The reason I own, carry, and use a Handi Rifle

[Sourdough]

Back in 1995 my buddies and I went on our usual Moose hunting trip using large Tracked Vehicles.  Someone always carries a spare gun.  Every year someone either breaks his gun or scope, loses his gun crossing one of the many rivers and creeks, or forgets his cartridges and no one else shoots that caliber.  We Also like to have a shot gun along to shoot grouse and bunnies.  I usually took my TCR with the 12ga barrel, and the .338 Win Mag barrel as back-up.  One year a fellow got a little rough with my TCR, so I decided I needed something I would not care if someone scratched or got it wet and muddy.  A few days after returning from that hunt I was in Wal Mart in Anchorage.  They had a Handi there in .243.  I asked the woman at the gun counter if she could get one in 30-06, she said she could and it would be there in three days.  I ordered it.  The day I picked it up I also bought a cheap Simmons 3-9X40 scope.  I took it home and found the paperwork in the box on ordering extra barrels, so before mounting the scope I sent it back for a 20ga barrel.  When I got it back I mounted the scope and noticed the forearm was touching the barrel.  I thought about it for a while then decided an O-ring would fit beneath the forearm and act as a spacer to prevent the wood touching the barrel.  (I was working as a Plumber at the time and using O-rings every day.  And it was before I found the NEF forums)  Took it to the range for sight in and discovered it to be very accurate.

The following spring Chuck, Kenneth, and I went out predator hunting on snow machines.  My buddy Chuck and I had killed three wolves as we were riding around those first two days.  Chuck had shot two and I had shot one.  All had been killed at close ranges of 100 to 150 yards.  We had seen others but they were out at 500 to 800 yards and they already knew we were there.  One evening as we returned to the cabin Kenneth made a bet with Chuck he could not hit a seed pod on a bush out at 100 yards.  The pod was about 4" high and 2" thick.  Chuck fired three times, and missed all three times.  Kenneth shot twice and missed.  Chuck chidded me to try, so I just raised up and fired off hand.  Lucky shot I say, but I placed the cross hairs on the pod and could not see it.  the cross hairs completely covered the pod.  I took the shot anyway and the pod disappeared.  I was surprised just as much as they were.  I began to think better of that little gun I had bought so inexpensively.

The next day Chuck and I were riding up the Boniface drainage when we spotted some Caribou feeding up near the top of the ridge at the head of the creek.  As we rode up I spotted two Wolves stalking a Cow and Calf.  Chuck was out ahead of me and to get his attention and stop him, I had to yell.  That alerted the Wolves, and they started running through the brush.  Chuck and I jumped off and grabbed our guns out of their cases.  Chuck was using a Remington 660 in .222 Remington Mag.  I was carrying my Handi in 30-06.  Chuck selected the Black Wolf running out in the lead, and started shooting.  I shot the Gray Wolf at about 250 yards, a one shot kill.  Chuck kept missing, either the wolf would run behind brush or Chuck just flat missed.  Anyway the Black Wolf got into heavy brush that kept it safe till it was up on the ridge.  When it broke out on top at 1000 yards away it stopped and looked back at us.  The wolf stretched, shook it self, then sat down to watch us.  I teased Chuck that the Wolf was making fun of him, daring him to shoot again.  Chuck threw his Remington down on the seat of his snow machine, and walked over taking my Handi out of my hands.  Chuck looked at me and said, "The Army taught me to kill a man at 1000 yards with a 30-06, and I can still do it".  Chuck sat down in the snow and used the seat of my snow machine as a rest.  Chuck sat there mumbling to himself for a while then took the shot.  Old Black Wolf went over backwards, out of sight.  Chuck turned around grinning ear to ear, I was in total shock.

It took us over two hours to make our way up to where the Wolf had disappeared, but when we got there the Wolf was laying dead.  I decided if that gun could reach out like that, I should start doing some serious work with it to shoot at longer ranges.  I changed the scope and put a Shepard scope on it.  I soon discovered shooting out at 400 and 500 yards was not all that hard.  I used the Handi to shoot Caribou and Moose, most were not long shots.  The Caribou in my avitar was shot with the Handi at 250 yards.  I took it to Texas to shot at Coyotes on my friends ranch.  When ever we saw a Coyote we would start shooting.  Not really caring if we hit them or not.  Soon I was picking them off out to 700 yards.  I came back to Alaska, and that summer someone decided to break into my garage and steal my Range finders, GPS, and the Shepard scope and Handi barrel it was mounted on.  The gun was locked in the vault with the shotgun barrel on it.  I got a second barrel and went back to shooting.  Due to their simplicity and ruggedness I started carrying it on the Handlebars of my motorcycle.  That cost me a scope or two, then I got rid of the motorcycle.

During this time I started working with the Handi and experimenting with different loads.  I started shooting out at 500, 600, and 700 yards on a regular basis at the range.  Then I started hunting with the Handi during the winter for predators.  Often the Wolves are out in a valley and there is no way of getting close.  So my partner and I will settle down and start taking the long shots.  That is when I learned that the 30-06 cartridge does not have the energy to always make clean kills at that range.  We often had to do a lot of tracking to locate animals that had ran off before dying.  Today I limit my shots with the Handi 30-06 to 500 yards.  Yes I can hit a Wolf at 700 yards, but making a clean kill is not always sure.  At 500 yards they seldom get back up, if they do they don't go far.   The 25-06 can do better, it can make clean kills out to 700 yards.  So I now carry the 25-06, the 30-06 is usually in the sled box as a back-up if needed.  Still looking for a Grizzly with the Handi.

While on a float trip the Handi got dropped into the Chatanika River.  It spent two days on the bottom.  Finally the water went down and we were able to find it.  I had one of those condom type things on the end of the barrel, and a cartridge in the chamber.  No water got into the barrel.  When I got it home it was coated with rust.  I took all the internal parts to the wire wheel on my grinder.  I then painted the exterior with Rustolium Textured Paint.  Waterproofing and camo all in one.

Today I carry the 25-06 Handi on the handlebars of my snow machine, ready for action if I run across a predator in the trail.  I carry the Weatherby for the long shots between 500 and 1000 yards. 

[tacklebury]

Cool background Sourdough.    As I grew up the first real "gun" besides BB/Pellet guns was my Grandfather's first gun his .410 H&R from about 1926.  It was the first gun he purchased and paid $14 for it in 1932.  My dad used it when he was a kid and then I got to use it and still do.  I always loved that little gun and it was so nice to carry around.  I first heard about the Handi-Rifle in 1993 after graduating from college when a guy who had an FFL and did some hobby gunsmithing told me about a project he had done.  It was a 12 ga. stubbed with a .45-70 barrel and iron sights mounted on it.  I almost bought it from him, but was a bit scared it would come apart.  He still shoots it, so it was just my concern.  lol
Anyway, years later, I came into a bit of money and really wanted a .45-70 Sharps, but I wanted a pistol too.  I decided to go to actually look at a couple guns up at Jay's Sporting Goods, but they had no Sharps in stock.  I saw the .45-70 Buffalo Classic though and was hooked and walked out with it.  Couple weeks later I ordered my .45 Colt Blackhawk Convertible and .45 Colt Carbine and have been loving the Handi's ever since.    I was really happy to find this site though as I've learned a lot and met a lot of great people here since. 


 

 

[Spanky]

I wish I could hunt up there with you Roger... I don't know if I could hit anything that far away but I'd still love the hunt.   How has it been for you so far this year?
 
 
 
Spanky

[twoshooter]

I generally always thought of handi's as trash guns for most of my life, just for people who could not afford anything else. I saw many, mostly varmint , some deer guns, and none impressed me. My nephew had  a 22-250, and another had a 270, nothing wrong with them really, just not what I had envisioned owning some day. I had dreams of going out west at that time, maybe even Alaska.
    Then came reality. One day I woke up and I was OLD.  The farms around me had all shrunk from quarter and half sections to 5 and 10 acre tracts, those dusk til dawn lights sprang up like mushrooms. I had grandkids. 
    My wife had went through multiple surgeries for breast cancer and her arm and shoulder were permanently affected, and I had an 8 year old grandson that was wanting to go hunting with me, so I needed something extremely simple, foolproof, light recoil, and cheap. Something I was not going to get paranoid over scratches,being dropped,  pulled through fences etc. I was in walmart one day and they had a handi youth model combo on sale for $239, a 243/20ga. I figured at that time(2007 0r 08) that was as close as it was going to get to what I wanted.
    The wife could kill snakes with the 20 ga, but did not want the trouble of a long gun. The 243, although the grandson manned up and shot it, was still a bit much. Someone told me about the barrel accessory program and so I sent it in for a 357mag barrel and a BC barrel. (Watched Quigley one too many times and sure could not afford a sharps. ) The grandson shot the 357 and you could see the smile just spread all over him like syrup. Next gun season he killed 2 deer. About that time I heard of this site, and got kinda caught up in the whole swap thing.
     Alot of thought has taken place since then. First, the handi is a helluva lot more gun than I ever gave it credit for. The triggers are not bad at all. Accuracy, while not stellar, has been entirely adequate. I love the simplicity and feel of the gun. I have come to realize that there is nothing in the hunting and sport shooting world that I need "more gun" for. I have settled on trying to collect all the rimmed versions. Very little of my hunting will ever take place at 200yards or more. Whitetails are probably the biggest thing I will ever shoot with one. In my entire life I can count on one hand the times that I missed the first shot and killed the second (except squirrels ) With the handi, the performance is about ME more than the gun. I handload, cast all my own bullets, have developed my own loads. That gives me real satisfaction. I have killed somewhere in the high 70's to low 80's of deer, the last 7 with my handi's, plus 3 by my grandson. He is learning that if you do it right, one is enough, to be patient and prudent.
     It may sound silly, but when I walk through my woods I am somehow in equilibrium with nature, not overpowering. If I do my part correctly I will be rewarded. If I have a semauto with night vision and electronic calls etc,  I don't feel that. I may be a more effective killer of game, but that is not the purpose of what I do. It is like putting on a pair of shoes that REALLY fit.
    Just sayin......

[Wagguy80]

Nice Sourdough I have some serious envy for your stomping grounds. 

[Sourdough]

Spanky:  So far this year not a lot has gone on.  My partner and I did not want a Moose or Caribou this year, but we were going to take a young man from Anchorage out.  A trip to the 40 mile and he called to cancel due to work.  A trip down on the Denali Highway for Caribou, he called and canceled again.  My partner Norman, my wife Michelle, and I decided to go into the Eielson Hills and look for predators, Bears Wolves and Coyotes.  We went in on a Tuesday afternoon.  An hour ride on 4-wheelers to the side trail.  30 minutes down that trail to a parking spot to walk to the blind.  Now the blind is set on the side of a hill looking over the head waters of the Chena River.  The blind is about 10'X20' three sides and the roof covered with heavy tarps.  A good heavy floor against the ground on the up hill side and 4' off the ground on the lower side.  The front is open, looking out over the valley, with a rail  built there to use as a rest for shooting.  Just before dark I started hearing Bull Moose grunting.  Down in the valley and on the hills across the valley.  Then the Cows started calling.  Suddenly a Bull started grunting right behind the blind.  I walked around that way but could not see him through the brush in the low light.  There was a new moon that night so no light to see by outside the blind.  We crawled into our sleeping bags and was having a comfortable sleep.

Suddenly at 2AM I heard crashing brush behind the blind.  Grunting, bellowing, growling, and brush crashing.  Woke everyone up.  The sounds would move away up the hillside, then come crashing back down.  At times we thought they were going to come through the back wall.  Twice they did hit the back wall.  I had Michelle move to the edge of the platform and told her if they came through the wall to slide down and back up under the platform.  We all had our guns ready.  Around 4:30 the sound nof crashing brush got quitter, we could still hear the Bull grunting, but not as loud as before.  Michelle and Norman fell asleep sitting leaning against the front rail.  I stayed awake listening.  I put on my Action Ears and could hear bones being crunched, and hide being torn away.  The sound of a Bear eating.  Then the sound of something being drug off up hill towards the clearing near the trail.  At 6AM Michelle and Norm awoke and Michelle needed to go to the outhouse.  The outhouse was about 40 yards up the hill hidden in a heavy clump of small spruce trees.  As we rounded the edge of the blind we saw all the willows were lying on the ground, many of the spruce trees were either broken off or pushed over.  As we got to the outhouse everything was smashed and scattered around.  About 25 yards from the outhouse was a big area covered in blood.  After returning to the blind Norman and I decided it would not be wise to spent any more time there.  michelle was in total agreement.  We packed up and walked back to the 4-wheelers.  As we drove up the trail we came to the clearing and could see where something had been drug across the trail and out into the clearing.  I stood up and about 30 yards away I could see a set of Moose antlers sticking up out of dirt and brush piled on top.  I sat back down on the seat and hit the throttle.  Norm and Michelle were right behind me.  We did not slow down till we were a couple of miles away.

A grizzly had killed that Moose and stashed it in the clearing.  That was his food cache, and Norm and I were surprised the Bear did not come out to challenge us.  We knew it was close by.  We decided to just go home and end the hunting for the time being.  We now have about 6" of snow on the ground.  it will take about a week or two to set up and get firm enough to ride snowmachines without the skis breaking through to the gravel underneath.  As soon as it is firm Norm and I will be out looking for Predators again.  The fur will be coming into prime condition around the first of November.   One Wolf or Lynx pelt will pay for our trip out, anything else is gravy.

Here is a picture of a White Moose we saw down near Delta Junction.

[Spanky]

I don't blame you guys for getting the heck out of there... I sure wouldn't want to be between a hungry bear and his dinner.   That's a nice pic of the white moose. I've never seen an albino animal in the woods but I did see a piebald doe once. I was mountain biking on one of the local atv trails and I rode into a small clearing where she was feeding. That was about 15 years ago and I've not seen another one since.
 
 
 
Spanky

[Sourdough]

Yea my friend Ray Hauer took the picture, he was the only one with a camera that would take one that far away.  We ere surprised to see it, they are rare.  They are also protected.  Warnings in the Hunting Regs, "Don't shoot White Moose".  Maybe that is a warning, the Moose are turning white, an Ice Age is upon us.  Forget Global Warming.

[cwlongshot]

More and more GREAT stories Roger!! I sincerely hope your writing logs and will someday publish it!! WHEN you do PLEASE tell us I'll buy it!!

I have written a couple stories for local magazines and had them published. I read a book one time on Vermont Deer camps. The author was not even a hunter, simply wrote what he was told and experienced but it was a good book. Yours would be head and shoulders better!

Thank you for sharing!!

CW

[tomtomz]

I have some high-end guns which are also high-performers. I keep
them locked up for the most part.

My handi is a high performer, too. 

I bought refurb Bushnell scopes, and put one on the handi 22-250.
It is a Bushnell Banner 6-24x40.

This is a dynamite combination for less than $300. If I lose it in a river, field,
or mudhole, I will miss it because it is a good gun, but one that
I can more easily replace.

I've had a few problems, but warranty fixed that and I bought a fitted SS
30-06 barrel for it, and will likely beat it up on the handlebars of my 4 wheeler
as I check cattle and kill varmints. It is light enough to hike with, too.

This has become my GO TO GUN. 

[OldSchoolRanger]

Reasonable price, simplicity of design (which allows those of us who are do-it-yourselfers to repair and do work on the gun), the ability to "customize" the gun to your liking.  And of course the large number of barrel options available (I do wish they had 7x57mm, barrels available through their accessory barrel program).  And for most of us (myself not included ), no loss of sleep when you ding up the stocks.

The Handi is a work gun, not a safe queen.

[wileynet]

my first gun was a Montgomery Ward 30-30 octagon barrel passed down from my grandfather, hunted with 30-30 because i was a new left hand shooter, due to right eye injury, after turning 18 i started buying ruger no1 and no 3s in 1986 broke my neck in a water truck rollover, they sent me to paramedic school and i sold every gun i had to support my family and finish school, after being hired just before deer season in 1988 i found a handi for sale in pawn shop 30-06 bsa cat eye scope  99.00, killed a nice mule deer, that year, the handi carries like a 30-30, comes naturaly to the shoulder like a 30-30, my other kids all have killed deer with that gun, and of course my late son bobby, killed a buffalo with one of my handi. like has been mentioned easily customized, with lots of donations and ideas from forum members we modified it so he could shoot it after being burned and not being able to straighten his arms, that why i have handis not just the gun but the people that own  them

[glockmeister]

I like my one and only(right now) for its simplicity and accuracy. It goes about its job without fanfare, like my Marlins a blue collar gun for a blue collar shooter. The single shot helps to keep me working hard to make The Shot and I stay away from the ''spray and pray'' crowd. I just wish H&R would bring the prices down. Y'all take care, John.

[tomtomz]

I stay away from the ''spray and pray'' crowd.

Well put!

[Sourdough]

One other thing I forgot to point out.  glockmeister reminded me of this.  By using the Handi most of the time causes me to take my time and make good shots.  As a long range shooter this is reinforcement for the one shot idea of hunting.  It helps me be a better shot with my long range bolt gun.  I concentrate on that one shot, not on a follow-up shot.

[twoshooter]

This also applies to the other side of the family...... several years ago while dove hunting I realized that with my very nice 12 ga Rem 870, my percentage of hits were going down precipitously. I started taking my 28ga Pardner out. I brought home a limit on many occasions. Because I had to concentrate on ONE bird, not on doubles and triples. My percentage was up to about 70% hits or better. 

[Deerhunter#1]

great trip and adventure as usual. People pay thousands to do what you make seem like a day in everyday life. Enjoy them all there are never enough of those trips in a life time. And keep us posted. 

[FPH]

I

One other thing I forgot to point out.  glockmeister reminded me of this.  By using the Handi most of the time causes me to take my time and make good shots.  As a long range shooter this is reinforcement for the one shot idea of hunting.  It helps me be a better shot with my long range bolt gun.  I concentrate on that one shot, not on a follow-up shot.

I don't crimp my bullets, so they will seat against the lands.  I never carry a bolt gun with a loaded mag.( don't want the  bullets to move into the mouth of the case)  Therefore, I always consider my first shot my kill shot.