.357 Handi Rifle

[tstetz]

Here's my latest project. It started as a .243 Handi Rifle with wood youth stocks. A trip to H&R brought a .357 Magnum barrel, I swapped out the wood for Choate youth stocks and had my local smith whack the barrel back to 16 1/2 inches giving the gun an overall length of just 30 inches. Some Uncle Mikes swivels and an old M-1 Carbine sling completed the project.

This has been one I've wanted to do for a long time now. For me it's a darn near perfect camp gun. Very compact, simple and rugged, and with a fair bit of versatility of ammo loadings. I can go from snakeshot and .38 wadcutters up to Buffalo Bore 180gr hard cast lead loads good for deer or probably even PA black bear if I really had to.

The barrel is a little stout but the overall package is very handy and it shoulders and points great. I'm real happy with how this one turned out.

[SpookyPistolero]

Yes it's still awesome, and yes I still hate you.

Seriously, cool rifle. That's the ideal for a lot of people.

Why won't they make that in a light-barrel version as standard production?

[munk]

That is nice. It's hard to resist having a bigger cartridge in the chamber, 'just in case'. A lot of folks would have done the 357 Max, or the 35 Rem.

The 357 is a great woods cartridge. In carbine barrels it is adequate for deer. It is pleasent and cheap to shoot.


munk

[stevomiller]

Very nice!

Do the new synthetic stocks weigh more or less than the original wood? How much does the complete rifle weigh now? I kind of like that thick barrel, I think that it would make it easier to shoot offhand. A peep sight on the receiver would be a cherry on top for me. What is the overall length of that rascal? Damn but its kinda cute and butch all at the same time!

I think that it would be cool if they offered .357 in the ultra light model with a barrel the same length as yours. It would carry great (but maybe not shoot as nice).

Thanks for sharing this with us. I hope it puts a lot of meat in the pot!

Good Lord I just read my post and it looks like I have ADHD and do meth. Sorry!

[TheMightyGoat]

That looks to be a good combination.

[tstetz]

Stevo:

It's 30 inches overall. While the youth stock is a short length or pull its still pretty comfortable to shoulder. It'd work great with a heavy winter coat without trouble too this way.

The synthetic stocks are lighter than the wood. I do prefer the look and feel of then over the smooth wood on the Handi-Rifle but the real gain was weight in this case.



The barrel weight is a mixed blessing. It actually handles and balances quite well from the shoulder and probably will shoot great (haven't shot it at 16 inches yet, hopefully this weekend), but it would be nice if it were lighter for general lugging around. I have an H&R 12 gauge of similar proportions and its much lighter due to the thin walled barrel.

I just dropped the gun on my digital bathroom scale. Not sure how accurate that is but it comes in at 6 pounds even with sling and swivels installed.


Munk:

H&R doesn't do .357 Max any more. It's a quick and easy process to lengthen the chamber for it apparently so I guess it is an option for the future if I see the need. Right now though since I'm not currently reloading I'm not too inclined to do so. .357 Max is some what of a rare bird unless you're rolling your own.

.35 Rem wouldn't give me the versatility of loadings I was hoping for and would preclude matching it up with a revolver as well.

[Ad Astra]

A well thought-out setup.

Is buttstock storage for a few of those .357 speedloader strips a possibility?


Mike

[SpookyPistolero]

Forgot to ask- how do you like that M2000? I've been thinking of getting one of those for a while...

[Smiley Bob]

Very cool! very custom.
Bob

[stevomiller]

+1 on Spooky's question. And that is a nice sheath that you have, much nicer than the factory job.

Stevo

[tstetz]

Re: stock storage

No real way to do it it without unscrewing the rubber buttpad (two Phillips screws). It wouldn't be fast to get into anyway.

Re: M2K

Mora 2000 is a great knife. Big comfy grip and a nice size and shaped blade. Off looking grind but it works fine. I think I'll use mine much more now that I got a good sheath for it. That's a Gundy sheath from JRE leather. Great stuff.

[TWBryan]

Neat setup.

[Swampman]

Many NEF .357 magnum barrels will chamber .357 Max. without doing anything. Nice little gun! I've been wanting a .357 magnum barrel for a long time.

[cavetech]

That's a really nice custom conversion and you have exactly what you want.

That gives me the impression of a bull barrel.

Have you had a chance to see how it shoots and groups?

I like it.

[tstetz]

Not yet. I took it out 2 weekends ago when the barrel was still 22" long. I just plinked though to give it a function fire. The weather was crappy and snow was on the ground so I put out an old bleach jug at 25 then 50 yards. It kicked that around nicely. I plan on sighting it in correctly now that it's done and getting an idea what it'll do.

Bill Siegle has a similar set up with 16" tube. he said he can hit clay birds at 100 yards with his. I believe that was offhand. I'll be quite happy if I can do the same with this one.

[Sigosaur]

Congratulations on gittin' exactly what ya want!

With ammo prices the way they are ... hell, with the way they was 5yr ago ... and with yer not reloadin', .357 is perfect. Back when I bought factory ammo, a box of 158gr LRN were jest $1 more 'n a box of 115gr 9mm FMJ. And I remember gittin' JSP .357 fer jest over $15/50rd. Whatever the prices are today, I'm sure yer still jest that much less 'n .44 'er .45.

BTW, I really like the sights ya got on there ... I bet they's really fast!

Oh ya, one thing that came to mind, the local machine shop 'round here'll flute a bbl fer not that much money ... jest a thought.

[tstetz]

I was wondering about fluting the barrel actually! E.R. Shaw is local and I think they'll do barrel fluting as well. I may give 'em a call at some point and see.

Re: ammo

Nice thing with .357 is I can shoot .38's too. I was using 148gr wadcutters and 158gr RNFP's the other day when I was out along with 158 and 180gr .357's. Tried some snake shot while I was at it as well.

[Jsp129]

I know this is old but what sights are u using

[tstetz]

I know this is old but what sights are u using

Just the factory irons that came on it. This is an older .357 barrel from when they still offered them with iron sights.

[Jsp129]

Gotcha thanks for the info

[Swampman]

This is a great setup. I rechambered my Handi to .357 Max and it still shot .38 Specials just as well as it ever did.