Howa Rifles?

jaughtman · March 12, 2010, 02:32 PM

Went with my elderly Dad two weeks ago to a gun show and he fell in love with a Howa (NIB) .308 they had for $299. Being the good son I am, I snuck back the next day and bought it to give to him next month on his birthday. I am not familiar with them being a Winchester guy myself - what did I buy? Good deal?

twice barrel · March 12, 2010, 02:49 PM

I know they once manufactured the bolt action rifles marketed under the Smith & Wesson brand sometime around the late 1980's. Model 1500 maybe?

As far as I can recall they were well made.

TB

taylorce1 · March 12, 2010, 03:06 PM

For $299 you picked up one helluva deal IMO. Howa rifle are very good rifles. Howa builds the Weatherby Vanguard, plus they used to make the old S&W 1500 rifles as well as some of the old Mossberg bolt actions IIRC. Very good rifle that should serve your father well.

Scorch · March 12, 2010, 06:58 PM

The Howa 1500 is the best kept secret in the gun stores. Very accurate right out of the box, they have a lot of the best features of the Rem 700 (bolt and barrel), Sako A7 (extractor and trigger), and post-64 Win 70 (magazine). I had one of the S&W 1500s in 223 Rem, one of the most accurate rifles I ever owned.

BruceM · March 12, 2010, 08:26 PM

The Weatherby Vanguard line of rifles was also manufactured by Howa on the 1500 action. My Vanguard .30-06 was very accurate but the trigger was lousy. Midway had a closeout on Timney triggers for that action so I swapped out the OEM trigger ass'y for $50 and that was a sweet cure for that problem.

Bruce

Abel · March 12, 2010, 08:40 PM

Howa is Japan made. Nice rifles. You did good.

drhunta2 · March 12, 2010, 08:57 PM

I had a great Howa in 300win-mag, I only sold it because I got tired of being punched so hard while shooting paper.

GallowGlass · March 12, 2010, 09:05 PM

Yes sir, you did good.Decent performing bolt & action. Whatcha gonna scope it with? Mueller or Nikko-Stirling.

jaughtman · March 12, 2010, 10:21 PM

Well, the old man has so many spare scopes lying around I will leave that up to him. He even remarked when looking at it that "man, one of my extra scopes would look great on this". Haha. I can see him now opening it up next month....

riverwalker76 · March 12, 2010, 10:30 PM

For $300 you did well.

Ben Towe · March 13, 2010, 01:35 AM

Had one in 7mm Rem Mag. (Howa 1500 Lightning Rifle). Loved it. Should never have traded it.

WeedWacker · March 13, 2010, 05:55 AM

I have a .308 20" bbl Howa M-1500. Stock and out of the box it holds a 1-1.5" group at 100 yds and not much more deviation in the MOA out to 550 which is as far as I've fired it. I actually seem to shoot it better at longer ranges.... To top it all off the three position safety locks the bolt closed (unlike a Rem)

The bbl is thin and heats up fast but it's a hunting rifle and should be shot cold. The Nighteater el-cheapo scope that come on it was decent enough (either 2 or 3-10x) but I had issues with it holding zero when using the parallax adjustments (probably not leveled properly). So I put a Burris Fullfield II on it and it's fantastic. The ballistiplex is accurate enough at 200 and 300 yards for no holdover.

The M1500 also has the same taps as Remington 700's apparently (or so the internet rumor goes) and I have this nice 20 MOA rail that I bought in anticipation of a Remington long range target build but I might go with another Howa instead if it turns out to be factual. Probably an Axiom in 7mm STW.

Crap, I started daydreaming about that and now there's a drooly mess all over my desk.

rshanneck2002 · March 13, 2010, 06:40 AM

Ive have had a Howa 1500 for roughly 15 yrs,first deer rifle and my go to field rifle in 30-06,since i have puchased about 5 other rifles from weatherbys,rugers etc.,i still cherish the howa for its out of the box accurasy from day 1 at my local range,will never sell or give up until i die. Try half in groups with simple remington core-lokt 150 gr. Do they have downfalls today,yes heavier than a tikka,trigger needed tweaking at first, and the 150 gr blows one huge hole on the backside of a whitetail if any bone is touched at all but have killed many deer with this rifle and have never had to shoot one twice anywhere from 50 to 300 yds. If anything today i personally believe 30-06 is overkill on your average MI whitetail and as i get older im becomimg somewhat sensitive to recoil. But sell? i dont think so, and ive had bad rifles that i sold quick, we all have,have we not?

rshanneck2002 · March 13, 2010, 06:49 AM

As a 56 yr old,it does my heart good that you treated your father and man HE will be surprised,i have 3 sons who i have bought all their starter rifles,its about time they bought me one,you should be proud,let us know of his reaction in the future.

DiscoRacing · March 13, 2010, 07:21 AM

i use this one every year to hunt whitetail

jaughtman · March 13, 2010, 09:48 AM

"As a 56 yr old,it does my heart good that you treated your father and man HE will be surprised,i have 3 sons who i have bought all their starter rifles,its about time they bought me one,you should be proud,let us know of his reaction in the future."

YEAH - I thank the Lord that I am now in a position in life I can give back to my parents - just wish it would have happened before he was in his late 60's. Haha. So, your kids still got about ten years to earn enough money to start giving you guns. LOL. I still have the starter rifle (30/30 marlin) he gave me when I was 14 so maybe we can both kill a deer this year with our "starter" rifles.

golfballshootr · March 13, 2010, 10:29 AM

I have one in .308, and for a "cheap" gun, it is very well made and shoots sub MOA with handloads.

For the price, it is a good deal, and for the deed, congrats to you and best wishes to your father.

weld387 · July 18, 2010, 01:53 PM

Mine is in the Houge Stock OD Green thin barrel. Placed a Bushnel 3200 tactical on it with cheap Burris rings. Broke it in yesturday with 20 factory rounds. Then pulled out my hand loads. My second set of hand loads were all that and a bag of chips.

165 gr Nosler green tip, Remington Brass, Br2 primer. 41 gr of IMR 4895, OAL2.775 and used my Dillion crimp die

(clover.5 MOA) at the 100 yard mark. I could not believe it when it happened. My spotter just laughed has he called the hits. This weapon was new in the box. I got it in a trade with a co-worker that wanted an old poodle popper I had, he threw in 350 bucks with the Howa 1500. The only other weapon I own that shoots better is my Remington 700 BDL VLS in a hi dollar stock 4lb trigger job with a Night Force on top of it.

Logs · July 18, 2010, 03:10 PM

My brother has a HOWA and loves it good shooters.

Mike38 · July 18, 2010, 04:21 PM

I’ve been considering a Howa 1500 in .223 for my son. He now punches paper with a NEF Handi Rifle. Does anyone know the rate of twist for the 1500? I can’t find it on the internet. E-mailed a couple places, no reply. I even asked two local dealers, and got two different answers, (1:12 and 1:14) and both looked like they were guessing. I would like to be able to load some rounds with 70+ grain bullets, but probably can’t if the 1500 has a slow twist like 1:14.

Colt46 · July 18, 2010, 05:17 PM

Great price and great value for an accurate rifle.
They tend on the heavy side for sporters and don't have the same kind of aftermarket parts/upgrades that remington or savage would have.

overland · July 18, 2010, 09:13 PM

I have a Howa 1500 heavy barrel in 223. Very good quality rifle. Well made, shoots great all at a great price. Smooth action, great trigger. Japanese quality.

BusGunner007 · July 18, 2010, 09:15 PM

I think it would be outstanding to give him an EARLY birthday present...

FALacy · July 18, 2010, 09:28 PM

I have one in 30-06 and it is an excellent rifle. The trigger is adjustable for travel and weight. Mine breaks around 2 lbs with no travel.

mitchell koster · July 18, 2010, 09:40 PM

As far as I have heard they have really good triggers (some gun stores say the best out of box trigger). Nice buy

March 12, 2010, 02:32 PM	#1
jaughtman Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2010 Location: Alabama Posts: 868	Howa Rifles? Went with my elderly Dad two weeks ago to a gun show and he fell in love with a Howa (NIB) .308 they had for $299. Being the good son I am, I snuck back the next day and bought it to give to him next month on his birthday. I am not familiar with them being a Winchester guy myself - what did I buy? Good deal? Last edited by jaughtman; March 12, 2010 at 02:50 PM.

March 12, 2010, 06:58 PM	#4
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	The Howa 1500 is the best kept secret in the gun stores. Very accurate right out of the box, they have a lot of the best features of the Rem 700 (bolt and barrel), Sako A7 (extractor and trigger), and post-64 Win 70 (magazine). I had one of the S&W 1500s in 223 Rem, one of the most accurate rifles I ever owned. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

March 12, 2010, 09:05 PM	#8
GallowGlass Member Join Date: January 13, 2010 Location: near the Pishkun n MT Posts: 69	Howa A-OK Yes sir, you did good.Decent performing bolt & action. Whatcha gonna scope it with? Mueller or Nikko-Stirling.

March 12, 2010, 10:21 PM	#9
jaughtman Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2010 Location: Alabama Posts: 868	Scope... Well, the old man has so many spare scopes lying around I will leave that up to him. He even remarked when looking at it that "man, one of my extra scopes would look great on this". Haha. I can see him now opening it up next month....

March 13, 2010, 01:35 AM	#11
Ben Towe Senior Member Join Date: March 6, 2009 Location: Middle Tennessee Posts: 1,128	Had one in 7mm Rem Mag. (Howa 1500 Lightning Rifle). Loved it. Should never have traded it. __________________ 'Merica: Back to back World War Champs

March 12, 2010, 02:49 PM	#2
twice barrel Member Join Date: November 11, 2009 Posts: 98	I know they once manufactured the bolt action rifles marketed under the Smith & Wesson brand sometime around the late 1980's. Model 1500 maybe? As far as I can recall they were well made. TB

March 12, 2010, 03:06 PM	#3
taylorce1 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2005 Location: On the Santa Fe Trail Posts: 8,242	For $299 you picked up one helluva deal IMO. Howa rifle are very good rifles. Howa builds the Weatherby Vanguard, plus they used to make the old S&W 1500 rifles as well as some of the old Mossberg bolt actions IIRC. Very good rifle that should serve your father well.

March 12, 2010, 08:26 PM	#5
BruceM Senior Member Join Date: March 12, 2006 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 285	The Weatherby Vanguard line of rifles was also manufactured by Howa on the 1500 action. My Vanguard .30-06 was very accurate but the trigger was lousy. Midway had a closeout on Timney triggers for that action so I swapped out the OEM trigger ass'y for $50 and that was a sweet cure for that problem. Bruce

March 12, 2010, 08:40 PM	#6
Abel Senior Member Join Date: November 26, 2006 Posts: 1,161	Howa is Japan made. Nice rifles. You did good.

March 12, 2010, 08:57 PM	#7
drhunta2 Member Join Date: January 20, 2006 Location: Rochester New York Posts: 70	I had a great Howa in 300win-mag, I only sold it because I got tired of being punched so hard while shooting paper.

March 12, 2010, 10:30 PM	#10
riverwalker76 Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2010 Location: Kentucky Posts: 993	For $300 you did well.

March 13, 2010, 05:55 AM	#12
WeedWacker Senior Member Join Date: December 13, 2006 Location: Body: Clarkston, Washington. Soul: LaCrosse, Wisconsin Posts: 1,591	I have a .308 20" bbl Howa M-1500. Stock and out of the box it holds a 1-1.5" group at 100 yds and not much more deviation in the MOA out to 550 which is as far as I've fired it. I actually seem to shoot it better at longer ranges.... To top it all off the three position safety locks the bolt closed (unlike a Rem) The bbl is thin and heats up fast but it's a hunting rifle and should be shot cold. The Nighteater el-cheapo scope that come on it was decent enough (either 2 or 3-10x) but I had issues with it holding zero when using the parallax adjustments (probably not leveled properly). So I put a Burris Fullfield II on it and it's fantastic. The ballistiplex is accurate enough at 200 and 300 yards for no holdover. The M1500 also has the same taps as Remington 700's apparently (or so the internet rumor goes) and I have this nice 20 MOA rail that I bought in anticipation of a Remington long range target build but I might go with another Howa instead if it turns out to be factual. Probably an Axiom in 7mm STW. Crap, I started daydreaming about that and now there's a drooly mess all over my desk. __________________ - Jon Disequilibrium facilitates accommodation. 9mm vs .45 ACP? The answer is .429

March 13, 2010, 06:40 AM	#13
rshanneck2002 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2008 Posts: 194	Ive have had a Howa 1500 for roughly 15 yrs,first deer rifle and my go to field rifle in 30-06,since i have puchased about 5 other rifles from weatherbys,rugers etc.,i still cherish the howa for its out of the box accurasy from day 1 at my local range,will never sell or give up until i die. Try half in groups with simple remington core-lokt 150 gr. Do they have downfalls today,yes heavier than a tikka,trigger needed tweaking at first, and the 150 gr blows one huge hole on the backside of a whitetail if any bone is touched at all but have killed many deer with this rifle and have never had to shoot one twice anywhere from 50 to 300 yds. If anything today i personally believe 30-06 is overkill on your average MI whitetail and as i get older im becomimg somewhat sensitive to recoil. But sell? i dont think so, and ive had bad rifles that i sold quick, we all have,have we not?

March 13, 2010, 06:49 AM	#14
rshanneck2002 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2008 Posts: 194	As a 56 yr old,it does my heart good that you treated your father and man HE will be surprised,i have 3 sons who i have bought all their starter rifles,its about time they bought me one,you should be proud,let us know of his reaction in the future.

March 13, 2010, 07:21 AM	#15
DiscoRacing Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: milton, wv Posts: 3,640	i use this one every year to hunt whitetail __________________ Desert Eagle Alliance Group Launcher Extraordinaire ______ ----Get Busy Live'n.....Or....Get Busy Die'n......Red -------They call me Dr. Bob,,,, I have a PhD in S&W

March 13, 2010, 09:48 AM	#16
jaughtman Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2010 Location: Alabama Posts: 868	"As a 56 yr old,it does my heart good that you treated your father and man HE will be surprised,i have 3 sons who i have bought all their starter rifles,its about time they bought me one,you should be proud,let us know of his reaction in the future." YEAH - I thank the Lord that I am now in a position in life I can give back to my parents - just wish it would have happened before he was in his late 60's. Haha. So, your kids still got about ten years to earn enough money to start giving you guns. LOL. I still have the starter rifle (30/30 marlin) he gave me when I was 14 so maybe we can both kill a deer this year with our "starter" rifles.

March 13, 2010, 10:29 AM	#17
golfballshootr Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2010 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 185	I have one in .308, and for a "cheap" gun, it is very well made and shoots sub MOA with handloads. For the price, it is a good deal, and for the deed, congrats to you and best wishes to your father.

July 18, 2010, 01:53 PM	#18
weld387 Junior Member Join Date: July 18, 2010 Posts: 5	I got a tack driver 1500 sport .308 Mine is in the Houge Stock OD Green thin barrel. Placed a Bushnel 3200 tactical on it with cheap Burris rings. Broke it in yesturday with 20 factory rounds. Then pulled out my hand loads. My second set of hand loads were all that and a bag of chips. 165 gr Nosler green tip, Remington Brass, Br2 primer. 41 gr of IMR 4895, OAL2.775 and used my Dillion crimp die (clover.5 MOA) at the 100 yard mark. I could not believe it when it happened. My spotter just laughed has he called the hits. This weapon was new in the box. I got it in a trade with a co-worker that wanted an old poodle popper I had, he threw in 350 bucks with the Howa 1500. The only other weapon I own that shoots better is my Remington 700 BDL VLS in a hi dollar stock 4lb trigger job with a Night Force on top of it.

July 18, 2010, 03:10 PM	#19
Logs Senior Member Join Date: November 26, 1999 Location: BLUEGRASS STATE KY USA Posts: 1,780	My brother has a HOWA and loves it good shooters.

July 18, 2010, 04:21 PM	#20
Mike38 Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2009 Location: North Central Illinois Posts: 2,710	I’ve been considering a Howa 1500 in .223 for my son. He now punches paper with a NEF Handi Rifle. Does anyone know the rate of twist for the 1500? I can’t find it on the internet. E-mailed a couple places, no reply. I even asked two local dealers, and got two different answers, (1:12 and 1:14) and both looked like they were guessing. I would like to be able to load some rounds with 70+ grain bullets, but probably can’t if the 1500 has a slow twist like 1:14.

July 18, 2010, 05:17 PM	#21
Colt46 Senior Member Join Date: November 25, 2002 Location: Campbell Ca Posts: 1,090	Underapprecitated rifles they are Great price and great value for an accurate rifle. They tend on the heavy side for sporters and don't have the same kind of aftermarket parts/upgrades that remington or savage would have.

July 18, 2010, 09:13 PM	#22
overland Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2009 Location: Outback of Michigan Posts: 244	I have a Howa 1500 heavy barrel in 223. Very good quality rifle. Well made, shoots great all at a great price. Smooth action, great trigger. Japanese quality.

July 18, 2010, 09:15 PM	#23
BusGunner007 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2001 Location: Upper Left Coast Posts: 2,116	I think it would be outstanding to give him an EARLY birthday present... __________________ "...if you're not havin' fun, you're workin'..."

July 18, 2010, 09:28 PM	#24
FALacy Junior member Join Date: August 17, 2009 Posts: 205	I have one in 30-06 and it is an excellent rifle. The trigger is adjustable for travel and weight. Mine breaks around 2 lbs with no travel.

July 18, 2010, 09:40 PM	#25
mitchell koster Senior Member Join Date: April 15, 2010 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 211	Howa 1500 As far as I have heard they have really good triggers (some gun stores say the best out of box trigger). Nice buy __________________ The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.