I'm considering buying one to hunt whitetails in Iowa. Anyone have experience with them?

Hello again 120. i got one 5 weeks ago after following the h&r, nef, forum at the marlin site. have shot and still do, traditional roundball flint and cap .32 to .62 for many years. the nef is .50 cal. and i put a 1 1/2 to 5 leo on it. am not going to go to near 2$ a shot for sabots, jacketed bullets, and black powder substitutes to take n.c. whitetails with my usual still hunting techniques. i wanted the gun for the scope capability and thus the extra 30 minutes at dusk when iron sights absolutely disappear in the shadows. the factory fire sights look very good also. it shoots slightly over 1 inch groups at 50 yards with 65 grains of 3f goex, using a 320 grain lee precision real bullet. its a 2 pellet ,100 grain gun, but my load is more than sufficient. my hunting allows me to take deer usually between 10 qnd 40 yards. may i recommend an american knight .50 inline for your iowa hunting . i helped teenager at our club 3 years ago and of the many i have seen his rifle was the most accurate. 90 grains 2f, knight sabot, and hornady 240 grain soft lead cowboy bullets. it has an adjustable trigger too and is scope ready. i am sure the rifle has a greater range. i was impressed with it. with the nef or other rifle make sure that any load you work up can easily be loaded with either the factory ramrod or a loading rod you will carry extra in the field. i trust this offers something to condider. ned

Thanks for the kind words, help, and the off-line contact. I'll look into Knight, again. It's been awhile since I've been to the factory.

Drew

I recently picked up a Huntsman and have a sort of mini-review going HERE.

I intend to shoot it sometime this weekend and have several bullets to try - including a batch of Lee REAL 320 grainers which I will lube with Crisco in a load similar to G. ned ludd's.

Sirs: may i add that the nef muzzleloader may also be fitted by nef with an interchangeable cartridge shotgun barrel. additionally, i have some thoughts of refitting the breech plug on mine and rechambering to 50-70. the bore, groove, and twist are perfect and bp 50 govt. is a blast. hehe. ned