N.E.F. stands for “New England Firearms”, and for our purposes identifies a certain starter pistol that I’ve used as the working mechanism for the majority of my blank-firing replicas. New England Firearms was a trademark of H & R Firearms Company, so the starter pistols may be marked “NEF” or “H&R 1871”.
NEF’s have long been recognized as the finest starter pistols ever made. The very rugged yet simple construction give them unsurpassed reliability and survivability under the harshest field conditions. For the same reason, I have depended on them when we built our blank-firing replicas. Actors are notoriously hard on any prop with moving parts, and half of my business would’ve disappeared if I hadn’t had these little workhorses providing the sound and fury. No other starter pistol can take its place (believe me, I tried).
In 2000, H & R was sold to Marlin Firearms. Then in 2007, Marlin was bought up by Remington.
Unfortunately, Remington had no interest in continuing production of these .22 and .32 caliber beauties. They quickly ceased production of these models in 2007, including parts, and have no plans to ever start again. Up until 2010 they maintained a shop that made repairs to NEF’s, using the last leftover parts. By October of that year they ran out of parts, and ceased providing this service altogether.
It may be possible to find a local gunsmith who is willing to fabricate a necessary part and get your broken NEF to work again. But for the most part once these break-down, they are irreparable and irreplaceable. On the plus side, they are so much more reliable than anything on the market that if you clean and oil your pistol, it should last your lifetime.