Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What to buy in a Budget Rifle

Zerk -

Japan has changed a lot since Hirohito and the Imperial Army and Navy sent their "postage stamps" into battle. I don't hold the Japanese people as a whole responsible any more than I hold white people responsible for the slavery and racial repression that preceded them but in which they had no part. It is easy to argue that many American goods are better quality because of foreign competition.

When I bought my Browning .22 Auto back in 1974, people told me I got screwed because it was after the switch from FN to Miroku and mine was Japanese. 43 years and untold thousands of rounds later and the only 'problem' is I've put some scratches in the wood. Dad gave me his Miroku-made Browning B92 lever-action carbine in .44 Mag. I've had it for about 35 years and the only problem is a spot of rust on the steel butt-plate, caused by Dad storing it where the butt-plate got scratched and damp.

The fact is it IS a global economy. If you try to buy a computer without foreign parts you will have a long wait - until one is made, if ever again. Same thing with cars and many other products.

When it comes to firearms, I'm going to buy quality and value. That may mean a new or used Savage or Ruger or Remington or 'Portuguese' Winchester or a Japanese Weatherby or Howa or a European CZ or Sig or Glock or whatever. What I will not do is spend my hard earned money on what I consider a POS just because it says "Made in America".

My S&W Walther had to go back to the factory because of a recall. t seems that if you used the decock safety with a loaded chamber, some would go boom. We all know the stories and many of us have seen the photos of Remington bolt handles coming off, but I've never heard of a Howa bolt coming off. I've also never heard of a Howa having the Remington FOR (Fire On Release) safety problem. My Mossberg shotgun was a POS from day one.

YMMV.