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

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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
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