RE: New England Handi rifle
Danny, before shelving the Handi, read the FAQ's at Graybeards very carefully. The latch and latch shelf must be DRY. Close the action with some gusto to get tight/consistent lockup.
If you can get it shooting like you want it, you can then do a trigger job on your own. I did it with the info I found on Graybeards and the trigger is awesome.
Most likely, it will not cost you a lot of money to get it shooting. May take a little tinkering.