Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Handi Rifle for my daughter?

I guess I need to sell that pair of Argentine mausers that I got for the kids...

Nah, just do 'em up right with AAA Claro.

Boodude,
I hunt with my daughter. she got a three point (western count) blacktail buck this year after a week of hard hunting with me. It was quit frankly the best time she and I ever had, and we came back closer then we had ever been. She backs me now in every argument I have with her mother

She is also very proud of her rifle and loves to show it off and to shoot it. I got her a beautiful little Ruger model 77 lightweight in 257 Roberts, 3X9 scope. I had it fitted to her by a gunsmith friend. The caliber has plenty of punch for deer and black bear but light in kick and bark (a 250, 243 or 6mm wiould do just as well). She's not intimidated by it and can practice a lot without hurting herself.
I got her a rifle she will have for the rest of her life, becuase she is worth it! So is your daughter!

Good for you Slideaction. She'll cherish that rifle long after you're gone, and reflect back on the good times you shared together each time she picks it up.

Great rifle/cartridge choice too BTW.

My daughter has a slight build so I bought her a Ruger Compact in 7mm-08 and load it down. With a Leupold 2x7compact scope, it looks like a full size rifle scaled down and with the 16.5" barrel the entire rig only weighs 6#. With a little adaptation in shooting style, it's not bad for me as well.

My eldest son got married in August '07. When he left the house I packed up and sent with him my cherished and valued Ruger M77RS 35 Whelen with Leupold variable (his favorite of MY rifles). My eldest daughter has already claimed my Weatherby MkV sporter with Leupold variable, and it will end up with her when the time comes. My younger son has his eye on my Rem M7SS 260 Rem with Bushnell Banner 4x32, and it will be his. My younger daughter is too young still. When I handed my wife my new Winchester M70 Classic Compact 308 with Leupold 3-9x40, just to look at, she never gave it back and I didn't bitch (much). And last night, when my daughter's underpriviledged boyfriend asked me to sell him a good first rifle, I told him to keep his hard-earned money and just gave him a Mauser 30-06 with Timney trigger and Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40 that shoots itty bitty groups with 180 grain mashers. All of that "giving" takes care of just about half of my lifetime collection of selected rifles. I guess you can't take it with you. I just hope they appreciate them half as much as I did.

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Agreed, and echo this, and the other positions of MontanaMarine on this one. He said better, and likely "nicer" than I would have or could have.

i'll say this about the dozen or so handi rifles i have owned: every one of them had a nice trigger that broke between 3-6 pounds, shot into 1.5 inches or less when the right ammo was determined, never failed to eject, were far easier to tweak into hunting accuracy than the two remington 700 adls i've owned. the .30-30s, in particular, were spectacular.
we still have one in the gun cabinet, a heavy barrel in .308.
if this .280 mentioned in the thread shoots well - and i bet it does - it is a bargain.
if that rifle does not work out for your daughter, you can sell it for what you've got in it, easily.
yes, there are issues with some chamberings in the handi, the .243 (stuck cases) and .44 magnum (wrong twist rate for heavy bullets and too-long ledes) in particular.
but the .30-30, .45-70, .30-06, 7mm-08, .280 rem and such are just fine.
go to www.graybearoutdoors.com for the skinny on handis. as much as i love this board, i have to say there is very, very, very little owner expertise available here on these firearms.

as for operating a handi with numb fingers, i've done it with nary a glitch. besides, numb fingers is an issue that can be cured with proper gear and instruction ...
as for dogging the handi shotguns, best day i ever had dove hunting was with a 16-gauge h&r shotgun: 13 birds, 12 shots. never did that with my model 12 ...

Cold/numb fingers will turn off a new hunter more than a Handirifle.

amen, 'crewd ...

I think well enough of the N.E.F. rifles, but some don't. I head shot a turkey at over a hundred yards with one in 204Ruger, seemed accurate to me. I've sold and had fitted, and fitted myself, many barrels to my receiver. Muzzle loaders, rifles, shotguns. Like any rifle, some are winners, some arn't.
Greybeards.com has a forum and classified section for them.

I've owned 3 handi "rifles" and they sure weren't handy. All 3(.30-30, 35 Whelen, .22 rimfire) had serious ejection/extraction issues. I don't care how well they shoot if you need to carry a ram rod around with you to knock out the empty brass.

My suggestion is look elsewhere.

[quote=MontanaMarine)Did they ever get the handi's extraction/ejection worked out? Last I looked into them, the spring driven ejector often lacked the power to dislodge an empty from those chambers. The solution was a cam powered extractor, that doesn't eject at all.

I couldn't label it a "solid, quality piece".....at least not with a straight face. [/quote]

I've messed with four and all had this issue to one degree or another. Nothing like sending a gun back to the factory and having it replaced with one that does the same thing. At least the 12 gauge you could fit a stick easy enough down the barrel so you weren't SOL. There is all kind of internet fixes out there from using a dremnel to make a little relief cut on the chamber edge to be able to use a screw driver to pop the stuck case out to polishing the chamber, blah,blah, blah,
They should just make them with a ramrod under the barrel to use for just such occasions.

Yeah ..... Gun-snobs come in all kinds, shapes and sizes!

That .280R Handi-Rifle is a bargain, at least $100 less than what it'd cost NIB. Wish such a deal would drop in my lap.

Would I like it if every one of my rifles was an MOA bolt-action shooter in a custom Remy 700, pre-64 M70 or Kimber Montana? Heck yeah!

Would I like it if every one of my shotguns were M12's (or M48's), Belgian A-5's or Superposed, or AAA-select stocked Beretta's? Yes again. But that ain't "life."

For $150 that .280 Handi is a helluva deal. Any non-gunsnob would likely buy it, try it, and either keep it or sell it for a profit to someone who recognizes an "opportuinity."

You can certainly hunt with a handi. You can dig a posthole with an E-Tool too, but I wouldn't choose to for equally obvious reasons.

My point is that they come along with an inherent set of disadvantages. Slow to deliver follow up shots, having to unshoulder to reload, having to take eyes off game to reload, and requiring a ramrod or pocket knife to ram/pry empties from the gun, are the handi's hallmarks.

There are plenty of other affordable first rifle options for kids that are going to give them quantifiable advantages in the field. There is enough challenge in front of the young hunter. What is the point in adding more difficulty by equipping them with rudimentary equipment, when better options are easily had?

The Handi is best left to shooting cans at the gravel pit, and pest control around the home/garden.

One thing not mentioned: Certainly seems if on a budget, you wouldn't have any trouble selling to get your money back, if don't like it.

Some of the posts here demonstrate that.

Edit: Again the budget thing - Haven't seen a Handi yet that was not MOA on a deer to 150+ yds., or further, and with about any ammo.

As for the extraction thing, little fore thought ( 3 inch soft brass rod).

If rifle was suitable for purpose this year, wouldn't expect deer or other game too be much smarter the next season, or more armour plated.

Seems like a lot espouse single shot, bit heavier weight, simplicity of operation for lot of beginners these days. Gymnastic training likely involves some weight training also.

The guy is on a budget, the bolt guns, whatever can come later when needed. When the gymnastic lessons are paid for, .

And........better is never badder, or is it?

"and requiring a ramrod or pocket knife to ram/pry empties from the gun, are the handi's hallmarks"

simply not true, shane.

and by extension of your logic, davy crockett couldn't possibly of killed a bear or any mexican soldiers with his front stuffer. boy, talk about having to take your eyes off game to reload ...

I understand disliking the extraction problems. But other than that, it is obvious that some folks here just don't like single-shot rifles and the inherent limitations - of rifle or shooter.

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I found them fun to shoot and accurate enough until........