Range test with 32-40 Handi

[Awf Hand]

Well guys, today was the day. I tested the newly barrelled Handi today.  Those who've been following the "strange guy" posts will know what I've gotten myself into.

The rifle is a stubbed and tapped 32-40 Winchester which will be fired with cast lead bullets only.  I made a quick run to the range today and with temps in the low to mid 20's and snow falling and blowing, I got my barrel polished a bit and did a couple of group tests at 50 and 100 yards.  All bullets were breech seated, meaning, a tool was used to push the bullet into the rifling about 1/16" ahead of the case mouth.  The seater tool appears in the photos.  The small knob on the bell portion of the seater tool locks into a groove I cut in the overly long sight/scope rail.

Initial results were very pleasing.  With target sights -diopter w/ no glass- I was able to assemble some pretty decent groups, given the lousy conditions and my cold bullet lube.  With a bit of load testing, seating depth variation, and brass cultivation, this should be a 1.5-2 minute rifle.

It is an enjoyable shooter with the 185gr Hoch bullet in front of 13.5gr of H-4227.  Recoil is on par with a 38 special load in the 357 Handi.

[myarmor]

A most interesting project indeed. Odd ball cartridge/ or strange method shooting :? , low recoil, shooting cast, what's there not to like> :grin:
So what kind of sights are mounted on your rifle? Where these shoot with open sights?
How far away were each target?
-Aaron

[Awf Hand]

Hey MyArmor,

The targets were at 50 and 100 yards.

The sights were robbed from my Daisy 753 pellet rifle and are manufactured by Gamo.  :grin:

Shooting the Handi froma bench is hard work.  They all seem to have a "sweet spot" where they can perch and not muck up the groups.  The 50 yard target shows vertical stringing and I blame my poor choice of forearm/sandbag positioning for this.

I found that resting closer to the hinge pin, even with the 1.10" OD non-tapered barrel, still seems to be the trick.

Perhaps a BR forend will be in the works.   :roll:

[tallyho]

Awf, any chance you can provide pics of the sight installation, and do you know if they can be purchased separate from the air rifle?

Cheers
Kerry

[Awf Hand]

Greetings Tallyho!

The sight mount was fabricated from 1018 cold rolled half-inch square stock.  I have a new machine in my garage called a shaper which uses the same cutting bits as a lathe.  It cuts steel using a reciprocating motion.  For cutting flats grooves or notches it is way faster than a mill, but it is no where near as versitile.

All three scope mount holes were used.  I added two holes in the bbl which were larger (8-40) and placed hardened screws in them.  The sight/scope rail doubles as a cleat for my seating tool, so I felt I needed more strength than the #6 screws would give me.

I posted pictures and if you search for "Strange Guy -Update" in this board, you'll find the photos which show the rear mount fairly well.  Everything is still in raw condition.  It will all be polished and blued this spring.

I have been able to buy the sights separately as replacements/supplements for the ones we use in our county 4-H shooting program.  We buy them directly from Daisy and they run about 65$.  You get what you pay for.  That said, I've used them on my rifles for a while and I would buy more.

I need to reduce the height of my front sight block a bit, as I found that I won't have enough adjust to reach 200 yards.

[tallyho]

Thanks for the info Awf..

I have been fooling with some sights on a .223 youth barrel with sights. I have some target type sights on an old Marksman Biathlon air rifle. They look kinda similar to the ones you are using.

They don't fit the small groove scope mount (the .22LR style) that I have mounted on the NEF barrel, but with a minor bit of filing I think I can get them on there.

I don't have any cool tools, nor even a garage for that matter, just a small apartment, some hand tools and a table that can be used as a work/reloading bench when no one is eating on it!

I'll look at the pics you mentioned. And congrats on making such a great "Strange-guy" rifle. I hope you have tons of fun with it.

Cheers
Kerry