Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Howa rifles: The red headed stepchild?

Let me know the results.
They say proprietary action, I say you can't hide the lineage.
As much as a Howa was based on the Sako, so is the Nosler with a few, very few minor alterations.
"That's my story and I'm sticking to it......."

That says A LOT for the Howa. FINE piece of equipment for the price.

Rear tang on the receiver, bolt hanger at the root, the bolt itself.
Shaving the sides didn't hide anything.
I'll guess the spacing on the action screws is 7.75 for the long action and 7.25 for the short. ( Howa long and short action. Sako has two more but I know it's not the very shortest one. )

Legendary Arms Works / High Tech Specialties stocks on a Howa 1500 changes the entire feel of the rifle. Definitely a worthwhile upgrade.

Tikka wins??? With a plastic magazine, trigger guard and bolt shroud.....I don't think so.
That is weight OCD to the max.
Wood, steel and leather. Rifle stuff......
Aluminum, plastic and fiberglass don't get lovelier with age.
It's like comparing fine wine to Kool Aid.
Aged cheese to Velveeta.........
Mauser to Savage Axis ( Ruger American )

Worn , anodized aluminum fllorplates and trigger guards don't look good to me. My Tikka 595 is 17 years old and has been hunted alot. The pastic magazine/trigger guard/bottom metal still look brand new. I also guaranee the detachable plastic magazine is a bunch tougher than a stamped sheet steel magazine or the thin aluminum floorplate on the Howa. I've had two Howas and still own a Weatherby Vanguard. My Tikka outshoots them all with ease.

That's why I'm trying to find a steel replacement.
Someone is overlooking a large market.
As for the accuracy, I can't comment on the Tikka. No experience.
Plastic just does nothing for me. Good looking or otherwise.

Synthetic parts don't bother me so long as they suit their purpose well. The Tikka's synthetic parts do. I inadvertently left a loaded Tikka magazine on the roof of my hunting partners truck a couple years ago. It stayed put till we were up to full speed on the highway and then I heard someting slide across the roof. I knew what it was immediately and turned around in time to see my magazine cartwheeling down the road at 60 mph. We immediately turned around so I could retrieve whatever was left of it. Amazingly I'm still using that same magazine and it still works perfectly. Aside from a few pock marks and a bit of road rash the magazine was undamaged and still structurally sound. Try that with a stamped sheet steel magazine and get back to me on which is "tougher".

I'd like to try an Alpine someday.

"Tougher" wasn't used by me.
Toughness had nothing to do with the question at hand unless you fall for the testosterone ads.
Take you plastic fantastics and lay them next to a quality Mauser, Ruger No.1, 1885 Winchester, Model 12 Winchester, Colt SAA......
I think you get my drift.
Everyone had their favorite whatever. I'm talking classic beauty that functions well.
In fact, if you were shooting a Mauser, Model 70, Ruger No.1, a magazine falling off a truck wouldn't even be an issue. Now would it?

I don't own Vanguard or Howa but have.

I have a T3 SS 270 Win, bought in 2003.

Where can you buy a Tikka for close to $300.00 ?


Incidentally, I have not had 1 part failure with the T3.
Also, I AIN'T buying any r A r or salvage --- period.


OTOH a Howa for @. $ 300 is brow raising !!


Jerry

I thought we were talking Howa's, not classic Winchesters and mausers ? The Howa hardly qualifies as a "classic beauty" in factory form. I like walnut and blued steel as much as anybody but performance wise a couple of my plastic fantastics leave the walnut and old iron in the dust.

It was and still is a conversation with some exceptional men about a subject we all enjoy.
Firearms.
So a few rabbits die in the process...... What's a little Hasenfeffer amongst friends?

My non classic Howa.. And it's non classic back up stock..... Oh for the want of a steel trigger guard.
Thinking of installing a forend tip and grip cap.

I've got a Howa 1500 in .270 that came cerakoted and in the Hogue stock. It shoots honest 1" 3 shot groups at 100 with 130 SST's and sometimes it does a little better. I've been debating on ordering a Manners or McMillan but I hate to mess with something that ain't broke... I've shot it to 500 with a bipod and it still hovers right at MOA.

This is good info and a lot of guys don't realize that the long action Vanguard will drop into a stock for a Sako L61R, AIII, or AV. Although the AV stock will require a bit of bedding at the rear of the tang.

I bought one a few months back. Found one in 6.5x55 at Sportsman's Warehouse for $295. My shoulder is just now getting good enough to shoot following my replacement surgery and I have cranked out a few handloads. I may get to the range this weekend. I fully expect it to shoot MOA. Mine wears the green Hogue stock. I am the exception here but I like it. It's heavy. The whole gun is heavy, but this will be a stand/shooting house gun, so the weight won't matter, and the rubberized stock is great for dampening noise. The gun doesn't feel like other bargain priced guns. It feels well made. The bolt is very smooth. The HACT trigger is pretty good. I am not a trigger snob, so this one will work just fine. Bluing is nice. The barrel floats in the Hogue stock. In researching some of the earlier Howa 6.5x55 rifles, they weren't accurate. Apparently the throat was too long. Howa listened and fixed that issue.

My non classic poor man's Sako. 6.5x55 Howa. 8.75 lbs.
If Weatherby, Smith and Wesson and Mossberg think enough of Howa to contract with them, they must be doing something right.
Stock bought here from a member.

That is some GORGEOUS wood.

Jerry

The depth of the throat may not be a problem in and of itself. I have some "Linda Lovelace" 308's that are quite accurate. The diameter of the throat has a bearing as well. If it's a close fit then the length of the throat becomes much less critical.