[aris_unlimited]

I've had this particular gun for about 6 months now so I thought that I would leave a review of it to let you guys know what I think about it.

I got the gun and was originally quite thrilled with it. Fit and finish seemed good, had a lightweight stock and a short barrel. Which was one of the reasons why I got it, that and a $300 price tag. Went out to shoot it and there were a couple of misfires, which I thought odd but I was using some older ammo so I figured it could be the ammo rather than the gun. Also the gun had to be snapped open (break open loaded) to open in anything close to a timely manner. Also a couple of times the ejector rod failed to eject, but close it again and open it and the problem was solved.

Before I had a chance to get new ammo for it, a buddy of mine heard me saying that the kick while not bad was a bit more than I wanted out of it, so he (being a gunsmith) decided to put a muzzlebreak on it for me for about cost.

2 weeks later I take it out shooting again. While going over the gun I noticed he loosened up the break action some so that all I had to do was hit the button and it flipped open (like it should have from the factory). He also did some work on the ejector rod and got that loosened up some. So I was pretty excited. Brought a box of 20 rounds with me (same old ammo) and while it misfired a couple of times it shot like a dream. Barely any recoil and from a standing firing position at 100 yards it hit exactly where I wanted it too every time.

About a month later I had gone around and found 4 different types of new factory ammo. Figured I would finally find out if it was the ammo causing the misfiring or the gun. Long story short, it was the gun. And it had gotten a lot worse. I dropped the hammer roughly 40 times and got about 10 rounds off. It absolutely hated Hornady TAP ammo and refused to fire it even once (although the ammo worked fine in my fathers savage). It didn't seem to mind the federal ammo and fired that the most often, although out of that ammo it still had 1 or 2 misfires.

Took the gun back into the gunsmith and explained my problem to him. He has worked on these guns a couple of times and had a couple of ideas where to look. He ended up replacing the hammer spring which did no good. Took out the firing pin and measured it agains a brand new one. It had the exact same measurements so he didn't replace it. He then looked at the hammer and noticed that it was maybe contacting the body of the rifle a bit when it came down, so he sanded down the edges to allow for a more direct strike.

He then tested the gun again. And had the exact same results. Gun would not fire for crap.

Read from this what you will. But my suggestion would be to avoid these guns like the plague . I have now learned from my mistakes and will not be buying anymore "cheap" guns.

[jerry]

I have a 223 handi. Only one misfire out of several hundred rounds (my hand load) may have had the primer set a bit deep or a bad primer. I have read that if you don't follow through completely on the trigger, all the way to the rear, misfires can possibly happen. As far as the ejector, they stopped that design a while back in favor of an extractor. I like it better anyway as I reload and can control the brass putting it in my pocket instead of picking it up of the ground. My trigger was initiall heavy and the action opened upon firing (wierd) I sent it back to NEF/HR/Marlin/Remington they fixed the problem and gave me a right nice trigger job. I'm now working on accuracy (these are not known as tack drivers) I'm getting minute of coyote accracy, approc 3" groups at 125 yards. My wife got me this gun, she got the package which comes with the house Marlin 3x9x32 scope. Itg's ok, but better glass may help. The scope rail has been reported to be an issue where it overhangs free on the barrel. Some people have bedded it. The stock touching the barrell has also been reported as an accracy issue, some people bed it or put an O ring on the screw attachment point to take some pressure off all together. The gun can be shot without the stock to se if it is affected. The barrel needs condisderable break in and some of the crowns have to be reworked I hear. I know, like you said, alot of trouble. I got mine as a gift, I will never be able to get rid of it. I like it, but have to work with a quirk or two. If I can kill yotes with it at 150-175 yards with an occasional 200 yard poke, I'll be pretty happy.

[Tha Dave]

I would send it back to the manufacture if it was misfiring that much. I have a NEF handi-rifle (same action) in .44 mag and have never had a problem. I was actually looking into getting two of those rifles one in .223 and the other in .308 as a wedding present for my at the time wife to be and I, but after the wedding got called off I canceled the order on the two rifles, the wedding rings and used that money to buy my Bushmaster M4. I have always wanted one of the H&R Survivor rifles in .308 though.

What kind of groups did you get when it did fire?

[texnmidwest]

Quote:       Originally Posted by aris_unlimited

I've had this particular gun for about 6 months now so I thought that I would leave a review of it to let you guys know what I think about it. I got the gun and was originally quite thrilled with it. Fit and finish seemed good, had a lightweight stock and a short barrel. Which was one of the reasons why I got it, that and a $300 price tag. Went out to shoot it and there were a couple of misfires, which I thought odd but I was using some older ammo so I figured it could be the ammo rather than the gun. Also the gun had to be snapped open (break open loaded) to open in anything close to a timely manner. Also a couple of times the ejector rod failed to eject, but close it again and open it and the problem was solved. Before I had a chance to get new ammo for it, a buddy of mine heard me saying that the kick while not bad was a bit more than I wanted out of it, so he (being a gunsmith) decided to put a muzzlebreak on it for me for about cost. 2 weeks later I take it out shooting again. While going over the gun I noticed he loosened up the break action some so that all I had to do was hit the button and it flipped open (like it should have from the factory). He also did some work on the ejector rod and got that loosened up some. So I was pretty excited. Brought a box of 20 rounds with me (same old ammo) and while it misfired a couple of times it shot like a dream. Barely any recoil and from a standing firing position at 100 yards it hit exactly where I wanted it too every time. About a month later I had gone around and found 4 different types of new factory ammo. Figured I would finally find out if it was the ammo causing the misfiring or the gun. Long story short, it was the gun. And it had gotten a lot worse. I dropped the hammer roughly 40 times and got about 10 rounds off. It absolutely hated Hornady TAP ammo and refused to fire it even once (although the ammo worked fine in my fathers savage). It didn't seem to mind the federal ammo and fired that the most often, although out of that ammo it still had 1 or 2 misfires. Took the gun back into the gunsmith and explained my problem to him. He has worked on these guns a couple of times and had a couple of ideas where to look. He ended up replacing the hammer spring which did no good. Took out the firing pin and measured it agains a brand new one. It had the exact same measurements so he didn't replace it. He then looked at the hammer and noticed that it was maybe contacting the body of the rifle a bit when it came down, so he sanded down the edges to allow for a more direct strike. He then tested the gun again. And had the exact same results. Gun would not fire for crap. Read from this what you will. But my suggestion would be to avoid these guns like the plague . I have now learned from my mistakes and will not be buying anymore "cheap" guns.

If this were a new rifle I do not understand why you didn't contact H&R about the problems. They have great customer service and would have corrected the problem. If a Used gun then I understand. I have a Handi rifle in 223 that I Picked up. Fires every time the trigger gets pulled.

[aris_unlimited]

Quote:       Originally Posted by texnmidwest

If this were a new rifle I do not understand why you didn't contact H&R about the problems. They have great customer service and would have corrected the problem. If a Used gun then I understand. I have a Handi rifle in 223 that I Picked up. Fires every time the trigger gets pulled.

This was a brand new in the box rifle. I sent it to a gunsmith closer to me because......he was closer to me. The closest repair center for this gun to me is california. Which means I can expect a minimum of a 2 week turnaround assuming they get to work on my rifle right away (which I doubt they would). Another reason is because I wanted to have the gun gone through so that I know it has problems rather than send it back to the manufacturer and have them tell me it's fine. And the final reason is, because it's a brand freaking new gun! I absolutely hate it when I spend hard earned money on something brand new and it doesn't work properly from the second I use it.

As far as I am concerned any company that does something like that, and allows it to leave the factory where someone like myself can purchase it. Is absolute garbage and I won't deal with them ever again. Assuming it had a minor problem, I would probably give them the chance to fix it and be satisfied. But the gun misfires 90% of the time (a huge problem to me) and it doesn't eject shells about 35% of the time. So the 2 BIGGEST things this gun is expected to do, it does poorly. Even if they fixed it, I would not want it now. I demand that all of my guns are 100% reliabe all of the time, and the fact that this one has been as big of a piece of crap as it has been tells me that it will always have problems. I will not waste anymore of my time on a lemon like this.

On the other hand. If anyone here feels so adamant that there is no such thing as a bad gun. Send me $200 and it's all yours

[Tha Dave]

I think you may have just got a lemon, what where your groups like when it did go off?

[aris_unlimited]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Tha Dave

I think you may have just got a lemon, what where your groups like when it did go off?

At 100 yards I was getting about a 2" group offhand standing. At 200 yards I was getting about 3-4" groups but that was in the process of sighting it in so it may have been better once I got it all dialed in.

[texnmidwest]

Quote:       Originally Posted by aris_unlimited

This was a brand new in the box rifle. I sent it to a gunsmith closer to me because......he was closer to me. The closest repair center for this gun to me is california. Which means I can expect a minimum of a 2 week turnaround assuming they get to work on my rifle right away (which I doubt they would). Another reason is because I wanted to have the gun gone through so that I know it has problems rather than send it back to the manufacturer and have them tell me it's fine. And the final reason is, because it's a brand freaking new gun! I absolutely hate it when I spend hard earned money on something brand new and it doesn't work properly from the second I use it. As far as I am concerned any company that does something like that, and allows it to leave the factory where someone like myself can purchase it. Is absolute garbage and I won't deal with them ever again. Assuming it had a minor problem, I would probably give them the chance to fix it and be satisfied. But the gun misfires 90% of the time (a huge problem to me) and it doesn't eject shells about 35% of the time. So the 2 BIGGEST things this gun is expected to do, it does poorly. Even if they fixed it, I would not want it now. I demand that all of my guns are 100% reliabe all of the time, and the fact that this one has been as big of a piece of crap as it has been tells me that it will always have problems. I will not waste anymore of my time on a lemon like this. On the other hand. If anyone here feels so adamant that there is no such thing as a bad gun. Send me $200 and it's all yours

Makes sense. I can see why you feel that way and we share similar views. I don't keep guns long that I can't keep functioning properly and if brand new they go back to the dealer quick as a jackrabbit!

[nathangdad]

you have a warranty problem and should have addressed it as such.

[Tha Dave]

2 inches standing off hand is pretty good. Wish I had the money I'd take it off your hands for you. I bet I could get her working, hope you can find her a good home.

[BigCaneSwift]

Friend of mine had the same problem with a Handi rifle in 444 .
It was the rifle. The firing pin spring was to weak.
Only fired certain brands of ammo.

[srt 10 jimbo]

Thanks, almost bought one in 45-70

[Tha Dave]

Just like any mass produced goods every now and then you are going to get a bad one that slips through the cracks. H&R (NEF) would not have been around as long as they have if all their guns were crap but saddly sometimes one will make it through and into the market. Dont hold it against H&R for one weapon being messed up especally when the first thing that you should have done was send it back to H&R to be repaired not taking it to some gunsmith who isn't a certified H&R armorer.

I'm not trying to belittle you or anything like that but I have to disagree with the way it apears you are carpeting this company. Other people may read this and say wow he had a bad experance and miss out on a rifle they they may otherwise have gotten many years of enjoyment out of.

This is my NEF .44 mag it may not be as high speed as yours but it has fired every type of ammo that I have ever fed it and I have no worrys at all that if a deer or anything else walks infront of me when I am carring that rifle will drop it on the first pull of the trigger.

[Tha Dave]

Quote:       Originally Posted by srt 10 jimbo

Thanks, almost bought one in 45-70

My point exactly

[SilverRun]

Sounds like you may have a headspace problem to me, but I am not expert. You could place a cratridge into the chamber past the extrator and see if it appears to go in the chamber too deep for the firing pin to hit it properly - might be kinda hard to eyeball that though. I agree that it should have gone back to H&R. Kinda late now that the muzzelbreak installed - if H&R does warrenty it and replaces the barrel, there goes your muzzlebreak. You may want to have it turned into a 30-06 or similar if it is a chamber problem... Good Luck.

[srt 10 jimbo]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Tha Dave

My point exactly

Your absolutly right Dave, I'll find out for myself. Already learned not to take peoples advice on guns.

[aris_unlimited]

Quote:       Originally Posted by Tha Dave

Dont hold it against H&R for one weapon being messed up especally when the first thing that you should have done was send it back to H&R to be repaired not taking it to some gunsmith who isn't a certified H&R armorer.

I actually took it to a gunsmith that is arguably the best gunsmith in this state. Being certified to fix things doesn't impress me because it doesn't necessarily mean you know what you're doing. Hell I had to keep taking my wifes mazda back to the dealer because they constantly told me nothing was wrong with her car. Not only did I know something was wrong with her car, but I myself (not being certified) knew exactly what it was (and I kept telling them what it was). 4 trips later they figured it out and fixed it.

The simple fact of the matter is, they have majorly, majorly, MAJORLY screwed me over. Wether that was intended or not doesn't matter to me. I have gotten sick of losing money to companies because they get lazy and I have to pay for their mistakes with my time and or money. You have good experiences with them, so you will continue to use them, and good for you. This being the only H&R I have ever bought, I have a bad experience from them and will never buy from them again. As that is my right.

I also bought a Taurus 1911 one time. Took it home took it apart and the barrel was machined in the most horrible fashion I have ever seen. Now I don't buy from taurus (that was my first taurus too). The simple fact of the matter is these guns pass a few hands before they ever leave the factory and as such should be in perfect working order.

I really don't care if anyone feels like this might just be tooo negative pr for the company. If they didn't want negative pr, they shouldn't send crap out of their factories.

[jerry]

The smitty may have been the best in the land, however, he did not have the means to completely replace the firearm if needed. Just thinki'n.

[Tha Dave]

"I actually took it to a gunsmith that is arguably the best gunsmith in this state. Being certified to fix things doesn't impress me because it doesn't necessarily mean you know what you're doing."



The arguably best gunsmith in your state couldn't figure out what was wrong with a single shot, break open, single action, rifle? That is probably not a good thing for your state. (LOL just poking fun) There are not very many things that can go wrong with these weapons, Firing pin protrusion, hammer spring, hammer shape and measurement and the measurement of the relief face inside were the hammers rests, would be the first few places I’d look and I’m not even a gunsmith. Not meaning to be rude or insult your intelligence but you did clean the packing grease out of the action right? You would be amazed how many times I have seen shooter have problems with their weapon and it needed little more than the action opened up and cleaned.
I do agree that there should be tighter controls on what leaves a factory but there is no getting past the fact of human error. I once shot a brand new Remington 700 chambered in 30-06 that no matter what we did and we did everything that we could short of hand loading, this rifle wouldn’t get better than about 4 inch groups off a bench. I think we can all agree that a Remington 700 should be able to do better than that, but not this one it turned out that the bore was over sized (.310 if I recall correctly), how many times was that bore checked? I would have to guess at least 2-3 times, instead of swearing off Remington rifles my buddy who owned the rifle called Remington and was told to send it back where the problem was fixed and the rifle was returned. I am sorry that you had those bad experiences but to boycott an entire company because one item out of hundreds turns out bad I have to disagree with.

[aris_unlimited]

I'm not boycotting a company because 1 item out of 100's turned out bad. I am boycotting the company because my item turned out bad. My experience with them thus far is negative.

On the other hand my experiences with remington 700's has been nothing but great, so I'll continue buying those .