Author Topic: Sub MOA .44 Handi! (Read 1334 times)

mdwest · « **on:** October 09, 2011, 02:07:47 PM »

Wow... Had a GREAT range day today...

been working on a .44 mag handi project.. took an old SB1 .410 shotgun, refinished the youth stock on it, cleaned up the trigger, and picked up a .44 mag barrel for it (thanks Scott G!).. floated the forend.. mounted a cheap tasco 4x pronghorn scope.. and took it to the range..

shooting winchester 240gr white box.. its holding sub MOA groups at 100 yards!

who says a .44 handi cant be accurate

My 13 year old just got a new rifle for deer/hogs!

I am absolutely amazed.. I expected it to go somewhere in the 2-4" group range @ 100 at best today.. after reading all the reports here and elsewhere.. I thought it was going to take a lot of tweaking, hand loading, etc.. to get it to shoot sub 2"..

first two rounds are practically on top of each other.. the "flyer" brought the group to just under 1"...

tacklebury · « **Reply #1 on:** October 09, 2011, 02:53:37 PM »

Congrats and nice shooting

Good to know that you can use one of the least expensive ammo's and obtain stellar results.

Spanky · « **Reply #2 on:** October 09, 2011, 03:23:00 PM »

That 240gr Winchester ammo is great stuff... it shoots good and kills the hell out of deer too.

Spanky

surehuntsalot · « **Reply #3 on:** October 09, 2011, 06:34:12 PM »

I think you got a fine shooting rifle there

tzimm007 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 09, 2011, 06:39:53 PM »

Thats good dude! Mine dosen't shoot that good but it did like the white box 240's the best also. What is the barrel length on yours?

ratdog · « **Reply #5 on:** October 10, 2011, 01:03:53 AM »

that is good shooting i have a 44 mag in getting it fitted this week im hoping it will shot that good at 50 yards.

parson48 · « **Reply #6 on:** October 10, 2011, 02:45:59 AM »

Too bad ya "pulled" that upper right shot or you woulda hadda perty good group!

Seriously, that's a great shooting 44 mag.

mdwest · « **Reply #7 on:** October 10, 2011, 03:37:18 AM »

Quote from: tzimm007 on October 09, 2011, 06:39:53 PM

What is the barrel length on yours?

Ive got a 18.5" bull barrel on it (purchased it from Scott G last week.. it locked up on my SB1 frame with no fitting at all), and the youth pallet stock that came with the .410 shotgun...

makes for an extremely short/compact package.. but the thick barrel keeps the weight up and make recoil fairly mild..

I think its going to be a perfect first deer/hog gun for my kids (hopefully will pass it down among all of them as they grow up)..

I really couldnt be happier with the outcome.. I thought I was going to have to put A LOT more effort into this project.. I had been reading up on fitting the barrel.. didnt have to do that.. had been reading about what weight and brand factory loads typically worked best as well as what hand loads people liked.. expected to have to do quite a bit of tweaking there.. didnt have to do that either..

all in all.. Ive got probably 2 hours in refinishing the stock (wasnt necessary.. but I wanted to make it look better.. and wanted to give something "unique" to my kids... its now sporting "natrual" wood with a satin finish).. about an hour in smoothing out the trigger (including assembly/disassembly), and maybe another half hour in floating the forend, mounting the optic, etc.. and thats it..

I litterally bought the original .410 shotgun new in 1997 for my then unborn son (along with a little ruger .22 bearcat SA revolver and a cricket .22 single shot rifle).. he has shot thousands of rounds through the revolver and rifle.. but the shotgun hasnt even had a box of ammo run through it.. just wasnt his thing.. his cousin actually took it hunting a couple of times, but I dont think he ever actually pulled the trigger.. the gun has seen almost zero use..

he is ready to start hunting deer now.. and we have a hog hunt scheduled in early December.. so I set out to find something suitable.. and thought the handi project might be more fun than just picking up a youth model savage axis in .308 (my original plan).. so I gave it a try..

really cant beat the results..

the problem is I think I might have caught the handi bug now... I've already been scouring the net for an SB2 frame and stock set.. and been thinking I could probably put together a .45-70 before December to take for piggy rather than my 7mm WSM that I originally planned on taking..

mmt7714 · « **Reply #8 on:** October 10, 2011, 05:56:33 AM »

The 44 mag handi is one of the most accurate rifles I own. Fun to shoot too. Oh yeah, it will also lay the smack down on a deer. Maybe I just got a good one, but it shoots excellent with no modifications.

Mike

flinthead · « **Reply #9 on:** October 10, 2011, 11:27:10 AM »

240 White Box is the ticket on the .44 Handi's. Mine shot a .75 three shot 100 yard group. Congrats on your new Hawg killer!

myarmor · « **Reply #10 on:** October 10, 2011, 11:56:18 AM »

Nice Job! It's great when it all comes together and even better with less fuss.
I loved both 44Mag Handis I owned and they won't be my last I can tell ya that.
Good hunting to you and your son.

-Aaron

mdwest · « **Reply #11 on:** October 11, 2011, 03:07:20 AM »

i agree.. less fuss is always a good thing...

hopefully the good luck will hold out.. ive pretty much made up my mind.. another handi will be the next thing to enter the gun safe.. a .45-70 is in my future

Default_Required · « **Reply #12 on:** October 11, 2011, 05:13:17 PM »

Quote from: Spanky on October 09, 2011, 03:23:00 PM

That 240gr Winchester ammo is great stuff... it shoots good and kills the hell out of deer too.

Spanky

+1 I have always been a happy camper with a box of Winchester white box in any of my assorted 44 mags over the years, The 44 handi of mine doesnt do quite this good. Though 1.5" isnt a gift horse that I would look in the mouth

Good shootin MD someones gonna be happy with a new handi

ro · « **Reply #13 on:** October 11, 2011, 07:02:50 PM »

mdwest, great groups there, of all the loads I have shot in my 44 mag the winchester white box 240 gr., is the best I have found, a great 100 yd in the woods/green field rifle, I killed a nice deer last year at about 165 yds with this rifle at the end of the green field, so they will shoot with the white box ammo.

mdwest · « **Reply #14 on:** October 12, 2011, 03:45:55 AM »

thats exactly how I intend on using it.. Ive got a couple of different places that I will be taking my son hunting this year, where the max shot is about 85 yards.. most shots will likely be under 50 yards.. I was looking for something compact (youth sized), with reasonable recoil, that was affordable enough not to worry about a new/young hunter beating it up, accurate out to 100 yards, with enough power to reliably put down deer/hog sized game..

I think the handi is the perfect fit for this.. and am really happy with the results so far..

Now I've got to get on the project to build its big brother (Ive become jelous.. and now I want a big bore for myself!

).. I just cant decide if I want to build a matching handi, just with an adult sized stock in .45-70... or if I want to tinker around with one of those Enfield P14's that have been rebarrelled in .45-70... (right now I am leaning toward the handi)..

gcrank1 · « **Reply #15 on:** October 12, 2011, 05:50:57 AM »

If you do the E-P14 you wont be able to play on this site (or maybe learn the secret handshake).........

Default_Required · « **Reply #16 on:** October 12, 2011, 06:15:51 PM »

I didnt notice you saying that your boy has any trigger time MD, I helped a guys little girl ( 12 ) learn to shoot on the handi 44 , Started off with 44spcl level loads and by the end of the 4 hours we were at the range she was shooting full house magnums and asking for more

just a thought .

mdwest · « **Reply #17 on:** October 13, 2011, 04:14:22 AM »

he's been shooting since he was 5.. but its all been .22 and .410.. he probably has 2000+ rounds downrange out of his chipmunk .22 bolt action and his .22 bearcat SA revolver.. he is very safe and understands the fundamentals well.. he is actually a very good shot out to about 25 yards with the little .22's...

the plan was to do exactly what you describe.. we are going to hit the range in a couple of weeks (would go this weekend, but he is taking a trip out to the grand canyon for a week).. I've got another box of winchester white box .240 gr .44 mag on hand.. I plan on picking up a box of .44 special as well...

I figure Ill let him go through the entire box of .44 special and let him work on getting used to the rifle, get used to the optic, etc.. and then work on shooting at distance.. once he can put a handful of rounds into the 9 ring at 100 yards.. ill "introduce" him to the .44 mag

He is a big kid for his age (he is 13, but is the height/weight of most 15-16 year old kids).. recoil shouldnt be a problem.. but I dont want the big "bang" of the magnum and the associated heavier recoil to surprise him or set him back in the learning process.. He also hasnt ever shot past about 25 yards before.. or with an optic.. everything he has done prior to this has been with open sights..

I dont think he will shoot past 50 yards on the hunt I am planning.. but would like to know that he CAN hit paper out to 100 consistently before I let him take a shot at 50 on live game..

Bull Nutria · « **Reply #18 on:** October 13, 2011, 01:03:28 PM »

Breaking the youngster in on the 44 specials sounds like a great plan to me, kids learn to adapt so fast. if he is good with a 22rifle he won't have any trouble with the 44mag handi. i would school him well on trigger control, breathing and all the accuracy stuff that he may already know. My ex father in law was a decorated WWII field promoted Captain(got promoted cuz most of the officers got killed or wounded in the pacific theater). he taught me about shooting rifles and that the kick and bang were after the fact. if you do your part and hold that sight picture you will group.he was correct.

I think it is great you are teaching the youngster to shoot and hunt the correct way with mentoring and coaching!

Good for you and him

Bull

mdwest · « **Reply #19 on:** October 31, 2011, 04:02:12 AM »

had another range session with the .44 handi..

went with Defaul_Required's recommendation of starting out with .44 special.. it worked out GREAT! (thanks default!)

He shot about 20 rounds of the special.. starting close (15 yards), working his way out to 50 yards.. he was able to keep reasonably tight groups (about 2" at 50 yards) during these initial strings..

he then decided he was ready to give the magnums a whirl..

he shot a 5 round, 1 1/2" group at 50.. and was grinning from ear to ear.. I think he actually enjoyed the extra recoil and the concussion

he then finished off most of the rest of the box of .44 special.. progressing out to the 100 yard line (surprisingly, the rifle seems to like the winchester "cowboy" .44 special almost as much as it likes the winchester white box .44 mag rounds.. he was able to keep "3-4" groups, shooting off a front rest only (no rear rest), while standing.. with no problem)..

we then finshed the day by running another 15 rounds of .44 mag (winchester white box) through the gun.. he shot 5, three round groups.. all at 100 yards.. with groups ranging from 2" - 3"...

I think he (and the rifle) are ready for hunting!

Im so envious of his little gun... that Ive decided to build an "adult" version of the same gun for myself (just going to put an adult stock on mine.. his has a youth stock..)... so we can have a matching pair..

slayer · « **Reply #20 on:** October 31, 2011, 10:23:21 AM »

This is very good stuff!! It just so happens I put a new .44 Handi with the 18 3/4" barrel on layaway and was going to start a thread about what this gun likes to shoot. I love how light the gun is and it balances like a dream!! I was thinking about reloading 270 grain Speer softpoints for it and see how she fares. I want to use it for thick cover and still hunting for deer and bear. I use a 45/70 Buffalo Classic for the long range thing

Has anyone tried blackpowder in the .44 Handi?

gcrank1 · « **Reply #21 on:** October 31, 2011, 11:23:26 AM »

I did years ago in a 44Mag Shikari, it was OK, but extremely mild. About then I decided that I would mostly save the BP for my muzzleloaders, and now I use Trail Boss to get BP ballistics without the mess to rifle and cases.