Taurus44
Member
Today I stopped in my local Gander Mountain store to pick-up some CLP, targets and other misc. stuff. Of course, I can't walk into the store without perusing the gun section, so I handled a few handguns and then turned my attention to the rifles.
I'd really kind of made up my mind that my next rifle was going to be a Savage 10FP in .308 with a 24" barrel, but they didn't have one of those in stock for me to fondle. But, in the used gun section they had an interesting rifle, a Howa 1500 ( in .308 ).
I know that Howa used to build the actions for Weatherby's Vangaurd series of guns, but this particular gun was marked as a Howa 1500. It has a blued action with a 24" heavy barrel and a nice McMillan synthetic stock. The trigger was really nice for an out-of-the-box, "budget" rifle. I'd estimate it at 3-4lbs with no noticable creep or over-travel. The fit and finish was nice, and the price was even better ( $475 ).
I was informed that the gun was actually a new gun, but it was marked as used because it is "last year's model". Apparently Gander Mountain had purchased all of the over-stock guns from the manufacturer/importer, but since the price was significantly lower than the new model, they were required to sell them as used.
Instead of just buying the gun outright, I had them order a Savage 10FP and I put the Howa on lay-away. If the Savage comes in and I really like it better, I can transfer my lay-away money to the Savage. The Savage is significantly more money, though ( $625 ). So if I decide I want the Howa, they'll just put the Savage on the shelf and sell it to someone else.
I'm not having much luck Googling the Howa 1500, and I've found NOTHING on the actual model/configuration of this particular gun ( "Ultimate Varminter"? ), so if anyone has some info they could share, I'd really appreciate it.
As a side note: One of the guys that works in the gun department of GM shoots long-range rifles competitively. I've talked to him quite a bit, and I trust his opinion. He said he bought the identical gun in .22-250 when they came in ( This model is available in .223, .22-250 and .308 ), and he said he likes it a lot, especially for the price.
I'd really kind of made up my mind that my next rifle was going to be a Savage 10FP in .308 with a 24" barrel, but they didn't have one of those in stock for me to fondle. But, in the used gun section they had an interesting rifle, a Howa 1500 ( in .308 ).
I know that Howa used to build the actions for Weatherby's Vangaurd series of guns, but this particular gun was marked as a Howa 1500. It has a blued action with a 24" heavy barrel and a nice McMillan synthetic stock. The trigger was really nice for an out-of-the-box, "budget" rifle. I'd estimate it at 3-4lbs with no noticable creep or over-travel. The fit and finish was nice, and the price was even better ( $475 ).
I was informed that the gun was actually a new gun, but it was marked as used because it is "last year's model". Apparently Gander Mountain had purchased all of the over-stock guns from the manufacturer/importer, but since the price was significantly lower than the new model, they were required to sell them as used.
Instead of just buying the gun outright, I had them order a Savage 10FP and I put the Howa on lay-away. If the Savage comes in and I really like it better, I can transfer my lay-away money to the Savage. The Savage is significantly more money, though ( $625 ). So if I decide I want the Howa, they'll just put the Savage on the shelf and sell it to someone else.
I'm not having much luck Googling the Howa 1500, and I've found NOTHING on the actual model/configuration of this particular gun ( "Ultimate Varminter"? ), so if anyone has some info they could share, I'd really appreciate it.
As a side note: One of the guys that works in the gun department of GM shoots long-range rifles competitively. I've talked to him quite a bit, and I trust his opinion. He said he bought the identical gun in .22-250 when they came in ( This model is available in .223, .22-250 and .308 ), and he said he likes it a lot, especially for the price.
