could this be true?

[Tom W.]

A friend of mine said that my NEF was turning into a collectable.... I find that a bit hard to swallow, but I haven't looked at the price of any rifles in a while....

[pietro]

.

Yeah, just like a Nash Rambler or a Beanie Baby........

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[Tom W.]

Well, if HE thinks so I have a 30/30 he can buy.......

[rking22]

Maybe in a hundred years,, and they will still be shooting them in 100 years too "wink"

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Wow! How interesting....I don't think that they are collectable, as to be collectable something is usually required to be rare or unusual, and they don't meet either criteria. BUT, one could certainly build a large collection of them as there are so many, many variations in caliber, length, extra features, etc. You'd just about have to build a new wing on your house to store and display them all. Great guns, for what they are.

[pietro]

I don't think that they are collectable, as to be collectable something is usually required to be rare or unusual, and they don't meet either criteria.

While it's not true, some folks think that ANY dis-continued item is now a "collectable", and suggest a premium for them when selling.

Using that criteria, Yugo's should be at the top of the classic automobile heap.


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[GOPHER SLAYER]

What is an NEF rifle?

[sawinredneck]

What is an NEF rifle?

New England firearms, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%26R_Firearms

[l h jenkins]

they have a "following" and the price has increased somewhat after being discontinued. some in desirable calibers seem to be selling in the price range of entry priced bolt action rifles. to each their own.

[GhostHawk]

I would not necessarily say they are collectable. Although I have been collecting them.

I have seen prices go from whole guns at 210$ right after H&R shut down to just barrels selling on ebay for 500$. BC or rare calibers higher.

If you have a .30-30 H&R or NEF for sale it is a sellers market.
People will pay whatever they will pay. For a stock rifle in good condition with scope mount I would go up at least to 400, and maybe higher.

I saw a .45lc BC barrel for sale here not long ago and if I had not been broke I'd of jumped at it for under 400$. IMO was worth every penny of that.

In the next year I fully expect to see good barrels, rare calibers break 600$ for just the barrel. And considering what it would cost to have you make that barrel, fit it to your gun, from scratch it is IMO not unreasonable.

I have a nice little stable of H&R guns. .223rem, 7.62x39, .300BO, 9mm (Stub job) .357 mag, .444marlin, 2 complete 12 ga single shotguns, and a 20 ga, and one parts gun that is just being a pain to get back together. Bought it dirt cheap with a broken transfer bar for the stock and barrel.

One of the shotgun barrels locks up on my .223 ultra like a bank vault. So I have that action and both barrels in a soft case with both kinds of ammo.

My .300BO barrel fits perfect on several actions. So I have the 9mm and a second 12 ga barrel setup on that frame with that kit in another soft case. Kind of a

Lately I have spent the most time playing with what are essentially moderate .44 mag loads in the .444marlin loaded in .444 brass. Some with cast, some with whack a mole style swaged .40sw brass with a 158 gr .357 bullet dropped in, and swaged in a .270 die with a punch and a hammer. Once I learned to use a lee .430 sizing die to presort the .40sw cases it works great. Small ones that drop through go back into the big box of .40 brass to be reloaded. Once that take a little pressure from the press are a perfect snug fit in .444 brass.

The .270 sizing die minus the depriming pin closes the brass around the lead locking it into place and forming a nice nose on it. Depending on exactly which .38 bullet I use I can get a couple of different nose types out of it. I have not tried them for accuracy yet. Its just one of those things I enjoy tinkering with. You reckon one of those would have the BATF scratching their heads?

[marlinman93]

People collect buttons too, but I doubt they're worth much. Collectable doesn't mean a lot these days.

[brass410]

I know a guy whos been collecting stuff for years he works for the city on a refuse truck....ha ha ha

[flint45]

Just say it is '' vintage'' and that adds about $200.00 dollars to the value ha ha.

[tim338]

One of my customers has a buffalo classic in 45/70 brand new in the box he has been trying to sell me cheap. Maybe I should pick it up. Might make good trading material.

[VA Jim]

Seems that anything that is half as old as me is considered "Vintage" now days.

[John Boy]

Prices on H&R's and NEF's have increased due to purchase by Remington who won't refit different caliber barrels to the SB2 action. There is a 'cult' following for the rifle because of the different caliber barrels that can be hung on the single SB2 action. Graybeard's Outdoors has a large thread devoted solely to the H&R's and NEF's, including how to trick them out ... http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/108-h-r...re-rifles.html
Collectible? No. Increased in value? Yes ... I paid $300 for the 45-70 Classic plus the 38-55 Target barrel fitted about 10 years ago. Now the 38-55 Target model goes for $300

[Tom W.]

Thanks. That was a straight answer, rather than some of the others. I didn't think that they were worth any more than I paid for it. I stayed away from graybeards when I was a mod there and had picked up a virus and ruined a computer......

[Buckshot]

..............When certain things disappear, or are no longer easily available the price ALWAYS goes up, because a late comer with $$ will pay a bit more for one. Without getting too far afield, and dealing with not only firearms, CONDITION is always foremost. You can buy a brand new Japanese produced M1886 for X amount, but is it a REAL Winchester? No it is not. You can buy a new Pedersoli 1886, but while true to the rifle, it is even farther afield then the Miroku is.

As America ages, the true American firearms are becoming more scarce. Time was EVERY young American male knew what a 1903 Springfield was, and could identify one in a pile of bolt actions. Same for a 1911 Colt or a model 10 S&W. Nowadays it seems most American males are only interested in the latest 'Black Rifle' by whatever definition you choose to apply that label to. And only God could tell who might have made it's individual parts, since a lot are a batch of parts from numerous manufacturers.

I go to the range with a Trapdoor Springfield and might have a couple people happen by who ask, "What is that rifle?" Since most are used to seeing a .223 when you hold up a 45-70 with a cast lead bullet in it, their response is usually astonishment in how big it is. They have no concept of where the rifle itself fits into things. What came before, or what came after nor what cartridges they fired. Many years ago I had a Turk M38/46 and a guy older then me asked me if I was shooting a Springfield. I was astounded but at least he obviously knew a Springfield was a bolt action.

In this day and age only the true cognoscenti can positively identify a bolt action rifle made post 1894. Even fewer can identify a lever action. To most a lever action of ANY make is a Winchester even if it's a square bolt Marlin or even a round bolt Marlin.Chances are it MIGHT actually BE a Winchester, but to name the model would have the same chances of their winning the lottery.

In this day and age with America moving father and farther away from it's roots, and from what I see happening at the range it's no wonder we're loosing so many of the firearms manufacturers we have been so used to for the past 100 years.

...............Buckshot

[marlinman93]

..............When certain things disappear, or are no longer easily available the price ALWAYS goes up, because a late comer with $$ will pay a bit more for one.

...............Buckshot

I'm afraid that's too general a statement, and not completely true. If a gun was popular and desirable when in production, then once production halts it does go up in value on the used market. But if a gun wasn't very popular, it takes years to begin to rise in value after production halts. And it may takes decades to surpass the original new price.