I have a handi and really like it but if I were to spend a bundle on a hunt should I opt for a bolt action or is the reliability of the handi good enough
The question then is; is
your Handi good enough? Have you done a lot of range time with it? Does it eject reliably? Is it accurate at probable shooting distance on your planned hunt? Have you carried it in the field to do some casual shooting to double check you and the guns performance under actual field conditions?
I have two handi rifles. One 223 and one 30-30. The 223 will occasionaly fail to eject. I've tuned it to the point where it is no longer the fault of the rifle if it does not eject, but I've been know to let a bit too much oil get into the action and it will find it's way to the chamber. Result, stuck case. No problem if shooting Pdogs or ground squirrels but could be a disaster if a second (not even a quick second) shot is needed on a big game hunt. The 30-30 ejects like a sub spitting out a polaris rocket!! :-) It used to be that only a BB gun would "put your eye out", but now there is the Handi 30-30 that could do it too.
I would carry that 30-30 on any big game hunt where the shot would be 100 yards or less on game up to and including elk. When I was 12 years old, my grandfather showed me how to carry a single shot shotgun with one or two shells between the fingers of the left hand. He could shoot, pop the single open, reload and get a shot at a second grouse rising behind the first one that had not yet hit the ground. I'm not that fast but it shows how practice and dedication (as well as not being able to afford a repeater) can give pretty good results.
What I'm really trying to convey is that if you make a choice to hunt with your Handi and you allow yourself plenty of practice you will probably do just fine. The problem most hunters seem to have is that they don't think of their practice as training. For most, practice means going to the range once or twice a year and shooting 20 or 30 rounds from the bench.
I'll tell you two stories and then get my fingers off the keyboard. :-)
1. When I was a young guy and home on leave from the army my dad and I went mule deer hunting on the west slope of Colorado. I had alwasy been a hunter and shooter ever since I was 10 years old. However, after being in the army for a while and doing exstensive training with the rifle from all the various battle positions my field shooting had improved more than I realized. I had topped a small hill early in the morning walking in five inches of fresh snow. I looked across a draw and saw three nice mulie bucks sillouetted clearly against the snow on the hillside about 150 yards away. The next thing I knew I was looking at the largest of the three laying dead in the snow while the other two fled up the gulch. Without thought or planning I had dropped straight to the ground to the crosslegged sitting position with the rifle to my shoulder and almost immediatley sighted and shot. That was all about practice (training) and familiarity with my rifle.
2. A couple years ago I took a family member with me on a whitetail hunt on the eastern plains of CO. We had doe tags for a particular ranch. I carried my 270 Ruger that had been my primary big game rifle on many hunts. I had another rifle that my partner could have used and should have used since he had used it extensively while shooting with me. He had also used my Ruger extensively. He had however fallen under the spell of his brother in law who insisted that he would be better off borrowing his 6mm rem slide action. They went out and shot a few round with it and that was the rifle he carried that day. It was just barely light and we came up on a small water hole in a dry creek bed and there were three does about 100 yards out. I wanted him to get a deer since it would be his first so I told him we would try to each shoot a deer at the same time. Then commenced the fumbling with the borrowed rifle. There seemed to be no way that he could get a round in the chamber. It got to the point where he was actually down on the ground battleing with it. I told him to take my Ruger and go for it which he did and made a perfect shot on the biggest doe in the bunch. Naturally the other two fled before he could hand the rifle back to me, but that was no big thing. Mainly I wanted him to have a first success. That was all about lack of practice and familiarity with the rifle.
