Handi Rifle trigger help.

Dave2

New member
I bought a used Handi Rifle in 22 Hornet at the local gun shop to be used on the farm for varmint control, mounted a scope and when I sighted it in the trigger was terribly difficult to pull, as in two fingers tough, but even at that would consistently shoot 1 inch groups with factory ammo.

So my question is if there is a simple way that an novice gun smith can do a trigger job or purchase parts to soften the trigger?

So far a great tractor, truck and 4wheeler gun with it's compact design, it just needs serous help with the trigger.

TIA.
 
While I haven’t watched it myself there is a video on YouTube on how to lighten the trigger on the h&r/NEF handi rifles that’s a little over an hour long. Congratulations on finding a shooter thought! A family friend now deceased used to take his limit of deer every year with a rifle just like yours, personally helped him skin a young buck he shot behind the shoulder at around 100 yards, he said it didn’t take more than a few steps and we recovered the bullet just under the skin on the opposite side.
Good luck and good hunting!
 
About 15 years ago a friend who was strapped for cash bought one of those in .223 Rem. Mounted a 6X18 Bushnell on it and out we went to go shoot ground squirrels. Or....that was the idea. The trigger pull was..let's see, what is the kindest word to use here....atrocious. He took it to a gun shop and the smith there wisely told him to save his money for a decent bolt gun. But he agreed to try to work on the trigger but made him no promises. Well, when it got it back it was an improvement. Got it to under 10 pounds now. Yes, 10 pounds. And if put the cross hairs on the target and just pulled pulled pulled on the trigger it eventually would go off.

A week or two later he gave up on it an bought him a CZ 527. Wow. What an improvement to say the least.
 
You might go to the Greybeard Outdoors forum. Lots of Handi-rifle shooters there. You might get a few pointers there. A good smith should be able to work that trigger over and make it better.
 
I won a Handy Rifle in a raffle years ago and sent it back to the factory for a new barrel and free trigger job. The new barrel was pretty accurate, but the trigger came back worse than the original. It's truly terrible. I tried to sell it cheap for $100 but couldn't find any buyers.
 
When I did gunsmithing, I did a few HR/NewEngland arms. Easy to get them down to 3 1/2 to 4, but gets touchy after that, had to buy one customer a new sear once, so be careful, be satisfied with a little improvement
 
Originally Posted By: catroperCheck out E Z trigger pull assist I put one on a new England 204 cut trigger pull in half



Never heard of this until now. I did some searching and seems there are Pro's and Con's but that goes with everything you read on the internet. If a trigger job doesn't fix your problem the EZ Trigger thingy might help. But I would look before you leap.
 
Not really that hard to just do a trigger job on one! Any competent smith should be able to make short work of it at a reasonable cost.
 
I've got 3 handis....my Smith wont touch them. He said you need to tear them apart and reassemble after each slight adjustment...takes unreasonable amount of time. I use my 223 and hornet for treed lions and bobbers.. I don't care if either get beat up during the race.. and a single shot is all that's needed.
 
You might of got the 22 hornet I traded in Indiana and somehow it made it to Illinois. I took my old hornet to a Smith and he said no go. The company supposedly offered a guarantee of # pull or less or so I was told. The guy said to call NEA and tell them the deal, send it in and they'll fix. I called and was told they never heard of such and that all triggers meet their standards for safety.

I never gauged the trigger but it had to be 15#+
 
Originally Posted By: Jim ByersI've got 3 handis....my Smith wont touch them. He said you need to tear them apart and reassemble after each slight adjustment...takes unreasonable amount of time. I use my 223 and hornet for treed lions and bobbers.. I don't care if either get beat up during the race.. and a single shot is all that's needed.

They are sweet rifle for just bangers! As is the Rossi's singles.. I've had & worked on several of these.. It's tight in the actions which can make it hard to get the pins back in right.. After doing several rifles, I made a kit just for doing these type actions. The kit made it possible to do the job in a hour, some times less.
 
Originally Posted By: Coyote#1Originally Posted By: Jim ByersI've got 3 handis....my Smith wont touch them. He said you need to tear them apart and reassemble after each slight adjustment...takes unreasonable amount of time. I use my 223 and hornet for treed lions and bobbers.. I don't care if either get beat up during the race.. and a single shot is all that's needed.

They are sweet rifle for just bangers! As is the Rossi's singles.. I've had & worked on several of these.. It's tight in the actions which can make it hard to get the pins back in right.. After doing several rifles, I made a kit just for doing these type actions. The kit made it possible to do the job in a hour, some times less.

So you'll post your address so we can send a few your way??😁
 
I had a .22 hornet in an H&R with the full front stock. I was told by a gun smith he would not do a trigger job because of the trigger steel being to soft to thin the edge and hold the edge? I took apart and used a wheat stone and just polished the surfaces of everything. It helped but was not great.
 
Originally Posted By: viperI had a .22 hornet in an H&R with the full front stock. I was told by a gun smith he would not do a trigger job because of the trigger steel being to soft to thin the edge and hold the edge? I took apart and used a wheat stone and just polished the surfaces of everything. It helped but was not great.

Yes the triggers are case hardened! If you cut thru the case you can run into problems. They are a hunting rifle! there is no need for a match trigger 3-4# is about as good as it gets. The odds of these rifles shooting very well from the factory is a coin toss for sure! The chambers are huge & the lockup is for the most part sloppy! The Rossi comes from the factory with a much better trigger.. Still, same thing, sloppy chamber & locking system. The chamber in my 223 is so large that I normally buy 222 rem mag brass & size it to better fit the chamber. Otherwise look for alot of brass distorsion with 223 brass.
 
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