entry level gun

[kennyd]

Somewhere here I read "NEF is an entry level gun".  Can't remember the whole jist, but here is my take;  go into a sporting goods store and say you have been invited on an elk hunt for your first time, you will be handed a bolt in 30-06.  Probably a .243 for antelope, and a .270 for deer.  Not until a person gets to liking guns does he want a single shot or other special, levers are for those of us who watched too much TV westerns, pumps for converted shotgunners.  Some of this is the money the store makes on higher priced stuff, too.  I doubt anyone bought a NEF rifle for a first starter.  Shotguns, now may be another story.  Bet everyone reading this bought NEf because it fit what they wanted.

[tallyho]

That may be so kenny, but my kids get NEFs for 'entry level'. They basically don't have a choice, 'cuz I'm the one with the bank account. Hopefully that will change in time, and they can get whatever they want, but in the meantime.... follow the $$$ 

I was given a single shot .22 for my 9th birthday, and that was my rifle for years. But as soon as I got an after school job in my teens, and built up some funds I got myself a semi-auto .22 then a bolt deer rifle, and a pump shotgun. (At first I wanted to buy a motorcycle, but my parents refused, and looking back on it, they had a point.)

And you are right, I have come full circle back to single shots because I just plain like the idea of hunting with one.

Cheers
Kerry

[cheatermk3]

Yes, I believe that the largest target demographic for the NEF/H&R marketing department is the parent(s) of young people who wish to buy a first firearm for their child. 

[sluggo]

...the largest target is us old geezers that haven't grown up....

[Cookiemann]

The first firearm I ever purchased was a 12ga H&R, at age 26.  The next was a 22Marlin semi/auto.  I stopped hunting and shooting for about 20 years and the 22 was all that I still owned.  When my oldest grandson started school I decided to start shooting and hunting again.  I bought a 870 Junior in 20ga.  It was never fired.  I lost the price of a Pardner on the trade, but I swapped it NIB back to the dealer I got it from, for a 12ga/Tracker II Combo and some$$$.  That's my story.  That single shot BUG lay dormant in my all those years.  I now own 3 Pardners, Tracker I and a Tamer 410 and I aint done yet.  These are what my grandsons will learn to shoot with.  I may, at some point, buy a lever gun or pump rifle, and will definitely own a pistol/revolver.  But, for walkin' the woods and hunting....single shot H&R all the way. 

cookiemann

[Swampman]

I see the Handi/Pardner as a gun for the hunter/woodsman that knows what is important, and doesn't like a lot of fuss.  Thats what it is for me.  I think a Cricket is a better entry level gun.

[PartsMan]

They are inexpencive and simple.
They are also very safe as far as guns go.
What more could you want for entry level.

[old geezer]

...the largest target is us old geezers that haven't grown up....

Hey, I resemble that remark!

[aulrich]

I do consider a handi a strarter gun not because it is inexpensive but that it is easy to use.  But they are not just starter guns, there are plenty of reasons to keep shooting them.

When I started the typical first gun was a buba'd mil surplus of some sort typically a 303