Nef Handi Rifle 243 Not Accurate

[slugg45-120]

HI
RECENTLY ACCUIRED A NEW NEF 243 SINGLE SHOT RIFLE, OUT OF THE BOX THE MOST INACCURATE RIFLE I HAVE EVER FIRED.I STARTED USING ACCURATE LOADS FROM MY YEARS OF LOADING. 85 GR SPITZER & 4350 WHICH DELIVERED 4" GROUPS AT 60 YARDS. I'AM GOING TO START EXPERIMENTING THE USUAL WAY WITH DIFFERENT POWDER & BULLETS BUT DON'T THINK THIS IS THE REAL PROBLEM . ANY IDEAS ?

MARKgun)

 

[LEFTYM77]

with 4 inch groups at 60 yards Im not sure hoew much time I would spend with it before sending it back, but there are always a few quick checks like scope, scope mounts, action screw torques, barrell pressure points...

 

[devildoc]

Wow I have the same rifle and I've had no trouble getting MOA @ 100yds with it.

 

[edge]

Scope or open sights?

Have you reworked the #14 trigger?

With the factory trigger, you need to really work on the technique, ESPECIALLY if the group is very horizontal.

edge.

 

[slugg45-120]

nef 243

yes scoped
4 x 12 scope & reworked the trigger myself 3lbs , my quess is barrel bore or something else ,slugged the bore & got .2445 not sure if this is within limits??
mark

 

[edge]

Handi barrels tend to be tight at the breech and loose at the muzzle!
Exactly opposite what you want. I suppose the a powder that burns completely in a couple of inches before the muzzle might be more accurate since less gas will escape past the bullet, but this is just a guess.

edge.

 

[coonhunter]

I had a 223 handi rifle and about the best I ever got was 6 or 8 inches a 100 yards. I swore that I would make that gun shoot somehow or shoot all the rifling out trying. Well there was a little rifling left when I got rid of it. I think part of the problem was it had a 1-12 or 1-14 twist and had enough free bore to shoot a 100 grain bullet.

 

[CapDog]

I have a H&R Ultra in .243...essentially the same rifle and it shoots MOA no problem and will half that with the 58gr V-max. The worse groups were in the 3" range and those were with 100gr Gr Slams, change of powder and things tighten up to 1.5".

 

[slugg45-120]

243 n e f not accurate

hey guys just for your info i have been working on this same rifle since my original post about the poor groups. i have since taken advice from others & floated the forearm & glassed the area around the barrel lug.also i used bedding compound to build up the over hang of the weaver base on top of the barrel. i could not belive the difference the same load that produced wild 3 to 4 in groups will now put three in 5/8 of an inch. unreal !!!

 

[kbohleber]

I too have a handi-rifle in .243 and in the beginning the accuracy was very poor. Mine has the slotted aluminum scope mounting base attached to the barrel. This strip of course is aluminum and the barrel it is mounted to is steel. When the barrel heats up, heat is also transferred to the aluminum which has a higher rate of thermal expansion than steel and so the aluminum wants to get longer than the steel it is mounted to. The result is the aluminum will distort and depending on how your scope mounts are positioned on this strip the scope is going to be moved or distorted several moa. The fix. Cut this base into tow smaller sections so that the rear section is long enough to bridge the two back mounting holes. The small front section will only be held down by one screw. And the scope ring mounts should be located over the screws that fasten to the barrel. Now you no longer have a continuous strip of aluminum between the screw mounts on the barrel. Removing the center section allows the rings to stay in place over the screw mounts of the barrel and not be pushed out of place.

Another added approach I take is to only firmly or hard clamp the rear scope ring to the scope and only snug the forward scope cap enough to not allow the screws to come loose, but light enough to allow the scope body travel a little in the forward scope mount when it lengthens because it two is aluminum and if it heats due to outdoor temp or sun exposure the scope can lengthen without any distortion or twist. This is the only mod I made to the original aspects of the gun and it will should dimes at 100 yards all day without thermal effect and is not ammo sensitive. Hope this will help others too. gun)

 

[rootershooter]

Re: 243 n e f not accurate

hey guys just for your info i have been working on this same rifle since my original post about the poor groups. i have since taken advice from others & floated the forearm & glassed the area around the barrel lug.also i used bedding compound to build up the over hang of the weaver base on top of the barrel. i could not belive the difference the same load that produced wild 3 to 4 in groups will now put three in 5/8 of an inch. unreal !!!

Slugg 45-120 Thx for your post. This one goes back a few years but I bought a Nef 270 win back in '07. I just dusted it off and trying AGAIN to sight it in. My shots are spraying all over the paper. I have sanded away any wood touching the barrel,placed an oring around barrel lug. I am now not knowing where to turn. I thought it was my scope but its not since been thru 3 of them. Any suggestions???? Help please. Thanks.

 

[deathwobble]

Ya had the same problem... all due to free bore.. I sat my bullets as long ss i could to remedy the problem was able to manage about .75" at 100yards

 

[Mikecr]

ANY IDEAS ?)

It will never be an accurate hunting gun, but it was cheap, and so it was a cheap lesson..
Cut your losses;
Separate that thing into it's smallest parts, including any cheap scope you bought for it, and scatter them into every dumpster in town.
It's tough, but know that you did the right thing there.

 

[Truc]

Send the action to SMI and get a 45 caliber smokeless muzzleloader barrel on it. It will shoot under an 1" MOA and you will have a light weight carry SML. I did this to mine and it shoots 200 gr bullets at 2600 fps. Mine is a 1-20 twist and will shoot the same as my McGowan 45 caliber Savage.