.223 Handi

[EMC45]

Just got one in .223. Black stock 20 in. barrel. No sights, but came with the base. Dropped a cheapie Bushnell 2.5 fixed on it and the Harris 6-9 BR bipod. Looks good and seems to shoot pretty decent. Got the gun for $219.80 OTD. I thought that was ok. My load was 55 gr. FMJ BT bulk bullet over 24 gr. IMR 4895 in LC brass. Any suggestions? Advice?

[JIMinPHX]

That same gun has been my favorite for at least 10 or 15 years, but it never really liked 55-FMJ, or any slug longer that. The green tip stuff shot completely awful & went through the paper sideways at 25 feet! I think that the 1:12 twist is to blame for the poor performance with heavy slugs. What twist does yours have? I've been told stories about some that were 1:9, but I have yet to see them myself.

50-grain Hornady SPSX over RE-15 got me down to 3/8" groups at 100 yards, but it burned very dirty. 40-grain V-max were a heartbeat away. Everything shot best after I fouled the barrel with a few rounds of moly coated v-max. W-748 gave me better velocity with still pretty good accuracy.

I am just now starting to work up cast loads for it. I've gotten up over 3,000fps with no leading using W-748 under a gas checked Lyman 225415 with Lyman moly lube, but accuracy was off the 8-1/2 x 11 page at 50-yards. Below 2600fps, accuracy started to get better. I'm starting to fool around with Aliant 2400 now around 2000-2200fps & having some promising results, but I'm still just doing 3-shot preliminary targets, so I'm not confident in the statistical repeatability of my results yet. Leaving the gas checks off for a few test shots proved to be a bad idea at 2400fps. hardneses of 13BNH & 23BNH both seem to show promise. These articles on http://www.castpics.net/ were very helpful -

http://www.castpics.net/memberarticles/Cast%20in%20the%20.223.htm

http://www.castpics.net/memberarticles/Cast%20in%20the%20.223,%20Part%20II.htm

http://www.castpics.net/memberarticles/Cast%20in%20the%20.223,%20Part%20III.htm

There are a few little tricks with a Handi. Don’t tighten the fore end screw too tight. Bench rest on the receiver, not the fore end. & with this gun, even more than with most bolt guns, try to hold it in exactly the same way & with exactly the same pressure each time you shoot.

The price that you paid is roughly what I paid when I got mine.

[EMC45]

Very cool cast info. Something I have thought of for the Handi. I paid the same about 10 years ago for a Handi in 45-70. So not too bad. I was told that it was a 1 in 12 in. twist. So I was a little bummed out by that. Well I did the cleaning rod thing and it turns out it is a 1 in 9 in. twist. Cool! I have 50 gr. to 80 gr. jacketed. 80s are a bit heavy, but the 50 and 52 gr. are nice. All SPs and HPs. I shot at 25 yds only and it did ok. I was able to put 4 in one at 25 yds. Not saying a lot, but it did ok for bulk bulets.

[leftiye]

Yep, With them Handis the only time you know what you actually got is after you do the cleaning rod thang, slug the bore, and cast the chamber. And, yep this is the voice of experience. It really pays to call H&R before sending a gun in for more barrels, and asking them what the twist of the day might be! Just in case you don't want a 1 in 38 twist .44 Mag.

[Rustyleee]

I was thinking of just lurking here for a while but then I saw this thread on the .223 and I had to go register. I just bought a Handi myself with the lightweight barrel. My initial thought was a lightweight walking around rifle that would be a good cast bullet shooter.
Now I'll be looking for a good mould for something a little on the heavy side.

[OBXPilgrim]

Welcome to the site Rustylee.

Just like was mentioned earlier, be sure to check your twist in the Handi. They switched from 1-12" a few years ago ('06 I think), to 1-9". The first two letters of your serial number determine the year your gun was manufactured (they're coded).

The lightweight barrels can be a bit of a challenge - from what I've read - absolutely no personal experience with them, so I'd like to know for sure myself.

[NickSS]

I have a 223 handi rifle with a bull barrel that has a 1 in 9 twist. The rifle shoots very well with 55 gr FMJBT bullets. I have tried some cast in it and at around 2000 fps I get a very satisfactory load using Unique and a 55 gr lyman GC bullet.

[Rustyleee]

I read Beagle's stories and se he had good results with the 22-55-SP. I was thinking of something along those lines or even a little heavier. I see LBT make a 60 and even a 65 grain. I'm not sure I'd like to go with the 65 grain as a first try but the 60 does sound interesting.