howa rifles

I have a 30/06 in the vangaurd. It shoots one in. groups with a couple of different handloads. A touch on the heavy side as a carry gun but a well built rifle, well worth the money.
 
I've done some stupid things in my life I will admit. The stupidest (is that really a word?)thing I have ever done was trade off a Howa 1500 in .22.250. Had the heavy barrel and gloss finish, but that thing would shoot like crazy. We're talking inch and a quarter groups. For TEN shots, any factory load, as I had no reloading stuff back then. I bought it in college for a prairie dog gun, but then could never get any of my buddies to go. Out the door it went for something more "useful". Now I am really kicking myself in the shorts. Never had a rifle like that before, or since. (Darn near teary eyed). I beleive every mfg has "good gun days" and "bad gun days" I almost hate to buy another cuz if it don't shoot as well as the first, I will be greatly dissappointed. Dipstick that I am, I am still trying to get the rifle I bought in august to shoot.

Good Luck

GJ
 
I bought one of the 15oo's for my sons 12th birthday and WE both love it. They are smooth and good shooters. I have rems and rugers and had a savage, none of which are anywhere near as smooth.
You can't go wrong.I think some of the guns new to our market will make an impact if the American shhoter will just give them a try. You might also look at the CZ's
 
Howa is actually not a new gun on the market. It used to be imported as Weatherby Vanguard. After Weatherby dropped this line, it was imported as Smith & Wesson model 1500. After S&W got out of the rifle and shotgun biz, it was picked up by Mossberg for a few years. When Mossberg got out of the long gun biz, Howa was imported by Interarms under its own brand name Howa 1500. Interarms then went bankrupt and now Howa is imported by Legacy. Lately Weatherby picked up its former Vanguard model and I see them at Walmart for around $300.

I had three Howas and they all could do 1.5" at 100 yards. They are certainly a great rifle for the price. Many shooters dislike Howa merely because of its Japanese manufacture and that exlains why it did not sell well under its own brand name. But ironically it sells just fine under our all American Weatherby brand name at our all American Walmart stores...... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Funny huh?
 
I have a Howa 1500 ultra light in.243, it shoots great, light, 20inch barrel easy to carry in brush, if I had a complaint it would be that you can work the bolt while it is on safety and since I hunt alot of brushy places I have to continously check my bolt to keep it in the closed position. That is the only fault I have with it and for the price I think it is a great rifle.
 
SAnVA
I am with you. I have lost shots because of brush partially opening the bolt. Apparently we are in the minority because most factories have gone to safeties that allow the bolt to be worked.

A while back there was a major recall by Remington to rework 15 years of bolt locking safeties to ones that do not lock the bolt.

Actually I prefer no safety on any firearm, but the bolt locking feature almost made the safety worthwhile.

Jack
 
A thought on the locked/not locked bolt handle. I like the S&W not-locked setup. Not fully trusting a safety, I carry the bolt in the up position, fully closing the bolt ONLY while actually on calling stand. I find this arrangement safe and essentially foolproof.
 
I picked up a copy of Predator Extreme magazine the other day that had a test article on the Howa Rifle. Ralph Lermayer says he' been a gun writer for 30 years and this is the first rifle he has tested that won't be going back to the distributor. He kept it.

He also mentioned that Howa has been around for a good while and used to build the Smith & Wesson 1500 and Mossberg 1700 rifles, and now builds the Weatherby Vanguard.

The copy he tested was in .223 but I am thinking of a Howa for my next rifle. Either going to be a .220 swift, if Howa chambers for it, or some small whizzbang cartridge. I already got my .221 Fireball so it will be something along the lines of a .218 Bee or a .218 Mashburn Bee.
 
I just put one together, stainless 22-250, pepper laminated Boyds thumbhole. Glassed, releaved stress on action, self-trigger job. Shoots 5/8" with 50gr. V-Maxs. A bit heavy, but holds good.
 
Just bought my first Howa 1500 ss bull barrel with pepper laminated thumbhole stock 22-250,first gun ive bought for its look.Not knowing much about the gun ,the list of comments above makes me feel a little better about my choice.Now need to find good load for it!Yoates and cats mainly.
 
Well, I'm glad to see many people who value a good rifle for being a good rifle not because they paid 1000. for it, I shoot a 7mm mag pepper lam thumb hole stock for long range deer hunting and bear, I use a howa 270 with blk syn stock for my "beater" deer gun for pretty much anything out to 500 yrds, and just got a new 243 with brn lam stock and just got done settin it up for yotes. I topped it with a Burris ballistic plex scope throwin a win. 95 gr ballistic silver tip at 3100 fps.
 


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