Newb to Handi-Rifle with questions

[scandmx5]

Hello all.  First let me say, my first shotgun was an old H&R/NEF and I slew many squirrels with it and never had an issue other than a sore shoulder.  I now have the overwhelming desire to purchase an H&R Ultra Hunter in .308. It's inexpensive and no frills, and supposedly a decent gun from what I hear.  My old 1973 Model 670 will not hold a group with any ammo but UMC, and I'm tired of blowing money trying to get it to (target crown, floating, and SEVERAL different loads). On top of the fact, deer season opened yesterday and I don't have time to save for another Winchester, and I don't want a cheaper synthetic gun. Thus the Ultra Hunter...laminate stock and blue barrel/receiver and I can get it for at cost! ($269.99). Before I make the plunge, I had a few quick questions:

What kind of  groups can I expect out of the box? I'm not looking for SUB-MOA performance as I am a deer hunter, not a competition shooter.
 
Is it necessary to "break the barrel in"..I've never done it on any NEW rifle and never had any trouble.

Is floating the Handi necessary?

What loads does your Handi .308 like? (I will be purchasing factory loads as I do not tailor my own)

Just how bad is the recoil from a Handi .308 (worse than a bolt 30-06 with no recoil pad and a 22" barrel?)

I hear all this about cleaning with JB,etc...is good old Hoppes and RemOil not good enough for these?
 
Thanks in advance

[mechanic]

Most, but not all Handi's are hunting accurate right out of the box.  I don't do a break in procedure with mine.  I just give it a good initial cleaning to remove the machining debris, and shoot it.  If you will spend some times in the FAQ's at the top of this page, you will find a lot of accumulated Handi wisdom there.  In brief:
Make sure the latch and shelf are dry when shooting.  Snap the barrel shut each time with authority.  Follow through on trigger pull each time.  If using a rest, rest under the receiver, not the fore end.
Be sure to loctite and bed the factory scope rail before mounting a scope.
The ultra comes with a recoil pad, and the 308 is not that heavy a kicker. 
Welcome to the forum.
Ben
 

[cwlongshot]

Hello all.  First let me say, my first shotgun was an old H&R/NEF and I slew many squirrels with it and never had an issue other than a sore shoulder.  I now have the overwhelming desire to purchase an H&R Ultra Hunter in .308. It's inexpensive and no frills, and supposedly a decent gun from what I hear.  My old 1973 Model 670 will not hold a group with any ammo but UMC, and I'm tired of blowing money trying to get it to (target crown, floating, and SEVERAL different loads). On top of the fact, deer season opened yesterday and I don't have time to save for another Winchester, and I don't want a cheaper synthetic gun. Thus the Ultra Hunter...laminate stock and blue barrel/receiver and I can get it for at cost! ($269.99). Before I make the plunge, I had a few quick questions:

What kind of  groups can I expect out of the box? I'm not looking for SUB-MOA performance as I am a deer hunter, not a competition shooter.
 
Is it necessary to "break the barrel in"..I've never done it on any NEW rifle and never had any trouble.

Is floating the Handi necessary?

What loads does your Handi .308 like? (I will be purchasing factory loads as I do not tailor my own)

Just how bad is the recoil from a Handi .308 (worse than a bolt 30-06 with no recoil pad and a 22" barrel?)

I hear all this about cleaning with JB,etc...is good old Hoppes and RemOil not good enough for these?
 
Thanks in advance

WELCOME!!

The 308's are generally good shooters. BUT a rifle every rifle has its own set of likes and dislikes. ONLY the shooter/owner can fin the right ones it likes.  (Sorry to say no one can say X or Y will shoot best) I suggest you buy a couple different brands and bullet weights and go shooting!!

I AM a believer in breaking in a barrel. Many are not. A handy barrel is not a finely made barrel. ;(  Its usually rough and will have tight spots BUT can still shoot some really respectable groups. Polishing is a friequent topic.

Take the time and look at our FAQ's and you will find much info on accurizing handis.

The recoil is another thing thats in the sholder of the beholder... Meaning what I find objectionable others may laugh it off and nothing. But in the same rifles, the 308 is a little less than the '06. Not allot as the '06 is getting old (100+)and not loaded to same pressures as the younger 308. (only 50+)

Good luck,
 CW

[redleg11b]

To get all the junk out of the barrel for the first time, I clean with a penetrating oil like Kroil.  It helps break up the packing grease,dust, etc. very well.  Put some on a patch wrapped around a nylon brush and scrub about 15 strokes down the entire length.  A few dry patches on a jag, and repeat until clean.  From my own experience it is better than Hoppes for the initial cleaning.  As Mechanic stated, hunting accuracy should be achieved right out of the box.  There are reduced recoil loads in 125gr for the 308 if you are worried about it.  Just make sure you let the barrel cool between shots when you go to zero the rifle.  I have a .223 that is not floated and shoots average groups of 1.25" @ 100 yards and will hit a 4" clay at 300 yards 95% of the time.  I think the 5% misses are my fault though.  A rifle that doubles that will still hit vitals on an average deer beyond 200 yards.  My personal lower limit of accuracy is 3 MOA for a deer rifle since the area I hunt does not offer shots much beyond that.  That should be easily achievable with most any factory ammo. 

[YRUpunting?]

In the FAQ I would do the chamber polish and bore polish at a minimum.  The chamber polish will head off the any sticky case issue and the bore polish will save you some money on ammo.  All new barrels require a number of rounds fired before accuracy starts to tighten up. The bore polish acts as a box or two of ammo fired.


If you're asking about recoil you're thinking about it so you are going to feel it.  You are going to know you shot a 308 in a lite weight Handi.  The factory recoil pad is average at best, plan on replacing it.  Other than reduced recoil factory loads about all you can do to lesson felt recoil is add weight to the stock.  Two full rolls of nickels and a partial roll to fill the space in the stock bolt hole adds just over a pound.  That will help a lot on felt recoil.  More to carry around, but that is the trade off to reduce recoil.

[scandmx5]

Thanks for all of the helpful information guys. I'm not worried about recoil as I come from shooting a 7mm Rem Mag for several years, but the way some people whine and carry-on about Handi-Rifles you would think the .308 has the kick of a bolt action Magnum cartridge. My current is a 670 30-06 and I tend to stick to 165gr

[woodsrunner]

Scandmx5--over the years I've shot a lot of different '06s. Due to different factors, some seemed to have a fair amount of recoil. No heavy,  but  defiantly not a .22. I ended up with a Handi '06 in a deal and was suprised,it is the softest shooting '06 I've ever had. Not a .308 and YMMV. --woodsrunner

[scandmx5]

Scandmx5--over the years I've shot a lot of different '06s. Due to different factors, some seemed to have a fair amount of recoil. No heavy,  but  defiantly not a .22. I ended up with a Handi '06 in a deal and was suprised,it is the softest shooting '06 I've ever had. Not a .308 and YMMV. --woodsrunner

Interesting! I agree though, recoil is always subjective.  I hear people complain of the 300WSM's brutal recoil all the time, and when I had mine I thought it kicked less than my 7mm Rem Mag...both were Model 70's in synthetic stock

[scandmx5]

Well I called my buddy and told him to go ahead and order it. Should be here by the end of the week! So good bore clean, loctite bases, snap it shut with authority, put sandbag on hinge, not foreend, and follow through on my trigger pull...now let's hope it likes Core Lokts!

[HR308shootin]

mine shoots great groups with the winchester super x's, ive used them since i was a little guy and ive not had 1 misfire or shoot bad. different for every gun but for me it works.

[brayh92]

im fairly new to the handi world myself and both my handis seem to like hornadays and winchester whitebox ammo the best im new to handloading and just starting so i tried a lot of factory ammo in mine id just buy a box of everything on the shelf and head to the range lol