Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Gear Reviews Bye bye Handi Rifle

I'm probably getting to you way too late as I just came across this site 11/23/06. I've had two Handis, 223 and 243. Both are great guns. I got the 223 first and shot nothing but Remington 55gr.s with no problem of sticking casings. Killed my lifetime whitetail buck with it. 12-pointer, real nice!!! Then got me a 243 and found after some case sticking problems that I better get me some Remington shells. Did so, problem solved. Wanted a 270 and ordered it and got it 11/14/06. Got to the house with it to mount a scope on and noticed when I opened it -- it did not click like my other two Handis. Come to find out, NEF/H&R about a year ago quit making the Handi with ejectors and went to what is called an extractor style. It sucks big time and ruins the gun's use for me in hunting whitetails. The extractor does not throw the spent casing completely out leaving an empty chamber to get your next shell in. The extractor merely pulls the spent casing out about 5/32" and you have to try then to get the casing out. Try that with gloves on... And keep in mind while doing so, you've got to navigate this task underneath your scope. So rather than opening your Handi and quicly reloading, spent casing ejected, you're fumbling around trying to get at 5/32" of an exposed casing compliments of NEF/H&R and the new extractor. So while your playing beat the clock, is that downed buck gonna get up? Even if it was a well placed shot (c'mon, be for real). My point is this. The new style extractor method in the Handis is rediculous and whoever came up with it at NEF/H&R oughta be fired. Those left manufacturing the things hopefully have sense to go back to the ejector. With the present extractor style in the Handis, all NEF/H&R is doing is creating a supply of junk iron in the market. If anyone still wants a Handi Rifle (extractor style) and they want it in a 270 cal., I've got one that's never been fired, is new right out of the box, has a stainless receiver, the rest is blue, is synthetic stock, and I'll sell it at a bargain compared to what you'll pay any dealer and tax. You pick up the freight. I do not want the thing...

You missed the Waterfowl section.

Duck hunt'in is puke.

Well, how much do you want for it? I hate the .270 Winchester but I could sell the barrel and get a useful caliber. Reloaders like the extractor over the ejector. Single shot hunting is just that, single shot hunting.

?????????????????????

So the AR-15, BAR and other semi-autos are spray and pray "tools"?

Having begun my firearm hunting experience with a single shot shotgun about 400 moons ago, I do understand the value of an ejector on a single shot weapon (which simply means it has no magazine, not that it can't be fired more than once). Ruger, BTW, gives one the option of setting the ejector to throw or simply lift the case. It comes factory set to throw though. Does that mean it really isn't a single shot?

For 4 or 5 times the money the Ruger should pick up your brass for you. I don't like the #1 personally but I wish they still made the #3. If a person is a good hunter, one shot is all they need. Faulting a product for working the way it's supposed to seems a little strange. A little research before you buy is a good thing.

If a person is a good hunter, one shot is all they need.


Hunting and shooting is 2 different things......

Okay, the secret's out, I'm not a good hunter. I think I've only knocked down three of the two dozen or so moose I've killed with a single shot. Most would have died anyway, but I'm more concerned with making a humane kill than with preserving an ego thing so the rest have all gotten more until they tip over. Sure I could still be using the old bolt M670 Winchester for all my hunting, but I like hunting with #1s and in the BG versions, I set them them to eject. Catching the case can be learned just like fast follow-ups with single shooters.

As for researching a product, I would think owning a couple already ought to be adequate research. I would be rather peeved if I ordered a new rifle only to discover that a significant functional change had been made whether on a single shot, a bolt, auto or whatever.

You should practice shooting more often or use an adequate cartridge. The function change is what the public asked for. Most people don't like ejectors. I don't like Ruger longguns at all because they are pretty innacurate unless you have them fixed by a gunsmith before you shoot them.

I love ejectors - open the action and catch the ejecting hulls with the left hand. Pretty simple.

One is as good as the other.

I know what you mean. My most recent hunt:



Ruger single shot - 45-70 - 246 yards. Point well taken. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />



Yep!???



Bone stock Ruger #1 - 150 yards, 300 Rem HP - 15-20 mph breeze, same 45-70. Shot prone across driftwood rest.

(What was your point - er, issue again?)

I would say extractors are extreemly deficient in popping the brass into my awaiting cupped hand. Not as good at that as an ejector where as I can simply flatten the left hand over the breech and those same brass pieces go no where.

Out of the box Ruger long guns almost never shoot well. They can be made to shoot. I don't have that much spare time.

I think the same applies to most humans, long or short.

My own experience with long arms has been more time tinkering to get my Rems to shoot well. The few Ruger examples I have have not required any work at all to shoot MOA enough of the time to easily make them useful as hunting tools.

I've never seen a Remington that didn't shoot very well right out of the box.

I've seen a few... I like them, 'cause they can be had cheap off the used racks, tinkered with a little, and then made to shoot superbly.

In fact, I have a stupid accurate .22-250, that was just such a Remington. Factory trigger setting sucked balls, bedding was buggered, and the screws were too loose.

Tweaked the trigger, sanded out the rough as a cob bedding job and floated the barrel, tightened the screws (first time they'd ever been touched... other than to remove the barreled action from the stock by me), and voila! A non-shooting Remington shoots great.

Sometimes, you just have to tinker, regardless of the rifle.

I read in Rifle that you can buy the Handi Rifles in "groups" with extra barrels, but if you buy a barrel seperately, you have to send the reciever back to the factory to be fitted.

This is news you need to know if you're buying outside the "packages" they offer.

Anyway, I like the extractor method better, since I reload. Don't have a Handi Rifle. I think my Encore merely extracts, not ejects.

I can name a dozen or more people, myself included, that will disagree with you until the cows come home about out of the box accuracy of any rifle.

Outside of a trigger job, most rifles are fit for hunting by just adding a scope and sighting in. Mind you, I'm not chasing a bug hole, and I don't shoot more than 300 yards, but I haven't missed anything that I've shot at yet. Where does the Reminton out of box accuracy advantage begin? I haven't found it yet.

In most cases, the rifle, whether a Rem, Win, Ruger, Weatherby, etc., is more accurate than the guy holding it.

IMO, that is the bottom line.

Well, at least we agree on the Remingtons. Any bolt gun that isn't MOA or better should be traded to those who don't need accurate rifles.