Tim, I see that you are one of the moderators for this forum, and I want to thank you for what you do here. I’ve noticed that you really stay on top of things, and can always point people to the right informtion. This must take a lot of your time, but for a first-time handi owner like me this forum is invaluable. I really appreciate it, as this gun has been a real learning experience for me.
I may be a little dense, but I think I have finally figured out why my 44 magnum wasn’t shooting well, and the good news is that the problem was NOT the barrel. Instead, I think it is poor fit and failure of the barrel latch to latch completely. This dawned on me while I was browsing another website where a guy named Freddie the Reloader described how to accurize break-action rifles, and he made the following statement. “It is utmost importance that the barrel and standing breech face fit tight together…absolutely no gap”, followed by “It is expected that the barrel latch make full and solid contact with the latch seat.” This triggered a memory that I had forgotten. The owners manual states “You will hear a distinct click when the action locks closed.” I have NEVER heard that click. I had initially brushed it off as a minor defect, as the action felt solidly closed and I never had the pop-open problem that others have described on this forum. But now the light bulb finally came on and I realized that my barrel latch may not be completely closing against the latch seat. I immediately took my handi off the rack, closed the action, and then held it up sideways to the light. Sure enough, I could see a sliver of light between the upper half of the barrel end and the standing breech face. I grabbed my feeler gauge and measured a .004 inch gap. I was shocked. I then opened the action and reclosed it with much greater force (I really whacked it closed). I still didn’t hear the distinct “click” (though the sound of the barrel hitting the breech face could have obscured a click), but this time when I held the gun up to the light there was almost no gap, and I could not slide a .002 feeler gauge between the barrel and breech face. SO, depending on how hard I closed the action, the gap between the barrel and the breech face varied by at least .002 inches and maybe up to .004. This suddenly made a lot of sense, as my large groups were primarily due to vertical stringing. So, I took the gun out back last night and shot a couple of targets, being sure to really whack the action closed for each shot and checking it against the light. I produced the two best 50-yard groups I have ever shot with this rifle, 1.2 and 1.6 inches with factory ammo. That should translate to groups of about 3” at 100 yards, and the kind of performance I was hoping for from this gun. May not win target competitions, but good enough to take deer. I had read in the FAQs that it is important to close the action with some authority. I just didn’t realize how much authority was needed, nor how much it could affect accuracy. Now I know. I’m just relieved to know this gun is capable of shooting reasonably accurately
My question for Tim or any other experienced handi owners who have managed to read this far is, do I need to call H&R about the lack of a distinct click on closing the action, or will good solid whacks eventually wear it in properly?
Duane (now a happy 44 magnum owner)
