H&R Survivor Bull Barrel - Are they okay

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Northman999

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Fellows,

I`m thinking of getting a H&R Survivor Bull Barrel in .223; but I have no experience with them. I`d be looking to use it for predators so I`d need accuracy and reliability - any help would be appreciated.
 
I used to have a H&R bull barrel .223, the one with the laminate stock. Very accurate and very nice factory trigger. I think the survivor is the same gun with a different stock (?) so I would expect the same good things. Two things to be aware of: first, my gun needed a bit of polishing of the chamber (used Flitz on a patch wrapped around a bore brush and then chucked into a drill to spin it in the chamber) before it would eject 100% of the time, and second, I believe the newer versions of the H&R guns have only extractors, no ejectors. That could be a real pain. Otherwise, good guns for the money.

John
 
I have a 30-30 and 30-06, the ejection problems are bad enough that I carry a cleaning rod around with the 30-06 just in case, I also polished the chamber on it which helped. Reloads MUST be sized with a small base die or they will not eject at all.

An extractor that cams while you open the action would be 100% better than the weak spring ejector on these things.
 
Most newer NEF/H&R's are extractors now, there is some old stock out there and as NEF runs out of ejector stock they are being replaced with extractors as well. They started the switch about 3 years ago.

I lean towards a wood stock, forearm fit can be an issue and wood is easier to deal with. They make pretty good predator guns.

My 204 is an extractor, my hornet is ejector and I recently added a 7-08 barrel bought used from a guy in the US and that one is an extractor. I vastly prefer the extractor, though if the ejector is working it is slightly faster to reload.
 
Aulrich, they won't just sell spare barrels, they say the receiver has to come to the factory to have additional barrels properly fitted. So did you have a gunsmith fit the used barrel you got? I suppose any competent gunsmith could handle it, but the factory wants to avoid potential liability exposure. So who did yours, and can you tell us how he charged for the work or how long it took him?

(I've got a Handi-Rifle in .223 and if the spare barrel program was available to us, I'd certainly get a .308 front end fitted for it. But as it is, I'm only toying with the idea of buying another complete NEF or H&R. Never thought about trying to find a used barrel privately.)
 
I don't know if they are available in Canada. A friend has one in .308 but he had to import it in himself. He's very happy with his.
 
Wholesale sports has them, along with the full line of single shot rifles from NEF and H&R. The survivor is in .223 and .308. I like the laminated bull barrel varminter LOTS as well, but the survivor has the handy stock for holding ammo and is synthetic tough.
 
SIR Mail Order seems to be markedly cheaper than Wholesale Sports for NEF and H&R. Check with them. Of course it only matters if they have them in stock...
 
Yes the barrels are not really interchangeable like a TC, but fitting is not rocket science. As it turned out the barrel fitted the frame that I was hoping. Basically there are two (though sometimes a third) things to watch for when fitting.

The action should close down on a .002" feeler guage but you should not be able to pull it out, if it is tighter and still closes that is ok. And the latch should be even and have about 1/8" enguagement on the shelf. the third is when it is closed there should be no wiggle(if it does your screwed).

It gets a little complicated if it does not fit either your filing the knotch deeper or your shimming it, the guys that do this often say it is a 50/50 thing if it fits right off or not.

135$ us shipped with a cheap 4x scope and rings only thing it took 4 weeks to clear customs. A nice in-expensive deer gun for my boys to use.

And I even though it fit for me on the first frame I would say before you start buying used barrels I would have at leat two actions to fit them on the less mucking about the better I say.

There is an active handi group at graybeardoutdoors.com there is a classified there, and the a couple of fitting procedures, along with trigger job procedures as well.
 
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