Don't let the information overload available here scare you from a handi,the first one i bought 223 hb shot 1 1/4 straight from the box with winchester white box (when i say straight from the box i mean it i through a scope on and went to the range, no cleaning,fiddling,nothing) i sent that frame in for a 30-30 barrel had 2 days before deer season winchester 150gr super x's shot 2in at 100yds felt confident enough to let my nephew carry it. next one was a topper 158 in 30-30 i bought from a local gunshow all i did there was check to make sure barrel was clear and it shot 3in with open sight (which is great for me i've been wearing coke-bottle glasses since i was 6yrs old) added scope later on will do 1in easily with winchester 150's. my latest is a sb1 44mag from gander mtn 3x9x40 tasco scope (the cheap one from walmart $29) and some old american eagle 240gr hp i had laying around will touch holes at 50yd i haven't tried 100yds yet but i can ring the gong with no holdover at 100
The moral of my story is i do nothing to any of my guns and they shoot very well straight from the box. and as anyone here will tell the more you shoot them the better they get.mine all shoot better than me any day of the week.
Handloading can help but is not needed,premium ammo is not needed,you can get great results from cheap off the shelf ammo.