This one came home with me yesterday from the Birmingham Gun Show.
Bore in this one is in pristine condition.
Considering all the 38 / 357 molds that I own, this one should see quite a few rounds down the tube.
Ben
Here it is with the Weaver 1” steel tube, 4 X El Paso scope with post reticle ;
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They also rechamber neatly to 357 Max, with a shortened throat for greater accuracy potential. I hear complaints of the factory throats being a bit too long.
Just something to consider if it doesn't please you in its current configuration.
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anachronism
Obviously I have not had the time to fire the rifle.
I will however be shooting the rifle in the next few days.
If it doesn't show accuracy potential, I'll take your idea into consideration.
Ben
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They also rechamber neatly to 357 Max, with a shortened throat for greater accuracy potential. I hear complaints of the factory throats being a bit too long.
Just something to consider if it doesn't please you in its current configuration. That's a good obersvation. I have always thought the .357 max is a sleeper for up to 200 yard BPCR.
Cheers from New Zealand
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I shoot 250-275g rifle bullets in a factory re- throated Ruger #1 357 Magnum and it shoots very well.if the “handi” has a long throat its a bonus to me.
George
"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!
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I really like my handis. The simple offset hammer spur accessory is a great idea with a scope.
Yours is on the SB2 frame so all the accessory barrels will work on your action. Mine was purchased as the Ultra Varmint model in .223 with a bull barrel. Later I got the .500 S&W Mag barrel for it and It has been a great deer rifle with cast bullets.
If you send yours to NEF to get other accessory barrels, be sure to request their free trigger work. I asked for as light a pull that would be safe and told them I compete in big bore bench . They sent my rifle back with a 3.0 lb crisp, no creep wonderful trigger pull.
NEF standard wood butt stocks have a bolt hole that can be filled with a 3/4” plumbing tubing piece cut to length and filled with lead to add extra weight also. This completely ends the lightweight whippy feeling of HandiRifles and adds over 2 pounds. This aids significantly in accuracy and makes the rifle feel very manly.
.357 heavy weight SWC bullets can be seated far enough out to engage the lands and make a fine hunting bullet in #2 alloy. Shorter bullets in softer alloy at moderate pressures will obturate well and disguise the issue also if you have an issue. Of course no crimp is necessary with single shot rifles. I flare case mouths after sizing brass to easily seat over size cast bullets and then just close the flare to neutral with a Lee Factory Crimp adjusted to do just that and no more.
There are also rifle bullet designs that like long throat length in .38. Bullets actually fitting the throat is more important than the throat length anyway! Use the largest bullet diameter that can be chambered and you likely will be very happy with accuracy.
You have a lot of.38 /357 molds? Try the heaviest, longest one that casts with the largest diameter first and don't size it. If it chambers,you will have the best start and may not need to even try anything else.
I hope you enjoy your new rifle. Keep it simple! Cast big bullets that fit the throat and Tumble Lube like I do and get <1 inch groups at 50 yards easily.
Gary
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I'm back from the range today. May or not prove anything ? ? It is still early. I've only owned the rifle 3 days.........
I tried out my new rifle with my RCBS 200 gr. plain based mold. Sized .3575" 6.0 grs. of Russian Unique with Win. small pistol primers in 357 Mag cases.
I really never hoped to have a ” high grade target rifle ” with this little ” 357 Handi - Rifle “. I only wanted a nice little training rifle for my grand son. I just might have it...... ?
Ben
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I have a 357 mag handi rifle sb2 that i bought in 2000 new,almost got rid of it,it was so inaccurate then I saw Mike Bellm's chamber cast library on the web so I bought some cerrosafe and cast the chamber it looked like what he calls a toilet bowl chamber so I sent the barrel to a gunsmith in Vinita Ok named David White rechambered to 357 max went from 1 ft groups @100 to 2in @ 100 cast or jacketed he charged 75 bucks and paid the shipping back so he did it for 55 dollars.Now I cast all my chambers. My theory is most all rifles chambered for mag revolver rounds have terrible chamber design.My 77/44 has a horrid chamber
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What a wonderful light economic and cheap low recoiling little rifle.
In Italy woefully idiot gun control laws prohibit wandering in the woods with a loaded rifle.,only with a shotgun loaded with shot,and in the day and hours when hunting is allowed.
We have to walk to our post or stand with an unloaded rifle in a bag ..
And of course no living animal is considered a varmint ,they are part of the governement indisposable patrimony but with the buying of big annual licences you are graciusly allowed to bag some of them..
The annual fee for the various autorities that allow to hunt ,wit a little insurance for hunting accidents is around 500 euros ( roughly 600-700 US$)
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Even if the bullets are a little snug to chamber with your loads, your rifle will size them with no pressure problem like oversize jacketed bullets pose. Cast bullet alloys are way softer than copper and even the largest will size fine upon firing.
Slugging a bore won't tell you your chamber size but will give you a good groove to groove bore measurement. .003-.005 larger than the G to G bore diameter or the largest bullet diameter that will chamber is usually the best you can do.
If you haven't slugged a bore before, search Google videos and watch 5 or more different "slugging a bore" videos. some are silly wrong but watch a bunch and you will get a good idea of how to do the slugging. Most importantly, use pure lead, a very clean bore that is then greased and a greased ball about .100” or more larger than your bore. A 45 cal. lead round ball is about perfect for a .357.
You can slug a chamber throat but it takes careful steps of driving the slug in to a specified depth from the chamber end, then driving it back out. This is well worth it if you really have difficulty fitting bullets. It tells the story and will end all guessing about bullet diameter needs for your rifle.
Chamber casting alloys are great too and the alloy material is re-usable. You can even make a non reusable chamber casting mix with garden sulfur 3 parts and powdered graphite one part that is melted gently and poured into the chamber that has been prepared with mold release and plugged with rammed cotton just forward of the leade.. It is easy to do this on a Handi-Rifle compared to a bolt or lever gun that can get really messy if you over-pour.
You lucked out with your first bullet, but the measurements from slugging and chamber casting will eliminate the hardship of trying other bullets that are wrong for your rifle. Bullets that fit the throat with a gliding feel and are seated out far enough to engage the lands .010 past just kissing them are what really works with cast bullets in single shot rifles like the Handi.
Gary
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How's your grandson like the Handi Rifle Ben? When my son was young I'd take him to the range and let him shoot some of my rifles. He'd shoot the SKS as fast as he could pull the trigger. I decided that I'd get a single shot break open rifle for him to shoot to slow him down and stop wasting bullets. I purchased the Rossi in .357 which is just like the Handi Rifle. It did the job but my son never cared for it much. That's OK because today it's still one of my favorite guns. It's a great plinker.:fire
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my friend lowbuck$john ... has been working with a handi rifle originally in 357 mag, rechambered to 357 Max . started out with 6 moa + , his last several targets he sent me are abut 1-2 moa.
as a start, he has some posts on ... boolits ... under gas checks, as that was part of the trick(s) ...
i wish he would give a full report here ... maybe a bribe hmmm ... i hate to give second hand hearsay reports ... but it does make me think i need a handi-rifle.
ken
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UP - DATE I sold my Handi 357 mag. rifle. I got frustrated with the long lead to the rifling. Seems I'm not the only person with this problem.I thought about re-chambering to 357 Max, but my frame was an SB-1. I was advised against the re-chamber work. I had a fellow that offered me more than I thought it was worth and I sold it. Ben
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the photo on your original post showed an sb2 ; was that yours ? maybe i missed something.
i usually wind up ” enhancing ” my rifle projects; that might be considered cheating; however i think of it as completing what the factory guys would have liked to deliver in the first place ( g ) . it would be good if your handi-rifle winds up with someone who will shoot it a lot, as was it's destiny ...
ken
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Yes, in the photo SB-2 is marked on the barrel. But my receiver was clearly an SB - 1.
The receiver being an SB - 1 prevented me from rechambering to 357 Max.
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This was of intrest to me, maybe other .357 Handi owners. Not a recomendation just passing along something that I thought may be helpful to some.
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pat i.
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Aaron
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