Author Topic: What is the draw? (Read 999 times)

qajaq59 · « **on:** May 21, 2006, 02:05:01 AM »

Obviously the NEF/H&R Centerfire Rifles are very popular. Just looking at this site will tell you that. But I'm curious as to why they are.
Unfortunately I've never had the opportunity to shoot one or even see one up close, although some day maybe I'll look for one at a local gun shop.
But anyway, my question is, "Why did you buy them?" Is it the changeable barrels, price, do they have superb accuracy, or did you just happen to like the looks of them.

Hammerspur · « **Reply #1 on:** May 21, 2006, 03:01:32 AM »

Check this thread, it will offer some idea:

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?p=528415

statelinerut · « **Reply #2 on:** May 21, 2006, 03:56:17 AM »

I will give my reasons for choosing the NEF firearm.

1. These guns are very well constructed and are very stout out of the box. Some need a little tinkering, but for the most part are pretty accurate out of the box. Do they all shoot sub MOA out of the box? NO. But you do not need a sub MOA gun to harvest a deer or a coyote at 100 yards, which is the most distance most shooters you will meet will ever take a shot at an animal? NO. Can you get the NEF to shoot sub MOA? YES. My .243 will shoot under an inch at 100 yards with only a slight modification I learned from the stickys on the site. That aint bad for a $200.00 rifle.

2. The price is very affordable. I have three kids and a new house. I cant just got out and buy a new Remington or Savage and then turn around and put a $400.00 scope on them. Not in my budget. I can however get a $225.00 Handi and then put a decent piece of glass on there for around $150.00 and I have got a gun that will shoot with most out there. Can it compete with a $2500.00 BR rifle? NO. But I am not a BR shooter. Can it kill a deer and a coyote out to 300 hundred yards if I can do my part? YES. All that for half of what my buddy's are paying, makes me smile :lol:

3. The barrel program is great. I can order another barrel for $85.00 - $95.00 and have two rifles less than half of what everybody else is paying for their 1 Remington. Dont get me wrong, Remington is a fine rilfe, but not in my budget right now. But now that I have shot and owned a NEF, the Remington will probably never be in my budget :lol: I love the NEF firearm. And If you try them, you will too.

Lee

Grizz_ · « **Reply #3 on:** May 21, 2006, 04:39:07 AM »

I've read that the Buffalo Classic is competitive in NRA sanctioned 1000yd matches. It competes with guns costing thousands of dollars, and gets people involved who wouldn't otherwise be able to go.

I've only shot mine 5 times and I am hooked. Can't wait to get some longer range trigger time in. It's my 4th 45/70 and will spend more time out than anything but the guide gun.

It isn't perfect, but it cost a couple thousand dollars less than ones that are. And it grows on you.

Grizz

stimpylu32 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 21, 2006, 05:10:38 AM »

I have always been a one shot fan and when i handled my first handi rifle i was hooked , the fit and finish were not perfict but there was just something about the little rifle that i fell in love with .

I like the fact that i can change barrels with out having to spend a weeks pay as with the TC's and someone would want to kill me if i did this to a TC .

Datil · « **Reply #5 on:** May 21, 2006, 07:11:40 AM »

I think it is one of the safties gun and for a new shooter makes one
want to make the 1st shoot count. just my 2 cents Marv.

Mac11700 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 21, 2006, 07:19:54 AM »

Quote

"Why did you buy them?" Is it the changeable barrels, price, do they have superb accuracy, or did you just happen to like the looks of them.

All of the above actually..Plus is is a nice platform for customizing as well...

Mac

qajaq59 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 21, 2006, 08:46:58 AM »

Quote

Can it kill a deer and a coyote out to 300 hundred yards if I can do my part? YES

I've nailed wood chucks at 300+ yards so if they do that they can't be too bad. What caliber are you shooting and what "Tinkering" did you have to do.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #8 on:** May 21, 2006, 08:53:59 AM »

Quote from: qajaq59

.... what "Tinkering" did you have to do.

Go thru the FAQ and Help sticky, the info is there to answer questions like yours.

Tim

qajaq59 · « **Reply #9 on:** May 21, 2006, 08:59:06 AM »

I will..... Thanks

darat100 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 21, 2006, 10:07:16 AM »

I wanted to get into black powder, but inexpensively if that is really possible. Anyway, put a huntsman to my shoulder, and it felt like it grew there.

When I found out all the other calibers that were out there, I had to try one. Now I have 6. Always looking for more. They are a blast to shoot. And, especially for beginers, I think they really teach a shooter the value of one good shot.

Victor3 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 21, 2006, 12:40:51 PM »

Main reasons I got mine (Now three rifles in two months) was because my first shotgun was a Topper 12 ga, and because I found this forum

.

I still have the Topper 12 ga, and have always wanted a rifle on the H&R frame. My Dad would never get one since he had sporter Mausers, Springfields and such and didn't see the point of a "cheesy break-open" rifle. I guess he had a point - The H&Rs are not in the same class as a Mauser. Still, even though I now have Dad's old rifles, I wanted an H&R. Now I have three.

Another reason I bought mine was because I like to tinker with guns and have been doing so since I was a kid. If I didn't have the ability to customize these guns I would have bought a Ruger #1. The H&Rs are not up to my standards in form, fit, finish or accuracy out of the box. However, I can make them much better (Mine are all in pieces, in various stages of work at the moment).

I can afford to buy just about any rifle I want, and I have about 25 or 30 of them. The point of these rifles for me is not to have the BEST rifles on the planet, but to have some nice simple single shots that are custom built to my liking...

bluebayou · « **Reply #12 on:** May 21, 2006, 05:56:59 PM »

In my case it is simply because I like to tinker. I will disassemble and reassemble anything that I get my hands on. I just like knowing how things work and I like to improve performance. It was a Camaro first, then a Gateway computer, and now it is rifles. I can't afford too many rifles. I have slipped from the fold and gotten a Stevens 200, but I really like my Handi.

Win 73 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 22, 2006, 03:43:25 PM »

I will add something that hasn't been mentioned yet. To me anyway, those Handi Rifles really match their name. They are very handy rifles. I love just wandering the fields and woods on our family farm carrying my .357 mag Handi (which, incidentally is at the factory right now having a .50 caliber muzzleloader barrel fitted). Not necessarily hunting, just meandering, checking things out. The rifle almost feels like an extension of my hands and arms.

I also have a .223 Handi that I use for coyotes and groundhogs. The .223 has a Monte Carlo comb on the stock since I use a scope on it. The .357 doesn't since I use iron sights on it. Both have the black synthetic stocks. I don't worry if I get a scratch on them. However those stocks must be pretty durable because so far not a mark on either one.

LEO · « **Reply #14 on:** May 22, 2006, 03:52:00 PM »

I stumbled into the Handi rifles. I was in need of a Jeep rifle and I went into my local gun dealer to see what he had. He had a used 308 handi rifle with a bad ding in the stock but otherwise in like new condition. The ding was only cosmetic and as it was to be a Jeep rifle it would get many more over the course of its life. He said he would take 125 dollars for it. Obviously I bought it, I then put a 4X Weaver scope on it and went to the range. It shot into 1 1/2 inches with nothing done to it. Now despite all the hype about microscopic groups, a rifle that shoots 1 1/2 inch 5 shot groups at 100yds will kill any deer, or coyote I have any business shooting at so I was thrilled. Then I found this site, and an O-ring, a trigger job and some polishing and I now have a 3/4" rifle. What more could you reasonably ask for and all for 125 dollars plus a couple of bucks for polish and an O-ring. But now I also have a 357 mag. barrel, a 22" 12 gauge barrel and a 28" 12 gauge choke tube barrel. I guess I am hooked. These rifles are not as pretty as a lot of other rifles but they out perform many guns costing much, much more. They are as safe a rifle as is made and are easy to maintain, carry extremely well and take up very little space. The only problem I have had with mine is the blueing was very thin and wore off quickly at contact points and the rifle was prone to rusting, a good coating of primer and OD green Krylon and that problem was solved. I will probably have another handi rifle or two before it is over I really like mine and as the old saying goes pretty is is pretty does and my handi rifle certainly is a performer.

nomosendero · « **Reply #15 on:** May 22, 2006, 04:16:17 PM »

They offer the most bang for the Buck that I am aware of!

9x19 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 23, 2006, 01:46:14 AM »

As others have said, they are quite handy, very safe, and alot of fun!

I only have six, but love very one of them.

Cement Man · « **Reply #17 on:** May 23, 2006, 04:39:00 AM »

I used to teach hunting safety and I found the NEF/HR products to be perfect - safe, affordable, and capable of doing a fine job. I started my daughter, nephews, and a bunch of young folks hunting with them. Single shots are great to start people of any age with the proper hunting mindset and safety practices. I started a lot of adult friends into hunting with Handis as well. I like the transfer bar systemfor safety. Handis are inherently shorter than guns with "actions" which gives them great handling characteristics. The versatility is unbelievable with the different assortments of stocks, barrels, forends, etc. The prices are a tremendous value, making me want to tinker, change, adapt as much as I want to because it is so affordable. Also, the triggers - I have a couple of Handis that have superb out of the box triggers, and have sent other frames in for the (free) factory trigger job when getting new barrels. I own many more expensive rifles that do not have as good a trigger as my Handis. What I really like too, is you can start out with a Handi: and get a barrel fitted that will shoot (20 gauge) slugs as well if not better than anything on the market at any price, or one of the most convenient, accurate, and untempremental muzzleloader barrels on the market at any price, or an astounding variety of birdshot barrels. Change the stocks, forends, barrels, what have you, and you have something that will make a kid with his first .410 smile, or have an old geezer like me with his '06 shooting a bull elk - all on the same frame. :grin:

qajaq59 · « **Reply #18 on:** May 23, 2006, 05:53:57 AM »

Quote

I have a couple of Handis that have superb out of the box triggers, and have sent other frames in for the (free) factory trigger job when getting new barrels.

Is it necessary to return the rifle to the factory for barrel fitting when you want to buy another barrel for the rifle?

Thanks anyway. I finally found the exact info I needed in a link off the FAQ.

Norseman112 · « **Reply #19 on:** May 23, 2006, 07:51:43 AM »

Yep they are fun rifles indeed. I always wanted a single shot rifle that you could switch barrels and poof!! you have another caliber. I was looking at the thompsons, then noticed Nef and I got one. A few months later I got another one :grin:

John