Gentlemen,

what�s your honest opinion about the Harrington & Richardson 1871 Handy-rifle single-shot? Accuracy, quality, price and other aspects?

Thankful for your opininion,

Frits Kraut

Fritz, look at the posts below titled "NEF". I think I read somewhere that Marlin owns the production line now.
Dave

They are cheap, they look cheap, they're ugly and they shoot amazingly well. I've got one in .35 Whelen that shoots under an inch for three shots at 100 yds. The only real problem is I believe the pressures are too high for the grade of steel in the action,although the action hasn't loosened up it looks to me like I can see the beginnings of some battering around the edges of the receiver. I would give serious thought to buying one of the lower recoil cartridges up to say an '06. I'm thinking in particular about getting another in either .223 or .243 for varmits.

Hmm, I though about one in .30-30 Win, perhaps with an extra .45-70 Gov. barrel.. I�m not looking for beauty but for a useful and rugged rifle.

And thanks for your friendly replies!

Fritz

[ 09-13-2002, 19:16: Message edited by: Fritz Kraut ]

I just got back from the shooting range, with my NEF synthetic handi-rifle in .280 Rem. It still has the 6 lb trigger pull, and the barrel only has about 60 rounds through it, but it was shooting 1.5" groups with handloads. Most of the NEF that I've seen will stay under MOA. It was only $212 at Walmart. I can't complain. I plan on getting 22-250 and 243 barrels added after the first of the year.

Nashcat

Well i'm glad everyone has had good luck with these rifles.I purchased two of them last year a 223 rem and 243 win.The 243 would break open 7 out of 10 shots.Returned to factory "nothing wrong with this rifle" only responce.Tried it again same thing,traded it for a H&R 22 pistol and case of beer.The 223 rem would shoot fair groups but some times 55gr bullet would tumble traded it off also.I guess i just got some culls.

I had a .243 which was doing the same thing--breaking open after firing!

I figured out what was going on, though. The cases have to be full length sized, completely to the head. If the case head isn't totally flush with the surrounding area, the rifle will not lock up completely, and will consequently open up under recoil.

Total full length sizing took care of that problem.

Another problem some folks have with these rifles is that oil from the receiver runs onto the breech face, and then into the chamber. This causes a "hydraulic lock" of the cases in the chamber, and the cases often won't eject when the action is broken open. Keeping the chamber clean and dry, and the ammo full length resized prevents both of these problems.

I still have my .223 H&R Ultra Varmint, and it's a super accurate rifle. The last shot I made with it was on a blackbird at 210 yards. It's a shooter!

Dan