Howa Rifles

[Hem88]

any one out there have experance with howa rifles are they any good I am looking at a 204 ruger cal your opinions greatly apreacated

[247sniper]

They are alright......my M 8 sold his one in .223 an bought a Tikka T3, much better rifle.

[camo304]

For the money i think they are very good, shoot well out of the box needs trigger working on tho.

[Tony.H]

they used to be ok for the money but the stocks are really crap, so you have to replace that, you might as well just buy a tikka, i never had to touch my tikka, but you can buy a £5ish spring for the trigger if you want it lite.

 

 

my - bought a .243 howa in hogue stock and the fore end is as floppy as the top of an old welly. He is struggling to group and I am sure its cos the slightest pressure and the barrel touches the fore end.

 

Are they all like this?

 

Can it be stiffened?

 

what would eb a cheap replacement stock if it cant be stiffened?

[MrCetrizine]

The action and barrel are from the same factory as Weatherby Vanguards from what I've been told and are very good for the price. As mentioned, the stocks are awful, very floppy and badly attached.

[Scotch_egg]

I would over look the howa and buy yourself a Tikka T3. You wont need to change a thing, just get out and shoot.

[tisme]

I've got a Howa and a Tikka, both in .308. The Tikka stock was touching the barrel and needed work the Howa stock was great but not the cheap std one. You can pick from quite a few with Howa. Both shoot about the same and the bolts feel is similar. The trigger is better on the Tikka. The Howa mag conversion is not great.

I would buy another Howa if I was in the market for a new rifle.

[Jamie]

I've a Tikka T3 in .223 Rem and a CZ 527 American in .204 Ruger.

The Tikka is very nice, but so is the CZ 527. The action and trigger were a little rough for a 100 rounds or so, but since, I love it! It's smooth as silk, and has a lovely set trigger! Also, good value for money!

[gaz6br]

I brought an howa years ago in 243 I put 42 shots through it and sold it, that was after a well known gun smith had bedded it, played with trigger ect

 

Not for me, love my semi custom T3 now

 

Gaz

[gunner]

I would over look the howa and buy yourself a Tikka T3. You wont need to change a thing, just get out and shoot.

Same as , alltho im not sure the plastic stocks on tikkas are great , my friend has 3 tikkas . Id either want the wooden stock and properly bed it . New light trigger spring from Valkyrie . Or a completely new decent aftermarket stock / laminated

[Murph]

One of my shooting buddies has a howa 1500 with a heavy varmint barrel and a laminate stock in 223. This gun will shoot under half moa on a good day with hand loads. For the money these rifles are excellent. He has it about a year now with no issues whatsoever. Plus the trigger can be adjusted easily down to about a pound weight.

[.300wm]

I like Howa rifles, they are better designed than Remingtons (the extractor is a perfect example). I bought a B&C stock for mine, floated the barrel and fitted a Rifle Basix trigger and was very happy with the performance. I'd definitely have one again.

[Montey]

I've had a Howa in 204 a nd got two mates with them also in 204 got another mate with a 204 Ruger between us we've shot a few thousand rounds The Howas are all load fussy and hard to load for My one only shot well using Rem acutips but was exepshanell with one batch and then rubbish with another!! Sold my Howa it had a after market stock the Hoge one is rubbish Got a Howa with Ruger barel and RPA stock Had the stock fited by RPA and they fitted the Howa Mag conversion which works realy well on mine One of my mates has got a keeper frend with a Sako in 204 and he has had nothing but grief Me ide go for a Ruger I only got mine cos it had a Ruger barell I don't think the shorter Howa barell can shoot the 40g bullets that well But my Ruger barell loves them so does my mates just what I've found Load wise were all using Reloder10x with 32g 39g and 40g its the powder that seems to work in any 204 hope that helps

[1971silversurfer]

I like Howa rifles, they are better designed than Remingtons (the extractor is a perfect example). I bought a B&C stock for mine, floated the barrel and fitted a Rifle Basix trigger and was very happy with the performance. I'd definitely have one again.

I have a .243 Howa Varmint, its a bomb proof action with an easy to clean bolt, accurate but you have to ditch the Hogue stock, fit a Bell and Carlson and replace the trigger if you have an early one- I fitted a Timney. My best group so far .409 with a factory barrel under range conditions.

 

A thing to remember is Howa Varmint are not light rifles. My setup is fitted with Medalist varmint stock, MTC Taipan, Wildcat moderator, Harris Bipod 9-13 and an AIM cheek bag and it tops the scale at 15lbs

 

Best advice if your thinking of buying one, buy a second hand one one with mods made abuse it and change the barrel or buy a barrelled action and add the stock of choice, more options are gradually becoming available.

 

I would definately have another Howa.Rifle.. Its a pity the list of calibres available isn't greater.

 

Remington I have one in .223...but don't get me started on these rifles - not a happy experience so far with trigger recall and customer service

 

I also have Sako, well impressed with the 75, I didnt like the 85...build quality difference was noticeably better on the earlier model, I would imagine Tikka be similar given their parentage but beware of earlier T3 plastic stocked varmint's they had flexible stocks at the forend too and one i'm aware of didn't like bipod shooting.

 

Hope this helps

[Amleto63]

I bought a used Howa 1500 HB stainless steel 24" .308 with a Timney trigger installed for 500 Euros. I replaced its stock with a used B&C medalist one (200 Euros), added an EGW 20 MOA rail and skim bedded it (I did myself). Mounted a used Sightron SIII 6-24x56 (500 euros).

I have now a 1000 pounds regular half MOA or better rifle. Very happy.

[Laurie]

I've two of the beasts, both Varmint barrelled and bought secondhand through this Forum's free ads facility, one each in .308 and .243. Both have good stocks, an early mostly metal Axis fitted with a Timney trigger and AI det mag bottom metal, and a black-finished laminated timber job in 308 given a basic bedding job by a previous owner. They both shoot very well for factory rifles, the 308 (timber stock example) just capable of half-MOA with loads it likes, but difficult get below that level as is often the case. With Brian Fox's cheapo' Chinese target scopes, they make good multi-purpose beginners' range rifles, and maybe something well above beginner level with a rebarrelling job.

 

Personally, I think they're better than equivalent Remington 700s - not everybody will agree - and they sell secondhand for a LOT less than a Remy, sellers often struggling to find buyers.

 

Yes, the basic Hogue stock which neither of my examples has is poor, and I know that from having had one on a factory Remington SPS Tactical that was expensively replaced with a Manners. Looking at new rifles prices, it seems that the base Howas with Hogue stocks are a lot cheaper than the equivalent Remington models also fitted with rubbish hollow plastic or the Hogue model. The answer is simple - don't buy a model with a poor specification.

 

I've not shot never mind I owned a Tikka T3 or any modern Sako. I do remember the T3's introduction when they were priced so low for a year or two it was a steal and they flew off the racks as fast as gun dealers could get supplies. Not a steal anymore though now not so many years on!

[Sam_K]

I have .308 Brock and Norris 'contractor' Howa which has a B&C stock. Cannot fault it other than it is a heavy beast with my Sightron and Northstar on it

[247sniper]

..

[1971silversurfer]

I have .308 Brock and Norris 'contractor' Howa which has a B&C stock. Cannot fault it other than it is a heavy beast with my Sightron and Northstar on it

Heavy = Planted = Accurate