Hey guys I have always been a bolt action man
For varmits and always shot a .22-250 when I did.
I have some 400 rounds of .223 from my mini-
14 which it wont shoot accurately.

I want to get by as cheap as possible and was looking at the handi rifle for a varmit gun.

Has any body shot one much? Are the triggers any good?
I know how they look and dont care about that because I can paint it and such.
For the $$ Im tempted to go get one for a
beater rifle. But do they shoot?
Don

Compared to a Ruger mini-14, you'll think you have just aquired a cast off from Tony Bowyer!!(most prolific record holder in BR competition)!!! Have shot them in 17HMR, .223, .243, 25-06 and for the money they have done well!!! Good choice to enter the varmint game with!!! GHD

Have one in .223. I could not pass it up for what I paid for it ($100 used with el cheapo scope).

The trigger is just above adequate, but the gun flat shoots anything I put through it. Plus, when I decide I want a different chambering, I can send it to NEF and for $85 they will fit another barrel on my receiver. Can you say 22-250?
The barrels will switch, like a contender.

Well worth the money in my book. I would buy another one even if I had to pay full pop.
GHD is absolutely correct.

quote:

Originally posted by Flippy:
Plus, when I decide I want a different chambering, I can send it to NEF and for $85 they will fit another barrel on my receiver. Can you say 22-250?

Don'tcha wish!! More like $117 after ya pay shipping both ways and the $15 barrel fitting fee....but still not a bad buy! I have 26 barrels and 14 frames, great little rifles and they shoot extremely well. Trigger jobs are free when you order a barrel (or 3)or you can do your own with the right instructions, 2-2½lb smooth and crisp breaking triggers are the norm with very little honing. Right now, H&R is offering a $20 rebate on new centerfire purchases thru the end of November. Don, check out the NEF/H&R Centerfire forum at Graybeard Outdoors, the hangout for the biggest bunch of Handiholics on the net!!

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=126

http://www.hr1871.com/

http://www.hr1871.com/barrelAcc/index.htm

22-250 Fluted Ultra


.204 Ruger Handi

I can't speak for the new versions of the little single shoots. I had a "topper" in .22 Hornet back in the 70's. A bolt action in Hoornet was non existant. The little gun with a 10 power sscope gave me a "nickel" size group at 150 yards.

Thanks guys I do believe Ill pick one up and Hope it has a good trigger.
Witha cheap 4x16 scope Ill be in it about 325.00 or so.

Don

I own a Hornet/30-30 combo NEF...great little gun. Did my own trigger job to a nice 3lbs with no creep, just before sending it in for the 30-30 barrel. That's when I found out about their free trigger jobs!
IMO, NEF/H&R are now almost overpriced, considering the Stevens 200 offering, and to a lesser extent, the Mossberg ATR (since it is .270/30-06 only). Other than finding a deal on a used one, to pay avg retail on a Handi-Rifle seems steep to me. The accesory barrel option is still a plus.
To "fix" a Stevens/Sav trigger will likely involve replacement, but I'm sure many will shoot as-is.
Also remember that NEF will not work on, or provide barrels for, any "original" H&R rifles (pre-NEF).

I think you get a lot more gun for just a little more $ with the stevens model 200, you can find them new for $255. I had a NEF 223 that got stolen with my truck last year. It shot pretty good a little less than moa with factory stuff, although it seemed really finacky about pressure on the forend, and it seemed to wonder zero when I would come back to shoot the next time. the lack of action length is nice, and makes a nice compact setup.

quote:

Originally posted by wrongtarget:
...or you can do your own with the right instructions, 2-2½lb smooth and crisp breaking triggers are the norm with very little honing.

Wrongtarget, where can I find these "instructions?"

EDIT: Nevermind, I went to Graybeard (your first link) and lo and behold NEF/Handirifle trigger job...

Thanks, this looks easier than some.

In the trigger work sticky at the GBO NEF/H&R Centerfire forum....

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=126

Here's Perklo's instructions in his downloads...

http://www.perkloafm.com

Thanks again.

You're very welcome!

Tim

wrongtarget? Is someone specializing in wood for these or did you make the maple stock?

That's an original H&R stock, probably from a special order or limited edition or somesuch at one time, got it on Ebay. Custom replacement stocks are available from http://www.gunstocksinc.com also. I have a walnut rollover with varmint forend for trade at GBO right now if anyone is interested.

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=75318

The handirifles are way over priced, accademy sports has a rem 700 adl with 3x9 scope on sale for 299.99 lots and lots more gun. bill439

I got one in 30-30 and it is a dandi handi rifle!

I had some store credit few years ago and I picked up a handi rifle in .30-06 just for the hell of it. It turned out to be one of the most accurate rifles I have ever shot. I regularly got five shots inside 1 MOA off the bench at 100 yards with el cheapo milsurp ammo. With 150 grain PMC soft points it used to print one ragged hole.

One day the Hammer got stuck at cocked position and I never got it fixed after that. Although my smith told me that the factory would fix it for free. Now after reading the above posts, I might send it to them to get fixed and while it's there I might even get a 22-250 barrel for it.

quote:

Originally posted by bill439:
The handirifles are way over priced, accademy sports has a rem 700 adl with 3x9 scope on sale for 299.99 lots and lots more gun. bill439

Bill439, out of curiosity, how much does it cost to put another barrel on it?
And how fast can YOU change it?

From personal experience and working in a gun shop, the ADLs are nothing special in the accuracy department either.
Just OK, nothing to write home about...

Well,
I went and bought a Handi rifle today and I chose the .22-250 Rem and topped it off with a 6-24x50 scope.
It has a good trigger on it, I looked at the .223 Rem but I have alot of experiance with the .22-250 and I feel my range and lethal
effective range will be greater.
I hope to get out and shoot it soon.
And with abit of luck it will be 400 yard jackrabbit rifle when I get to Nevada in the next couple of days.
Ill let you know how it does.
Don

Don

Just ordered one in .204 with HB. Give $200 including shipping and transfer. Will play a while and add a Cal. or 2.

Back in the 70's, when nobody made a bolt action .22 Hornet, I shot an H&R TOPPER. With my loads and a 10 power scope, I had no problem getting consistant 1/2 inch groups at 150 yards.

Cal30 1906: You asked about triggers and I had this experience this year with a couple of NEF Rifles in caliber 17 HMR (Hornady Rimfire Magnum).
My friend and Hunting partner was so impressed with my Ruger 77/17 V (17 HMR) in the Varmint fields that he wanted to try a Rifle in 17 HMR.
He bought amn NEF in 17 HMR and brought it to me for scope mounting, ring lapping, bore sighting and range sight in. I was happy to do it for him. The little Rifle shot very well with the small Leupold variable scope he had for it. He was going to use it on Coyotes, Fox and Ground Squirrels. All went well until I was doing load testing with it. It would only fire about 4 or 5 of every 10 cartridges tried in it. No matter what the brand of ammo or how I pulled the trigger it only ignited these rimfire cartridges on occassion. The trigger was pleasingly crisp and light enough to shoot good groups with. But the sporadic discharging of the ammo would preclude it being taken on a Fox or Coyote Hunt. My friend came and shot it and had the same results - we fired about 200 rounds through it. The percentages did not change. We cleaned it we measured the firing pin indentations we took it to a local gunsmith we gave up and he returned it to his dealer. He got another one in a month or so. I did the same for it - mounting, lapping bore sighting and then range testing of ammo and sight in.
Same result with this Rifle - sporadic fire with it - this time 6 of 10 cartridges would discharge! Rats I said! But this Rifle was SO accurate that once my friend travelled the 35 miles to my place and shot it for himself he decided he would try and live with the intermittent discharging feature! We of course would often in our testing recock the Rifle and re-insert the same cartridge to see if it would ignite! The re-inserted cartridges fired at the same rate as fresh cartridges. We tried firing both Rifles with and without the optional hammer lever side extension.
The trigger on the second NEF was every bit as crisp and appropriate of weight of pull as the first!
I would have one of these nifty and handy and accurate little Rifles myself if I was not worried about the intermittent firing feature that I dealt with on two Rifles running!
We have tried every concievable method, procedure and way we can come up with to pull the NEF's trigger - no improvement in discharge rate!
I may still try one this spring as they are so cheap and would fit in the back of the VarmintMobile behind its rear seat and be so "handy" there! And I of course love the 17 HMR cartridge.
So a not so wonderful report coming from my way on the Handi-Rifles over-all performance. Accuracy = Great
Handiness = Great
Looks = Almost Great
Trigger Pull = Good
Functionality = Poor
Wishing you the best of luck if you try one!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Harris I have heard several handi-rifles getting their hammers struck.

Varmintguy, a trip to H&R would have easily fixed the problem, has to do with the transfer bar, they've fixed several Sportsters for members a Graybeard, turn around time on warranty work is usually about 2-3 weeks.

Any H&R/NEF rifle can have a misfire caused by the shooter not pulling the trigger fully to the rear at the break, just the nature of the transfer bar on a hammer gun. It will also cause inconsistent accuracy if the pin strikes aren't the same each time for the same reason. The problem can also be caused by internal gunk from the factory or a burr on the pin or frame, or a weak hammer spring. In any event, the factory would have fixed the problem as they have for many of us.

Lot more info specific to the NEF/H&R rifles can be found in the stickys and FAQ at the NEF/H&R Centerfire forum at Graybeard....

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=126

Wrongtarget: Thank YOU so very much for the info and the link.
I have it earmarked for future use as its not downloading right this minute.
Thanks again
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

You're welcome, always glad to share.