I was very bad at the gun store today . . .

[bedbugbilly]

Geeze . . . I did it again! I went to the gun shop to drop my WWI Mauser off to have it checked over . . . as well as to order a new revolver and try and get some powder. I got the Mauser dropped off - ordered my new Uberty Bisley that I've been wanting and saving for - I even ended up with a container of Red Dot and one of 700X.

I THOUGHT I was done but then made the mistake of asking the salesman if they had any H & R Handi Rifles in stock in .357. "Follow me . . " he said and we went over to one of there racks where he reached up, took one down, opened it and checked for an empty chamber and then handed it to me. What can I say other than I was a "goner"!

I've been thinking about one of these for a long time. I've been reading over on Graybeard's site as well as here and figured a single shot cartridge gun might be a lot of fun. I don't hunt anymore and now just "plink" but I love my 38 Spls. I don't plan on reaming this one to "Max" but I do have a couple hundred of new Starline .357 casings that will work out nicely in this. I'm not big on "plastic" stocks but hey, for the money, this little rifle is great value in my opinion and offers a good opportunity to play with loads without spending big bucks on a rifle.

I have a variety of boolit styles that I cast - WC, SWC and 105 gr, 121 gr and 158 gr RN. I have a feeling that perhaps the 158 gr. out of my Lyman 358311 mold might be kind of ice to start out with?

The one thing I'm liking about it already is it will give me a chance to not only play around with smokeless loads but real BP as well since it will sure be easy to clean it.

I would have preferred open sights but since they only come with a scope rail, I'll scope it first and see how that goes. Later on, I could always remove the scope rail and have the smith where I bought it cut sight dovetails and I could make a new stock out of some nice curly maple with enough drop to work with them. Until then though, I am really looking forward to trying this rifle out! I can see why folks like these! Yea, I was "bad" but I'm glad I was and that this came home with me!

[35 shooter]

Well you did load up today! Congrats on the .357 h&r. Bet your gonna really like that one!

[Goatwhiskers]

You have now been bitten by the "Handi-virus." They are quite habit forming, can't wait to see how many you have in a couple of years. My infection started with a .223 heavy barrel, now have .22 Hornet, 7x57, .444, and .44Mag (.445SM). Seriously, tho, they are great little rifles and with the info available on GBO you can solve any problems that may arise, factory service is great, also. GW

[DHurtig]

My 357 Handi is the most fired gun I own. I never go to the range with out it. Welcome to the addiction!

[CastingFool]

I wish they would make one chambered for the 45LC.

[dualsport]

They have. Look for a used one on the gun auction sites or at greybeard's.

[gpidaho]

I too really wanted a rifle in .357. All the lever actions seem to be in short supply and kind of pricey. Bought a .357 Handi and scoped it with a Vortex Crossfire II. Just love this little combo. The recoil is like a pellet gun and the accuracy is all I could hope for in a little rifle chambered in a handgun cartridge. I now have three Handis and am very pleased with them. 30-30, .308 and the new .357. Great platforms for my Powder Coat experiments. Bitten by the Handi bug. Ill buy more. GP

[leadman]

Mount a Williams WRS sight on the rear, has a peep and works great.

[bedbugbilly]

Well . . . I took the Handi to the LGS on Friday as I needed a set of rings to mount the scope I had. They were kind enough to mount it and bore sight it in for me which saved me a lot of work.

Today, I finally got to get out and shoot it. Shot at 25 and 50 yards using three different bullets.

Lee 358-105 SWC ( I refer to these as "gum drops" since they are so small)
Lee TL358-158-SWC
Lyman 358311 - 160 gr. RN

I loaded all three in 38 spl. casings and used 3.5 gr of Bulls Eye for each boolit

This Handi_Rifle is WAY TOO MUCH FUN to shoot! I had fairly good groups with each boolit with the exception of the lighter 105 gr SWC at 25 yards. I made no adjustments to the scope and left it just the way it came from the LGS after being bore sighted. All in all, I was hitting a little low of the bulls eye by about an 1 1/2" but my groups were anywhere from touching to 2 1/2 inches. I don't have a bench rest - and I need to do something about that - but for my eyes and age, I was happy for the first time out. I know I was a little shaky as well as getting used to the trigger pull.

I'm really impressed with this little rifle and know that in time, I can play with the loads and tighten up POA with POI. I do have some 357 Mag brass that I bought in anticipation of getting this rifle so I'll play with that and see what happens. I'll also load up some WC and see how they shoot.

After this first shooting round with the rifle . . . all I could think of was "Why did I wait so long to get one!"

[cheggie]

Wow - been looking for one of these for a long time now, it's a very versatile gun! Greybeard has a .357 max chamber reamer rental program that I would like to take advantage of. I could not find one locally, I sent a rifle receiver to H&R to be fitted - this after a couple of months of waiting for accessory .357 barrels to be available! If I may ask, did you spend very much for it? Go ahead, hurt my feelings!

[bedbugbilly]

cheggie - I bought it at a gun store that has been around for probably close to 70 years plus. They only had one in stock - I paid the retail price of $289.99. I had tried to buy one at another store that I go to and the clown (I'm being generous here) that I asked behind the counter said that H & R doesn't and never has made a .357 Handi-Rifle. WHAT!?!!? I kept looking but didn't run across any until the other day. It is the SB1 but I will probably never want to change the barrel on it. I shoot mostly 38 spl handguns so started out with those in my rifle (hand loads) and was very pleasantly surprised with the results. I will only shoot cast but will probably play around with 357 casings and see what she will do. As I posted above, I tried three different boolit styles. I haven't tried WC yet but will load some up for it. The longest boolit I have is the 358311 RN (160 gr) and that seemed to shoot pretty well the first time out. I mainly "plink" and don't want to load hot as I want to stay away from GC if I can. But . . . with the fun I had with it I may change my mind down the road. I know a lot of folks ream them to MAX but I probably won't.

I'd like to get one in 30-30 at some point as well as I always liked hunting with that cartridge. While I would still prefer a wood stock, for the price of the rifle I think it is a very good value for the money. The 357 is certainly comfortable to shoot and with reloading, is a very cheap rifle to shoot. I'd love to hear what you think of yours when you get it re-barreled. I wish I had found one a long time ago and I know I'll be shooting mine a lot!