Caliber Choice Help Please!!

[merhunts]

Hey Everyone. I am new to the NEF group. I am planning on buying A Handi rifle. But I was curious whether I could order a rifle and several barrels at one time, instead of sending the receiver back several different times. Does anyone know if NEF does this. And also I Would like some Pro's and Con's of the Handi rifle, and suggestions on what calibers shoot the best. I have not bought any Handi's yet. I am waiting to sell my Thompson Center Contender G2. I'm going to use the money to buy these barrels, 22LR,a coyote caliber,a deer caliber,a muzzle loader,and a bear caliber. Any Suggestions are welcome.


PS I am getting rid of my TC because they cost too much. Even thought they are very good guns.

You can't kill them if you ain't in the woods

[quickdtoo]

Welcome to GBO!! H&R will only sell firearms direct to distributors, the only way to get factory fitted barrels is to send a frame in to have them fitted. You'll need a rimfire SS1 frame and a centerfire SB2 frame,  rimfire barrels won't work on centerfire frames and vice versa, unless you can get hold of one of the few 3 barrel combos they produced earlier this year. They also make a Versa Pack combo .22Lr/.410 but those are the only barrels they offer for it.

You can get as many barrels fitted as you want in one trip, one member had eleven barrels fitted at once!! You can also fit your own used barrel if you're the DIY type, read the FAQs and Help sticky, lots of good info in there for newbies and oldies alike!!

Tim

[FLNT4EVR]

 Welcome to the family of Handiholics, you may not be one yet   but you will be.. The calibers you need are quite simple ,and among the best shooting Handi's they make. A .223 for coyotes and a 47-70 for everything else.

[ONE HOLE 4570]

+1 FOR THE 45-70 & 223
also a 30-30 is a must

[ironglow]

  The choices recommended sound good..except for one reservation...

    The  45/70 would be good for deer and bear rifle choice...but if merhunt lives in the western open spaces, is the 45/70 still the best choice ?

  Just wondering...

[xhare]

There are plenty of open spaces in the east too.  I dont own one, but the 30-06 seems to get a lot of praise for accuracy.

[OR-E-Gun Bill]

Which caliber? Just be like Tim and get all of em'!



Welcome to the land of Handiholism...




Bill

[nomosendero]

If you go with a Handi, a 223, 280 & 45-70 will cover all bases very well.

Pros of the Handi: low cost
                          they are fairly well balanced & handle well
                          they have a very good resale as a percentage of purchase price
               
Cons of the Handi: barrels are not interchangeable without fitting, to me this is THE main con.

                          sometimes they come from the factory with the proper gap & overall fit & sometimes they don't.

                          Amt. of forend pressure is touchy & most accurate usually when the FE rests on a support/bag just in front of
                          receiver. This is awkward in the field. Some Handi's are better than others in this regard.
                         
                         The action is too weak for the belted magnums & a bigger dia. rounds loaded to similar pressures. Not much of
                         a problem if you don't want a mag., but it also means you need to use extra caution loading for std. rounds, more
                         so than a bolt gun for example, of course we should be cautious with all guns in this regard.

The barrels can be a pro or a con, some are very accurate barrels & some are not. There are other choices & I would do some research. At any rate the Handi can serve you well.                         

[PartsMan]

What are you using it for?
25-06 did me well for deer and coyote.

[myarmor]

Welcome to Graybeardoutdoors.
Sense we are throwing our 2cents out there...

- 223 bull barrel or a 204
- 30-06 , 280, or 270
- 45/70
- .50cal Huntsman SS barrel while they are still available.

That should have a man covered pretty well in a Handi


-Aaron

[Mac11700]

PS I am getting rid of my TC because they cost too much. Even thought they are very good guns.

I think this is a first...

I'm going to use the money to buy these barrels, 22LR,a coyote caliber,a deer caliber,a muzzle loader,and a bear caliber. Any Suggestions are welcome.


Looks like your wanting a rim fire frame & barrel complete..and a SB-2 frame & barrel + 3 other barrels all from trading your G2 ....hmmmm...well..the initial expense will be there swapping used for new..as to getting all that you want..I think if I was doing this..I would go with 1 of the 17cal. rim fire set up..and get a 24" 204 or 223 SB-2 set up and send the frame in for the additional barrels your wanting & can afford..with the first one being a 45-70 barrel...As far as deer rounds go..a 243,25-06,270,280,30-30,308,30-06...take your pick...they all will do the job..and come can double really well as a looooong range varmint gun...My favorite is the 25-06 for dual purpose..

Mac

[DalesCarpentry]

Welcome aboard!!!!! You have found good company and are welcome here. Everyone has an opion and all will differ from one another. There are many great calibers that the Handi offers. These are the ones I have and do believe I have it covered for pretty much anything that walks the face of the earth. I will be adding more in time but this is what I have so far. The 204  24'' fluted bull barrel, The 243  24'' bull barrel, The 280  26'' barrel and the 450 Marlin 22'' barrel. Getting the barrels is the easy part. The hard part is buying decent glass to go on top of them. The scopes will cost more than the barrels!! I would like to add a 17 HMR to the collection soon but I don't think it will be in the Handi though. I am looking to get a Marlin with the bull barrel for that one. I guesse it is not that bad of a sin seeing as the same company owns both. In any event your sickness is about to start. The only cure is buy more.

[ironglow]

  Yup !;

   Welcome aboard...all of us here know it won't end with just one action and 2 or 3 barrels...LOL

[Stan in SC]

Uh...in case no one else mentioned it the 45/70 is a must have.

Stan

[MnMike]

Welcome!

I hope you enjoy your Handi experience.

My choices would be:
.204 for varmints
.243 for big varmints
.270 for far deer
45-70 or .500 for close deer or bear

I am sorry you are selling your Contender. I shoot both, and won't part with either..

You must keep in mind that the Handi often requires more work. Most Contenders shoot great out of the box. Handis often don't.
They usually can be made to deliver great groups, but you may have to do a few things - read the FAQ.

good luck,

mike

[Mitch in MI]

When picking a rifle to have extra barrels fitted, look at the stock.
Do you want high comb (monte carlo) or low comb? The guns with sights come with low comb, scope base barrels come with high comb.
Do you want beech, laminate, checkered, smooth, thumbhole? Or maybe the buffalo classic walnut?
How about synthetic? There are plastic stocks in monte, low, survivor thumbhole, and varmint thumbhole.
You can go to hr1871.com and browse the catalog. Pick a caliber you want with the furniture you want, and send the frame in to have the rest of your barrels fitted. It's easier to shoot a scope with a leather cheekpiece than it is to shoot iron sights with a monte carlo comb. I'm lucky enough to have three frames that match well enough that I can swap barrels T/C style. I put the iron sight barrels on a frame with a low stock, and the scoped barrels on the frame with the monte carlo laminate stock.

[wcf3030]

Start at the top of the barrel list and work your way down.

I've the 223 & 30-30.
Both are outstanding.
I've also shot the 270 Ultra alot and have worked up loads for it.
That is another impressive rifle.

[merhunts]

Thanks for all the Info. I will be hunting in NC. Mostly Wilkes and McDowell County. I will hunt the Eastern part some. My plans for this hunting season is to hunt the thick stuff, so the 45-70 will be the first one that I will buy. I already have A savage 30-06 Bolt Action so I will choose a different caliber for long range deer. I was leaning towards the 204 for varmints. But alot of you seem to like the 223 an awful lot. Is it because they are easy to load for. I plan to get into loading in the near future, so my choice of calibers will probably be those that are easy to load and easy to find all the components for. Thanks again you have been a big help. Merhunts

[Mac11700]

I think it's a combination of reasons...It's usually very accurate..and components are plentiful and easy to get..and there is a lot of factory ammo that is priced nice..I'm just getting in the caliber and I'm learning as I go..

Mac

[merhunts]

I just researched the ballistics of both the 204 and 223 and there is not that much advantage the 204 has over the 223 maybe 30 yards of point blank range and the 204 being a fairly new caliber doesn't have a whole lot of choices in bullet selection. so I think I will probably go with the 223. Here is the kind of stock I'm going to put on mine. I really like the pistol grip style over the traditional stock. I hope the picture will be here.

[Mac11700]

I haven't heard too much good about the ATI stocks..some had tried them here..and didn't like them at all..You might want to take a look at the Choate's stock offerings..both the conventional and the sniper model..folks seem to really like them a-lot.. The forearm has a built in rail for the bi-pod attachment...Here's one of Quickdtoo's..with them on it..


Mac

[merhunts]

The reason I like the ATI stock is that is adjustable in length. sometimes I like a short stock and sometimes I like a long one. I have one on my mossberg 835 and I love it. I guess that's why there are so many choices, because we are not all alike. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying everyone should like it because I do. most of the time I like what every one doesn't like anyway.

[quickdtoo]

I just researched the ballistics of both the 204 and 223 and there is not that much advantage the 204 has over the 223 maybe 30 yards of point blank range and the 204 being a fairly new caliber doesn't have a whole lot of choices in bullet selection. so I think I will probably go with the 223.

The 204 has lots over the 223, it's close to the 22-250 in fact, exceeds the 22-250 at range!

40gr 204 compared to 50gr 223 & 22-250

http://204ruger.com/

[merhunts]

Thanks for the info quickdtoo. Now you got me back to indecision, LOL. What I want is the longest range I can possibly get without hold high. I know the 204 is fur friendly also.

[DalesCarpentry]

Thanks for the info quickdtoo. Now you got me back to indecision, LOL. What I want is the longest range I can possibly get without hold high. I know the 204 is fur friendly also.

Then the 204 is just what you need.

[Mac11700]

What I want is the longest range I can possibly get without hold high. I know the 204 is fur friendly also.

Well as far as varmint loads go...I think the 243 would give you this even over the 204...

Load Data taken from 5th edition Nosler reloading manual using a 24" barrel computed with Point Blank
~~~~~~~~~

Name: .243 Cal, Nosler ct sbt, 55 grn
Ballistic Coeff: 0.276
Bullet Weight: 55
Velocity: 4069
Target Distance: 250
Scope Height: 1.500
Temperature: 70
Altitude: 500

Ballistic Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Range  Elevation  Velocity   Energy     ETA         Drop      Max Y  10mph Wind Deflect
  0 yds   -1.50 in  4069 fps  2022 fpe  0.000 sec    0.00 in  -1.50 in    0.00 in
 25 yds   -0.62 in  3961 fps  1916 fpe  0.019 sec    0.07 in  -0.58 in    0.04 in
 50 yds    0.11 in  3855 fps  1815 fpe  0.038 sec    0.27 in  -0.53 in    0.17 in
 75 yds    0.70 in  3752 fps  1719 fpe  0.058 sec    0.62 in  -0.44 in    0.40 in
100 yds    1.14 in  3652 fps  1629 fpe  0.078 sec    1.13 in  -0.31 in    0.73 in
125 yds    1.41 in  3554 fps  1542 fpe  0.099 sec    1.80 in  -0.13 in    1.15 in
150 yds    1.52 in  3458 fps  1460 fpe  0.120 sec    2.64 in   0.10 in    1.66 in
175 yds    1.44 in  3365 fps  1382 fpe  0.142 sec    3.66 in   0.38 in    2.28 in
200 yds    1.17 in  3273 fps  1308 fpe  0.165 sec    4.87 in   0.72 in    3.02 in
225 yds    0.69 in  3184 fps  1238 fpe  0.188 sec    6.29 in   1.12 in    3.88 in
250 yds    0.00 in  3096 fps  1171 fpe  0.212 sec    7.92 in   1.58 in    4.84 in
275 yds   -0.91 in  3010 fps  1107 fpe  0.236 sec    9.77 in   2.11 in    5.90 in
300 yds   -2.05 in  2926 fps  1046 fpe  0.262 sec   11.86 in   2.72 in    7.10 in
325 yds   -3.46 in  2844 fps   988 fpe  0.287 sec   14.21 in   3.42 in    8.43 in
350 yds   -5.14 in  2763 fps   932 fpe  0.314 sec   16.83 in   4.20 in    9.90 in
375 yds   -7.11 in  2683 fps   879 fpe  0.342 sec   19.74 in   5.08 in   11.52 in
400 yds   -9.37 in  2605 fps   829 fpe  0.370 sec   22.95 in   6.07 in   13.28 in
425 yds  -11.94 in  2528 fps   781 fpe  0.399 sec   26.46 in   7.16 in   15.16 in
450 yds  -14.85 in  2453 fps   735 fpe  0.430 sec   30.31 in   8.37 in   17.20 in
475 yds  -18.11 in  2379 fps   691 fpe  0.460 sec   34.52 in   9.70 in   19.40 in
500 yds  -21.79 in  2306 fps   649 fpe  0.493 sec   39.14 in  11.19 in   21.80 in
525 yds  -25.90 in  2234 fps   610 fpe  0.526 sec   44.19 in  12.83 in   24.41 in
550 yds  -30.45 in  2164 fps   572 fpe  0.560 sec   49.68 in  14.64 in   27.19 in
575 yds  -35.44 in  2095 fps   536 fpe  0.595 sec   55.62 in  16.62 in   30.15 in
600 yds  -40.90 in  2027 fps   502 fpe  0.631 sec   62.02 in  18.78 in   33.28 in
625 yds  -46.90 in  1960 fps   469 fpe  0.669 sec   68.96 in  21.15 in   36.63 in
650 yds  -53.41 in  1894 fps   438 fpe  0.707 sec   76.41 in  23.72 in   40.16 in
675 yds  -60.66 in  1830 fps   409 fpe  0.748 sec   84.60 in  26.57 in   44.01 in
700 yds  -68.65 in  1768 fps   382 fpe  0.790 sec   93.54 in  29.71 in   48.17 in
725 yds  -77.40 in  1708 fps   356 fpe  0.833 sec  103.22 in  33.15 in   52.59 in
750 yds  -86.90 in  1650 fps   332 fpe  0.878 sec  113.67 in  36.89 in   57.27 in
775 yds  -97.18 in  1592 fps   310 fpe  0.925 sec  124.89 in  40.95 in   62.18 in
800 yds -108.23 in  1536 fps   288 fpe  0.972 sec  136.88 in  45.34 in   67.31 in

Load Data 204 Ruger taken from Hodgdons 2007 Annual computed by point blank
~~~~~~~~~

Name: .204 Cal, hornady vmax, 40 grn
Ballistic Coeff: 0.275
Bullet Weight: 40
Velocity: 3774
Target Distance: 250
Scope Height: 1.500
Temperature: 70
Altitude: 500

Ballistic Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Range  Elevation  Velocity   Energy     ETA         Drop      Max Y  10mph Wind Deflect
  0 yds   -1.50 in  3774 fps  1265 fpe  0.000 sec    0.00 in  -1.50 in    0.00 in
 25 yds   -0.51 in  3673 fps  1198 fpe  0.020 sec    0.08 in  -0.58 in    0.06 in
 50 yds    0.33 in  3574 fps  1134 fpe  0.041 sec    0.32 in  -0.52 in    0.20 in
 75 yds    0.99 in  3477 fps  1074 fpe  0.062 sec    0.73 in  -0.41 in    0.44 in
100 yds    1.48 in  3383 fps  1016 fpe  0.084 sec    1.31 in  -0.26 in    0.78 in
125 yds    1.77 in  3291 fps   962 fpe  0.106 sec    2.09 in  -0.05 in    1.25 in
150 yds    1.86 in  3201 fps   910 fpe  0.130 sec    3.07 in   0.22 in    1.83 in
175 yds    1.74 in  3112 fps   860 fpe  0.153 sec    4.26 in   0.54 in    2.52 in
200 yds    1.40 in  3026 fps   813 fpe  0.178 sec    5.68 in   0.94 in    3.31 in
225 yds    0.83 in  2941 fps   768 fpe  0.203 sec    7.32 in   1.40 in    4.23 in
250 yds    0.00 in  2858 fps   725 fpe  0.229 sec    9.22 in   1.94 in    5.27 in
275 yds   -1.10 in  2777 fps   685 fpe  0.255 sec   11.39 in   2.57 in    6.47 in
300 yds   -2.49 in  2697 fps   646 fpe  0.283 sec   13.85 in   3.29 in    7.82 in
325 yds   -4.17 in  2618 fps   609 fpe  0.311 sec   16.60 in   4.11 in    9.30 in
350 yds   -6.15 in  2541 fps   573 fpe  0.340 sec   19.66 in   5.02 in   10.90 in
375 yds   -8.47 in  2465 fps   540 fpe  0.370 sec   23.05 in   6.06 in   12.67 in
400 yds  -11.13 in  2390 fps   507 fpe  0.401 sec   26.79 in   7.21 in   14.58 in
425 yds  -14.21 in  2317 fps   477 fpe  0.433 sec   30.93 in   8.50 in   16.70 in
450 yds  -17.70 in  2245 fps   447 fpe  0.466 sec   35.50 in   9.94 in   19.02 in
475 yds  -21.64 in  2174 fps   420 fpe  0.500 sec   40.51 in  11.54 in   21.52 in
500 yds  -26.02 in  2104 fps   393 fpe  0.535 sec   45.96 in  13.31 in   24.21 in
525 yds  -30.86 in  2036 fps   368 fpe  0.571 sec   51.87 in  15.25 in   27.06 in
550 yds  -36.24 in  1969 fps   344 fpe  0.608 sec   58.32 in  17.39 in   30.14 in
575 yds  -42.10 in  1902 fps   321 fpe  0.647 sec   65.25 in  19.72 in   33.37 in
600 yds  -48.68 in  1838 fps   300 fpe  0.687 sec   72.91 in  22.32 in   36.93 in
625 yds  -55.99 in  1776 fps   280 fpe  0.729 sec   81.29 in  25.20 in   40.79 in
650 yds  -64.05 in  1715 fps   261 fpe  0.772 sec   90.42 in  28.36 in   44.93 in
675 yds  -72.86 in  1656 fps   244 fpe  0.817 sec  100.31 in  31.83 in   49.33 in
700 yds  -82.44 in  1599 fps   227 fpe  0.863 sec  110.96 in  35.60 in   53.96 in
725 yds  -92.79 in  1542 fps   211 fpe  0.910 sec  122.38 in  39.69 in   58.81 in
750 yds -104.13 in  1488 fps   197 fpe  0.960 sec  134.79 in  44.17 in   63.99 in
775 yds -116.47 in  1436 fps   183 fpe  1.011 sec  148.20 in  49.05 in   69.47 in
800 yds -130.09 in  1386 fps   171 fpe  1.064 sec  162.90 in  54.43 in   75.36 in



Just for comparisons of course

Mac

[quickdtoo]

The .243 ain't fur friendly in the least tho, and forget about seeing impacts, let alone using almost twice as much powder. Course, if you don't care about the fur or seeing red mist....

Tim

[nomosendero]

223 is a far better all-round choice than a 204. 204 is great to have if you have several barrels.

Yes, the 243 is flatter. Besides, I like red mist friendly better than fur friendly. Furs won't bring much in AR most of the time, we don't have enough winter. I am surprised that NC would be that much different, unless in the Smokies.

[Mac11700]

The .243 ain't fur friendly in the least tho, and forget about seeing impacts, let alone using almost twice as much powder. Course, if you don't care about the fur or seeing red mist....

Tim

Well...while it may not vaporize them...you'll still be seeing chunks falling down ...heck...were talking Handis...He might as well plan on getting several of them...

Mac

[quickdtoo]

Thanks for the info quickdtoo. Now you got me back to indecision, LOL. What I want is the longest range I can possibly get without hold high. I know the 204 is fur friendly also.

No need for indecision, just get em all, start with the .223 or 204 and work your way up!!!

Tim