straight dope on Howa??

[Detritus]

been steered toward a Howa as a possible "good for what you pay" rifle. adn i like the looks of them so far. but.....

I wanna know more about them. so far all i know is that the one i looked at is the same action as a Weatherby "vanguard" but i've heard two different stories about this (one says the Vanguard is a Howa with a Weatherby rollmark. the other says Howa is a offshoot of Weatherby, personally i'm betting ont eh first story ) when i tried to find more information all i got was the Legacy Sports International website adn it isn't of any help in this regard. :banghead:

so are they ALL made in japan?? (the vanguard and the Howa i saw today both were)

how long they been around??

in other words give me what you got??

thank you for your time and any enlightenment you can share.

 

[Beer Drinker]

Howa, out of Japan, has always made the Vanguard action. They have previously manufactured them for Mossberg and Smith & Wesson under different names. It was just never marketed under Howa's name. The only differences in the current Howa 1500 and Weatherby Vanguard are:
1. 2" longer barrel on Vanguard
2. 3 gas ports in bolt of Vanguard (Weatherby favorite)
3. Bolt shrouded on Vanguard
It's all marketing. Vanguard has Weatherby stamped on the side, Howa doesn't. For almost $100 cheaper, Howa is a steal.

 

[Detritus]

thanks for the info

kinda figured it was SOMETHING like that

 

[Detritus]

one more thing, forgot to ask

If i bought a Howa in a "sporter" config, how accurate (ie group size estimate) could i expect it to be "out of the box" ??

see i'm wanting the gun for use as a "hunter class" High power Silhouette gun, adn while i have the facilities to work up a good handload for accuracy, i don't really have the time, paitence, or tools/knowlege, to tinker with the gun itself (ie glass bed etc)

i know that i can get a savage that would turn out good enough groups. the lead on Howa i received was in response to asking about prices on new savages, i've been please with the on's i've had but they had to be sold off int eh past few years for varyign reasons.

 

[wun_8_seven]

i have 2 howas a 308 & a 243. both are great shooters. the guy i bought the 308 froms 15 year old son shoot 3- .5" groups with it at 200yrds. 187

 

[Weaps]

For what it is worth, my (father's) Howa in the guise of a Smith and Wesson 1500 in .270 will do this:

at 100 yards from a bench. This is a > 20 year old rifle which has had nothing done to it, factory ammo, and my shoulder screaming at me to quit and go home.

 

[cratz2]

I have the Ultralight in 243 and have shot a 22-250 Varminter and both had me very impressed. Again, I hate to give accuracy recommendations but would feel completely confident in saying there is no reason for the Howa to be any less accurate than any of the other cookie-cutter rifles out there today. Savage might have a slight advantage but I really don't think that Ruger, Winchester or Remington are any more accurate than the Howas and at the price, they obviously can't even compete.

Triggers, stocks are good out of the box which is something that can't be said of many competing rifles. I think the Howas, esp if you're looking at a carry weight rifle, are the best value today.

 

[Jagermeister]

I have the same action in a Smith & Wesson 1500, .243 cal(vanguard) on a Silhouette, custom stock, and bedded. It will produce 1/4" MOA at a hundred yards, machine benched, and cold shots. You bet, it will shoot accurately. You must however marry the ammunition to the guns. Different mfg's and loads will shoot different groups.

JM

 

[Doc]

hmmmm another brand of rifle.

Never even seen one.
Is there an online catalog? Reliable vendors?

 

[Detritus]

Is there an online catalog? Reliable vendors?

Howa is imported By Legacy Sports International, adn there is a typical on-line catalog and "stocking dealer" listing on the website

so far this is about the only on-line info source for Howas i've found

 

[Wil Terry]

I have been shooting a DIXON-HOWA GOLDEN BEAR 30/06 rifle

since 1967.
It shoots great with very high velocities.

 

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

woooooo.......

The online catalog from Legacy sports tells that they make it in 6.5x55. Barrelled actions too.

So much for a lack of a summer project.


wheeeeee!



Regards

Rabbit.

"If we could just get everyone to close their eyes and visualize world
peace for an hour, imagine how serene and quiet it would be until
the looting started..."

 

[106rr]

Terry;
I have read that the D-H Golden Bear was a high quality reproduction of a Sako long action made by Howa. I wondered if they were made in calibers other than 30-06? Also do you know how many were made before production stopped on that model?

 

[BHP9]

The Howa company has built many quality firearms over the years and the Howa bolt guns are very good ones.

Although Frank Dehaas who wrote the book called "Bolt Action Rifles" says the Howa has a long lock time as long as the 98 Mauser. I personally see this as an advantage not a disadvantage. Practically speaking I would rather have a rifle like the Howa or 98 Mauser that has a super reliable ignition systm as opposed to the more modern speed lock mechanisms found in so many of todays guns that are not as reliable when the conditions become severe such as Artic cold or an accumulation of debrie from powder or dirt in the action.

Good follow through is basic 101 marksmanship and the slightly slower lock time makes not a wit of difference to the trained rifleman or the recreational shooter shooting from a solid rest.

A colleague of mine once built up a national match rifle on one of his Howa rifles that had detachable mags. He cleaned house in many of the matches both in rapid fire and in slow fire long range (600 yards). This alone proved how good the Howa really was and also proved that the slower lock time made not a wit of difference to a trained and skilled shooter. He also had the guarentee that this rifle would fire no matter how dirty or cold it became.

There was a recall though on Howa rifles recently but it had to do with improper assembly of the bolt. Not properly assembling it could result in injury according to the recall if I remember all of this correctly. A modification was worked out to correct the problem.

By the way Howa made AR 18 semi-auto rifles also have outstanding workmanship and have become as desirable as the original Ar18's that were once made in the U.S.

 

[Wil Terry]

106RR,

Yep, the DIXON-HOWA GOLDEN BEAR was a copy of the SAKO FINNBEAR, and a damn fine copy it is/was. There were two versions just like the FINNBEAR, a plain Jane and a fancy version with all the trimmings. Mine is the latter version which far outsold the plain one near as I can call it.
Never saw any calibers but 30/06. I have no clue as to how many were made for DIXON by HOWA but it put the HOWA MACHINE COMPANY on the map.

 

[106rr]

Terry,
Thanks for the fast reply, I know you're busy. I've been looking for a Golden Bear for a few years, they are hard to find.

 

[SteelyDan]

I think I've seen them at Wal-Mart, but can't be positive.

 

[Detritus]

I think I've seen them at Wal-Mart,

not gonna say for absolute sure, but USUALLY those are the Weatherby Vanguards. as stated by Beer Drinker, It's the same basic action with the addition of 2 inches of barrel, 3 gas ports, a shrouded bolt, and a Rollmark. and for some reason the "Wally-worlds" around here seem to only cary long action Magnums..... and what with the Howa in .308 (the caliber i want) being about $90 less. me thinks i'll go with Academy

 

[Airwolf]

Anyone in the PRK, Turners is having a sale on Howa 1500 Lightnings starting tommorow.

http://www.turners.com/engage/displ...May&d1=01&d2=07&img=ads/05-01-03/howa1500.gif

After reading this thread and doing some research I think I'm going drop by and and take a hard look at one.

 

[Detritus]

Glad i don't live in CA! that regular price they list is about what i've seen the Weatherby marked ones go for!! That Sale price is more along the lines of "normal" for a Howa around here (texas gulf coast)

 

[Airwolf]

To the Democratic Peoples Republic of Kalifornistan the idea of a business selling guns is as palatable as a sewage leak at a 5 star restaurant.

I'm happy that places like Turners aren't afraid to do what they must to stay in business and give the Caliban sleepless nights.

I do wish we didn't have to pay so much for the privilege of owning guns. According to our treasonous AG the Second Amendment doesn't have anything to do with individual rights, only those of the State.

Oh, and California doesn’t have an RKBA clause in its Constitution (but there is one guaranteeing the Right to FISH).

 

[Detritus]

i understand fully...


the government of CA's stand against Constitutional rights that don't "agree with their aesthetics(sp?)", plus the outrageous cost of living (in at least the majority of the places in CA i've seen) compared to every other place i've been. are the reasons that, during a discussion of places we might want to move to should opportunity strike, CA was almost instantly struck from the list of possibilities. Along with deciding that for the most part we'd be hard pressed to find a suitable place outside of the US (switzerland maybe??? ) but i digress.

i just find it abhorrent that CA has done the things they have to infringe upon civil rights, and justified it with a rather transperent "for the safety of us all" way of thinking that does NOTHING to reduce CRIME and actually REDUCES SAFETY!!! adn THEN they jack up the taxes and other (what would you call them??? ah! ) "comerce fees" to a point where the costs to the average law abiding person are frankly usurious.

 

[Al Thompson]

Getting back on track, I knew a gunsmith in GA who sold tuned Howa's as beanfield rifles. He'd glass'em, tune the trigger and get really tight groups. I think it's a very underrated rifle.

 

[ImBillT]

I have a Golden Bear in 30-06. Just bedded it and got a hunting load ready. It shot very well for a hunting gun. I also have a Howa prototype made for Charles Daly. It appears to be a Golden Bear with a round top, and a slightly shorter distance from the receiver ring to the bridge. It is a .308 and is serial number sa0008. Someone had refinished the stock and did a very poor job. Took it out and it didn't shoot too good. The barrel needs to be floated. Since the refinish job is SOOOO bad I'm gonna refinish it myself, bed it, and float the barrel. I bet it picks up. It has the smoothest barrel I've ever seen. Smoother than any hand lapped Harts or Kriegers I've looked through. Anyone have any info on that sucker?