Me and my cousin are gonna save some money for a new groundhog gun. We have a Marlin bolt .22 mag right now. With a scope and bi-pod. We want to up grade. What gun would be a good choice. A cheaper gun old military maybe. We were thinking about a single shot .223. Sowhat do you think what cal. and make?

I bought a NEF Handi-Rifle for a beater a few years ago. It's a 223. It'll outshoot my Rem 223 any day of the week.

It was $169 when I bought it, they're still under $200 new here. Throw a decent scope on it, have the trigger lightened and find the right ammo. You'll shoot groups under an inch all day, and for around $300, scope and all.

Nef singleshot for a cheap gun. They are cheap but nice shooters my friend had one, shot real good with the cheap stuff he ran through it.

To bad your not closer to me, id make you an offer on that 22 mag.

Can anyone give me a link that has prices for NEF?

What about a .17 HMR. Would it have more range then a .22 mag?

The 17 HMR has a little more range and speed than the 22 Mag.,but not enough for me to give up my 22 mag..IF you are looking for a very,very cheap gun,yet accurate.Look at the Rossi's,you can buy one of these cheaper than a marlin 22.I have one in the varmit gun,.223 single shot,I can put 10 shots in a 2" square at 200 yds.They sell them with a 3-9 x40mm Simmons scope.I paid 189.00 new for mine,the plain jane Rossi rifle will cost you about 115.00 to 125.00 bucks new(no scope or heavey barrel.)
You can also get it in the 17 HMR,243 win,270 wsm,30-06,44 mag and some others.Hope this helps,BBJ

The 17 hmr would be about 150 yards on groundhogs. I would take it over a 22 mag. However if your gonna be shooting farther the 223 is still tops and is realy cheap to shoot. I personaly luv the 17 hmr, when I squeeze the trigger, I know im gonna hit where im aiming, its realy accurate (not that the 22 mag isnt). At wal-mart the 223 nef runs around $180 here.

You CANT beat a 223 for varmit round simply because the ammo is dirt cheap. The NIF handi rifle is just a touch over $200, so that rifle in 223 would be hard to beat. The 17's main problem is the cost of ammo.

I would get the ruger rancher .223 its a semi but like all rugers shoots great.