harrington/richardson-nef handi rifle?

[tony m]

Any feedback? Have seen some of the stuff on line about this.I am looking for a single shot,lightweight,chambered in 25/06 w 26 barrel.Have a bolt action 700 already in this caliber but my requirements are- to have this fit a saddle scabbard well,can save overall length.lightweight. mountain rifle/sheep etc.Has anyone tried this synthetic/stainless rifle for this purpose?thanks

 

[MudRunner2005]

I'd look for a little more quality weapon, such as the Thompson Encore in .25-06. They offer them in .25-06.

Also, you can have the .25-06 chamber opened up to .25-06 Ackley Improved, and gain a significant amount of velocity with the heavier 110-115gr bullets.

I love my .25-06 AI.

Another great feature of the Thompson/Center rifles is that barrels quickly swap on and off, so you can pretty much buy infinite barrels for just about any caliber you want to shoot. You can even have custom barrels made for shooting wildcat and custom calibers, for significantly less than what building a whole new rifle would cost.

 

[Brewer]

The H&R only offers a stainless receiver in the .45-70 GOVT. you can then get additional stainless barrels which I have done, but they do not offer a .25-06 in stainless. they offer a .223, 30-06 and a .270. I don't think they are going any more SS barrels any more based on a conversation I had with a smith at their factory. to achieve a .25-06, you would have to buy a .223 stainless barrel, drill, ream and rifle, then chamber. this is possible but it costs about five hundred dollars. I looked into it for chambering it in a 6.5mm-06. however, you are still shooting a H&R which is not bad at 300 yards but I haven't shot mine past that. like Mudrunner said, the Thompson center is a better rifle and you don't have to ship your rifle back to the factory to have another barrel fitted, you can buy them off the shelf.

The H&R does make a blued .25-06 with laminate stock in the Ultra Hunter Rifle but that is the only model that comes factory .25-06. you can look at this page to see their barrel accessory program for costs.
H&R 1871 - Barrel Accessory Program
depending on what you want to do, if SS is a must, then you may as well get a Thompson because I am not sure it will be cheaper to get an H&R. if not, and long range isn't that critical, you could go for the ultra hunter rifle.

one more quick note. the trigger pull from factory is aobut 8#. you have to do some serious modification to get it to 3#. filing and brazing is involved. so consider that too.

GOod Luck

 

[tony m]

thanks for info..weight is a issue to me,hence the synthetic/ss doesn't really matter.trigger matters much.take care

 

[Mikecr]

While they are for sure 'handi', they are also among the least accurate of firearms made today.
Seriously, today's slug guns are more accurate.

 

[Rick Richard]

Don't waste your money! I owned one with two different barrels cause I could not get the first one to shoot so I thought I would try a different barrel....not.

 

[tony m]

Thanks for the feedback,What about the thompson center fire equivalent? I cannot see a product out there for these purposes.have several very good bolt action mtn riFles, ruger #1 as well.Have owned several lever action rifles.It is simple-clean lines,24 Min)" barrell length(25/06).Light,Easy in and out of saddle scabbard ,Short enough to be used with a saddle boot.single shot.consistantly accurate/keeps poi in tough conditions.pretty doesn't matter.Any horseman/hunters out there know what I mean?

 

[MudRunner2005]

Thanks for the feedback,What about the thompson center fire equivalent? I cannot see a product out there for these purposes.have several very good bolt action mtn riFles, ruger #1 as well.Have owned several lever action rifles.It is simple-clean lines,24 Min)" barrell length(25/06).Light,Easy in and out of saddle scabbard ,Short enough to be used with a saddle boot.single shot.consistantly accurate/keeps poi in tough conditions.pretty doesn't matter.Any horseman/hunters out there know what I mean?

The Thompson/Center Encore was what I was referring to in my 1st post in here. They're great guns from everything I've ever been told about them. Never owned one, but have thought about it many times over the years.

 

[tony m]

Thanks for the info,I have being looking into this too.Look well made to me .I'm in Canada and it sounds like parts are an issue,we cannot order in from US.I believe its a homeland security issue- not a problem on the Canadian side.Americans are our best friends..believe it.Cheers

 

[Mikecr]

Can't order in from the USA side either (without an importer). I have over $4K(US) worth of finished gun parts rotting in a Canadian Gestapo warehouse. Been there nearly 10yrs now, since the Canadian gunbuilders shipped to me, and I'm forced to assume I'll never get my stuff back...

One of them was Prairie Gun Works (now PGW DEFENCE TECHNOLOGIES INC). Don't ever entrust business with these jokers!

 

[AceRoth]

The nef/h&rs are getting a bad rap here but they're good for what they are - cheap single shot switchbarrels. They are finicky but you can usually get them to shoot pretty good (under an inch for sure) with some patience. T/Cs are better made for sure but more expensive. My TC is as finicky as my h&r but when you make the TC happy it definitely shoots better. I have an 18" 30-06 barrel for my TC thats the same the concept you're going for that I really like as a backpack rifle. I wouldnt take it on a trophy hunt but it is a good trail gun.

Also, if you are not too worried about cost you can get custom barrels for TCs that shoot lights out in any caliber, profile, steel you want. MGM makes good ones but so do a lot of other makers.

Check out graybeards outdoors' h&r and TC forums. There's a board called encoreclassifieds that is good for encore barrels/frames/parts too. Some of the guys on the graybeard h&r board are nuts but they are very knowledgeable and helpful. Not sure if h&r ever made a stainless 25-06 but someone there will know and probably have one to sell you.

 

[375rifleman]

Anybody have any information on the 500 S&W NEF Handi Rifle ?

 

[Truc]

while their rifles aren't really accurate (trigger leaves a lot to be desired too) if you need a muzzle loader SMI can put a Smokeless 45 or 50 caliber barrel on it and it will shoot better than a stock Savage SML-11. I shoot mine with the 195 Barnes or 200 SST at 2675fps in a 45 caliber Douglas barrel.

 

[jamessp007]

H&R get a bad rap but I have had several that shot sub 1" MOA. The secret is to pull the trigger all the way through otherwise the trigger block effects the shot. Additionally, you need to float the barrel. Dave White is a master at making these shoot. google's your friend.