best accuracy in a handi.

[ihookem]

 My son has an H&R in .243 Superlight. It just doesn't shoot good at all. I was wondering if it's the light barrel. Would I get better accuracy if i just sent it in for a heavier barrel. I also don't care a whole lot if it stays a 243.

[mechanic]

The superlights are finicky. They heat up fast as well.  In the FAQ's at the top of this forum are some tricks to help.

Right off the top, shoot it with the forend removed, resting on the receiver.  Don't shoot more than 3 without a cool down.  I had mine shooting moa after some reloading.  I had to later come back and relieve some pressure points in the forearm, and used an oring on the forearm mount.

This is a hunting barrel, so always sight in for the first shot from a cold barrel.....

There are other calibers that are less finicky.  The 357 comes to mind for a young one to shoot.  I can shoot mine all day without significant POI movement.

Ben

[quickdtoo]

Keep the barrel cool and it will shoot fine with the right load, don't expect to get more than two or three shot groups without letting it cool and it will be fine. Most people shoot and shoot heating the barrel up, then wonder why it won't group. The 243 Superlight isn't a colony varmint gun, it's use should be limited to a light carry rifle for calling predators or deer hunting where you're only going to be shooting one shot, maybe two at the most. I have three of them, two 243s and a 6x45, one of the 243s I had rebored to 260 Remington, the 243 and 260 will put the first two rounds almost touching @ 100yds from a cold barrel, the third round usually opens the group up a little, but not always. As Ben suggested, see the Handi Basics 101 sticky and FAQs, start there and see how she goes, there are some things that you need to be aware of to get the best accuracy from a Handi.  

Tim

[NFG]

It takes work to get a rifle to shoot well, doesn't matter if it is a bolt gun or a Handi, but the Handi has it's own set of problems that need to be addressed and solved BEFORE it will shoot it's best.

Here is my latest daymare...another switch barrel.  222 Rem Mag.  Originally it was a Ruger MKII 223 All Weather with a light #1 contour barrel, but I couldn't get it to shoot worth a hoot.  I pulled the barrel and used the action for another of my wild hairs.

I cut off the Ruger threads and 1/2" of muzzle, threaded it 20TPI to fit this stub receiver and used a 60° center to cut the crown about 1/4" deep, a year or so ago and just rechambered it to 222 RM a couple weeks ago.  I also made a forend out of aluminum and full bedded it.  I cut two dovetails in the thick part of the barrel at the chamber end and installed two T/C 10-32 forend mounts.

The stub receiver is steel epoxy bedded to the frame also.

As far the ammo is concerned the brass is R-P 222 RM with an amazing weight uniformity...normally this doesn't happen with R-P...I weighed out 50 and the range was 215 to 218 gr with most hitting 217 gr.  I was going to go with Lapua if the rig proved capable and it did, but I will stick with the R-P I think and save my money.

The bullets are 35gr Hornady VMax's seated to 2.18" OAL with them touching the lands at 2.19".  The Hornadys were also very uniform as to ogive length, weight and OAL.


The rifle and groups.  The groups were shot as the rifle sits..off the bipod with a sandbag under the butt.
I started with a load near the top of the range and 2.16" OAL, 3 round groups.  The first 3 were perfectly in line vertically...I started reducing by .3 gr and the verticals got closer until I got a nice triangle, then the groups went horizontal.  This was a classic load development.

I went back to where the group was triangle with the load and started increasing the OAL length in 0.005" increments.  Again a classic behaviour...the load kept getting smaller and smaller.  I will increase the powder by another .3 and see how the velocity and group acts, but for all intents and purposes I will load up 50 with this load and go hunting before the winter sets in

I've done this type of load development with all my rifles and pistols...Been doing the same thing for half a century.  I've taken rifles that "don't shoot for krap" and turned them into half-inchers many times...but I have to say that the Handi is one of the hardest shooters to get straightened out of all the cannons I have played with.







The difference between the left and right group is the left group is 2.18" OAL and the right group is 2.175"...0.005" difference in length.  This normally doesn't happen except in benchrest quality barrels.

The 2.18" load chronoed ~3600fs using RL10X.

Heating can cause groups to walk every whichaway, but depending on what your accuracy expectations are and what level of prepping you do, a rifle can shoot well or very poorly.  This is a system, a complicated system and you have to address ALL the different parameters if you want it to shoot well.

Luck

[ihookem]

So an O ring might help to keep the pressure off the barrel?

[mechanic]

So an O ring might help to keep the pressure off the barrel?

Yep..it might, but first shoot it without the fore end.  If things don't change, that is not the culprit.  If that helps, go to the stickies at the top of the forum for the cure....

[ihookem]

Well, I shot the gun with the forearm off. I got it down to a 2" group with 6 shots @ 50 yds. I know this might make ya laugh but this is a revolution for this gun. We have a Leopold 1x4 shotgun scope on it so the cross hairs take up a 1 1/2 " bulls eye @ 50 yds.  I will put on an o ring and hope it at least keeps shooting 2" groups @ 50 yds.  At least for now my son can have confidence on a deer @ 50 yds. A trigger job is next, it must pull 6-7 lbs.  Any other suggestions. What Kind of "O" ring?

[NFG]

Use a square instead of a bull's'eye and put the cross hairs parallel and perpendicular to the one edge and the top or bottom edge of the square...that will help keep the cross hairs in the same relative position each time.  You can do the same thing on an animal.

Fat cross hairs can be used for all kinds of neat things like ranging as long as you know what amount is subtended by the hairs at a specific distance and you know what height or thickness through the middle the animal is.  Scope makers have been using this to help sell their scopes.

Luck