New England Firearms SB2 .223's

JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Hi Folks,
Since I know nothing about these rifles; thought some one here may be able to help out.
After finishing up a location job today My Boss said we were going to stop off a his house to show me some guns he had found stored in his basement ( his father's former home).
He said they were old 22's but they turned out to be a pair of New England Firearms Handi Rifles in .223 rem! They sport synthetic black factory stocks with 3 to 9 x Tasco scopes ( also open sights)
They have 20 " long barrels and probably are youth models because the pull is 12 inches on both.
They look like new but have been fired because the bores are dirty.
Not sure if I can run the serial numbers to see how old they are?
I brought them home with me to see if they are something to buy off him or sell for him.
Other the the above I know nothing?
Jim
 
C

Canuck Bob

Active Member
Jim,
Grey Beard's forum has a Handi section. It is an unbelievable resource. I own two Handis and am happy but they are likely to be peep sighted so MOA is not an issue. It is good that you can shoot the rifles and decide if they are naturally accurate versions. Last time I looked synthetic replacement full size stocks were easily available and cheap. Factory wood is drying up it seems. The last versions were 9" twist but I would confirm that, they were also 12". I almost bought a 223 but ended up with the synthetic/blued Hornet and a wood/blued 30-30, both iron sighted.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Yep, 9 and 12 twist, have to measure to see. There's a rack full of them at my LGS with birch stocks, been trying not to buy one but may have to if I go in there with a .22 rod and find out they're 9s...I'd thread the barrel for a can in a jiffy and have some silent fun. With some BLL, a pound of Bullseye or Titegroup, and a $20 Lee .22 mould a person could shoot for the cost of primers for just about forever.
 
C

Canuck Bob

Active Member
I ended up with a 9 twist Hornet, by plan. My new plan is to shoot cast mid-range loads. Original plan was jacketed but prices are certainly changing the plan on fixed income.
 
Cherokee

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
I have a New England 410 someone gave me, I would dearly love a center fire cartridge barrel for it.
 
JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Are these still being made? I see H&R versions on line not much New England Firearms.
If I knew how old they were I could get to the bottom of why they ended up in the person cellar stored away.
Are the butt stocks interchangable ...would be nice to have one with a longer pull.
Anyone want to take a guess at the going price if he wanted to sell them?
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Not made anymore. Bought and closed by Remington/Cerberus as part of Marlin.
 
RBHarter

RBHarter

West Central AR
I can get 2600 fps out of a 222 with a 1-12 and the 225-55 FP . Good score if they will shoot well .

They were only about $115 new out here until right towards the end then they went to about $220 and drug the Handy rifle up with them . The last show I saw them at they were $180 and up but there wasn't much selling happening .
 
JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Some good info here Thanks!

the 2 rife serial numbers both start with NP 240 So from what I saw on Grey Beards site it looks like they were made in 2000!
So that is really going to be a big puzzle to my boss! He said they have to be at least 30 years old based on his fathers age when he pasted.
He may never know how they got in the basement.

Anyway I got them cleaned up and both look next to new! I don't think each had many rounds through them.
There was no trace of copper pulled out of a few Sweet's solvent patches pushed through each.

May give them a test this weekend to see if they will shoot cast ( since that is the only thing I have in my reloading room.)

One thing I still couldn't find out about them on that Grey Beard site is
What is the difference in the New England Firearms version and the H&R version ????
( Or did H&R just maket them under two names
Thanks
Jim
 
Gary

Gary

SE Kansas
Jim; like so many firearms H&R, New England, ect come under one umbrella.
In November of 2000, the Marlin Firearms Company purchased the assets of H&R 1871, Inc. Marketing its products under the brand names of Harrington & Richardson® and New England Firearms®, H&R 1871, LLC is currently the largest manufacturer of single shot shotguns and rifles in the world.
 
JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
I sent the info to My Boss & he said sell them!
Do you think $175 is a fair price for each ( .223 20" barrel youth models with Tasco 3x9 scopes)?
 
Gary

Gary

SE Kansas
Fella over on CB site is offering for sale .223 H&R barrel for $250. Your price would seem fair to me.
 
JWFilips

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Well I shot both this Morning with cast bullets and I was surprised. I had 40 pieces of gas checked 225415's sized 225" ready to load so I set the col for Max and loaded 40 FL sized cases with 11.5gr RX7. Except for the first shot on each with clean bore, both rifles shot sub 1" groups with an untested load.
While I was there a shooting friend inquired about getting one for his nephew who he mentors so I sold one to him pending funds.
Now I'm thinking I may want to keep the other for myself. They were actually a hoot to shoot! Short buttstock & all!

Question I have know is what can the .223 Rem barrel be changed to to make it more Cast Bullet exciting? ( I have a very good .223 Bolt action for cast!)
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Sure it can be changed, but good luck finding a barrel these days. They're out there, but spendy, probably worn out, and hard to find in a caliber you might want. What's commonly done is called a "stub barrel", where a gunsmith cuts off the barrel in front of the welded underlug, bores it out to a shell, and then turns a new barrel to either thread or solder into the old stub, then chambers it and modifies the extractor as required.
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I wonder if JES could rebore it to 7 TCU? With a good throat it would be a great cast shooter. Extractor is already set for the case and brass is simple to form.
 
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