I don't think that K-Hornet is ugly at all. It looks functional and rugged to me. The Henry's look good to me, but my 45-70's stock was poorly proportioned at the grip area and did not fit my average size hands well. I'll bet somebody like R.J. Renner could do something attractive with it. I moved mine down the road.
Ugly is as ugly does! My first was in .22 Hornet, the second in .45-70 with a 22" barrel and black plastic stock. It was a shooter with that heavy barrel, and very powerful with preferred handloads. It was the best of the three, the last being another in .45-70 with the so-called "thumbhole stock - which I didn't care for. Also, it didn't have the ejector for the empty cartridge as the second had, but an extractor that didn't work very well with gloves on.
There's a pic of the second with the bear it killed in my latest blog on single-shots.
Just funnin' - my only other single shots are Ruger No. 1's and muzzleloaders. I've never owned a NEF but they seem like a very practical rifle and I hear they generally shoot well...
I think the "life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun" reigns high on my list,,,,, BUT if its a good shooter, and you plan to hunt in some nasty conditions I dont think any of the above are considered ugly.
Aesthetics play a role in gun selection for everybody, to one degree or another. Plus each of us has a different definition of aesthetics. Far be it from me to criticize another man's choice, even though I may secretly hold an opinion.
That said, life is indeed too short to own/shoot/hunt with an ugly gun. Define "ugly" to your own satisfaction and "to thy ownself be true".
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
I've had a few, none presently. The H&Rs were not pretty rifles... I had one in 20 gauge with a laminated stock thats pattern sorta looked like cat puke.
Had a CVA Hunter compact in .243 that was a fairly homely thing as well. And a SnakeCharmer .410 when I was a kid with that clubby pistol grip stock... that was probably the worst.