Having sold, or passed down, all of my hunting rifles (I gave up big game hunting some years back due to age and health related reasons) I felt I needed a fun gun for plinking and target shooting that would serve a multi-purpose role as well. It had to be .357 magnum to go with the S&W m36 .38 Spl. and Ruger SP101, .357 mag. that I already owned. I'm all setup up for reloading the .38 and .357 so to keep it simple a .357 rifle was my choice for caliber. I favor single shot rifles for their simplicity, safety and reliability. I looked at the Encore and Rossi Wizard before deciding to go with the H&R Handi-Rifle Synthetic.
Cabela's just happened to have a slightly used one for a penny under $200 that I swear had never been fired. It followed me home. Having a Bushnell red dot sitting unused in my gun cabinet, I quickly installed it and went out to my indoor range to test fire my "new" rifle. My indoor range is really a handgun range and is limited to 50' max (if I take all the vehicles out). Results were very disappointing, at first. Trigger pull was hard (10+#). and shots were scattered all over the paper at 40'. Being an optimist, I really felt I could salvage this rifle and make it fit my purposes.
It met my carbide cut-off saw and 5.5" of barrel bit the dust. Then the scope base followed and a 12" picatinny was mounted in its place. On the picatinny, using UTG cam QD rings are either a Weaver 4X scout scope or the Bushnell red dot. Forward of the forearm is a under barrel mounted laser.
After several hundred rounds of all types of ammo, it is now shooting as accurately as I can hold it. I did find that the original scope base was not mounted correctly. The holes were not lined up and two screws were angled to compensate. Only one screw was tight. The new picatinny rail, of course, solved this problem and this is, undoubtedly, the reason for the bad groups early on. The trigger pull has improved with use, also. It is now around 7# and is still clean and crisp with no creep. Not perfect, but in the fair to good range.
With a finished rifle and a Ruger SP101 to match, I needed a good case. A UTG 34" Covert soft case was perfect. It holds the rifle, scope, red dot, Ruger SP101 w/laser grips, ammo, cleaning kit, holster, sling, tools, spare batteries, GPS, compass, knife, sling, and more with room to spare. Perfect for the motor home/camper.
I may make more changes to the rifle....I can see a paint job to replace the blue finish to ward off rust, perhaps, and maybe a different mount for the laser so a flashlight could be added off to the side. Perhaps some picatinney mounted "iron" sights...although this really doesn't seem feasible with such a short sighting plane.
