Opinions On Harrington & Richardson Guns

[RVTECH]

As the title says. Specifically the Handi - Rifle as I am looking at one in .223. Don't hold back - let me know what you think. Thanks.

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[cyclesarge]

As the title says. Specifically the Handi - Rifle as I am looking at one in .223. Don't hold back - let me know what you think. Thanks.

You can get them cheap and have the possibility to get multiple calibers. Accuracy is fair, though not great. I am a little disappointed with the trigger on mine, as simple as it is I would expect a lighter smoother pull, but like they say, you get what you pay for.

 

[RVTECH]

Pretty much my assessment also after looking at one at Outdoor Outfitters yesterday. I really liked the way it fit when I held it but the trigger was a disappointment and I did not care for the 1 in 14 twist. I dropped that idea.

 

[bugeye]

I agree with the last two posts though my H&R is in 17Hmr.
The trigger is crisp but takes a lot of force.
I've read online that you can open this beast and do a lot of polishing on the trigger parts and get a better response. Also, have read some posts that say if you send the rifle back to H&R they will set it down to about 3.5 pounds for the price of the shipping.

One of these days I'm going to tackle that trigger.

 

[torpedoman]

own a few of them, The trigger smooths out with use and you and a snap cap can do it in a hour. barrels are available and swapped and traded on another site regularly. i have a 223 and two in 204 and a 25-06 barrel that fits on the 223 frame. the 223 with handloads will shoot a 5 shot group at 100 yds you can cover with a dime. the 204's are under an inch at 100 yds and i haven't played with hand loads for them yet. They are as accurate as any gun made if you take the time to find what load they like. any trigger can be fixed of worked in. i had one in 17 and i spent an hour with many spent casings just snapping it and had a 3 lb trigger when i was done, traded it off and got a savage 93, the h&r shot better groups.

 

[therifleman]

I have the 223 and 204 varmint models with the choate stocks and fluted barrel. love them both. They do give me a lot of practice with a hard trigger pull and if i ever master them I wont need to bother with a 2lb pull any more. One of mine has to have about a 10 pound pull on it. There is a site somewhere that shows how to stone the surfaces probably Brownells site if i remember right. It takes a few special tools but they arent real costly. I have been able to break clay targets out to 250yds regularly. Great little guns for small price.

 

[RVTECH]

the 223 with handloads will shoot a 5 shot group at 100 yds you can cover with a dime.

What load were you using? A guy I was talking to the other day said because of the 1 in 14 twist rifling it would not stabilize anything over 45 gr bullet weight and might not shoot as accurately with anything heavier than that. I at least want to stick with 55 gr minimum in my handloads.

 

[bugeye]

What load were you using? A guy I was talking to the other day said because of the 1 in 14 twist rifling it would not stabilize anything over 45 gr bullet weight and might not shoot as accurately with anything heavier than that. I at least want to stick with 55 gr minimum in my handloads.

I think the normal fairly heavy barrel is 1 in 12", and the fluted barrels in the Ultras are 1 in 9".

 

[torpedoman]

What load were you using? A guy I was talking to the other day said because of the 1 in 14 twist rifling it would not stabilize anything over 45 gr bullet weight and might not shoot as accurately with anything heavier than that. I at least want to stick with 55 gr minimum in my handloads.

52 grain bullet (you have a 1 in 12 twist) imr4198 22.5 gr... <broken link removed> a nice source of handi rifle info including much how to on barrel swapping and trigger work.

 

[coosbaycreep]

I have one in .500S&W, and love it. They're not high end by any account, but I consider them good deals for the money.

My dad had one in .223 four or five years ago, and frequently had problems with it not ejecting shells, but that may be because he was shooting 5.56 in it instead of .223 (which the manual says not to do).

 

[dario541]

I have a Handi-Rifle in .223 Rem. I don't know what group it shoots, but I can lay clay pidgeons on a hillside, back off a ways and pop them shooting off hand. I consider it accurate enough for my needs.