The H&R Handi-Rifle

Many shooters assume the most accurate rifle design is the belt action. While it's true that bolt actions are generally the most accurate repeaters, when it comes to single shot designs, there are many other designs that can be as, or more, accurate. Falling block designs can be exceptionally accurate; most the Olympic Free Pistols are falling block designs, as were most target rifles of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Even something as simple as a break-barrel rifle can be exceptionally accurate.

I've been looking at the H&R Handi-Rifle lately. These guns are of a very simple break-barrel design usually seen in shotguns; my first shotgun was a Sears break-barrel 20 gauge.  But the break-barrel design offers a lot of features that make it useful for rifles, too. It locks up very solidly, and it can be made with a very short and fast hammer throw and firing pin. I've read a lot of glowing reviews of Handi-Rifles in various calibers.

Speaking of calibers, you can get a Handi-Rifle in over a dozen calibers ranging from .17 HMR to .500 S&W, including .22LR, .22Mag, .357, .44mag, .22 Hornet .222, .223, .243,.30-30, .30-06, .308, .444, .45-70 and several more, including .410, 28ga, 20ga, 16ga and 12ga smoothbores. You can even send your existing action back to H&R and have new barrels fitted to it. Each barrel has its own sights or scope rail, so changing calibers doesn't involve re-zeroing. Swapping barrels takes only a few seconds.

There was an article in a recent issue of  The Backwoodsman written by a fellow who bought a Handi-Rifle and then saved up to send his gun back and have it fitted with 12 more barrels. That's a bit excessive, perhaps, but I can understand his motivation. I'd like to have a rifle with .22 Hornet, .30-30,  and 12 gauge barrels. The rifle calibers that can be loaded with lead bullets, which makes for inexpensive reloading, and between these three barrels the gun could handle any game in Michigan. I saw a .30-30 in the used rack at Gander Mountain that was tempting; might pay a visit there again.

Update: I saw several at Gander today in .243, .30-06, .44 Magnum, .45-70, and .444 Magnum. All had cheap scopes mounted on them, and they were asking something like $379 for the package, which I thought was excessive as the list price is $299 w/o the scope, and I'd want to replace the scope.