I just purchased a h&r 243. synthetic/stainless last week. I am very pleased with it.

I agree that they are definately a great shooter. Especially for the money. There is one thing you can count on in a NEF or H&R and that it the lock up is like a bank vault.

And I see Green has picked up on the one slight shortcoming of the NEF/H&R's and that's the trigger.

Uncle Matt (in IL)

Green01 I gave 200 for mine. But I'm not pleased at all with the way if groups, I must have got a lemon.

strut maybe it needs somemore time. keep shooting and brush it alot. got to break the barrel in a bit. get rid of the rough spots. are you sure it is the gun. may even be the scope or the shells. let me know how you make out. i was thinking about looking into one for that price.

Yeah I have shot and cleaned and brushed and mounted scope after scope and after about 3 to 4 boxes of ammo in different loads I still can't get but about a 4" group at a 100 yards. You might put 2 holes just about touching then the next one might be 3 to 4 inches off. I might have been expecting to much out of this Handi-Rifle, but everyone I had talked to that had one said they really shot good, anyway its on its way back to the gunshop tomorrow, I have talked with the owner which is a buddy of mine, said he would do something, I will probably swap it for another gun, maybe another HR.

i have a 243 and a 270,for the money their hard to beat. my two sons shoot them,their ages are 7&12,both rifles have a nikon 3x9x40 scope,at 250 yds or less they'll shoot with my $600 rugar,shooting pass 250yds is rare on my hunting land, it doesn't take a high dollar gun to get the job done,good luck with yours,one on one

That is really wierd that you said this! My best friend and I were out at the range shooting his brand new NEF .280 last week, and his did the exact same thing! I mean he would literally cut two holes almost on top of one another, and then the next shot would be like 5" higher. I dont understand it. He has been on other sites and they recommend that you put an "o" ring in between the barrel and the stock (at the mounting shaft) and they also suggest to shoot lighter bullets, but he was using 139 gr SST's. Oh well, it was only his first bullet/powder combination so we'll keep trying.

I have a 7-mm08 and a youth 243 and both shoot real well. I belive its the most accurate rifle out of the box I've shot. I had a 280 nef and it didn't shoot well,Ialso had a 30-06 that shot real good.

Well I swapped mine today for a model 12 Savage varmint barrel in a .204, if it don't shoot I think I will just give up, it should be here Wednesday and maybe the weekend before I can shoot it.

Nah, it's prolly your fault.
[8D] Just kidding, bro!

Seriously, it's a sad fact that they produce some lemons. In order to produce a (sub) $200 gun, one of the price savers seems to be quality control. I still love the NEF's.

I've also read that some of the lemons greatly imporve by completely dismantling the gun, cleaning all the parts, and doing a trigger job. Not many people want to deal with that hassle, but then again, those people tend to buy more expensive guns.

Good luck with your new .204. I hear it's a sweet caliber.