Join the #1 community for gun owners of the Northwest
We believe the 2nd Amendment is best defended through grass-roots organization, education, and advocacy centered around individual gun owners. It is our mission to encourage, organize, and support these efforts throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
I have an H&R "Buffalo Classic" in 45-70 that I plan to order multiple caliber options for. Apparently you can order most any caliber from the factory and switch them up at will. Has anyone done this to their H&R? Did it work out ok for you?
Greg, the H&R concept is a good one for a man on a budget who wants to experiment with various calibers, as well as becoming intimately familiar with one action type along with caliber options. It is sort of the "beware the man who hunts with one gun, likely he knows how to use it" concept, with the added feature of different calibers.
H&R has done a pretty good job of paring down to economy what other manufacturers have done with better quality: (Thompson Center, for one.)
If you shoot factory loads, do not expect pinpoint accuracy and fine finish on your guns, but just want to kill game and shoot targets recreationally for a lot of fun, the H&R platform is probably perfect for you.
What you would get with an upgrade to Thompson Center (for a break-barrel interchangeable cartridge system), would be better, more precision lock-up (better accuracy), better barrels (better accuracy), better trigger (better accuracy), better forearm bedding system (better accuracy), and better finish and styling on the exterior (none of which kill game any deader than an H&R in the hands of a man likely to know how to use it).
Name your game/target shooting preferences for frequent use, and good suggestions for calibers will follow to fulfill. Right off, I'd question your .500 S&W choice. (Your .308 and 12ga will kill anything that walks or flies in our hemispheric neighborhood, and .45-70 at the outset of your experiments covers all else, including ANYTHING a .500 can do. If you want a pistol caliber, go .357 or .44).
Were I in your shoes, having decided on the perfect economy and ruggedness and versatility of the H&R system, I would be right with you for .308 and 12ga. My third choice would be .223. I hear those heavy H&R barrels do some wonders with accuracy there.
Obscenity is good. Go forth, obscene one. Prepare to open thy wallet for continued obscenity.
But a 12 ga slug, (someone correct me on this) is about .68 caliber. Obscene as it gets, and Grizzly Bears write letters to Congressmen as a result of its obscenity.
Have the chamber reamed for 45-110 and you've got a poor man's Quigley.
All kidding aside - that's how I found this thread ... looking for an H&$ Buffalo Classic to do just that with. For dispatching wild hogs here in Georgia. Replacement barrels is not cost prohibitive
If our Supporting Vendors don't have what you're looking for, use these links before making a purchase and we will receive a small percentage of the sale