Author Topic: How Many Rounds????????????????? (Read 1144 times)

huntsalot · « **on:** March 10, 2004, 02:29:01 PM »

Please can you tell me how many rounds most of you have had to put in your handi to before it settled down and shot some good groups consistentlyl? I am getting discouraged. I have put ( I counted today) around 90 rounds through mine. It will give a good group, well it has 3 times out of all those rounds. Other than that, it sprays them about 3 to 4 inch groups. I hate that but love this rifle. What should I do? i have polished the bore and chamber with flit, and I have done the o ring trick. I don't know what else to do. I have also shot around 5 different types of ammo. They all perform the same. What really has me is the fact of the 3 groups that did shoot tight. That tellls me that there is nothing seriously wrong with the bore. I think. Please help me out here you that are experienced with handis. Thank you.
Whitey

MSP Ret · « **Reply #1 on:** March 10, 2004, 02:49:06 PM »

Whitey, just go back to basics, check the crown, support the gun the same way each time you shoot (consistency is the key), try to have the gun supported on a rest (soft/firm is better than hard), use a tightly rolled blanket, shooting rest, etc., not a board or tree branch) and have that support immediately in front of the trigger guard, near the hinge pin area, make sure the buttstock is firmly but not to TIGHTLY attached, same with forearm. support toe of buttstock with left hand/fingers (if right handed shooter) and use that to control elevation, make sure trigger hand pulls trigger ONLY and that it pulls straight back sloooowly without jerking with the ball of the first finger joint and that it does not add sideways pressure to the stock or gun itself. Choose the ammo which shot the best for you and continue to shoot one ammo bit more with a little time between shoots, eliminate all human error and have fun....<><.... :grin: (P.S. what caliber is it and which ammo and bullet weight have you been using? This may help to fix the problem. By the way, the above suggestions all pertain to the gun and shooting it, the sighting system is another whole section, tight mounts and rings with scope properly installed and in good working order is just as important. Don't give up, that gun should shoot....)

223Shooter · « **Reply #2 on:** March 10, 2004, 03:25:58 PM »

It took about 200 rounds to get my 223 NEF Handi to calm down. I now handload all of my rounds. My current load is a 55gr. Hornaday SP using W-748 powder and CCI BR4 primers. I keep coming back to this Winchester powder....it seems to shoot the best in my NEF. I have put about 800 rounds thru my NEF up to this point. Hang in there, you will come to enjoy your NEF as much as I do. I love this gun...

huntsalot · « **Reply #3 on:** March 10, 2004, 03:34:11 PM »

It is a 7mm-08 and the scope was mounted by a gunsmith. He used locktite and I have rechecked the screws everytime and they are tight. I have been using Rem factory core lokts which two of the good groups shot, I have used IMR 4064 which the best group shot. I have used H 4350. RL-19, W 760 and I believe thats all. IN the 4064 used 41.5 gr. In the H4350 I used 47 grains. In the RL-19 I used 48 grains. And in the w 760 I used 46 grains. I have been shooting Hornady 139 grain SP bullets and in the 4064 I used Nosler Partitions. I hope this helps. give me all the feedback you can. Thanks.
Whitey

handirifle · « **Reply #4 on:** March 10, 2004, 06:51:11 PM »

I agree with MSP, have the crown checked. It seems some of the "settling in" problems might be shooting off burrs on the crown.

Wlscott · « **Reply #5 on:** March 11, 2004, 04:28:33 AM »

Like MSP said, these rifles are very sensitive to how they are handled before, during and after the trigger breaks.

Make sure you're resting the rifle as close to the hinge as you can. Also, make sure that you're resting your cheek on the stock in the same place every time. I've noticed that I can open up groups just by varying the pressure of my cheek on the stock. Make sure that not only are you using the first pad of your finger to pull the trigger, but also that you follow through all the way with your trigger pull every time.

I hope I'm not insulting your intelligence by coaching you on how to shoot. I'm sure that you already know the basics of shooting. But there are just some things that are specific to these little rifles in regard to precision shooting.

Might I also suggest that you remove the o-ring from under the barrel and try shooting some groups? Mine shot worse with the o-ring installed.

handirifle · « **Reply #6 on:** March 11, 2004, 05:56:16 AM »

wlscot
Some of the "opening up" of the groups with cheek pressure can be from parallax of the scope. The crosshairs may actually be on another spot when you see them on the bull. I have seen this on some of my older scopes and it is a real eye opener when you realize it.

mag41vance · « **Reply #7 on:** March 11, 2004, 12:56:00 PM »

Quote from: handirifle

wlscot
Some of the "opening up" of the groups with cheek pressure can be from parallax of the scope. The crosshairs may actually be on another spot when you see them on the bull. I have seen this on some of my older scopes and it is a real eye opener when you realize it.

I Agree!! It could be scope related. If it is parallax problems, Try backing away from the scope until the circle that permits field of view becomes very small then shoot a group that way. As long as the crosshairs are centered in the small viewing hole, parallax should be eliminated. If that improves the group, then shop for a adjustable Objective type scope.
RV

JPH45 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 11, 2004, 01:49:08 PM »

This probably goes againt the conventional wisdom, but in trying it, you have little to loose...

Take the oring out, and when reinstalling the forearm, stop tightening the screw when it hits the wood. Now, when shooting the gun, rest it on the stock between the screw and frame. This has worked very well for me with 4 Handirifles.

Next is understanding the length of throat and how that may affect your accuracy. Obviously, the longer the throat, the greater the jump the bullet has to make untill it is suppoted by the bore. This can lead to some terrible accuracy.

First, how far out can you seat a bullet and it touch the lands? It is not uncommon to find that a bullet will not touch the lands untill it is out of the case in some Handi barrels. Begin, by sizing a case, and then lightly seating a bullet, seating it deeper each try untill the action closes. Deeper is not more than one turn in on the seating stem. Once the action will close on a bullet, it is time to begin load development.

Choose a midrange loading of several powders and fire them for accuracy. Take the most promising, and either raise and lower the powder charge from there and or change the seating depth. NEVER seat shorter than is reccomended with a given bullet, this reduces the case volume and increases the pressure. Work with these variables untill the best powder charge/bullet/seating depth is found for each combination.

THIS IS SLOW, PAINSTAKING WORK. No it ain't easy, but can be very rewarding.

The powders you are using strike me as a little slow for the 7mm-08 case. You might want to try out something a bit faster like 4895 or BL-C2, H335 somewhere in there. The powders you list are a bit better suited to cases with the volume of the 30-06 as compared to the 308. 4064 is a great powder, it will make any bottleneck case go bang, it may not deliver the best accuracy your barrel is capable of. It is in the right burning speed range though. Reloder 15 is about as slow a powder you want to work with in the 7-08.

Also, based on observation of what people say is working for them in Handi's, there is an overall trend toward the lighter bullets for caliber. You may want to try some 120's and some 150's as well to see if your barrel leans toward a given weight.

Directly inanswer to your question, it has taken at least 200 rounds before my guns became relaibly consistent.

Wlscott · « **Reply #9 on:** March 11, 2004, 03:46:47 PM »

Quote

Some of the "opening up" of the groups with cheek pressure can be from parallax of the scope. The crosshairs may actually be on another spot when you see them on the bull. I have seen this on some of my older scopes and it is a real eye opener when you realize it.

I use a Springfield Armory 4-16X56MM scope with adjustable objective on this rifle. I don't think it's from parallax in the scope.

It's really not a problem for field shooting, but when developing loads/shooting for accuracy from the bench, it can throw a monkey wrench in the works.