Interesting NEF .45/70 single shot

I did not have good luck with this rifle. But many owners have found them to be serviceable.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/nef_rifles.htm

I don't have a .45/70, but do have Handi-Rifle in .204 and .30-06.
They are decent shooters. Maybe not competition level, but pretty decent hunters,
I like mine. They are rugged if nothing else

They are discontinued, so that may be something to consider.

My dad had a 223. I bought a 300 blackout and a 45/70. Only the 45/70 remains. The 223 was a real dog.

The sling, ammo carrier, and scope are worth $225.
I wouldn't hesitate. You could use the rifle as a tomato stake if you don't like it.

Elkins45 said:

They are discontinued, so that may be something to consider.

My dad had a 223. I bought a 300 blackout and a 45/70. Only the 45/70 remains. The 223 was a real dog.

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Thanks for the up date. I did not know that. Our local gun store has them "Red Tagged" on clearance sale pricing.

Armored farmer said:

The sling, ammo carrier, and scope are worth $225.
I wouldn't hesitate. You could use the rifle as a tomato stake if you don't like it.

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I like the tomatoes fried when they are Green. Tomatoes don't grow at 7,000 feet in the mountains.

Dog Soldier said:

like the tomatoes fried when they are Green. Tomatoes don't grow at 7,000 feet in the mountains.

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Yeah, and we don't have trout on our streams. Or elk.


I thought that i heard the Handi-Rifle price went up when they discontinued them? I guess not.

No, Not here they have them discounted. Armfarm, It is fun to read post by once a year Non-Rez Western Hunters regarding Big Game Hunting. They are "Field and Stream" experts. We live with Elk,Moose, Grizz, Lions and Wolves every day. But what do we know?

for 225 with the extras in 45/70 I would bring it home. Offer 200... but pay the 225 if you have too. And yes prices have gone or are going up. The handy rifles barrels sell for that on ebay regularly. You wont likely loose any money if you try it and do nor like it. most can be made to shoot. .223vaccuraccy often was because thew twists werefor 55 grain and lighter... a lot of guys tried surplus and heavy bulletts and thde twist was wrong...

btw some chain stores and small local shops have discounted them recently but it does not mean the the prices are not up across the board. Some of us take advantage of those deals when we find em

Armored farmer said:

The sling, ammo carrier, and scope are worth $225.
I wouldn't hesitate. You could use the rifle as a tomato stake if you don't like it.

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That would depend entirely upon the brand of the scope, which I did not see specified anywhere. If it's a Simmons, Bushnell, NC Star etc, then it's worth little more than a $10 sling and $8 ammo carrier..

tallpaul said:

.223vaccuraccy often was because thew twists werefor 55 grain and lighter... a lot of guys tried surplus and heavy bulletts and thde twist was wrong...

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I got decent accuracy under 200 with 55 gr., but it shot like a laser with 40 gr. CT Silvertip.

Recoil on the .45-70 is......stout.

tallpaul said:

for 225 with the extras in 45/70 I would bring it home. Offer 200... but pay the 225 if you have too. And yes prices have gone or are going up. The handy rifles barrels sell for that on ebay regularly. You wont likely loose any money if you try it and do nor like it. most can be made to shoot. .223vaccuraccy often was because thew twists werefor 55 grain and lighter... a lot of guys tried surplus and heavy bulletts and thde twist was wrong...

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Dad's 223 had an interesting "auto-eject" feature where it would unlock upon firing and sling the empty over your shoulder. The factory fixed that, but the replacement barrel was never even close in accuracy.

My 45-70 has iron sights and handles cast bullets as well as I can see to aim them...but I'm not running them at full power either. I figure a 500 grain lead bullet at 1300 fps will kill anything I'm willing to hunt with a single shot rifle.

Elkins45 said:

That would depend entirely upon the brand of the scope, which I did not see specified anywhere. If it's a Simmons, Bushnell, NC Star etc, then it's worth little more than a $10 sling and $8 ammo carrier..

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My attempts are humor go unappreciated sometimes. I know that a $50 Tasco and a $8 sleeve and a $15 sling aren't worth $225. I also don't expect a rifle to be used as a tomato stake either.

My NEF Handi-Rifle is set up exactly like you say. Simmons pronghorn 3x9, sling, sleeve. We can shoot pop cans at 300yds with it. Any rifle that will do that is surely worth $225.00, even if it is to ride in the combine with me.

And it does.

Deaf Smith...I had, but traded it off and now regret, a NEF .45-70 rifle. It was like none I had seen. Appeared to be stainless steel but somewhere I read it was brushed nickel. The stock and forearm were green and gray tones of laminated wood. I put 2.5X Weaver scope on it.

It was heavy for size but was accurate with and was a good deer gun. My youngest son is still PO'd at me for trading it.

I bought one from a gun store a couple years ago, .223, it was the most inaccurate firearm I ever owned, including my shotguns. But, I've talked to guys who have accurate ones too.

Cocked & Locked said:

Deaf Smith...I had, but traded it off and now regret, a NEF .45-70 rifle. It was like none I had seen. Appeared to be stainless steel but somewhere I read it was brushed nickel. The stock and forearm were green and gray tones of laminated wood. I put 2.5X Weaver scope on it.

It was heavy for size but was accurate with and was a good deer gun. My youngest son is still PO'd at me for trading it.

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As is mine for selling the NEF .223 I had.

Deaf Smith said:

I'm thinking of a Williams aperture sight. No scope, no sling, no nothing except maybe a leather buttstock ammo holder. Nothing.

Deaf

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If I am thinking of the right model there is not a metal tang that extends on the top of the buttstock. This makes a mounting a sight on the buttstock problematic as it will have to be screwed into the wood. This is a big reason it is not used in long range shooting matches.

You are pretty much limited to mounting a iron sight to the barrel

I just wanna mention that I have a .223 Handi Rifle. One of my favorite shooters but ...
If I'm not careful to smartly lock the action, it has on a few occasions opened up after firing.
In a 45-70 this may be a bigger problem.
The cases did not eject when opening after firing but I suppose they could have depending on how I was holding the rifle.
If you have the slightest indication of this happening, better be careful, a spent 45-70 case could hit you in the face.
Like I said, when I am sure to smartly close my action with a little authority, it has never happened.

Deaf Smith said:

I'm thinking of a Williams aperture sight. No scope, no sling, no nothing except maybe a leather buttstock ammo holder. Nothing.

Handload 300-400 grainers.

Deaf

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Does the gun you're looking at have a front sight? If not, you could probably buy a good scope for less than the cost of installing one unless you can do the work yourself.