What do I have??

[Mattsfiest]

Hi guys

I recently sold a great shooting handi grip .223 to a friend that fell in love with the rifle. It was the 1/9 twist with a SN prefix of CBA. The rifle shot 75gr hornady better than anything and it hated lighter rounds. I wanted a rifle that would shoot a lighter varmint round.

So i was in my local shop a few weeks ago and was looking at a handi hornet. Picked up a handi rifle .223 next to the hornet with a tag that said 1/12 twist. The SN on it starts with CBA. After checking it at the store i had to take it home Confirmed a few times over that it is a 1/12 twist barrel on a CBA SB2 receiver. The last three of the SN are engraved on the lug and match the receiver. Also, this rifle was NIB and like the new handi rifles only mentions H&R.

So my real question is did marlin make a few 1/12 twist .223 barrels? Special order? Or are they going back to the 1/12 twist? BTW, the barrel is a 22" sporter profile and shoots 45 grain bullets like a champ.

 Thanks.

Matt

[quickdtoo]

Dunno, that's the first time anyone has reported a 1:12" Ilion made 223, is it an ejector or extractor? What's the model number on the end of the box, SB2-??

Tim

[Big Blue]

Could it be a Superlight barrel?
Don

[quickdtoo]

After thinking on it and seeing as they had some left over 7.62x39 barresl and gray lams as Brian reported, more than likely they found some old barrels, the last 1:12" Superlight 223 accessory barrel was sold in 2007 or 2008 IIRC because 1:9" Superlights have been reported since. That's part of the reason why I asked about it being an ejector or extractor, the 1:12" Superlight 223s were all ejectors AFAIK.

Tim

[Mattsfiest]

Tim,
It's an extractor.
the box states model SB2-223 handi-rifle. Below that it says 22" barrel 223 rem and under that is HDWD....not sure what that stands for. I'm not certain of H&R's SN system but on the last one i owned was CBA and then started with 13XXXX. This one is CBA 14XXXX.

Big Blue,
It's been a while since I've seen a super light but I was thinking they were smaller at the muzzle than this one. Also, all of them I've seen had open sights...this one doesn't. Honestly I dont know. If someone could tell me the diameter at the muzzle of one, I can measure this and see if its the same.

My only other thought was that it may have been a blank for something else and it was miss chambered.

Thanks guys

[quickdtoo]

SB2-223 is a standard 22" barreled 223 Handi, Ilion serial numbers have no rhyme or reason, all CBA means is it's an SB2. 

You might check it again, one member reported an odd twist recently, but it was because of the way he was checking it, the rod has to turn freely and the patched jag must be real tight, or it won' be an accurate check, a bore brush works better in those shallow .002" rifling.

Tim

[Mattsfiest]

Thanks Tim.

Ive checked it 4-5 times along with the store I bought it at. In fact, I checked twice before I posted this to make sure i wasnt crazy and it was dead nuts 1/12. I can tell you my 1/9 would copper foul like crazy and rough. Took a while to get it settled down...not this one. Thanks for the help.

Matt

[gcrank1]

Id say you da lucky dog! 
Maybe even got a 'special' model there  , who wouldve thought.......a 'collector' model.