Handi help needed

[.308 Win.]

Hey folks,
  I bought a different looking Handi today at a gun show in Louisville.  It has a stainless steel action, a blued .243 regular contour barrel (really wanted a .308!!!!) and the cinnamon laminate buttstock has a medallion countersunk in the wood.  It reads: New England Firearms and in the center it says "Limited Edition."  Since the bottom of the receiver looks to have been altered at the point where the forend comes down past it when opened and that the barrel is blued, can I assume this was sent back at some point for the fitting of this .243 barrel? The trigger seems to be much much better than any other Handi I've ever had, too. Given that I feel this has been sent back and the action opens like butter, could I most likely fit a .308 barrel on it without having to send it back to the factory or to take it to Bass Pro over in Indiana?  I understand they fit barrels there.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks. 

[trotterlg]

If the barrel was factory fit you will find the last three numbers of th sn electro stenciled on teh barrel lug. The frame is not stainless, it is nickel plated.  Yes if ti works with a .243 barrel it will work with a .308 barrel.  Larry

[quickdtoo]

Bass Pro doesn't fit barrels like H&R, but they may have a gunsmith that does it just like any of us can fit a barrel. H&R will fit a barrel to it if it qualifies for a .308, give em a call Wednesday and give em the serial number to find out. They offer that nickel plated frame on a several of their rifles, some are SB1 Topper/Shotgun frames too, so you really need to find out for sure which it is, someone may have put some parts together just to sell it, ya never know, anyone can engrave the numbers on the underlug. I've got a couple dozen Handis with great triggers, some I've done, some came from the factory, they can be very good out of the box, or fixed yourself with info from the FAQs.

Tim

http://hr1871.com/Support/accessoryProgram.aspx

[.308 Win.]

The frame has a serial number beginning with NW, meaning New England Firearms and the W means it was manufactured in 2006, the best I can tell.  Then there are six digits after that that begin with 209.  I looked in the H&R/NEF shotgun forum here and of the ones Tim put out, the inside of the frame is that of the SB2 on the far right.  Anyone have any input?

[quickdtoo]

Sounds good, but only H&R can tell ya for sure it's an SB2, but sounds like it is to me, wouldn't hurt to check with em, you can find out if they have the barrels in stock too,  send it in for that .308 barrel, you can get the 22" standard or bull barrel!!

Tim

[.308 Win.]

Thanks, Tim.  Also, on the front of that receiver, there is a design cut into it and it's almost like a square across the front with a divider with two recessed pieces on each side of the divider.  I don't know what to do, really, because, like I said, I bought this at a gun show that concludes tomorrow and I don't know this guy.  He also has a .308 but it's in synthetic, which I'm not crazy about and the receiver is blued so it's a pretty plain looking piece where this one isn't.  I wish there was a foolproof way for me to know sooner than the middle of next week. 

[trotterlg]

If you remove the stock, the rear of a SB2 action is hollowed out with a sort of frame work in it.  The SB1 is solid, that is a dead easy way to tell the difference.  Larry

[quickdtoo]

Larry's recommendation sounds good to me, go for it, use a long extension with a 9/16" or 14mm socket to loosen the stock bolt, probably won't have to completely remove it to see the hollow part.

Tim

[.308 Win.]

Larry,
  An SB2 it is!!!  Thanks. Now, I need to just sell this .243 barrel and get a .308.  Thanks again. 

[.308 Win.]

Thanks to you, too, Tim.  Appreciate your input.