.30-30 Handi Rifle

My counter guy called me today and told me my Handi Rifle in .30-30 had arrived. I went by the store after work and picked it up.

I had ordered this rifle in August 2009, and because H&R makes rifles in batches, I was unable to obtain one until today. H&R had told people in the trades that they would make a batch of .30-30s during March 2010, and they were good to their word.

Some initial impressions: This is the first new-in-box rifle I've bought in a while. It's filthy. I'm not talking about a little powder residue in the barrel. All new rifles have that left over from the test firing. I'm talking about dust on the barrel. Plus, it has some kind of preservative on the metal. Between the dust and the preservative and the powder residue, the first thing I'm going to have to do with it is give it a good cleaning.

The barrel has Williams sights. The front is a tall patridge-type blade and the rear is a WGRS sight. They're good, serviceable sights, easily adjustable. The barrel itself is 22" long with a 1:10 twist. The barrel seems fairly heavy. Not as heavy as an Ultra barrel, but bigger in diameter at the muzzle than a Win 94. I haven't put a caliper on it yet, but I will soon, to compare it to a standard Winchester 94 barrel. The muzzle has a deeply recessed crown.

The stock is standard Handi-rifle pallet wood, deeply stained hardwood of uncertain lineage. This isn't a fine show rifle, it's an inexpensive hunting gun. It does come with a nice rubber recoil pad which should be sufficient for the cartridge.

As soon as things slow down at the school, I intend to give it a good test, with 170 grain jacketed and cast bullets. I'm also going to load some 150 grain spitzers along with some 125 grain spitzers. I intend to have fun with this rifle.