I love my new 25-06 handi rifle!
 

25-06 26 inch ultra barrel. synthetic stock. Total gun length is slightly less than my browning A-bolt in .308 with 22 inch barrel because the handi rifle has no receiver. Anyway, I have a .308, 30-06 and now 25-06. I am using Hornady SST interlock bullets factory loads in 117 grain. One thing I noticed right away is almost no kick, much less than the 30-06 or .308. I also noticed it doesn' t make my ears ring, maybe because the long barrel? I use a walkers game ear, but the battery died on me mid hunt yesterday and when I shot a deer, my ears didn' t ring. They always do with the 30-06 shooting factory hornady 165 grain loads. Bullet performance has been great with the 117s, they are explosive but still offer good penetration. Shot placement is important because these bullets will tear up the deer badly if the shot hits an edible area. So far, three shots and three dead deer, one ran 30 yards after being shot, one dropped on the spot and the other went 20 yards. I' m sure part of my success is due to the vx-1 leupold scope, I never had a $200 scope before and there is a noticable difference over my simmons 44 mag scopes. I always wondered if Leupolds were worth the extra money, oh yes they are. In any case, I love this gun, scope and caliber now. Not sure when I will be getting back to my 30-06 at this point or even the .308. I have a stretch thing on the stock of the handi rifle that holds 9 rounds. Reloading is pretty fast but I have been able to take my time reloading so far as none of the deer shot were even close to needing a 2nd shot.

RE: I love my new 25-06 handi rifle!
 

I have the 26 inch barrel NEF 280. I got my second deer with that. 200 yard shot. Droped in its tracks. 120 grain Sierra pro-hunter bullet at 2900 + a little fps. Its the only load I have tried so far I had some left from a long time ago. One could catch flack for saying this but the 25-06 or the 280 with Barnes X bullets will cleanly take anything in North America with the exception of the big bears. Even at that they have also fallen to smaller rifles than that. The Barnes X bullet if it shoots well in your gun, makes a killing machine out of samller rifles. A friend of mine shot a big muley buck this year with a 223 with the 45 grain X bullet. It broke both front shoulders and exited as they always do. I have a Swift 3x9 on my 280 and though I have a few Leupolds I am very happy with the performance of this 99.00 dollar Swift. I have a VX-1 on my 257 Roberts and a 6X fixed Luepold on my 260. I would buy another Swift in a heart beat.

RE: I love my new 25-06 handi rifle!
 

While it wouldn' t be my choice, I' ve never read a negative post about NEF.....

I think they' ve found a nitch and are running it very well.

RE: I love my new 25-06 handi rifle!
 

Barnes is amazing. Hornady SST interlock was the first thing I have tried in the 25-06 handi rifle. I may try barnes when I run out of Hornady shells but so far that hornady interlock SST is really something. I use Barnes Sabots in my .54 cal thunderhawk. They really are amazing bullets. 325 grain in that thing. It actually knocks the deer over sometimes. It hits them like a ton of bricks.

RE: I love my new 25-06 handi rifle!
 

Vapodog,
I guess it is a cheap TC Contender rifle more or less. I really like the 25-06 barrel. The price is right too, most barrels are $80, this one was $96. I am less thrilled with the .223 ultralight barrel but it is nice to just switch barrels and get a whole new gun. I know I would like a single shot fine because I enjoy my muzzleloader. However, I was surprised at how fast and easy the handi is to cock which is the safety too. It is faster than the safety on the mauser action in my 30-06 and almost as fast as the browning tang safety on my .308. The leupold is great too. My first but won' t be my last.

RE: I love my new 25-06 handi rifle!
 

They have a few little quirks that can be worked out pretty easy. Sometimes the triggers need a little work but they will do a free trigger job down to 3 1/2 lbs if you send it in. That plus the extra barrels for under 100.00 makes them a good deal. That 280 will shoot 1 1/2 inch groups and may do even better after a little breakin and some expiermenting with loads. Most of them will settle in and shoot 1 1/2 to 2 inch groups. Pretty good for the price and good enough for most huntng. Its kind of nice once in a while to return to the simplicity of the little single shot. I have had countless hours of fun with them. I have had the 223, 243, 30-30, 30-06, 12GA, 10 Ga and this 280. I have a 44 Mag synthetic ordered now. Also have the 45-70 and 410.

RE: I love my new 25-06 handi rifle!
 

I actually like the trigger fine the way it is. It is a little heavy but little to no creep. Of course, I like it better with that heavy ultra barrel than with that ultra light .223 barrel. It should be lighter when using that barrel because the gun becomes so light at that point.

RE: I love my new 25-06 handi rifle!
 

I READ AN ARTICAL IN MY GUNS AND AMMO MAG ABOUT THE NEF HANDI RIFLE AND IT SAID IT WAS BEST VARMIT GUN AROUND ( .223 & .243 ULTA VARMIT) IT EVEN BEAT THE WIN. COYOTE. SO I BOUGHT THE .243 AND I LOVE IT ,TOPPED WITH A NIKON 3 X3 9 X 40 IT IS THE BEST FOR MY 11YR OLD DOUGHTER. SHE HAS SHOT A 1" IN GROUP AT 100 YRDS. ITS THE BEST BUY I HAVE MADE ,ORDERED IT AT WAL-MART 202.00 WITH TAX AND A 289.00 SCOPE INSTANT DEER/VARMIT RIFLE

RE: I love my new 25-06 handi rifle!
 

My 280' s trigger was almost nine lbs before I worked it over. Your right though there is no creep whatsoever in mine.

RE: I love my new 25-06 handi rifle!
 

Wow, 9 pounds! I haven' t measured mine, but it feels more like the standard five pounds that most of them come with. Maybe after hunting season, I' ll get the trigger job.