I haven't wanted to post too much in a while, I don't have a good feeling about Handi's and NEF these days. Sent in a frame this spring for fitting with a 38-55 barrel. I couldn't be happier with the barrel, shoot's like a house afire.... when the dang thing ain't misfirin'. Didn't have that problem before I sent it to NEF to be fixed. They fixed it alright, redid the trigger job I had done, which was working just fine I'll have ya know, and sent me back a rifle that misfired at least once every 20 rounds if not twice every 10.
I ain't sending it back to NEF.... If you can't figure that one out, stay in the dark, I aint' gonna explain it. I have replaced every part in the lock work except the trigger and hammer. At this point, the pins have been out so many times they are beginning to back out from recoil alone.
Anyway, on a hunch, I switched primers from "Large Rifle" (I'd been using Winchester) to "Large Pistol Magnum" of Federals persuation. The Mag Pistol primers have a softer cup than the rifle primers, my guess is that they should ignite with a lighter strike. Of 30 rounds so far, no misfires. Better than I was getting by far.
The 11.4 grains of #107 I've been using (substitute Blue Dot using cannister powder) shoots just fine, But the harder to ignite rifle powders are not as good as they were. The 24.5 grain WC680 load (AA1680 for those using cannister grades) does not shoot quite as well with the magnum pistol primer, shows a decided vertical stringing, a sure sign of incomplete ignition and resultant velocity variation, but certainly more than good enough for poking holes in deer at 70 yards or less. Tomorrow I am going to try a loading of 25.5 grains of 4198. My current can is Hodgdon brand, but IMR is the same thing, so take your pick. If that works out well enough, I'm going to try ten rounds of WC846 (at 24.5 grains), depending on lot# it runs from BL-C2 on the slow side to H335 on the fast side. This powder produces very accurate loads, but is dirty because of the low pressures resulting from the low expansion ratio (too much bore diameter, too little case capacity)
I believe the Mag Pistol Primer is a working solution to my misfire problem, but it does limit me to the accuracy I can expect as it is not as efficient at lighting the powders best suited for maximum velocities from this cartridge.
It would be nice to trust NEF to resolve this. Problem in my thinking is they created this condition in correcting something they percieved as a problem that was not. Funny thing is they sent me back a trigger just as light as the one I sent to them, but mine was not misfiring.
Such is Life.
