The NEF R-92: a low- budget woods-beater if there ever was one.

The Hunnerd-Dollar Gun

In this day of semi-custom guns that cost over a thousand dollars, it is good to look back on a time when all we wanted was a dependable, accurate sidearm; something that would suffice for a hike in the woods, or a jaunt back to our favorite bass pond. For most of us, these recreational forays began when we were teenagers, and didn't have lot of money to spend on fancy hardware. We traveled light and fast, and a good, cheap .22 pistol was a much sought-after commodity. All it needed to do was work reliably, and be accurate enough to kill a moccasin, or the occasional squirrel that was dumb enough to get within range. If it did all these things and was still small enough to stow in a tackle-box- well, so much the better.

As is often the case, I wasn't shopping for a gun when I bought this one. I had stopped at THE COUNTRY STOREnorth of Clinton , MO to pick up some ammo for more serious purposes. While waiting to get "rung up" I was perusing their selection of fine handguns when this little nine-shooter caught my eye. Most people wouldn't have paid it a moments notice. There were some nice revolvers & autos in the case, and for once I had the money for just about anything in there. But I bought this little .22 instead. Why?

It took me back to those glorious times. Myself and a few friends spent a lot of time beating around the woods as kids, and there was usually at least one .22 revolver along on every adventure. Often it was a Hawes or Ruger single-action, but more than a few were Harrington & Richardson .22's. While they were never a source of great pride, they always worked, and shot pretty well. They could usually be had at a price that a country kid could afford.

I distinctly remembered an old H&R "Forty-Niner" that shot well enough to clip empty cartridge boxes with nearly every shot, at 20 paces. A couple of their "Sportsman" top-breaks had also proven accurate enough to pluck squirrels from the tops of ripe mulberry trees. In fact, my overall opinion of this revolver design has remained pretty high over the years.

Sadly, H&R seems to have made its last .22 revolvers about 1995. New England Firearms picked up production of some of their old designs for awhile but hasn't made any for some time, either. The NEF R92 seems to be a loose approximation of the old H&R 929. A few were even available in nickel, or so we are told.

So, while Jeff worked on selling me another nice, used Sig 220 , I wasn't being a very good listener. In fact, I wasn't even there in the store. I was 31 years in the past, heading up a dry creek bed watching for squirrels in the trees, and copperheads on the ground. The banter of potential customers eventually led him to more profitable pursuits than dealing with a 16 year-old kid, in a 47 year-old body.

I gave the little gun the ONCE OVERand it checked out just fine. Aside from a little pitting on the barrel, the rudimentary bluing was still dark. Now, THE COUNTRY STOREis one of those out of-the-way little gun shops that still has a big dirt pile out back, and don't mind if you try out a used gun before buying it. When Jeff passed by again, I begged a handful of .22 LR's, and headed out back. The little gun worked like a champ, and kept its shots in a decent cluster at 15 paces. All I could really find wrong with it was that it shot pretty high. I paid the man, and another one "followed me home".

A later trip to the range confirmed that the gun itself was capable of around 3", 25 yard groups from the sandbags, and that those groups could be expected to land about 9" above the point-of-aim. You wouldn't have missed a snake with it at eight feet, but it was too far off for any kind of real hunting. The factory front sight stood only .210 above the barrel, and would have to be replaced with something taller. I dove into my spare parts bin, in search of a solution.

I soon located a salvage front sight, off an old High Standard Sentinel. The profile was perfect for a snub-nosed revolver. The key that fits in the corresponding slot atop the barrel even looked pretty close. Its only liability was that it was about .030 thicker than it needed to be- but thats why Ace Hardware sells files. So I worked it down carefully, leaving it thicker than necessary to allow some room for windage correction. Once attached to the barrel with a drive-in fit, it stood .325 high. This should correct the elevation deflection with room to spare.

A quick trip to a nearby hillside proved me right, and it was now 6 low at 15 steps. This was just fine by me, because I wanted room to adjust the elevation by filing the front sight down until it was perfectly zeroed. I shaved a bit off the right side of the front sight while I was at it, hoping to correct the gun's propensity to shoot slightly to the left. A little more file work reduced the height to .250, and provided yet another excuse to go out and shoot the little popper.

On the final range trip I shot it rested over a range bag, it at 25 yards, and filed it in the last few thousandths to get it zeroed. Ammo used was Federal's bulk-pack, 36-grain Long Rifle copper plated hollow-point. These have proven quite accurate for me over the years, and amply powerful for small game hunting. I did try a cylinder full of Winchester s T-22 target loads just for grins, but couldn't see a lick of difference in the groups they produced. I think the little gun's long, creepy single action trigger would have negated any gain in mechanical accuracy, anyhow. I couldn't get through a cylinder without at least a couple of flyers, no matter how hard I tried. Where the gun really shined was at plain old plinking, and from a rest it was relatively simple to bounce empty cartridge boxes at 25 yards. Not bad, considering the gun's abbreviated barrel and rudimentary fixed sights.

I shot one last group for the record, still managing to toss a couple of flyers. They are visible in the photo below the gun's butt, and just outside the 7 to the left of it. The other seven rounds went into 2 ½ inches, in and around the bull. Would I take a rested shot at a squirrel with this little revolver, at 20 paces? You bet your best pocketknife I would.

It is noteworthy that about 300 rounds of various .22 Long Rifle ammunition have been digested by the little NEF, in both single and double action fire; it is dead reliable, and has never missed a primer. It can be counted upon to work when needed.

We can chalk up another accomplishment from little this exercise, but for those of you who grew up like I did, it won't be anything new. There has been a long and concerted effort by certain politicians to ban precisely this type of handgun, on the grounds that they serve no legitimate or sporting purpose. This only proves how full of fertilizer these people are, and that nothing could be further from the truth. You have the perfect opportunity to fire these charlatans when you go to the polls this November. Don't waste it.

Every law-abiding citizen, regardless of their bank balance, has the right to own a firearm. Little guns like this put gun ownership within the reach of just about anyone. Whether they ever take it hunting or not, is nobody else's business. While I don't generally recommend any .22 for a primary defensive handgun, they sure beat a handful of gravel and fingernails. This one will give you nine reliable, accurate shots without a reload, and serve admirably as a woods companion.

That's a heck of a lot of utility for a C-note, in my humble opinion.