NEF Pardner 12ga

[PapaG]

Bought a combo 12,_28 mod, 24 rifled at Gander years back for $250. Loaded Lee slugs down to about 1300 fps so I didn't get nosebleeds. Joke.
Traded it for a Savage 99 308 that wouldn't shoot much of anything.
Trade fever sucks.

 

[Micro]

I love the H&R single shots.

12 gauge full choke

20 gauge mod choke

20 gauge Tracker slug

 

[.45Coltguy]

My grandson started with the same gun I started with, the single shot Savage 220 in 20 gauge.
Single shots are light and nimble, and they make a hunter and shooter out of young Nimrods.

luv2safari, that second picture with the young man and two dogs. Would that be around the Owens Valley area of Ca?

 

[luv2safari]

luv2safari, that second picture with the young man and two dogs. Would that be around the Owens Valley area of Ca?

Near Yerington NV...

 

[Choctaw]

When I was ten years old my dad loaded me up and we went to the Western Auto in Olney, TX. He purchased a Savage single shot .410 for me which I still have and use 50 years later. Thanks, Dad.

 

[Hookeye]

Never been an H&R fan. Wouldnt mind a BT99 though....if i need a break open single shot

 

[Freudianfloyd]

I have 3 but never actually shoot them. The first one was my wife's first gun, a 20 gauge, the second one was a 12 gauge 3 1/2" with the worst camo pattern I have ever seen that was her worthless stepdad's, and the third was a practically new 12 gauge that I bought for $50 at a yard sale. I have had it for several years and I don't think I have even shot it. Only reason I bought it was for my kids to use if they wanted to go hunting.

 

[drobs]

Painful!!!

Two reasons I haven't sold my single shot 12 gauge.
1. It's buried in the back of the safe and I forget I own it.
2. Aguila 12 gauge mini-shells make single shot and double barrel 12 gauges a joy to shoot.

 

[luzyfuerza]

I have two that are buried in the back of the safe, too. Haven't thought about them in years, until I read this:

2. Aguila 12 gauge mini-shells make single shot and double barrel 12 gauges a joy to shoot.

Hmmmmmm...NEF/Pardner shotguns and mini-shells. Go together like peanut butter and honey.

What a great combination for brand new wingshooters!

 

[entropy]

Indeed. I keep a couple mini shells as spares in my trap vest (as well as regular trap loads) and bust clays with them at the 16, so starting someone out with a Trius trap right next to them would present no problem for the mini shells.

 

[wolf695]

H&R, NEF's are great shotguns for beginners and those that need a shotgun but not a shot thrower. Many farmers and country folk alike have one around for unwanted pests. I myself have a few, and two of the turkey ones! Both are camo, with the screw out choke, One 12, one 10 gauge. I don't use them much, as you know the recoil is a man's one! I always wanted to scope the 10, and use it for deer hunting. Glad you got yours! Have fun!

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Have had at least one H&R or NEF for 40+ years.

 

[Art30/30]

that was my first shotgun! Would ride the bus home from school, walk the irrigation ditches and cattails with my little brother shooting pheasants. We were dirt poor farm kids but man were we spoiled.

 

[481]

I'm a fan and am looking for a 20 gauge version. Had one when I was a kid and should never have sold it.

Oh, my, that reminds me...

Dad bought me a brand new H&R Topper 088 in 20 gauge in 1979 at a K-Mart when I was a kid in SE Iowa. There were times when I considered selling that gun to make ends meet and glad that I never did so. He's passed on now and the memories that just holding the gun brings are worth far more than its meager monetary value—it still looks great after all these years. It resides, well cared for in the gun safe, and will be passed on to my son long before I go as I want to see his reaction at receiving it and enjoyment from shooting it.

I'm truly sorry to hear that you've parted company with yours and hope that you've got other guns that hold such sentiment for you.

 

[Miami_JBT]

I read something once in regard to single shot shotguns.

The 1873 Peacemaker is often referred to as the Gun that Won the West.

The article I read said this was not so. It claimed the gun that won the West was the single barrel shotgun. Supporting this are the following facts,

1. Most settlers, during the period of wagon trains and after, were not very skilled with firearms.

2. Most settlers were not gunfighters and were looking to farm or ranch but they knew they needed a gun to hunt or defend themselves.

3. Most settlers had to put out a lot of money for other things they needed to start their life out West. A revolver was too expensive and a single barrel shotgun was the most affordable.

Surplus Civil War muskets were dirt cheap and turned into shotguns. Most settlers heading west as you said were on a budget. Shotguns also were useful for a large variety of reasons.

1. This was before the age of refrigeration. Food preservation was primarily drying, smoking, or salting. Meat was needed, but space was a premium on the wagon. As such, the settlers didn't bag a deer every day. They bagged small game mostly. Upland birds, waterfowl, small game like rabbits, etc.
2. The shotgun was capable of taking down large like deer, wild boar, elk, etc.
3. The shotgun was viable for self-defense.

 

[Miami_JBT]

Oh, my, that reminds me...

Dad bought me a brand new H&R Topper 088 in 20 gauge in 1979 at a K-Mart when I was a kid in SE Iowa. There were times when I considered selling that gun to make ends meet and glad that I never did so. He's passed on now and the memories that just holding the gun brings are worth far more than its meager monetary value—it still looks great after all these years. It resides, well cared for in the gun safe, and will be passed on to my son long before I go as I want to see his reaction at receiving it and enjoyment from shooting it.

I'm truly sorry to hear that you've parted company with yours and hope that you've got other guns that hold such sentiment for you.

I still have mine. A 20ga that my old man purchased in Miami, FL for me when I was six-years-old. Eventually, my kid will have it.

 

[shafter]

I read something once in regard to single shot shotguns.

The 1873 Peacemaker is often referred to as the Gun that Won the West.

The article I read said this was not so. It claimed the gun that won the West was the single barrel shotgun. Supporting this are the following facts,

1. Most settlers, during the period of wagon trains and after, were not very skilled with firearms.

2. Most settlers were not gunfighters and were looking to farm or ranch but they knew they needed a gun to hunt or defend themselves.

3. Most settlers had to put out a lot of money for other things they needed to start their life out West. A revolver was too expensive and a single barrel shotgun was the most affordable.

The shotgun may have been the gun that fed the west but rangers and soldiers who dealt with the natives weren't using single shot shotguns and neither were the lawmen or anyone else who was dealing directly with violence so I'd argue that it's a bit of a stretch to make the case that shotguns "won" the west.

 

[.45Coltguy]

The shotgun may have been the gun that fed the west but rangers and soldiers who dealt with the natives weren't using single shot shotguns and neither were the lawmen or anyone else who was dealing directly with violence so I'd argue that it's a bit of a stretch to make the case that shotguns "won" the west.

There were probably a combination of guns that "won the West" during that period. Tough world back then.

 

[Cvans]

My Ancestors carried both on the Oregon trail. Both were muzzle loaders and both are still in the family. I would venture a guess that one was just as important as the other.

 

[GRIZ22]

The shotgun may have been the gun that fed the west but rangers and soldiers who dealt with the natives weren't using single shot shotguns and neither were the lawmen or anyone else who was dealing directly with violence so I'd argue that it's a bit of a stretch to make the case that shotguns "won" the west.

I think one wouldn't be hard pressed to find situations where settlers used whatever firearm they had to defend themselves.

No.doubt those who dealt with violence on a regular basis were armed with more than shotguns. However, the need to eat on a daily basis by settlers who were waiting for their first crop to come in or first herd to be brought to market depended on shotguns to hunt small game as a previous poster noted.

Whilst fighting outlaws and savages was a concern at the time having something to eat on a regular basis was more of a concern for most folks.

YMMV

 

[shafter]

I think one wouldn't be hard pressed to find situations where settlers used whatever firearm they had to defend themselves.

No.doubt those who dealt with violence on a regular basis were armed with more than shotguns. However, the need to eat on a daily basis by settlers who were waiting for their first crop to come in or first herd to be brought to market depended on shotguns to hunt small game as a previous poster noted.

Whilst fighting outlaws and savages was a concern at the time having something to eat on a regular basis was more of a concern for most folks.

YMMV

You are absolutely right. Weapons of all kinds including many shotguns were used to feed people and even defense but that was something everyone did all across the country since most people still lived rural even back east. The real "winning" was making it safe and moving a whole race of people off of it.

 

[Buckeye63]

Just something about this little 12ga I love.
Simplicity and just fun to shoot. Had this gun for many moons. Gave $79 for it when it came out. Never had an issue with it. I'll say shooting slugs out of it ain't fun though.
Any one else a single shot or NEF fan?

Have one in the safe … Owned a 16ga , my Dad bought fir me in 76 , I do believe.. over the years I have owned NEF’s & H&R’s … but I have a 12ga at this time .. my Turkey gun

 

[Miami_JBT]

The shotgun may have been the gun that fed the west but rangers and soldiers who dealt with the natives weren't using single shot shotguns and neither were the lawmen or anyone else who was dealing directly with violence so I'd argue that it's a bit of a stretch to make the case that shotguns "won" the west.

In the grand scheme of things, it was settlers who won the west by carving civilization out of wilderness. The Army and the Law was a very small part. It was the hundreds of thousands to millions of people who built towns, homesteads, farms, railheads, and businesses.

The shotgun was the most popular gun for that. And a lot of lawmen carried shotguns too.

 

[Miami_JBT]

My Ancestors carried both on the Oregon trail. Both were muzzle loaders and both are still in the family. I would venture a guess that one was just as important as the other.

Cap 'n ball revolvers were dirt cheap after the Civil War. If folks owned handguns, it was more common for them to own an affordable cap 'n ball or a small pocket sized piece.

Francis Bannerman basically purchased the entire government's inventory of Remington New Army models for pennies on the dollar brand mew and was flipping 'em well into the turn of the 20th Century for cheap.

 

[Miami_JBT]

You are absolutely right. Weapons of all kinds including many shotguns were used to feed people and even defense but that was something everyone did all across the country since most people still lived rural even back east. The real "winning" was making it safe and moving a whole race of people off of it.

The Army and the Law didn't do that alone. Never ending numbers of settlers from the east pouring in by the millions did it. The Natives were outnumbered, devastated by disease/conflict, and for the most part were a broken people before the Census Bureau declared the closing of the frontier in 1890.

The later Indian Wars were for the most part, yhe last gasps of the natives trying to hang-on to their old ways. Heck, the last "official" Indian War battle was fought during WWI.