best bang for the buck varminter?

[mattri]

Looking for a rifle that will group at least 2" at 200 yards in either .223 or .243 without breaking the bank.  Have considered the Savages and Marlins but am very interested in the NEF/H&Rs.  I like the simplicity of a single shot and the price point is great. 
Now that the .223s come with the 1:9 barrrels is another plus. 

How accurate are these rifles?
How tunable are they?
What is the aftermarket like?  For example barrels stocks etc?
Is there a better option?  Rossi- other?

Thanks, Matt.

[myarmor]

You have come to the right place.... Welcome home Seriously, for the money I don't believe you can go wrong. I have owned almost every cal through out the last few years and all were shooters, other than a few that needed tuning. But tuning is usually easy to do and the FAQ's will get you through it all.  I believe if you have no oil on the latch, and have a nice tight lockup, and a good bore polish (just take your time and are careful ) then you could be suprised how accurate they can be. Go for an Ultra 223.... very good track record




-Aaron

[Badnews Bob]

Handi rifles are great fun but sometime they need tinkering with to get the most out of them, That's one of the reasons I like them.

The .243s can be finicky I think the ultra .223 is a much better choice, 2" @ 200 is a very doable goal, They're also the .204 ruger and .22-250 to consider, both can be made to shoot MOA.  >223 dose have the edge on componets.

Several stocks are available but the only barrels are factory offerings,  You can have custom barrels fitting by stubbing a factory barrel.

Go spend some time in the FAQs section and you can prolly answer most any question you may have.

Welcome aboard, I hope you get one or a dozen and enjoy them as much as I and a bunch of good fellers do here on GBs.

[LaOtto222]

Welcome aboard Since you asked in the Handi section it seems you are leaning this way. Forget the Rossi - not even in same league as a Handi IMHO. The 223 in any variety should shoot well -I have the 223 Ultra (my first BTW) and it is a quality rifle. It looks good and shoots good. I have the older variety with a 1 - 12" twist barrel. It will handle up to and including 55 grain bullets - some times heavier if it is blunt enough. A 1- 9" twist will handle heavier bullts, but you will need to try to find what it likes best. The Ultra is a heavy rifle, if you want to be carrying it around. You might think about the Ultra Lite if that is what you are planning on doing. It is a little more finicky, but can be made to shoot well. If you have any trouble - as advised look into the FAQ - heck do it any way, it will give some insight on these fine rifles. I am partial to single shot rifles myself and have converted 3 bolt actions for varmints to single shots. The Handi looks good and shoots well enough. Good Luck and Good Shooting

[petemi]

I went for the Handi in .22-250 for the better long range ballistics over the .223.  Shooting QUALITY factory ammo, the cost isn't much more.  If you reload, I believe cost differences would be minimal.  The advantage of the .223 is you can plink with cheap ammo.  As others have said, forget the Rossi.  There's a world of help here if you need it.  Welcome, and good shooting.

Pete

[wreckhog]

According to the FAQ, 22-250 comes with 1/14 twist. Seems odd given the bullets available today. Odder still, I think that .22 Hornets are coming with 1/9 twist. The deal seems to be a camo Handi with 4x-12x scope at Dick's for $279 when on sale. Scope gets mixed reviews but at least it is boresighted and mounted. Available in .223 and 22-250.

[tykempster]

If your criteria is >2" at 200 yards, I'm not 100% sure a Handi is for you.  You mentioned Savage.  I have both firearms, and for precision shooting I would NO DOUBT err towards the Savage side.  Not to say the Handi is a bad rifle, but I wouldn't bet on 2" at 200 yards.  Please don't kill me folks!

[LONGTOM]

If your criteria is >2" at 200 yards, I'm not 100% sure a Handi is for you.  You mentioned Savage.  I have both firearms, and for precision shooting I would NO DOUBT err towards the Savage side.  Not to say the Handi is a bad rifle, but I wouldn't bet on 2" at 200 yards.  Please don't kill me folks!

Just depends on the rifle.
Some will and some won't.
Some need work but a few like my 204 Handy, stock out of the box,  can pretty much match or beat 2" at 200 with 32gr or 45gr V-MAX most of the time.
I think I got lucky with that one!
It's a keeper!


LONGTOM

[stumped]

I have a handi 223 with the 22inch bull barrel and it shoots great. I have not done a single thing to it and will shoot better than 2inchs at 200yds. I bought it for a cheap gun to leave in the truck in the winter, but now its all I coyote hunt with. I started shooting factory ammo 50gr v-max and the shot ok, then shot 40gr factory v-max and they where alot better. Now I'm reloading 40gr v-max and the dont shoot much better than the factory ammo. I would feel good with shooting a coyote out to 250. I shot a ground hog at 186yds this past weekend and 3 coyotes over the winter, but they all 3 under 60yds. I would highly recommend the 223 handi and for the price you can't go wrong.

[PHATINJUN]

Buy a H&R and read the facts come here and we will help you. Welcome aboard there are few places that are as entertaining as this place. Lots of information in the FAQ's Here one link that I love .Between a H&R naysayer and someone who knows what he's talking about with the H&R's.
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,129400.msg1098473394.html#msg1098473394

Again welcome to the site you won't be disappointed.By the way I think I got 27 of them now. Kurt

[mattri]

Thanks for all the replies.  I'll deffinetly be keeping my eye out for a good deal. 

[trotterlg]

I would not bet on a H&R doing 2 inches at 200 yards with someone elses money.  Now a Savage is a different story, if you want it to shoot out of the box buy the Savage or one of the Stevens 200's.  Larry