reggiegun Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Hi, Looking at a Howa rifle in 243, for use on fox's and occasional roe, any advice on model and stock type required. Also are they a good rifle long term? Reggiegun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat g Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 I have a Howa 1500 sporter in blue. Value for money mate tbh. At the end of the day they are made in Japan and manufacture for Weatherby. Mine is also in 243 which i got for exactly the same reasons as you intend to use yours for. Fox and occasional Roe . My particular rifle is fitted with the Hogue overmoulded rubber stock which is ideal for field use. Non slip and ding resistant. Highland outdoors who are the importer of Howa rifles have what they call it a "Dream it build it" thing. That basically means you pick your calibre, then your barrel choice (sporter or heavy barrel varmit) then choose your stock and away you go. Simple as. Ok they are not up to the quality of Say Sako or perhaps Tikka but they offer exceptional value for money. I did invest in a Game Reaper one piece mount which is available through Highland Outdoors which is worth it IMO. It screws directly onto the reciever for a solid no nonsense mount. All in all a good alround rifle. Much the same as CZ's really. Hope this helps ATB, Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikka.223 Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 (edited) quote name='pat g' timestamp='1339262086' post='1809423'] I have a Howa 1500 sporter in blue. Value for money mate tbh. At the end of the day they are made in Japan and manufacture for Weatherby. Mine is also in 243 which i got for exactly the same reasons as you intend to use yours for. Fox and occasional Roe . My particular rifle is fitted with the Hogue overmoulded rubber stock which is ideal for field use. Non slip and ding resistant. Highland outdoors who are the importer of Howa rifles have what they call it a "Dream it build it" thing. That basically means you pick your calibre, then your barrel choice (sporter or heavy barrel varmit) then choose your stock and away you go. Simple as. Ok they are not up to the quality of Say Sako or perhaps Tikka but they offer exceptional value for money. I did invest in a Game Reaper one piece mount which is available through Highland Outdoors which is worth it IMO. It screws directly onto the reciever for a solid no nonsense mount. All in all a good alround rifle. Much the same as CZ's really. Hope this helps ATB, Pat Wouldnt rate them anywhere near a CZ,in my opinion a CZ would be the better rifle. Edited June 9, 2012 by tikka.223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat g Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Hmmmmm, why's that then Tikka 223. When i say much the same as a CZ i mean as a good workhorse which a CZ is as is a Howa IMO Had i been able to justify the cost i would have bought a Sako but the Howa does what i need it to do ATB, Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodydog Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 I have 2 Howas 223 and 243, had the 223 for the last 4 years and the 243 for halve that both with Wildcat p8 mods never had any problems with either and both shoot very small groups. The Weatherby Vanguard is the same gun as the 1500 Howa and i dont here many people slate them. Woodydog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat g Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I have 2 Howas 223 and 243, had the 223 for the last 4 years and the 243 for halve that both with Wildcat p8 mods never had any problems with either and both shoot very small groups. The Weatherby Vanguard is the same gun as the 1500 Howa and i dont here many people slate them. Woodydog. Aye i think they're a good rifle. Fairly well made as well. Quite happy with mine as i'm sure you are with both of yours Got to be decent if you've gone out and bought another one . Each to their own i suppose but i would certainly put them on par with a CZ, would'nt you , Cheers Woodydog ATB, Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodydog Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 I have Four CZ's and am very happy with them, the Howa's are very good for the money, you can put a mag system on it has a three way safety and the choice combinations to build what you want is very large, also i hear that some use the actions for custom builds so what s not to like. Woodydog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustFieldsports Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Had a very similar conversation with a gunsmith a couple of weeks ago. From what I remember/understand: Howa is great value for money, and you can get some great packages (good scope and mod) for very little money. But they are mass produced as you would expect and are generally unremarkable for it. Next step up the scale appears to be a Tikka T3 and then Sako (Again, I think I remember being told that the Tikka uses Sako barrels). CZ's also came into the mix but I can't for the life of me remember the pros and cons! Sorry. A friend of mine DID buy a Howa package last week, but I've yet to hear any reports back on it. Graeme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ging125 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 (edited) Hi Bought a HOWA 1500 243win couple of months ago. £650 blued sporter with hogue stck, nikko stering 3-12x56 pic rail and mounts and magazine coversion from northallerton shooting supplies. Very pleased with it so far, replaced the scope with a S&B 8x56. Its my first cf rifle and cant complain. Getting 1.5inch groups @100yd, to be honest it's me that's the problem with accuracy, not the gun. No complaints yet as such but think i may need to trim the stock slightly as barrel touches it on ocassion. I would recommend it to you! excellent value for money!! Just need to blood it now! Edited June 11, 2012 by ging125 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry31 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Take a look at a titan t6 a much better gun but at a very reasonable price also the after sales from ruag is second to non Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodydog Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 The o/p asked a question about the Howas not Rws or t3 or even mass produced guns most guns are produced in large numbers, how many people who have posted on this question have a howa or had one in the past.Woodydog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry31 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 O dear I was only offering an opinion I didn't mean to offend any shooter. Your are quite right most guns are mass produced by many manufactures Howa included I dont own a Howa but my shooting buddy had one and we did quite alot of work on it to make it shoot better which I may add is now very impressive when using Winchester ammo in 6.5x55 cal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaedra1106 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) I just bought a Howa 1500 in .308, had me tearing what's left of my hair out for a weekend as none of my ammo would fit, couldn't close the bolt even on full length sized empty cases!. The ammo all fits in my Steyr without a problem, I even bought a different set of dies (RCBS) and it's the same with them. After various shenannigans and a trip to mt local gunsmith he decided that the chamber was really tight, right on the edge of a no-go gauge. I did manage to get a round of Wolf factory ammo and that loaded OK. In the end he took 20thou off the bottom of my FL die to allow a full extra turn if needed to bump the shoulders back, a 1/4 turn was all that was needed. I now have 2 choices, take it back to the shop and have it sent away for God knows how long and with what result or use it as is, as my gunsmith said, a tight chamber can be a good thing and as it passes the no-go gauge it's within spec. Edited June 12, 2012 by phaedra1106 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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