I've always thought, and still do, that the only place a "Mannlicher" forend looks right is on a short barreled bolt action carbine with iron sights. To make them look "right", they need to be very slim, have a slight upward curve on the bottom line, and a nice steel forend cap, and the cap extends far enough out that very, very little of the muzzle extends beyond the cap.
The only single shot with full length stock that ever slightly appealed to me is the little Ruger Number 1 International carbine.
Most of the stocks that I've seen kitchen table stockmakers do have been too thick, a straight line or bulge to the bottom, no concern for making the rest of the lines 'right', and nasty wooden forend tips that look like that one part of the male anatomy. The other thing I've seen that almost make my dinner come up is full length stocks on 22 and 24 inch (or longer) barrels, and for some reason, they almost universally have antler grip caps and white plastic, or light colored wooden forend tips, and I always figured that the guys that built 'em also loved '59 Chevy's.
Again, my experience with them has been limited. I've built three, two 6.5 Swede's and a 7X57 on Swede Mausers and a small ring G33/40 Mauser. All three of 'em had short, stiff barrels, and shot really, really well in 'standard' length forearms. Very tough to make them shoot as well in the full length forearms, and on all of them, I ended up putting a mid-length forearm screw like the pre-64 Model 70's, and glassing them full length. Not sure that my experience with the bolt guns and accuracy relates to the Handi, but, there it is.
Good luck on your project, I hope it comes out well for you, and look forward to seeing the results when you're done.
