New NEF owner looking for support!

[gatorman76]

So, I got the "new rifle" bug & picked up an NEF Ultra Hunter in the local gun store & it was love at first sight. I only have bolt actions but had thought about getting a single shot due to its shorter length & lighter weight(somewhat). I'm right handed and have a 'damaged' left arm that won't hold much weight. Anywho, I got a .308 for its versatility. I want to handload some rounds to about 300 Savage or .307 Winchester levels. I have a bunch of bullets loaded for the 30-30 & .307 but I sold the guns. I thought I'd take them apart & load some .308s with these bullets, and some spitzers, too. All are 150 grain bullets. Any thoughts or suggestions? I haven't shot the rifle yet. I have some military 7.62 stuff & some new Wolf Gold 150 grainers. I put on a Burris 3x9x40 & need to sight it in. This is my first post so I guess I should have said, "Howdy", first. Just looking for feedback from other NEF owners. Thanks.

[Smoke Wagon]

Welcome to the forum. The guys here are very educated on these great little rifles. while I don't feel comfortable answering questions about reloading due to just starting, there are a lot of guys who can help. May I suggest you read the FAQ and Handi basics section on the first page. There is a lot of good information there. Once again welcome and congrats on the new Handi.

[petemi]

Welcome!  I can't help you much with reloading, but you'll get plenty here from others.  You're going to love the .308 caliber.

[njanear]

Welcome to the board and the Handi-holic club! 

Good choice on the rifle.  While I don't have a Handi in .308, I love the caliber and shoot it through a few other rifles.  As for your .30/30 stuff - you can always send your rifle in later to get a .30/30 barrel or hang around the trader in the hopes of snagging one to try.  That will save you from the hassle of pulling those loads down. 

Again, Welcome to GBO!

[Ranger J]

Tearing the loads down for the components would seem to me to be more trouble than it is worth.  The bullets should all work as they are all .308 but I wonder about the powder unless you have data on what is in each. Because of different brass design loading for the .308 might involve more that just pouring the powder from the old cartridge into the new one.  The 762/39 bullets are .311 and god only knows what kind of powder is in them so I would  definitely stay away from them, unless you are gong to shoot them in  a SKS or such.    I think you will like the .308, it is a cartridge that doesn't get the respect it deserves.

RJ

[stimpylu32]

gatorman

Welcome to the crazy world of Handi  rifles , pull the bullets , use the powder in the flowerbeds and avoid the Mil ammo , even H&R / NEF says to NOT shoot mil ammo in their rifles .

As Smoke Wagon said , be sure to read the FAQs , tons of good stuff on these rifles there .

stimpy

[njanear]

The 762/39 bullets are .311 and god only knows what kind of powder is in them so I would  definitely stay away from them, unless you are gong to shoot them in  a SKS or such. 

I think he meant that he had the 7.62x51mm NATO ammo (the military '.308') and not 7.62x39mm.  Big difference   Of course, I may be incorrect too...

Depending on who the 7.62x51mm is from, it MAY be fine to shoot through the NEF (i.e. if it is military surplus, I would be hesitant, but if it is the commercial ammo such as Rem/UMC or the Win. White box, it would be OK).

[gatorman76]

Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like I should ditch the NATO rounds. I was just going to use them to sight in the scope instead of the more expensive .308 ammo. No big deal. I'll bury it. The 30-30's & .307's are rounds I made, so I know what's in them. I'll probably take the 30-30's to camp & let someone with a 30-30 shoot them. The .307's have Speer flat nose bullets & IMR 4064 from the same lot# so I want to turn that into plinker rounds & short range hunting rounds. Anybody have a mild, accurate .308 load for 150 grainers I'll look it over. Otherwise I'll just work one up. Anyway, thanks again for the replies to this "newbie". I think this NEF & I will be good friends this season and I hope to learn a lot from you old timers!

[njanear]

Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like I should ditch the NATO rounds. I was just going to use them to sight in the scope instead of the more expensive .308 ammo. No big deal. I'll bury it. The 30-30's & .307's are rounds I made, so I know what's in them. I'll probably take the 30-30's to camp & let someone with a 30-30 shoot them. The .307's have Speer flat nose bullets & IMR 4064 from the same lot# so I want to turn that into plinker rounds & short range hunting rounds. Anybody have a mild, accurate .308 load for 150 grainers I'll look it over. Otherwise I'll just work one up. Anyway, thanks again for the replies to this "newbie". I think this NEF & I will be good friends this season and I hope to learn a lot from you old timers!

I wouldn't 'ditch' those 7.62 NATO rounds.   If you have any in quantity, I would offer them for sale or trade towards .308 - that ammo is always in demand for the M1As, FALs, HK 91s, CETMEs, etc. - even the military surplus is bringing $0.40+ a round.    Of course, if the balloon ever went up, you could use them in a pinch too.

Someone is bound to enjoy the free .30/30 rounds.

As for the .307s, since you are certain the lot is the same and you trust yourself  , you could pull up the Hodgdon/IMR site and take the 150gr & 4064 loads and take it from there:  http://data.hodgdon.com/   Like you said, just work it up from there.

PS:  Cheating a little bit, their site shows:

150 GR. NOS BT   IMR4064   C.O.L. 2.800"  Start 43.0gr/ 2663fps/ 44,700 PSI     Max 47.7C gr (compressed)/ 2903fps/ 57,100 PSI      

[Ranger J]

A couple of years ago when I had a .308 Handi barrel I shot a couple of rounds of military loaded FMJs through it and had to knock the empty case out with a cleaning rod.  Sorry about the mix up on the 762 round.  I guess the reference to Wolf ammo triggered a  reaction in me that it was the short Russian stuff.  I use a load of Re 7 for lite loads and Re # 15 for a heavier load.  I even use a load of 2400 under a Rem 150 gr SP  as a 'can killer'.   All these loads come from the Lee manual.   I traded my Handi barrel in on a Stevens 200.  I killed two deer with it   (200) year before last but didn't take it out this last year as I caught a bad case of 45/70 itus.

RJ

[Slufoot]

Hello gatorman76, Congrats on the new 308 Handi, make sure to post a range report when you get to try it out.
If you have a good supply of 307 brass and loaded ammo you can cut a rim recess in the chamber and order an extractor for the 444 Marlin. By doing this you will be able to shoot the 307's in your 308 barrel and then all you have to do is swap extractors to go from 308 to 307. Alot of people like rimmed cartridges in single shots, myself included.

GOOD SHOOTING!
Slufoot 

[gatorman76]

OK. I took Smoke Wagon's suggestion of reading the FAQ's & spent some time there this a.m. Ya'll(yep, I'm a Southerner)really do have a lot of knowledge to share. I'm finding out how much I don't know. Heck, I didn't even know I could swap barrels on it when I bought the thing. As far as fixing it up to fire .307's that's a little over my head. I can disassemble my guns enough to clean them well but I'm hardly a smith. I'm not gonna mess with this rifle 'till I shoot it a bunch.  We gotta be married a while, you know? So, after reading here, & some other web info. it looks like I should, 1. Not shoot 7.62 NATO rounds(7.62x51), 2. Do break in the barrel, which I would do anyway, but probably not to the extent of some readings, 3. shoot a lot of ammo because the rifle gets better with age(?).  I'll certainly send an initial sighting in report asap;probably within a month. Turkey season is coming up later this month so I'll be at the hunt camp & may get a chance to sight-in there. The .308 is a great cartridge & can be loaded to hunt just about anything. And I like the idea of hunting with a single shot rifle. I'll be visiting here a lot.

[Swampman]

While the 7.62x51 may not work in a Handi they will shoot fine in any .308 rifle.  I've done it many times over the years.  Good luck!

[petemi]

I bought 400 Belgian 7.62 X 51 FMJ and have shot half of them in my Ruger at targets and plinking.  I did kill one coyote with them that was dumb enough to cross my range while I was setting up to shoot.  My serious bullet is .308 Winchester Supreme 168 gr. Ballistic Tip.  That and the M77 MKII are a great combination.

[gatorman76]

Yes, I like a Speer 165 gr. flat base spitzer in my 30-06 M77. I use a less than maximum load of IMR 4064 & it's the best load I have for it. The good thing about an '06 & hopefully the .308 is it isn't real finiky about what cartridge you use, although, it likes the heavier bullets(165&180) better. Man! The opinions on the NATO FMJ rounds are varied. I only have about 55-60 rounds. I'll save them for camel seekers, if necessary.