NEF/H&R Single-Shot 12ga

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Hammer059

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Ouch!

I started off with one load of regular birdshot, just to get a feel for this old 12 gauge. Now trust me, I generally get a kick out of some good recoil (pun intended). This load of birdshot wasn't painful but it certainly felt like shooting 3" slugs out my 590A1.

Knowing what was coming, I tried a 2 3/4" slug, then two 3" slugs to get a feel for where it shoots. After all it only has a front sight bead. Dang that had a smack to it, I wouldn't be surprised if I have a slight bruise tomorrow!

Yes, I know how to properly hold a heavy-recoiling shotgun. And yes, it has a thick rubber recoil pad on it already. I think this shotgun is going to be designated for shooting clays only!

Anyone else shoot slugs or buckshot through one of these and have the same experience? For the $80 I paid for it I'm still very pleased with the purchase… but I guess no more slugs from now on
 
I got a nice big bruise this weekend just from shooting a box of Winchester Featherlites #8's. It was surprising how much kick a light weight shotgun has.

I am going to have a flat shotgun style recoil pad put on. The gun doesn't fit my shoulder quite right and the toe on the curved factory buttstock gave me a painful lesson.
 
Man O Man. I cut my teeth on the NEF single shot. I love them. I have one and will never let it go. It will beat you down unless you are Superman. Every time I go shoot it, I wind up bruised shouldered:D
Just for the heck of it, I've blasted 00 buck and a few slugs from it. Ouch!!!! The gun functions flawless. Easy, Cheap and a damn keeper in my book. I think I gave $70 for mine. Its like new still. Shoot it a few times a year.
 
I feel your pain BSA1. Literally. Haha

Agreed 357smallbore, I love the gun and it's great for shooting clays… but holy smokes it packs a punch with anything other than birdshot!

I'm pretty sure that if an inexperienced shooter (or frail individual) shot a 3" slug and held it loose too far out on their shoulder, they'd end up with a dislocated shoulder. I wonder if that's ever happened before….
 
A Limbsaver slip-on or grind to fit recoil pad makes a huge difference. A Pachmayr pad is even better, but you'll spend nearly as much as you paid for the shotgun. The factory recoil pad isn't that great.
 
take the buttplate off and put some weight in the stock bolt hole, a piece of 5/8" conduit filled with melted wheelweights takes the sting out of it.
my first shotgun was a 88 topper, 12ga. with a full choke. I still use this gun for turkey
 
Got one and agree totally. Had to put on a sissy pad to lengthen it a for my large frame and didn't mind the extra padding at all.
 
Yeah I have one, I call him "Thumper". "Thumper" is a cut down 18.5" 12ga H&R who has a hard plastic butt pad. I take "Thumper" to the range sometimes and we dare each other to shoot 3" slugs through him. He kicks hard but I still love the little dog. I also fitted a 20ga 24" barrel to the same reciever and it doesn't lighten the recoil as much as you would think. Shooting 20ga feels like shooting 12ga, and 12ga feels like 10ga:D. I did buy a limbsaver pad (size small for any intrested in taming one) and it certainly helps, but it still definitely has some snap to it. You end up paying for the fact that they are so light by comparison to a pump or auto-loader in felt recoil, but I still will take "thumper" out for serious duty as a trail gun because he is so light, and One screw is all I have to remove and it I can takedown it into a backpack.

Add that to the fact you can buy all those sub-caliber inserts and you can shoot everything from .22lr to .44 magnum even blackpowder loads through it makes it a great survival gun. Right now I only own the 9mm, .22lr rifled, and .410/.45LC inserts, but you can essentially turn your single shot into the caliber of your choice with those inserts.
 
I love mine in 20 ga. It was my first gun as a child. Even killed my first deer with it even though the sights really limit the accuracy.
 
I had heard that you have to send it in to the company for them to fit the new barrel inserts for it? If not, where can I buy the replacement barrels? My receiver is the "SB1" version.

Still, I'd rather just get different guns for dedicated calibers. I'd love to get a single-shot in 30-30 with iron sights!
 
They did used to offer the service of having barrel's fitted to recievers, but stopped that service toward the end of last year unfortunately. However fitting for shotguns barrels is pretty simple (rifles are not that much harder), as headspacing is done off the rim, and with shotgun shells being so low pressure its pretty hard to mess that up anyway. I got lucky with my 18.5 barrel you might say, and it locked up tighter then the original even with no modifications needed. The 20ga is a little looser (can fit a sheet of thin printer paper between the breechface and the barrel) in its fit, but its not a problem. If fitting precise fitting was really as big of a concern as they make it out to be then people would be having headspace issues simply from having a well worn single shot, as they get looser with age too. Just make sure the barrel latch engage good. Graybeard outdoors has a whole section on how to fit barrels to frames on the old NEF/H&Rs.

Like I said its a bigger deal when it comes to accuracy with rifle calibers and high pressure rounds that don't headspace off the rim, but even then it is easily doable.
 
JUST a little more to it than that, even for a cheap single shot......
Click to expand...

True enough, I just simply meant that you can do it yourself, and there is no reason to throw away an old or extra barrel because H&R no longer does fittings and gunsmiths would charge more then the cost of the single shot itself to fit. Like I said there are some real gurus over at Greybeard that know the in's and out's of how to fit these barrels. I got lucky with my 18.5 12ga that locks up tighter then the barrel it was factory fitted with, and has good latch engagement, and didn't need any side profile grinding to fit the old frame, but usually they need some small degree of fitting to be perfect.

I think someone over at Greybeard said something like 75% of barrels "fit" as is, but of that 75% that fit without problems, 50% require more work to make them perfect.
 
I have a few and have the limbsaver slip on recoil pads. They take the sting out but usually end up slipping to one side or the other with much shooting. Holding it tight to the shoulder helps some. I have thought about cutting a barrel down to 18.5 inches. Anybody have any suggestions? hack saw? pipe cutter?
 
fireman 9731

I have used a pipe cutter to shorten the barrel of a Remington 870 barrel that I had. Worked fine and was a nice clean cut.

Sometimes I use both a Limbsaver butt pad and a PAST shoulder recoil pad when shooting something lightweight and in 12 gauge.
 
Fiocchi, Federal and others produce 1oz slugs with near muzzle velocity of about 1300fps, hint.
 
I have a rossi 22lr/20 gauge matched pair I haven't tried the 20 gauge barrel yet but I don't think it will be much fun, those little light weight singles a super handy because they are light but there is always a trade off
 
Add a Limbsaver slip on or grind to fit recoil pad.
Cut an inch off the buttstock to fit if you must.
Add a one pound cast lead babbit bar to the buttstock screw hole and pad the rest of the space with whatever suits your fancy.

My H&R single isn't my go to gun for buckshot and slugs but if it is what I have with me when I'm deer hunting or need to blast a coyote the few rounds I fire aren't that uncomfortable.

Most of the time I shoot 1 1/8 ounce or 1 1/4 ounce game loads and use the gun for hunting.
Again, the number of rounds fired do not make for an unpleasant experience.

These single shots are not and never were designed as pleasure shooting range toys, they are working field guns.
Cowboy up if you plan on using one as a range toy or find something else.
 
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Of course it isn't uncomfortable for hunting, recoil is never noticeable when hunting. As mentioned I didn't mind birdshot loads from it, so it will make a fine "range toy" for shooting clays.
 
Hammer059 said:
Ouch!

I started off with one load of regular birdshot, just to get a feel for this old 12 gauge. Now trust me, I generally get a kick out of some good recoil (pun intended). This load of birdshot wasn't painful but it certainly felt like shooting 3" slugs out my 590A1.

Knowing what was coming, I tried a 2 3/4" slug, then two 3" slugs to get a feel for where it shoots. After all it only has a front sight bead. Dang that had a smack to it, I wouldn't be surprised if I have a slight bruise tomorrow!

Yes, I know how to properly hold a heavy-recoiling shotgun. And yes, it has a thick rubber recoil pad on it already. I think this shotgun is going to be designated for shooting clays only!

Anyone else shoot slugs or buckshot through one of these and have the same experience? For the $80 I paid for it I'm still very pleased with the purchase… but I guess no more slugs from now on
Click to expand...
Was that "smack" to the face or to the shoulder?
 
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