204 handi rifle problems

[purplehaze92z28]

Bought my 204 handi, and am having major problems, factory Hornady round hold about an 8 inch group at 100yds(both the 32gr. and 40gr.), winchester is a little better at about one inch, and now for the real kicker, the gun will not group any brand ammo from the sand bag, it shoots great from prone with the bipod? This past saturday I shot a 3/4" group while prone with the HRS ammo(I think thats the brand, orange box 50 rounds in a box, at cabelas)Also I contacted h&r about the barrel torque, they said "snug" wellI played with it at the range, 5 ft lbs! not inch pounds, ft lbs is where it shoots the best, I did instal the robber washer on the barrel stud, and floated the barrel, any other suggestions, comments. also I am a good shot, the same day at the range, I was shooting one holers with my tactical rifle, so it is the gun and not me, others have shot it with the same results.

[cheatermk3]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Did you shoot your Handi before you did the o-ring thing?  I'm asking because I tried it in my 22mag sportster, and the groups went straight to awful.  Also, is this your first NEF rifle? I ask because some of the techniques that help you shoot great groups from a bolt gun, will foul you up shooting a handi.  

One major difference is the trigger.  The transfer bar safety feature of the action requires that the trigger be pulled all the way to the rear, every time, or inconsistent ignition of the primer will result.

Aother thing about the handirifle, sometimes small metal filings remain in the action when after machining, these need to be flushed out with solvent so that they do not interfere with the workings of the action.  You can do this by removing the buttstock, using a 9/16 socket on a long extension after removing the recoil pad.  With the barrel off the action, spray the innards of the action liberally with a good solvent, like brake cleaner; if you do this over a clean piece of paper towel or old rag(white), you can see how much if anything there was inside the action.  If you have access to compressed air, this will help this process.

Have you done any break-in on the bore?

You mentioned that the Winchester ammo is alittle better than the Hornady; I'd say that 1" is a whole heckuva lot better than 8"; in fact, if you're getting 1-inch groups at 100 yds with a new rifle, I'd say you had a shooter, and that it will most likely improve after you've put a few hundred rounds thru it.

[purplehaze92z28]

Thans for the quick reply, yes I did shoot the rifle before the washer, I did a full break in to the barrel, the washer did improve things for me, as did polishing the bore with JB, but this past weekend I ran round 500 through the gun, how many does it really take? This is my first handi rifle, love the gun, feels great, but for a bolt action guy it is a little frustrating, and that why I'm talking with you guys. Any advice on technique, or anything else will be much appreciated.

[mitchell]

sounds like something is touching the barrel to me. make sure you sand down the forend and that the barrel is fully floated.also try when using sand bags resting the gun on the hinge pin . and if you got 1 inch with factory winchesters you have a good gun handloads will bring it in a little but heck 1 inch isn't that bad. also try to keep the bore clean my 204 will only shoot good for shot 2-25 thats with the first one sucking and all after 25 sucking but with a few patches its back to great again.



BTW break-in is most of the time the first 150-300 rounds , i would say your done.

[ScatterGunner]

is the barrel rifled ?

this wouldn't be the first time if it wasn't.

also, stick with lighter bullets, 32 grain VMAX seem to be the consensus.

sg

[quickdtoo]

Welcome aboard!  What they said!! My 204 shoots the 32gr Hornady the best, the HSM shot about 1½" at 100yds, the 32gr Hornady are less that 1"....I've been experimenting with forend pressure using .004" shims between the forend spacer and the forend, there seems to be a sweet spot where the forend tightness is just right, too loose or too tight and it doesn't shoot as well. If the forend slips in place on the barrel stud real easy or real tight, it doesn't seem to shoot as well.

[Ditchdigger]

I use a strip of business in front and behind the forend mounting lug and a bipod on my 223. Its the only thing that will make it shoot less than 1" at 100yds. The bipod helped more than anything I've tried.  Digger