S&W 1500 questions...

[KarbineKrazy]

I found a S&W 1500 in .243 at a local shop for $319. I has a leupold Vari X 3x9 on it and is in pretty good shape except for a chunk of wood was took out of the end of the stock. At first that was a major turn off but then I started thinking about hacking it off and putting one of those pseudo black ivory tips on it.

Was the 1500 a good rifle? I don't remember if it had open iron sights on it or not, but the scope has gotta be worth a few hundred bucks!

 

[Art Eatman]

I had one briefly, back around 1982-ish. Good shooter. For that price, I'd grab onto it yesterday. Good used Vari-X IIs in 3x9 are going for around $150 or so.

Getting the stock fixed shouldn't be any big deal.

Art

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Very good rifle, made by Howa in Japan. We had one in the family chambered for .308 and it was a tackdriver.

 

[Waffen]

As dave said it was made by Howa. If I am not mistaken it is a Howa 1500 with S&W engraved on the barrel insted of Howa.

I have shot one in 30-06 and it is very nice. I wouldn't mind owning one.

 

[KarbineKrazy]

maybe I should trade my Remington 700 ADL over for it.

 

[JohnBT]

Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn't dump it if it's one of the good ones.

googled up at random...

"However, many of the groups put three shots under 1 ", and one group with Winchester ammunition put three shots into 0.30". Further, accuracy with the current Howa rifle we tested bettered that of the Howa from Smith & Wesson we previously tested by almost 1/2". We were unable to determine a correlation between bullet weight and rifling rate of twist with regard to accuracy, as the Howa handled all bullet weights with similar accuracy.

While the design of the Lightning retains most of the features of the Model 1500 S&W imported in the '70s, the addition of the synthetic stock and the notable improvement in accuracy make this gun worth a close look.

Copyright National Rifle Association of America Apr 1998"

 

[knzn]

I have the Howa 1500 in 30-06. Very smooth action and shoots fine. The Leopold would do it for me for sure.