new england firearms 223. hvy. barrel
- Thread starter d2admin
- Start date
redrider4life
New member
Ive got one. Its a really good gun for the price. I have a WTC-18 simmons scope (6.5x20) on it. It shoots the Winchester white box 45gr jhp real good. I can hit a 4 by 6 inch metal plate every time at 200 yards off a bi-pod. But dont get me wrong its a tight group.
Dont let the single shot bother you. Once you get the hang of it you can pop another round in almost as fast as a bolt action.
Dont let the single shot bother you. Once you get the hang of it you can pop another round in almost as fast as a bolt action.
Joe Bradshaw
New member
I have the ultra light NEF .223, blue/synthetic. I have a Weaver Classic 3X9 on it and love it. It is light, accurate, and pleasant to carry and shoot. I forget if the twist is 1 in 12, or 1 in 14, but either way, stay with bullets around 55 gr or lighter...mine likes 50 grainers...the twist will most likely not stabilize heavy bullets.
Longcruise
New member
Whenever the topic of the NEF rifles comes up on the net, you will see endorsements of them as above. Those who have a good nef and like it will post. those who are not happy with theirs usually don't. At least that's my opinion so take it for what it's worth.
I have personal experience with four nef rifles. One was a pretty good shooter and the other three only so so. IMO, for what we like to use the 223 for, they need to shoot better than the average nef. Two of those four rifles are 223's and with considerable messing around with loads, etc., we got them to shoot only fair. The win varmint pak ammo is pretty good though and one of those 223's shoots it as good as any handload.
The other problem that seems common to the nef rifles, especially the rimless calibers, is a tendencey for the cases to stick and fail to eject. There are remedies, etc., such as chamber polishing but if yours tends to stick on ejection, it may never be 100% sure to eject.
The ejection system is a pain when working at the bench. If you don't catch each empty it ends up behind you and working the break action at the bench is a bit ungainly too.
I threw in the towel on the nef 223 and bought a 223 Tikka T3 Lite for 430 bucks. It shoots anything I load for it at moa or better and the win varmint pak is a consistent .91 moa average even after measuring and averaging eight five shot groups with no discounted flyers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Not wanting to rain on anybody's parade, i just thought you should see the flip side of the coin.
I have personal experience with four nef rifles. One was a pretty good shooter and the other three only so so. IMO, for what we like to use the 223 for, they need to shoot better than the average nef. Two of those four rifles are 223's and with considerable messing around with loads, etc., we got them to shoot only fair. The win varmint pak ammo is pretty good though and one of those 223's shoots it as good as any handload.
The other problem that seems common to the nef rifles, especially the rimless calibers, is a tendencey for the cases to stick and fail to eject. There are remedies, etc., such as chamber polishing but if yours tends to stick on ejection, it may never be 100% sure to eject.
The ejection system is a pain when working at the bench. If you don't catch each empty it ends up behind you and working the break action at the bench is a bit ungainly too.
I threw in the towel on the nef 223 and bought a 223 Tikka T3 Lite for 430 bucks. It shoots anything I load for it at moa or better and the win varmint pak is a consistent .91 moa average even after measuring and averaging eight five shot groups with no discounted flyers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Not wanting to rain on anybody's parade, i just thought you should see the flip side of the coin.
I have a standard synthetic .223. I have only put about 100 rounds through it but I am happy so far. I made sure and cleaned it real well before I ever shot it but have had 2 stuck cases, might need to polish. Not a big deal shooting at paper but it might be a problem at game. The thing is both came after the gun had warmed up a bit so I'm not worrying too much.
The other 98% of the time it does eject them back pretty well. To me this is a non-issue, it's better then picking up empties from an AR.
Mine shoots OK, it has done about 1 1 /4" groups with the Win 45hp. That may not sound great but I am not the steadiest person so that's very good for me. I shot one group with Ultramax 55 sp and they looked promising too. I'm also not looking for a 300 yard gun, although I may try to make it that.
Some do say their Handis don't shoot well resting on the forearm but with mine it doesn't seem to make a difference. I have only done the 'O' ring trick so far and am going to try to float the forearm even more.
I'm happy because it's only a $200 gun. I can tinker with it and will paint it come spring. If you want something a little more guaranteed to be a good shooting gun out of the box I would say try one of the less expensive Savages or something similar.
Tim
The other 98% of the time it does eject them back pretty well. To me this is a non-issue, it's better then picking up empties from an AR.
Mine shoots OK, it has done about 1 1 /4" groups with the Win 45hp. That may not sound great but I am not the steadiest person so that's very good for me. I shot one group with Ultramax 55 sp and they looked promising too. I'm also not looking for a 300 yard gun, although I may try to make it that.
Some do say their Handis don't shoot well resting on the forearm but with mine it doesn't seem to make a difference. I have only done the 'O' ring trick so far and am going to try to float the forearm even more.
I'm happy because it's only a $200 gun. I can tinker with it and will paint it come spring. If you want something a little more guaranteed to be a good shooting gun out of the box I would say try one of the less expensive Savages or something similar.
Tim
scattergunner
New member
I had one with a laminated stock, topped with a lowly Tasco World Class. Mine was a tack driver and if I didn't need to drum up funds for an AR project, I would have never sold it. I had a NEF sportster in .17HMR also which performed equally as well. Considering I paid under $350 for the two guns,I've was extremely happy with my little NEFs.