Handi-Rifle

[Shiloh]

H&R Handi-Rifles are available in several calibers. Anyone shoot cast through them??
How do they shoot with cast??

Shiloh

[GhostHawk]

I shoot cast through all of mine, but I don't try to set any speed records either.

My .357 mag with 4.6 grains of Red Dot below a Lee .358 158 grain round nose plain base boolit will stack them all into one hole if you can do your part. My .444 marlin is the same only it uses a bit more, like 13 grains under the Lee RCBS 310 grain clone.

My .223 also likes 4.6 grains and the bator boolit, that load runs without gas check. Is at least as accurate as .22lr and hits harder. I also do a load with 7 grains and same boolit with gas check. It is slower than factory loads but will put them all in a 1 to 2 inch circle depending on the shooter and how you hold your mouth.

I have a 9mm stubb job in a handi barrel that is no slouch, .300 BO and 7.62x39 are pretty much same thing. Maybe not as good as the first 2, but nothing to complain about.

The general theme here being using a cast boolit that fits, doing some load development with an eye more to accuracy for paper punching and not caring how fast it is.

Speed is easy, but it makes ya lazy.

That being said a small fast caliber may not work as well. Especially if you are trying to duplicate factory loads, or even exceed them.

All depends on what you want and need a rifle to do.

That is 3 rounds in that hole from my .357 handi rifle, only 50 yards. It will do the same at 100 if the shooter is having a good day.

[dh2]

mine is in 444Marlin it shoots cast as well as any thing as long as you size .432 , it as also showed me that it does not like Hornady leverlution brass.

[MT Gianni]

7.62x39 and 357 max, neither have ever seen jacketed.

[jmort]

I have one receiver with factory fitted barrels
.223 and .308 and 12 gage
I have two receivers with
.357 mag and .30-30 two for each
All shoot cast real good. .30-30 is favorite, but have a 200 grain .357 mold that works well with the .357.

[Kevinkd]

Have a Buffalo Classic in 45/70 which has never seen a jacket. Changed front sight to a fine post Lyman insert and get a cloverleaf at 100 yards. Using a lee 450 grn, 41 grn of 3031 and mag primer. That's it's sweet load. Now I have to work back out its fav with the lee 340 and 500. Had it all written down a few years back but can't find it anymore.

Had the normal sized 45/70 and sold it years ago. Sad puppy now since I can't find another.

love the H&R guns.

[beechbum444]

Question... how much wobble/wiggle should be in these HR hand i rifles, looked at one the other day at a legs and there was WAY to much wobble in the action for me. Tough question, but I wanted to get ur opinions ...

[thegatman]

Question... how much wobble/wiggle should be in these HR hand i rifles, looked at one the other day at a legs and there was WAY to much wobble in the action for me. Tough question, but I wanted to get ur opinions ...

Should fit tight and can be adjusted. Graybeard has info on handis

[GhostHawk]

Mine also have never seen jacketed except for the 9mm barrel. I shot some through it to see what was causing the keyholing and large groups. It got better so I invested in the Lee 6 cavity mold in .358 158 gr to load in .357 and 9mm.

As to wobble, yes a little time spent finding the right amount of shim for the main pin should fix it.
I have heard of steel feeler gauges being used along with pop can aluminum, etc.

[DanishM1Garand]

-Snip-
love the H&R guns.

prices have gone up around here since they went out of production.

[texasnative46]

DanishM1Garand,

Check out your local flea markets.

I've recently seem several such SS rifles around Austin/SA for 50-75 bucks. = I started to buy one 3 weekends ago in .30-30WCF but it was "snapped up", while I was thinking about it, by another bargain-hunter for 50.oo.
(Fwiw, I used to have a handi-rifle in .357 Mag (with a 20 gauge barrel, too) behind the seat on the PU but it was stolen some years ago. = MANY a Texas bunny/bushy-tail/"wee piggy" fell to a 148 grain WC, #6 shot or to a .357 HP.)

H&R named the rifle/shotgun correctly. - They are HANDY. Imo, the rifle/shotgun that you HAVE all the time tends to be used a LOT for "filling the pot".
(As I've said elsewhere, my current "PU gun" is an old Revelation bolt-action shotgun that I bought cheap at a garage sale. - IF it too get stolen, I won't shed even a single tear.)

yours, tex

[Shiloh]

Good information. I'm keeping my eye out for one.

SHiloh

[Paul5388]

I think I have a .22 Hornet, .223, .243, .25-06, 7mm-08, .30-30, .357, .38-55, .44 Mag, .45 Colt, and a .45-70. All of them shoot cast except the 7mm-08 and the .243 and that's because I don't have a mold for them.

Here's a 100 yard group shot with a 250 gr Beartooth cast with 13.0 gr (not g) of LilGun from .360 DW brass out of the .357 Handy.

The .360 brass fits my .357 chamber, but it does as well with .357 brass.

[upr45]

Have a 44 that gets regularly fed Lee 310gr GC's and a healthy dose of H110. That combo has worked with boring consistency for me for at least 10 yrs. Don't recall using any other bullet because they have worked so well.

[curator]

I think I have a .22 Hornet, .223, .243, .25-06, 7mm-08, .30-30, .357, .38-55, .44 Mag, .45 Colt, and a .45-70. All of them shoot cast except the 7mm-08 and the .243 and that's because I don't have a mold for them.

Here's a 100 yard group shot with a 250 gr Beartooth cast with 13.0 gr (not g) of LilGun from .360 DW brass out of the .357 Handy.

The .360 brass fits my .357 chamber, but it does as well with .357 brass.

.360 DW brass has made my .357 Mag Handi into a tack-driver. Shooting Lyman 220 grain SWC/GC or LBT 250/360 LFN boolits is an easy 1.5 MOA at any range out to 250 yards. The Lyman 220 grain SWCs are absolute "hog-murder" on feral porkers With 12 grains of AA2400. Handis are the poor-man's Encore rifles! Too bad that Marlin/Remington deep-sixed the Handi line.

[GhostHawk]

Same here, .360DW brass, I only shoot light loads of Red Dot in mine as I am only punching paper.
I do need to cast up some of those .358 124 gr from that new Lee 6 cavity and see how it likes those.

If you can hold it good enough it will stack them all in the same hole with the Lee .358 158 gr round nose and 4.6 grains of Red Dot.

I think I have a hundred .360DW empty, I need to get to work.

I also have checked load on 50 200 grain gas checked over full loads of IMR 4227. So if I really need to kill something I can do it.

Also just loaded 50 rounds for the .444 marlin handi. That one is another tack driver.
I am hoping a lighter boolit and a lighter powder load will ease up the recoil some.

I am good for about 10 and I quit because I feel a flinch coming on.

[Paul5388]

My chamber will take lengths to 1.5", so I have also shortened some .357 Max brass by .10" to use in it. The .360 DW is only 1.4", so it has to be loaded a little lighter. I think I've clocked some at 2200 fps, but that was using a 125 gr bullet.

Another 100 yard group again with .360 brass.


Here's a few of the Handi rifles.


I had another .357 Handi that would only take .357 brass, so I sold it and kept the original one.

[Weaponologist]

I've had several over the years and never had any issues related to cast lead. I'm reloading for my 44mag Handi these days and it surprises everyone who shoots it..
A little FYI, If looking for a Handi in Pistol calibers. Seek out the 44 and 45 because if the original owner wasn't a reloader these cal. Rifles are often shot very little do to cost of Factory ammo. However the 357 could have seen quit a bit of action do to the low cost of 38special...

[Elkins45]

Or look for the current production CVA. It's not American made, but it is still in production and the trigger is worlds better than the H&R. I have one in 35!Remington and one in 300 Blackout. The 35 R was less than $200 from Buds. It's a great cast bullet gun.

How about a 44 magnum with scope mount for $250? https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...ER+44MAG+BLSYN

[GhostHawk]

I think many of us are waiting to see how the new Henry Single Shots turn out.

I do have to say that the CVA are tempting.