I'm thinking about buying my nephew a .223 he's 8 and a fairly small kid, so I was thinking about the single shot. What do you guys think? Good idea or bad idea for a starter gun. The shot would be around 50 yards and he has been shooting for about 6 months a piece of crap Rossi that won't hold a group for nothing. Any info would be great. Thanks.

Children need to be started out right. Most of the time that means making it fun for the little guy. Someone once said only accurate rifles are fun. Save a few more bucks and get him a Rem 700 in 223 from Walmart. Not much more but his enjoyment will be mega-fold. His will probably be just like Dads and he can keep it a lifetime. First rifles are special!!

Do you know how much they run at Wal Mart?

Thats not a bad idea, Thanks.

NEF's ain't the H&R's of old; they often shoot very well, and have decent to great triggers. Youth models are available.
But over the last 2-3 yrs their price increases are significantly more than other types, often approaching some basic bolt-action models.
At a good price, NEF's are a solid buy.

That's the first I've heard that about a Rossi. My NEF and H&R's do great.

Yea man I am pretty confident in my ability to sight in a rifle but after about 4 boxes of shells I gave up and sent it to the guys in Benbrook. Those guys are ex military and top notch shooters, they told me it just wasn't happening on getting a group within the size of an 10 in diameter. That's why I'm looking for another option, I have a buddy who has NEF .223 and man it shoots great especially for 175$ at the gun show.

My 204 NEF is a great gun and a great shooter. It has the bull barrel, and it will shoot as good as any gun i have. Just put good optics on whatever you buy, and enjoy.

+1 on the optics

We have one in 243 that just sits in the safe most of the time. It is a good little rifle, but my oldest son graduated to a 308 and my youngest isn't hunting yet. It's really accurate now that I found a bullet it likes, but it's picky about ammo. I also had a problem with hulls sticking, but polished the chamber and fixed that. They are good starter guns, but like somebody mentioned already, for a little more $$$ you can get a 700 ADL.

See what my little H&R 45-70 did? It does pretty good 1 1/2 groups at 100 yds. The only ammo I've shot in it is Hornady LE. Havn't tried any others yet.

Nice!! I've actually though about buying one in 45/70, they have one here at our little local gun shop. Didn't know they made them in stainless, that's pretty neat!!

IMO Rossi=junk and the H&R very good for the money. The smaller calibers seem to shoot well.

They don't make them in stainless anymore. This one was a present f/ my wife in 1992. It's the SB2 Pardner model. This one came in 270 and 12 gauge. I bought the 45-70 bbl just for this hunt. That's why the blue barrel. It's a shooter w/ the 270 also.

I have four of the N E and H&R's they are well worth the $, The best shooting one I got is the .223 it has a bull barrel and a simmons scope and I can shoot just as good with it as my AR.

Thanks fellas for the input. I think I'm convinced!

If you can locate one...pick up a HOWA in the .223. It comes in a YOUTH PACKAGE (scope/rifle combo) and is an EXCELLENT youth gun! It is a bolt action, very smooth, the same action used in the Weatherby Vanguards.

and very accurate. Their not the prettiest gun out there, but they shoot very well

If its anything like their single shot shotguns, it will kick like a mule.

Frisbie has one for sale in the classified pretty cheap !!

I have never owned one but have friends that have them and they ae accurate little rifles !! Dont think you can go wrong !!

You can fix that easily by adding some lead shot into the stock bolt hole under the butt pad.

Add a good recoil pad and you're good to go!