Author Topic: Handi Break-in Period  (Read 869 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline McLernon

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1217
Handi Break-in Period
« on: December 27, 2006, 03:40:21 PM »
Has anyone noticed whether or not the heavier caliber Handi's require less of a break-in than the lighter calibers? This question has to do with latch/llug engagement 'shake-down' which theoretically should happen after fewer shots on the more heavily loaded rifles. I have only owned the lighter caliber Handi's so I can't make any comparisons.

Just curious.

McLernon

Offline quickdtoo

  • Global Moderator
  • Trade Count: (149)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43304
  • Gender: Male
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #1 on: December 27, 2006, 03:51:20 PM »
You're just gonna have to add some heavy calibers to your collection so you can have some hands-on experience with em!! ;D

I haven't noticed any problems, but I also know to firmly close the action. In fact, I looked it up in the owner's manual to see what it said about closing the action, I think closing it too gently when new is the main cause of pop opens.

Quote
...close the action with enough force to assure it is securely locked in place, and cannot be opened without pressing the release lever.

Lots of new heavy calibers have been reported to shoot very well out of the box, none of mine have required a lot of shooting before offering good accuracy. I've had some vertical string issues, but it's readily dealt with by a slight change in forend mounting pressure.

Tim



"Always do right, this will gratify some and astonish the rest" -  Mark Twain

Offline McLernon

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1217
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #2 on: December 27, 2006, 04:03:59 PM »
Thanks for the response Quick. I am still procrastinating about a 'tricked-out' Handi 45-70. I want to get an estimate of the gunsmith charges before I decide. I'll do this first thing in the new year. I think I know where they have in stock 3 BC at $449.00CDN each (it's a secret) so hopefully I'll be able to react fast enough.

McLernon

Offline stimpylu32

  • Moderators
  • Trade Count: (67)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6062
  • Gender: Male
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #3 on: December 27, 2006, 05:21:10 PM »
McLernon

Its no secret , if there is a handi guy with in 200 miles they will smell them and they will be gone  , act fast buddy  ;D

stimpy
Deceased June 17, 2015


:D If i can,t stop it with 6 it can,t be stopped

Offline Fred M

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (1)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2362
    • Fred The Reloader and Wildcatter
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #4 on: December 27, 2006, 05:52:09 PM »
McLernen.
Except for shooting the long range BP games, I don't see any valid excuse to own a 45-70. Lets face it it is an anteque and as such more than outdated in performance than most any center fire cartridges.

Besides I don't call it fun to be bashed around by some obnoxcious outsized bullets in a light rifle.

If you want play the buffalo game and carry one of those blunder busses around the woods like Davie Crocket, and dream about nostalgia and the likes, then get one.

But there is no hunting application that needs a 45-70.
Ok I get flamed for that but that is ok by me, since there are no facts that would convince me otherwise. Really I think a 45-70 is a waste of good money.

My little 257 Roberts will do anything that the 45-70 will do, that is to drop an animal with one shot, and do it with pleasure.
Fred M.
From Alberta Canada.

Offline Mac11700

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (34)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6875
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2006, 08:23:38 PM »


Fred...You are intitled to your opinion...but...
Quote
My little 257 Roberts will do anything that the 45-70 will do, that is to drop an animal with one shot, and do it with pleasure.
...Your not really being serious here are you? You really think your little 257R will drop a  PO'd grizzly?...I think the only pleasure that will be...will be of the Grizzly as he is making a snack of you ;D I'm not flaming ya Fred...I admire your little custom Handi...and I do agree entirely with getting pleasure from a light recoiling rifle...over that of what the 45-70 can be with modern loadings...but..when it comes to throwing heavy bullets in center fire Handi....the 45-70 rules...the only thing better would be a 12ga or 10ga slug...

Mac
You can cry me a river... but...build me a bridge and then get over it...

Offline Fred M

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (1)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2362
    • Fred The Reloader and Wildcatter
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #6 on: December 28, 2006, 08:22:56 AM »
Mac.
That 25 cal 115gr TSX bullet will drop any grisly in his tracks. Many of the big bears have been taken with smaller less powerful 25's.

I only ever killed one grisly, and I had many chances to kill more if I had wanted too. They are simply no match against a 257Roberts well placed shot.
This bear changed my mind about hunting them. These bears need to be left alone and unmolested.

The size of the bullet doesn't mean nothing if you shoot the bear in the guts.
I spend a summer as a volunteer park ranger in the Khutzemateen Grisly Bear sanctuary, with a very good chance to study the wild and unspoiled bears, an unprecedented experience. No these bears are no pets.

I had at my disposal an outboard powered Zodiac and my own single Klepper Kayak. The Kayak got me into the estuary at low tide when the bears come out on the sand bars to feed on stranded fish.

I had to be completely stealthy to get anywhere close to these animals; else they would bolt and take off. As long as I kept my distance and their comfort zone they kept on eating. I never had a firearm with me.

I really like to see these big bears preserved and left alone. Methods of hunting them with elephant caliber rifles from hides over bait are simply very disgusting only a sick mind would enjoy it.

Rifles are always compared to killing grizzlies, when the user of a big caliber rifle can't even drop a deer with a single bullet. No I would never go after a grizzly with a 257 Roberts or with any other caliber.

So my quote stands as is, and I am not bragging about it. Almost all the game I ever hunted has been put down with a single bullet including the ones I toke in Africa, notwithstanding caliber.

Hunting to me is a game of skill and not throwing useless tons of lead in the air. So all I can say and hope that none of you fellows go out and kill a grizzly on purpose unless he is an invader.

You too would change your mind if you ever saw a big grizzly on a hill side excavating for an hour or more, moving big rocks to get a bite sized marmot.


Fred M.
From Alberta Canada.

Offline bufflobob

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 50
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #7 on: December 28, 2006, 08:24:49 AM »
Merry Christmas Fred ---  ;D
   I also certainly intend no flame, and  have read a lot of your knowlegable posts and certainly respect your perspective, but I have to add there are lots of positive reasons for getting a buffalo classic in 45-70.
   A lot of us like big bores, from the hunting point of view a big bore has its own merits at its end of the scale, just as a small bore with high velocity has its advantages. I doubt many would argue about the ability of a slower 12 ga slug to stop a miserable bear in its tracks compared to the small bore fast light bullet, slower but biggar does certainly work in the field.
    Myself I enjoy working up accurate reloads and especially focus on traditional paper patching cast bullets with smokeless and black, something that the big bores are much more accomodating to. The BC certainly likes paper patch bullets -- at a fraction of the cost of a Sharps, rolling block or highwall. Or if reloading / working up loads - is not your cup of tea, then readily available factory loads are certainly adequate. Also the 45-70 is truely a flexible cartridge for reloading different power / recoil levels, if you are recoil sensitive. Adding a recoil pad, weight in stock, heavy scope etc can help with that issue. Is the 45-70 out dated ?? -- thats just a matter of opinion ---  I do like nostalga, but certainly it is a popular powerfull accurate cartridge capable of shooting up to 300+ yards if you know your trajectory and range.
    Bought my Buf. Classic just over a year ago and it is truely one of my favorite rifles. And certainly the 45-70 is one of my favorite cartridges.
    Just my two cents  -- as an added note to my fellow Canucks -- its worth it to buy another rifle just to  pi** off the anti-gun Liberals.  :D :D :D
   Everyone -- especialy Fred and McLernon -- merry christmas and happy new year.    ;D ;D ;D

  Safe shooting and hunting --- Bob.

Offline Fred M

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (1)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2362
    • Fred The Reloader and Wildcatter
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #8 on: December 28, 2006, 09:09:49 AM »
bufflobob
Thanks for the kind words, I can understand that many want BC, I am not one of them. Nor do I ave any need or use for one. But if you enjoy one by all means get one. All rifles are fun to have even though you have no real need or use for one.

I am giving McLernen a bit of a toungue, because he can't make up his mind.
His finance minster is a sharp one and holds the purse string for one reason or another. I told him to get a BC and whack it off at 24", there is no harm in that. I think that this would make nice big bore.

Really if you don't have the money there is no point in buying a BC with only marginal use for his type of hunting.

You know last spring at the gun show I almost bought a nearly new Ruger#1 45-70. After wandering around a while, I thought well I better buy it when I got back to the table it was sold. It was listed at $850 and had nice walnut wood. My reason for wanting that rifle was I liked the looks of it.

Instead I found a very nice Ruger#3 in 375Win, with which I fired one shot at a big doe and dropped it. It too has more power than you need for deer, but it is so nice to look at. It has #1 wood on it.

Fred M.
From Alberta Canada.

Offline McLernon

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1217
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #9 on: December 28, 2006, 12:13:05 PM »
Let's face it fellas we all have too many guns, but why not. I know a guy that golfs and he has five putters, and heaven only knows how many other clubs. It's the same with me and guns. A 45-70 is what it is. When I saw Quick's 22 inch 45-70 I liked how it looked. That's all the justification I needed to start thinking about a heavy. A couple of fellas at my rifle club have expensive rolling and falling-blocks in 45-70 and they let me fire them. It's a different shooting experience than lining up on a chuck at 400 yards with a 22-250 and a 20X scope; not better just different. I have a .58 caliber 1858 Enfield cap-lock replica that I enjoy shooting from time to time. To my way of thinking it's the way hobbies should be.............kind of 'aimless' but enjoyable. By the way, my reference to the 'finance minister' was an attempt, albeit a feeble one, to inject some humour into the mix. My wife understands my passion for firearms and shooting and has never attempted to inhibit this or any other healthy passion. ..........and it keeps me out of trouble!!

I would have made up my mind long ago but for the Marlin XLR's.

I even went to BASS-PRO today to look at them..............they don't stock Marlins. What a joke!!

McLernon



 

Swampman

  • Guest
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #10 on: December 28, 2006, 02:56:37 PM »
"My little 257 Roberts will do anything that the 45-70 will do"........BWHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I gotta clean this coffee out of my key board....I hate it when it comes out  of my nose.

The .45-70 is a fantastic deer cartridge, and you don't have to spend 1/2 a day finding them.

I would hunt the "Big Five" with my .45-70 Handi in a heartbeat.

I'd pick the .243 Winchester over the .257 Roberts anyday.  In the hands of an expert either of these little bullets can kill a deer.

Offline Rustyinfla

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (4)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1744
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #11 on: December 28, 2006, 03:46:31 PM »

 Fred,
  You're so right! I don't know how many people I've seen trying to get rid of a .30-06 or something similar because  they had a deer get away after being hit with it. I said it in another post, People today just can't shoot.
   I have a friend who took an American Bison out west with a .270 Win. Some would say he was way underguned but he dropped it with one shot.

  I personally like .30 cals because I like shooting cast bullets and the .30's seem to me to be the easiest small bore to work with. When I was shooting M/L's I tried a .32 and it was too small for me. A .36 is a little better and .40 cal is just right.

  Maybe I'll try getting in touch with Precision and see about a match barrel in .30-30 Win. what a cast bullet shooter that would be.

       Rusty <><
If you're gonna be stupid ya gotta be tuff

Offline Dave Weiss

  • Trade Count: (10)
  • Avid Poster
  • **
  • Posts: 222
  • Gender: Male
Re: Handi Break-in Period
« Reply #12 on: December 28, 2006, 06:11:19 PM »
Back to the original post, I've got a Handi in 45-70 and a Buffalo Classic, I ran a bore snake through both of them about a half dozen times. The handi shoots 3" groups at 100yds (good enough for me), the BC shoots clover leaves. That was right out of the box.
In my case I wouldn't go deer hunting with anything less than a big bore rifle, big mean bears can be problematic.
I would like to kill a Grizzly Bear(only one) and want to do it with my BC and my handloaded cartridge.

>>>===> Dave
Hunt hard, shoot fast and trust your dog.