorts and other brand of LR. I've emailed Heritage about it- we will see what they say. They may tell me too bad because I blocked the safety and just load it with 5. I probably voided the warranty doing so. I can't imagine the cause unless it's just a bad barrel. If they won't touch it I'll see if I can fix it without spending money on it. It may become a rat shot gun or a sightless storekeeper
I had an old 22lr rifle that keyholed like that. Found a hairline crack at the crown of the barrel. It seems my stupid brother wanted to see what would happen when he put the end of the barrel in a puddle of water when he pulled the trigger. That was my beloved Winchester 1890.
Ok, at least it goes bang every time. Everything shot horribly except the first 12 .22 Shorts. So I shot 6 more at the S on the box and Nooooo. Yes, that's the muzzle end of the cylinder showing the "cylinder choke" throats.
I placed it in the back of the filing cabinet till I hear from Heritage.
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Wow, Now I have to dig out mine and check it ...
Yes please. Let's get more owner test reports.
Yeah, I noticed that on mine. Not pretty. They must save money by boring their chamber straight through instead of doing it right. The other ugly thing is the cavernous, massive crater of a forcing cone:
Attachment 234800
These things have more freebore than a Judge!
@Texas by God ...Mine is exactly the same. The 22lr cylinder has a straight bore. Cartridges fit either way. The throat in the barrel is the same as yours also. 3/4 of a cartridge fits into the bore at the forcing cone.
I tested the 22 mag cylinder...it has a stepped bore. The bullet end is tighter than the 22lr cylinder bullet end.
I still don't think it should keyhole like that though. Have you checked the crown of the barrel for hairline cracks?
It will be a while till I can shoot mine. It is going to be -30°F tomorrow here in WI. The only range nearby doesn't open until May.
I had one and only shot 22 shorts out of it.
I fiddled with the one I bought my son, guess just picky about ammo. Tried some copper plated and it shot better. 22 mag still is near worthless in it. Just the huge throats in the cyl, then that gaping forcing cone. Not the 22mag ammo as it works fine in my other 2 semi autos. Its a cheap plinking gun, just seems some pretty crappy engineering on Heritage part.
This thread has had me wondering about my El Cheapo revolver, so I've been taking it out every time I go to the range. Today I tried several types of ammo in it, including the mag cylinder. I was shooting resting on a sandbag at 50 feet. It actually does pretty well with the cheap Aguila lead bullet ammo. It was real consistent shooting 1.5" to 2" groups at 50' with LR. The magnums opened up just a little, about a 2.5" group. The funny thing is that when I put the LR cylinder back on, it still shot the sub-2" groups, except for a flyer in each group that was clearly tumbling and making an oblong hole several inches away!
I have a bore scope I'm going to borrow from work tomorrow, to take a close look into the forcing cone and bore. Tumbling bullets to me says that they're skidding in the rifling. Must be fouling or something?
Yes, I know a cheap little thing like this isn't worth spending much time or effort on, but I enjoy tinkering and learning.
I'm thinking that the casual relationship between chambers and the barrel sometimes flings the bullets canted or something. Oh-still no word from Heritage. Traffer, I'll go check the muzzle now and shoot a group or two.
No muzzle cracks, I checked with a lighted magnifying glass with fisheye. Offhand in the shop at about 25'. It's too dang bad because it has a great trigger. At least the Colibris hit point on.
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With that gaping forcing cone they may well be canting in the barrel on the way out. Slightly different bullet shape could account for some type shooting without tumbling while others tumble. I wonder if it is fixable short of a new barrel and or cylinder.
I haven't shot much out of mine but haven't noticed any keyholes from it.
The only keyholes I ever got from a 22 was when I experimented by loading some bullets way deep in the cases...they don't seem to like that.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |