I have a few Mosins and a couple of M39 Finns. I like that cartridge, but it seems like it
would be more trouble than it's worth to chamber a Handi in that caliber when calibers
like 30'06 are available from the factory. The '06 will do anything that 7.62X54R will do,
in my opinion. For probably less than the cost of a 7.62X39 barrel, if you could find one,
and all of your time doing the conversion, you could get a nice M39 Finn from SOG. They
are super accurate and very well made compared to the Russian Mosin. The M39 Finn is
is definitely one of those must have rifles if you like the 7.62X54R round.
Robert