Handi Rifle questions

[Marlin Junky]

Can anyone post bore and groove dimensions for .308 and .30-30 Handi Rifle barrels?

MJ

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

Each one is going to be slightly different.
Time to slug your barrel :)

[Marlin Junky]

I'm trying to determine if I should bother purchasing either a 30-30 or 308 barrel for my SB-2 frame. If the grooves aren't at least .0035" deep, it's not worth my effort.

MJ

[Westwindmike]

I'd ask this over on Greybeard Outdoors. They are the Handi experts.

[Marlin Junky]

I finally got through to NEF and the 308W is supposed to be .300"/.308" whereas the .30-30 is .301"/.3075".

MJ

[calkar]

LoL!, Thats funny! They gave you ideal numbers. My buffalo classic for example is .458 . my .308 is .310 I had to lap out the nose of some lee molds so that the nose would be supported in the large bore. The 308 will have a 1:10 twist and will not shoot cast well much past 2000 fps. The .444 and 45-70 have a good twist for cast 1:20.

[Marlin Junky]

Yeah, I don't think I'm going to bother. I'd rather have a .308 bolt gun anyway.

MJ

[crazy mark]

I size for both at .310. Both have been minute of deer accurate at up to 100 yds. I use 311332 HP's and 311334 HP's in the 308 and 311291 HP's in the 30-30. They are running at around 1800 FPS. The deer don't know what hit them anyway.

[Marlin Junky]

I'm really looking for minute of angle at 100 yards. Is that possible with a .308 Handi Rifle? There's two choices for H-R barrels in .308 too... a standard and heavy weight. Is there really any difference in performance between the two barrel contours?

MJ

[calkar]

Are you talking m.o.a with cast? The heavy barrel contour will be more rigid with less harmonics.

[leftiye]

Barrels are H&R's weak point, probly because Marlin owns them. Micro groove has been applied to a lot of barrels even though with the normal number of grooves. My 45-70 has a .452 bore and .457 grooves. If a Barrel has shallow rifling or goofy dimensions like my 38-55 I consider cutting it off and making a stub out of it and threading a good barrel into the stub. There's always a need for a stub to make a barrel that H&R doesn't offer.

[Rayc384]

I'm struggling with a new BC in .45/70 to get anything to shoot in it. It has the shallower rifling and so far it has baffled me. An older one I had would shoot anything I fed it well, even .45 pistol bullets.

[largom]

I'm struggling with a new BC in .45/70 to get anything to shoot in it. It has the shallower rifling and so far it has baffled me. An older one I had would shoot anything I fed it well, even .45 pistol bullets.


Try shooting the largest boolit that will chamber.

Larry

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

I'm struggling with a new BC in .45/70 to get anything to shoot in it.

How much have you shot it so far?
My handi after 150 or so rounds an a lap job is just starting to come around.
Thats with jwords too.

[Rayc384]

I decided to figure the BC out once and for all. It turns out it will not stabilize a bullet that weighs 405+. It would shoot the 340 grain fine, but shot the 425 bullets sized at .460 sideways. I can adjust to this.

[hunter2]

Just got rid of a 444 that had been laying around for a year because the twist was way over 1 in 20. Was wanting it for subsonic use. Did they make different ones?

[Swampman]

The .30-30 Handi is pretty much the most accurate Handi you'll buy. The .444s are SAMMI spec. 1in38.

[Skipper]

The .444s are SAMMI spec. 1in38.


The 2007 and later are 1:20"

[leftiye]

When I got my xtra barrels fitted, I checked the twist rates with H&R 1871. I wanted a .44 mag to make into a .445 Supermag, but the twist available was 1 in 38 inches. The .444 came with a 1 in 20 inch teist so I ended up buying that. I suspect there might not be a single answer to this. Check the barrel. 1 in 38 probly won't shoot in anything.

[hunter2]

The first of March they all went up $60 or more. Marlin bolt gun not much more than that...

[nanuk]

... My 45-70 has a .452 bore and .457 grooves.


My 45/70 Handi Rifles ( 2 ) are .455+ - .459+

I'd say you have a winner there!

Stubbing a Handi opens up a whole realm of possibilities..... .375x303LongNeck??

hmmm...

[Swampman]

The first of March they all went up $60 or more. Marlin bolt gun not much more than that...

Sadly they don't chamber the marlin boltgun in any interesting cartridges.

[Rayc384]

Took care of that cranky Buffalo Classic once and for all. After finding a bullet it liked, the intermittent misfires became more frequent than fires. Not good in a match to say the least. Disassembled that pig and parted it out. Lost some money, but added 5years to my life. At 69 I don`t have time for these struggles.

[ThomD]

Anyone heard anything good about the 500 sw handi. I want to use it as a stopping rifle, for bear, and moose (hey, they can get mighty riled where I come from - in my dreams...)

I would also probably shoot the odd deer out around 100yds, with lighter loads. I am not too worried about recoil since I will probably re-stock it. My plan is to run app sites with proper comb height. I have tried a scope on a handy in the past, and was not thrilled.

[nanuk]

more people are killed by moose in Canada than bear.. by far