Well that was interesting... A little background: the NEF is an old youth model I bought new around 1998, the Savage is 30 years older having been made in 1968. I bought it used several years ago. Both guns are full choke. I decided to compare the two side by side at an indoor range today shooting some old Remington 2.5" #4, 3" #4, and 3" #7.5, along with some CCI Maximags for the .22WMR and another function test for my Keltec P3at.
The result? My NEF wishes it were half the gun that Savage is. The NEF consistently threw 1.25" to 1.75" larger patterns out to 50 feet with the same ammo, and kicked harder to boot! The poa/poi difference was comparable considering they both have stocks that are too short for me (especially the NEF). They were at least as predictable as my cheek weld, minor variations in weld shifted patterns somewhat. The pattern density was even for the NEF while the Savage left a ragged hole in the middle then was evenly spread for the outer 2" of the pattern. So basically that Savage hits harder on target, recoils less (it's heavier), and offers a .22WMR for a follow up shot if needed, and that barrel is well-regulated to the shotgun barrel through 75ft.
In other news I still can't hit squat with my Keltec past 20 feet, and some joker 2 lanes over shot my target while doing rapid-fire drills on a fullsize silhouette target set at maybe 5 feet. He left quickly after that so I think he decided he'd embarrassed himself enough for the day.
The result? My NEF wishes it were half the gun that Savage is. The NEF consistently threw 1.25" to 1.75" larger patterns out to 50 feet with the same ammo, and kicked harder to boot! The poa/poi difference was comparable considering they both have stocks that are too short for me (especially the NEF). They were at least as predictable as my cheek weld, minor variations in weld shifted patterns somewhat. The pattern density was even for the NEF while the Savage left a ragged hole in the middle then was evenly spread for the outer 2" of the pattern. So basically that Savage hits harder on target, recoils less (it's heavier), and offers a .22WMR for a follow up shot if needed, and that barrel is well-regulated to the shotgun barrel through 75ft.
In other news I still can't hit squat with my Keltec past 20 feet, and some joker 2 lanes over shot my target while doing rapid-fire drills on a fullsize silhouette target set at maybe 5 feet. He left quickly after that so I think he decided he'd embarrassed himself enough for the day.
