my .204

[A2K]

Ok, here is my .204 Ruger H&R/NEF Ultra Varmint. Features a 24 inch fluted bull barrel w/1:12 twist, skeleton butt stock, wide fore stock, all factory. It wears a Rockmount bi-pod, Millett med. rings, and a recently added Bushnell Banner 3x9x40mm scope, and a spongy carry sling. It has it's pros and cons, but over all I'm very happy with it.

I've heard some people say some pretty foul things about H&R/NEF in the past, but my experiences have all been positive. This rifle is capable of nickle sized 3-5rnd groups at 100yrd, which i find amazing since you have to refocus after every round, due to it being single shot/break open. Good optics are important on this style of firearm. The rule I live by is "make the first shot count." She loves to eat 32gr. V-Max all day long, but she kind of chokes on 40gr. I hear this is pretty common. The scope in the background is her old BSA 3x9x40mm, which i have a very low opinion of. It was in the bargain bin of a local sporting goods store. When I first mounted the BSA it was mediocre at best, and seemed to decline with time. In that case I got what I paid for, and learned my lesson (not to say that all of BSA's products are this way)with REALLY cheap optics.
now the cons: She's heavy. Very heavy. Built like a brick house heavy. I got the biggest, thickest most padded carry sling i could find, and that helps with carrying her around, but she's not really a snap shot rifle. I'm ok with that. i do most of my shooting from the bench or in prone position anyhow. The last thing about this rifle that I'm not real thrilled about is the adjustable bi-pod mount. It seems mostly pointless to me. I use it mostly as a "quick detach" mechanism, when the bi-pod isn't needed. Say what you will about H&R/NEF...I'm not giving mine up.

[Bill K]

If you are happy, have fun shooting and it does what you want, then enjoy and not worry about what someone else may think. The object is for you to enjoy the sport and chasing those willy critters. Bill K

[A2K]

Thanks Bill K. My first coyote hunt of the season is this coming Saturday. Going to relieve a local horse rancher of a few scurvy dogs. Hope to have some pics up by Sunday or Monday if i have success. It could get brutal. He's got an infestation, and i'm not lookin' to save pelts yet.

[Jim White]

If you are happy, have fun shooting and it does what you want, then enjoy and not worry about what someone else may think. The object is for you to enjoy the sport and chasing those willy critters. Bill K

Couldn't have said it better...

[Lead Lobber]

I shot a NEF that was my uncles chambered in .45-70. It was a fun gun to carry in the brush. We deemed it the portable cannon for obvious reasons. It closely resembles the profile of my snake charmer......that too is a fun gun to take fishing for the unsuspecting snapping turtle or copper head.

Let us know how the yote hunting turns out. And if there are that many yotes to exterminiate, let me have a pop at em.....

[Bill K]

A2K.. Pictures of gory things and direct hits, someone is sick Send them in, we luv that type of thing... Bill K

[huntsman22]

It wears a Bushnell Banner 3x9x40mm scope. Good optics are important on this style of firearm.

Uh, O.K......

[sixshooter]

I have a handy rifle in .223 with a leupold 3 to 9. It shoots under an inch at 100 all the time. Sometimes under a 1/2 inch with reloads. It seems to stay where its sighed to without effort. It only had one problem. About 1 in three rounds would stick and require a ramrod to remove it. I talked to H&R NRF about this and they said they could not stand behind it if I used reloads. I had a case of federal factories so I started shooting them exclusively. Not as acurate but then only about 1 in 20 stuck in the action. I set it aside and sort of forgot about it. I was going to have my gunsmith look at it but didnt get around to it. Some friends thought it was the final buff of the chamber that had been missed at the factory or the last bevel where the grooves meet the chamber.

During varmit season last spring I got it out. Cleaned it up and sighted it in. I shot it a bunch and it quit sticking. I didnt do anything but it seemed to have healed itself. It is a lot of fun to shoot and it has become my companion gun when I go anywhere lately. I have to admit that I like cocking the hammer and watching a chuck fly.

[WY-NEvarmints]

I happen to have the same rifle in 204 and it has accounted for many prarie dogs and coyotes. Shoots both factory and reloads with no issues, factories are far superior for accuracy however. Mine wears a 6x18 Burris and is usually shot off a bi-pod.

[sixshooter]

Interesting that the factory round would be supirior to the reloads. My .204 is a ruger no. 1. I bought it from a friend and he included dies and 60 factory rounds. I found this forum in a quest for reloading data. I bought 100 winchester unprimed cases and worked up a load based on reloder 15 which I had never worked with before. I was impressed with the factory rounds. 1/2 inch was common. With the reloads I think something is wrong if I cant shoot one hole groups with three shots.

It is the only gun that is not a bench rest gun that does this consistently that I have access to. Its only draw back is that its point of aim seems to shift over time. Not while shooting but from season to season. It only gets work in the spring thru early summer but it has required redialing every time and several times in between. My bench rest buddy says this is common to no. 1's and he will show me how to fix it but he hasn't yet.

[A2K]

Thanks, Everyone. I've put nearly 300 rounds through this rifle, both factory and reload, and never had one fail to extract. I was reading some last night and it seems to be more of a complaint in NEF rifles chambered for .223.
@Huntsman22-I'm not sure what you're getting at, perhaps you should elaborate, or don't bother posting a reply. I didn't say expensive optics, I said good, and for the record the Bushnell is 100 times better than the crappy BSA I had to begin with.

[sixshooter]

A2K did your resurch come up with solutions to the sticking cases. Mine seems healed but I didnt do anything so I am sort of expecting more sticks. Mine is new england firearms stamped.

[WY-NEvarmints]

I just seen what I wrote, I meant that the hand loads were far superior to the factories.

[Fordevr]

Factory Tikka T3 Varmint heavy barrel on a Harris pivoting bipod. Topped with a Sightron siii 6-24x50 ffp. Shooting factory Federal 40 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip.
Love love love this setup. Did this today and was blown by this set up. Still learning wind but if there’s no wind...coyotes be in trouble.

[Rick in Oregon]

Fordever: You do realize that this is a 7 year old thread, right?