# .223's Single Shot, Break Action or Bolt?



## drsx (Sep 8, 2010)

Looking at getting a .223. NEF's are cheap but mostly break action.... Not really excited about that little bit more for anything bolt action. Worth the money? Does it matter? Any opinions on NEF's?


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## chet (Sep 7, 2007)

I have a 243 nef..... it shoots ok.... I prefer bolt guns. I guess it just depends on how much you wanna spend.

Look at it this way: 223 ammo is so cheap, you can justify spending more on the rifle/optics


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

Yeah for around the same price as the NEF I think you can get a Savage Edge, which I have heard are great guns, very accurate out of the box.


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## muscles (Dec 13, 2009)

savage edge review: http://www.chuckhawks.com/savage_edge.htm

for $100 more, id go with the savage/accutrigger combo.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

muscles said:


> savage edge review: http://www.chuckhawks.com/savage_edge.htm
> 
> for $100 more, id go with the savage/accutrigger combo.





> In summation, the Savage Edge is a clean design that shoots beyond its diminutive price tag. Too often, rifles targeted as entry-level guns have displayed lousy safeties, rough actions, fussy magazines and lackluster accuracy. The Edge has none of these propensities, comes with metal sling swivel studs and a better than expected recoil pad. For these reasons, I think Savage Arms is going to sell a ton of these rifles. There is nothing out there that directly competes with it, much less a centerfire rifle built in Westfield, Massachusetts, USA.


That is quite an endorsement!


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

I "use" to own a NEF in .17HMR. Pretty accurate rifle, but it was a pain to reload , Why ?? You lose the view in the scope every time. Love all my Savage bolt guns. :O||:


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## Gee LeDouche (Sep 21, 2007)

I have had 3 or 4 NEF's and every single one of them has had ejection problems. The last one I had was a synthetic stock 223 and I had to run a cleaning rod down the barrel to knock out the spent brass after EVERY shot. It wasnt worth it, and I wont own another NEF ever again. It shot pretty well, but all the ejection problems were so horrible, it was a deal breaker for me. I picked up a Remington 700 SPS Tactical in 223 and it is a far superior firearm. IMO dont bother with NEF unless its all you can afford.


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

I have a Harrington Richardson which is the NEF handi rifle and it has a bull barrel and is chambered for .204 Ruger and it is by far the most accurate gun that I own. If I have a bench and a steady rest I can shoot golf balls at 200 yards all day long. The gun shoots great, but when I have a coyote running and my adrenaline is pumping like crazy I cannot shoot worth a fox in a chicken coop. I am now considering the same set up in .308 to pack around for the elk hunt.


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## reb8600 (Sep 8, 2007)

muscles said:


> savage edge review: http://www.chuckhawks.com/savage_edge.htm
> 
> for $100 more, id go with the savage/accutrigger combo.


The last Savage Edge I held didnt have the accutrigger. Did they change them?


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## muscles (Dec 13, 2009)

reb8600 said:


> muscles said:
> 
> 
> > savage edge review: http://www.chuckhawks.com/savage_edge.htm
> ...


No...the savage Edge doesnt have the accutrigger. I was saying that for approximately $100 more than an Edge, one could buy a savage .223 combo with an accutrigger.


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## gregkdc (May 19, 2008)

I have a NEF in .30-06 and the gun is a shooting **** (gives you what you want) when it comes to accuracy. I recently mounted a cheap simmons scope on it and using the remington core lock ammo I had it zeroed in at 150 yards with 3 shots. My nephew said that he had never seen a gun site in so fast. With some hunters the fact that it is a single shot is a source of pride because they can brag about how they only get one shot. That being said the break action can be a pain if you are trying to follow and animal after a missed shot. It's not that it takes that much more time to load it in fact I can work it almost as fast as a bolt the problem is that you loose your field of view and have to find the target again in the scope. Also although I have never had any ejection problems with my rifle I have seen quite a few people on forums that have. It seems to be an issue that plagues theses guns and either you get lucky or not when you buy one. Most people have a love hate relationship with NEF's and from what I can tell it is directly related to if they got a gun with ejection problems or not. So if I were to buy another one I would make sure it is from a place that I could return the gun if it didn't work right. However now that everybody has talked about the savage the way they have a new .308 is starting to sound really good right about now.


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## svmoose (Feb 28, 2008)

+1 more on the Savage. But get one with an accutrigger. I have a .204 and love to shoot it more than any other gun I own. It's accurate and awesome.

That being said, I believe marlin has a gun out now that is similar and inexpensive with a new trigger system. I don't know if it is available in .223 and I don't have the time to look right now.


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## drsx (Sep 8, 2010)

Thank you for the posts guys!


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

Now don't leave us hanging. Let us know what you get and a full range report.


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## drsx (Sep 8, 2010)

I will, but might not be for a little while! Just doing some research for now future.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

svmoose said:


> +1 more on the Savage. But get one with an accutrigger. I have a .204 and love to shoot it more than any other gun I own. It's accurate and awesome.
> 
> That being said, I believe marlin has a gun out now that is similar and inexpensive with a new trigger system. I don't know if it is available in .223 and I don't have the time to look right now.


+1 more for the Savage!!!! There's a point of diminishing returns when it comes to accuracy and money. Savage is right at the point of diminishing returns. You can pay a lot more and get a little more accuracy but there's no better value than Savage right now. And that's coming from a hardcore Rem 700 fan!


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## Gee LeDouche (Sep 21, 2007)

I would really like to get a Savage 10FP in 308. I really like that setup and think it would be a tack driver.. I've always loved remington, but for the price I think I'd go savage too.


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

I too "was" a Remington fan until about 6-7 years ago. A gun salesman that I used to work with talked me into a new SAVAGE. I was looking for a new Varmint rig and he talked me into a 10FPLE2A in .223. It was at the time a lot less money than a Remington and he kept telling me I wouldn't believe the accuracy. It was way different than what I was used to with a Choate skeleton stock. I know own several of the Savages. :O||:


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## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

Gee LeDouche said:


> I picked up a Remington 700 SPS Tactical in 223 and it is a far superior firearm.


Nice choice! I have the same rifle but in .308 and I love it. My first two shots right out of the box went into the same hole!



Gee LeDouche said:


> I would really like to get a Savage 10FP in 308. I really like that setup and think it would be a tack driver.. I've always loved remington, but for the price I think I'd go savage too.


A buddy of mine has a 10FP and it is a great shooter, but the stock is nothing to write home about. Of course, the SPS Tactical isn't much better but at least it is a nice Hogue stock. I plan to replace it eventually.


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## Gee LeDouche (Sep 21, 2007)

That Savage 10FPLE2A reminds me of the Howa Axiom. I'm still not sure how I feel about that. lol


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

My vote says stay away from the h&r and nef guns... While I like my nef .410 for what it is i borrowed my grandpas .223 and it was shooting 6 inch 3 shot groups. I thought it was the ammo since it was just bulk but after I got my remmy bolt gun and it's 60 year old scope I was shooting about a 1.5 inch group including my flyer.... And this was the same ammo. Maybe his is a lemon but I'm not impressed


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

mm73 said:


> Gee LeDouche said:
> 
> 
> > I picked up a Remington 700 SPS Tactical in 223 and it is a far superior firearm.
> ...


A buddy of mine has a 10FP and it is a great shooter, but the stock is nothing to write home about. Of course, the SPS Tactical isn't much better but at least it is a nice Hogue stock. I plan to replace it eventually.[/quote:67ai0vdh]
:shock: I have the sps tac in .223 as well and for what I spent I'm happy.

But the savage model 10 precision carbine in .308 catches my attention... I just dont want the digital stock


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