The New England Firearms Handi-Rifle is a remark- able offering in ...

,The New England Firearms Handi-Rifle is a remarkableoffering in this day and age as it is not onlydependable, accurate and very easy to use, it isalso the premier bargain in the marketplace selling forless than $300.NEF offers Pardner shotguns chamberedin aU gauges as well as AlOin fullsizeand youth-size versions, slug guns,screw-in choke guns, camo guns andeven a long-balTeled waterfowl version.On the caltridge side, NEF offers theHandi Rifle, also in several versions andcalibers including .204 Ruger, .223,.22/250, .243 Winchester, .25/06, .270,.280, 7mm-08, .30/06, .308, 7.62x39,and .35 Whelen all fitted with a base formounting a scope. NEF also offers severalHandi-RiflelPardner combinationguns with both a rifle and shotgun barrel.Another version of the Handi-Rifle isespecially handy as it comes with fiberopticsites, a 22" barrel and is chamberedin .22 Hornet, .30-30 Winchester,A4 Magnum, and A5-70. The latterthree are all excellent woods and brushcartridges for deer while the Hornetmakes a great close-range varmjnt cartridgewhen used with iron sights. Afarmer or rancher corrung upon a skunkor fox after the chickens or a rancherwho finds a coyote after one of his newborncalves, can quickJy dispose of theoffender with the .22 Hornet Handi­Rifle. Any of these rifles carry easily inthe rack of a pickup truck on farm,ranch, or simply for roaming desert,forest or mountains. The latest chamberingin this version of the Handi-Rifleis the .500 S&W Magnum. When chamberedin a sixgun, the .500, withoutusing lightweight bullets at super highvelocity, is the most powerful factoryproduced sixgun/cartridge combination.Put it in a rifle banel and it outdistancesthe heaviest loads offered in the A5-70and that is saying something!

Nandy Nandi-RiflesAll Handi-Rifles, except a specialpolymer-stocked Synthetic Model, featurewalnut-finished American hardwoodMonte Carlo pistol grip stockswith a generous recoil pad and slingswivel studs. The operation of theHandi-Rifle is simplicity in itself. Whena lever on the top right side of thereceiver is pressed, the action opens,and the barrel falls forward. The fLredcartridge is extracted far enough to begrasped by the thumb and forefinger,removed, then replaced by a loadedround . The action is then closed and thehammer must be cocked before theHandi-Rifle can be fired. This wholeoperation takes less time than it does todescribe it. The Handi-Rifle uses atransfer bar system preventing thehammer from touching the firing pinuntil is cocked and the transfer barmoves upwards.Light SightsThe fixed-sighted Handi-Rifles haveexcellent sights very easy to pick up evenby my eyes. They are fiber-optic stylewith a bright red front dot matched upwith two btilliant green dots on the rearsight. These are not the best sights forprecise paper punching especially atlonger ranges, however, they are perfectfor what this rifle is designed for - upclose critter confrontation and, in .500,qualifies as a handler of the biggestbeasts around. The front sight is mountedin a dovetail and can be adjusted forwindage. The rear sight slides up anddown on the base and is easily adjustedfor elevation. Normally, most rifle stocksare a little long for me, however the .500Handi-Rifle comes up very easily andquickly to the shoulder, and the sights arevery fast. As a close-up rifle in heavycover, this little rifle would be fast intoaction and very convincing.This version of the Handi-Rifle has a22" barrel, and although rated at sevenpounds, it actually weighs just threeounces over six pounds 011 my postalscale. It breaks down into three parts foreasy transporting, consisting of theforearm, barrel and the action with buttstockattached. Remove one screw inthe forearm to take it off the barrel andthe barrel can then be removed from thereceiver. The trigger pull measures lightat five pounds and groups might be littletighter if it was taken down to somewherein the neighborhood of three tofour pounds.First The FunThe .500 S&W may be a handguncartridge, however it definitely qualifiesas a rifle cartridge. In fact it might belooked upon as a modernization of theold .50-70 Govt. rifle cartridge and IDied to use it with both black powderWWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COMand Hodgdon's Triple-Seven. I did nothave the proper bullets, which should berelatively soft and lubricated with a lubespecially made for black powder use,such as SPG or Lyman's Black PowderGold. Using the bullet I did have, thehard-cast Dry Creek 440-grain KeithHANOI-RIFLEMaker: H&R 187160 Industria,l RoweGardner, MA 01440630-8220, www.hr1871.comngle-Shot,Scoring Rings Dimensio~ w

Fun LoadsI thought the 44011 O-grains load wasgreat until I tried the CPBC 370-grainversion over the same powder charge.These are a little faster at 1,000 fps,shoot even easier and are accurateenough to cut one very slightly oblonghole measuring .625" in diameter. Thattranslates to a 3-shot group of 1/8" andI can't even hold a rifle this steady I Andagain, although this is an accurate funshootingload, it would certainly workwell on deer and feral hogs. Comparethese loads to the standard .45 Coltsixgun loading from the black powderdays of a 255-grain bullet at 850 to 900 'fps, which was carried over into thesmokeless powder era, and which hastaken innumerable deer, black bear,hogs, and even more than a few grizzlies.This puts these fun loads into theproper perspective.HodgdonlIMR recently introduced anew powder, Trail Boss, specificallymade for light loads in large capacitycases. It is a natural for use in the .500Magnum offering very pleasant shootingloads in the 925 to 1,025 fps range.Going up a notch we can use 25 to 27grains of either H4227 or IMR 4227,which will be the same powder by thetime you read this with H4227 beingmarketed as IMR4227, and the velocityVelocity(fps)_ .?,035 _1 ,4971 ,9252.0681 9711 ,947- 2,248.?,0561 ~5~1,978Group Size(inch~s)1~Ti42WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JANUARY 2007

is more in the 1,300 fps range. Now thefun loads are becoming more serious,and the recoil pad doesn't do the jobquite as well, so we can we startreaching for the Pact Magnum shoulderpad if we are going to do any extendedshooting.Getting SeriousLoads in this category start to showthe real capabilities of the .500 S&WMagnum in a rifle. My two powders ofchoice and their amounts are 30 grainsof H4227 or 32.5 grains of AA5744 with370-, 400-, and 440-grain gas-checkedbullets from CPBC and/or Oregon TrailBullets, the 440-grain Keith Bulletsfrom Dry Creek Bullet Works, andSierra's 400-grain JFP. With these loadsand bullet choices, muzzle velocities arein the mid-1,400s to high 1,500s. All ofthe bullets have wide, flat meplats(noses) and smack with great authoritymatched up with deep penetration. Allresults are in the accompanying chart,however, a few of note are the heavierbullets, the 400-grain Sierra and 440-grain CPBC and Dry Creek bullets all ofwhich group well under 1" at 25 yards.This means when up close situations caneasily become nasty, a bullet can beplaced with surgical precision.Heavy Duty Factory LoadsThe .500 S&W Magnum has onlybeen around for little over three years,however, the ammunition companieshave not wasted any time in providingfull-house loads. The Smith & WessonModel 500, as one might expect, wasWWW.GlINSMAGAZINE.COM••the first sixgun chambered in the largestof all Magnum sixgun cartridges. It isalso now offered by Magnum Researchin their single action BFR revolver andSSK offers custom Encore barrels,which, by the way, are superbly accuratein the .500 Magnum. As this iswlitten I know of 10 factory loads all ofwhich perform well, and in some casesexceptionally well, in the Handi-Rifle.When we start pushing 400-grainbullets at 2,000 fps from a six-poundrifle, life is not all that pleasant. Onedefinitely does not simply lay theforearm on a sandbag and pull thetrigger. If that forearm isn't held on tothis little rifle can jump right out of yourhands.I definitely would not want to shootmany of these off the bench withoutusing the Past Magnum Recoil Padavailable from Battenfeld Technologies.This is a most handy item to havearound and mine stays in the pickup.The Handi-Rifle picked up about 300fps muzzle velocity over the same loadsfired from a revolver.Buffalo Bore offers three loads forthe .500 and they have always beenknown for offering full-house loads.Two of these are a 400-grain jacketedf1atnose at 2,035 fps and a 440-grainLFNGC at 1,925 fps. They also wiselyoffer a "mild" loading of the same 440-grain bullet at 1,500 fps. Cor-Bon wasthe first to market with .500 loads. Theirloading with the 275 Barnes hollowpointbullet clocks out at nearly 2,100fps, while their 400-grain JSP and 440Hard Cast are right at 1,950 fps. Notmuch needs to be done, anywhere, anytime,that cannot be done with one ofthese six loads.Hornady has three jacketed loads allof which shoot well under 1" at 25yards. The [ust is the 300 Evolution,having the same polymer tip as the levergunLEVERevolution loads recently5ZPS( wtP8~ 370~/0,0 ()fJ1tO UCI!f