243 Ultra barrel fit

[ralf]

I have a 243 Ultra that I am having issues getting it to shoot consistently.  Even with factory ammo, with the same kind of ammo, one day it will shoot good, the next time it will shoot all over the place.  It makes it very tough to devlope a good handload.  I don't have this issue with my other rifles, so I don't think it is me.

Today I tested the barrel fit by removing the forearm, and I can move the barrel side to side in the receiver.  Is this normal?  I tried to do a search, but the search is not working.

Thanks

[rms4570hr]

  Hey ralf look in the FAQ & Help and look for the barrel fitting at the bottom of the page.





rms270hr

[stimpylu32]

Ralf

If you don't have any luck with the fitting in the FAQ try giving H&R's cust. service a call , they may want you to send it back to them and fix it for free including shipping .

it may be as simple as you needing a shim on the pivot pin to take the slop out, but i would not want to have to do this with a new rifle .

stimpy

[myarmor]

If there's side to side movement you will definately have problems. I know cause I have had a couple barrels have this and they shot all over the place. As Richard said a simple shim would prove helpful, unless there is a very large amount of play.
Just remove the forearm and then take out the 2 screws that hole the spacer in the rear. Cut a small piece of cardboard or plastic and punch holes in it to line up with the screw holes. Put it back together with your newly shimed forarm and tighten the forearm screw tight. Now break open the action and see how it feels. If it just falls down then you might need a thicker shim. I personally like for all my Handi's to break open very slowly and with a little force from me. This insures me that my rifle is "tight". Try this and see how it shoots.
If afterward it still gives you problems then try to float it with an O-Ring. With this you might need to sand down the inside of the forearm so that none of the barrel touches the wood. Some have had good sucess with a silicone bedding in the forearm. I haven't tried this yet, but I see the advantages. First things first though, try the shim.
Keep us posted.
-Aaron

[stimpylu32]

Ralf

One more thing to try is to take a small peice of alum. foil from the kitchen about the size of a stamp , rap it around the pivot pin in the frame were the barrel hooks in and replace the barrel .

Then try to close the action and see if the barrel still has any side to side play . if the action will not close try a peice of paper or if it still has play add another peice of foil , this will give you some idea of what size shim you will need to get a good lock up .

I know this is a crude way to do it , but will give you the basic concept.

stimpy