Handi Rifle barrel

[just bill]

Thought I'd ask on this site, does any one know anybody who is making barrels for a handi rifle?

Thanks,
Bill

[rockrat]

No one that I know of. I have heard of people getting a cheap shotgun barrel and cutting it and using the rear section and stubbing a rifle barrel onto the shotgun stub. Maybe reboring a existing barrel.

[blpenn66502]

David White at one time did, not sure if he still does. Google his name and h/r and handi and you should find him. I have no personal experience in dealing with him and haven't checked his website in several years at least.

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk

[John Taylor]

Just finished one last week in 45 Colt. I do at least 4 a year.

[Good Cheer]

Mr. Taylor, some day I'm gonna get my stuff together to ask you to put together a .41... if only I could figure out the rifle to use as a starter!

[John Taylor]

Mr. Taylor, some day I'm gonna get my stuff together to ask you to put together a .41... if only I could figure out the rifle to use as a starter!
The last 41 I did I had trouble finding a barrel blank. Douglas makes one but they are a bit spendy.

[wgr]

why not just make a barrel lug

[rugerdude]

As usual for me, when I finally decided to send my New England SB1 framed 20 gauge back to have a .44 Magnum barrel fitted, I was told that they had stopped all break action production and were only fitting barrels still in stock. Just my luck, SB1's can only be fitted with .357 and .44 Magnum barrels and they were out of both.

Mr. Taylor, what do you have to have to make up a .44 Mag barrel?

[John Taylor]

As usual for me, when I finally decided to send my New England SB1 framed 20 gauge back to have a .44 Magnum barrel fitted, I was told that they had stopped all break action production and were only fitting barrels still in stock. Just my luck, SB1's can only be fitted with .357 and .44 Magnum barrels and they were out of both.

Mr. Taylor, what do you have to have to make up a .44 Mag barrel?
$450-$500, you supply the sight you want. That's with a new lug and ejector or extractor.

[GhostHawk]

That is pretty tempting. Considering that I just emptied my wallet on a Pre 64 Win 94 I will have to start saving. We will see if the world is still here in 6 months. :)

[jaysouth]

Get a CVA Hunter. Much better gun with better trigger, free scope mount and rings and hammer spur. Go to Buds, they have them in stock.
https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/1229/CVA+CR5430+HUNTER+44MAG+BLSYN

[Taylor]

Muzzleloader barrels?

[Whiterabbit]

ANyone making stubs? shotgun barrels are starting to become unobtainum, with as much value as a 357 maximum barrel. Makes the whole project not financially feasible.

[scattershot]

Yeah, prices have really gone crazy in the last year or so. Check over on Graybeard Outdoors for used barrels, they come up from time to time.

[Whiterabbit]

for a mint, too. Very hard to find a deal these days in the handi game.

[John Taylor]

Muzzleloader barrels?

More than a few years back, before all the inlines, I was taking H&R shotguns and installing 54 caliber muzzle loading barrels. The old lugs were silver soldered on so it was easy to move them to a new barrel. I set them up for 209 primers and extended the ejector to get rid of the spent primer. I had made about 2 dozen when the law was changed in Idaho for muzzle loading hunting season, had to use a percussion cap. Many of the rifles were sent back to be converted to take a standard cap. A couple of the rifles had a fast twist for conicals and I made a sizing die from part of the barrel that engraved the rifling on the bullet which made for easy loading. Breach plug was about 3" long and forearm hanger was made different so it did not need a two piece ram rod.
The last deer I shot was with a converted shotgun in 52 caliber, that was about 35 years ago.

[BossMaverick]

I know I'm posting in an old thread, but its confirmed that H&R/NEF stopped their barrel accessory program, correct? Has anyone talked to them to see if it is going to be restarted in the future?

[Jeff Michel]

Sadly, I don't believe the barrel program was the only thing H&R stopped doing.

[GhostHawk]

Boss, over at graybeard outdoors is a bunch of Handi holics who have their own forums there.

M uch of my information comes from a person I knew as Brian56 who worked at H&R, NEF. Two years ago I sent my first handi rifle in to have some barrels fitted. It took almost 5 months but eventually I did get my rifle back, with a .357mag barrel fitted to it. It was one of the last rifles to be so worked on at H&R.

According to Brian56 the employee's were all let go, a few pieces or machinery was sold, the doors were locked, and they walked away.

Now according to the Freedom group, which bought out H&R, Remington, Marlin there were plans to build a new factory in a more gun friendly state. Georgia I believe. However I have yet to see new guns coming out of Georgia single shots or otherwise.

H&R is dead, has been dead almost 2 years.
Myself I was lucky I found a couple of new old stock comeplete guns online at reasonable price and bought them both. (210$ and 225$ for .444marlin and .300BO)

There are people who are taking old H&R shotgun barrels and stubb a new rifle barrel into it.
So I have been buying up 100$ shotguns here in my area. Even those will double and triple in value over the next few years.

Check out Ebay if you want to see what barrel prices are doing. Was tempted by a .44mag barrel till I saw the 499$ buy it now price tag.
The truly rare ones like .45lc add a couple of hundred onto that.

[Tackleberry41]

Was a time when you could pay not to much on ebay, but now with production ended, the prices have quickly sky rocketed for a donor barrel. Most are not willing to pay the cost of a barrel block to be made. Existing H&R complete guns are quickly disappearing from racks. Place near me usually had a few, but I bought last one they had. Rossi has apparently ended their production of single shots to.

[GhostHawk]

Scored again, NEF shotgun in reasonably decent shape for 70$. Needs a little stock cosmetic work, scratch's mostly. Barrel could use some cold blue touchups in places. But overall it looks lightly used and locks up solid. Perfect platform for those brass 20 ga hulls I've been loading. Might have to consider a chamber adapter to .22lr for that girl, in the 5 - 8 inch price range. For times when you want a little less BOOM and a bit more meat in the pot.

[BossMaverick]

Good info GhostHawk, thank you. I knew the Freedom Group was screwing things up but I didn't know H&R/NEF completely closed down. Getting additional barrels for my handi rifle was going to be a "someday" thing but it looks like I waited too long.

I wonder if handi rifles will ever be produced again if a new factory has to start up and how bolt actions have came down in price. Sadly, the Freedom Group may just decide that handi rifles aren't profitable enough to restart.

[Tackleberry41]

Some of H&R problem may have been the much cheaper Rossi single shot, which oddly they quit making as soon as H&R did. You would think they would now control the market.

I really doubt it was about 'profits' when it came to H&R, but just the way wall street does things. They buy up something like H&R, load it up with debt, cashing it out as bonuses, sell off anything of value, then just let it collapse having made their money.

[BossMaverick]

That could be about corporate debts, but I think the Freedom Group was just mistake after mistake by penny pinchers with no real knowledge. They buy Marlin and fire their experienced employees to save money yet they think everything will be fine. Not surprisingly, quality goes to rock bottom until they get experience built back up.

Rossi probably was a huge competitor at the time. I remember seeing Rossi guns everywhere for lower prices while handi rifles were harder to find and came at a higher price. I didn't know Rossi went out of the game until now, but now that I think about it, its been awhile since I've seen Rossi's anywhere.

[Tackleberry41]

The little gun shop near me, said they quit making them, and oddly the price of Rossi went down vs up. He was telling me about a guy who wanted to trade one, but the price had dropped and could give him next to nothing for a used one. Rossi could be the only game in town, but they never really made good rifles.

Freedom group is like all the others. They come thru and its all about money, what can be cut, what can be mortgaged. Long term is never an issue, just the bonus this quarter. When do we ever see these companies actually survive? They hang on a bit as they are 'restructured' which means everything put up as collateral for loans, the loans go in the pocket of the executives. Then when the bills come due, they declare bankruptcy and sell off what remains. Then move onto the next 'investment'.

Marlin has survived as a name, but for how long? How long before Remingtons quality is so bad, sales plummet, they will cash out and let it collapse? So long as they can milk the name, they will.

[GhostHawk]

FYI if you are still interested in Single shots, might check out CVA. Some of the guys have been saying that they look good, shoot better, and are built very well.

I have to admit that I am interested in the CVA V2 scout pistol in .357 or .44 mag. Just have not yet been able to find the cash.

[Texas by God]

NEF single shot shotgun is/was? a common housewarming gift in Texas. Best, Thomas.

[huntersdog]

I have a few barrels for sale if you are still looking.

[Elias Graves]

I bought a CVA and it's a lot more gun than my H&R is. Locks up a lot tighter, shoots better.

[Bookworm]

Just now wandered over to Bud's site. Ordered a CVA Hunter 44Mag.
~$260 delivered, $25 transfer fee.
Looks like Mrs Bookworm gets to keep the .357 H&R.....