Howa Rifles

Nimrod71

Senior Member
I'm going to buy a long range rifle and since being retired I need to spend my funds wisely and get as good a buy as possible, therefore I am asking if anyone has any experience with Howa's new long range rifle? I am a Howa fan, I have 243, 308 and 7mmMag Howa's now and they shoot great. The 7 mag. has accounted for 3 elk and the 308 has brought down 11 deer. I have been reading up on the Howa Long Range and you con get it with a scope combo or just rifle. Another question would be which is the better deal, just rifle or rifle/scope combo. Question is the scope worth the cost. I will just be using this rifle for target shooting. Any advice would be appreciated.
 

Gator89

Senior Member
It depends on the scope offered.

Normally I would buy the scope separate from the rifle so I could get the best scope I could afford.

Caveat, if the added cost of the scoped rifle package was negligible, then buy the combo and put the scope on a 22 or an AR or something.
 

chuckdog

Senior Member
I have owned a few and shot many more Howa manufactured rifles. The only negative thing I've ever experienced with them is resell value.

I was shopping for a 20" .308 Howa when the 18" Ruger American became available.

Usually I prefer picking my own scope and mounts, but there are some decent combo's being offered at times. I'd ask you to post a link to the combo you're looking at, but with supply as low as it is today I'm not going to.
 

B. White

Senior Member
I have added their barreled actions to stocks. I have a 22" sporter in what appears to be the same B&C stock and a heavy 24" with a MDT chassis. I prefer the chassis setup for shooting at paper. I hunt with the sporter, but it feels heavier overall to me than one with the heavier/longer barrel.
 

Jester896

Senior Clown
I would also look into the Begara...not knocking Howa...just another option and it is pretty much a Remington clone with the exception of the bolt relaese and the Howa closer to old Sako
 

natureman

Senior Member
I am a Bergara fan but they are pricey. I shot the new $600 CVA Cascacde the other day and was impressed. CVA is owned by Bergara and use their barrels. It has a 14 Day Money Back Guarantee as well as MOA Guarantee. At the advertised price point I think it is a good value. As far as scopes, buy one you have looked thru and researched. You pretty much get what you pay for. I looked far and wide before I bought my Athlon Midas scope.

https://cva.com/product-line/cascade/
 
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lonewolf247

Senior Member
I think Howa is a great rifle! I have one branded Howa rifle, one Smith & Wesson 1500, and 3 Weatherby Vanguard rifles. I honestly think the Weatherby Vanguard is the best built rifle on the market for less than $1000.

I know it's Howa Built, but the Vanguard has so many rifle stock options, and many are better than the Howa choices. Resale should be better too. I think the Bergara rifle is the closest rival to the Vanguard, in that price category. Go to the Weatherby site and research the Vanguard for different options. Also look at the Bergara.

I think the Tikka is a good choice as well, and it's sorta a preference thing. The Tikka is made to be lighter, with a lot less metal parts. However, they have enough time in engineering them now, that it has metal where it really counts. I'm not faulting the choice if you like it. I'd mention only 2 downfalls I'd say, and this is strictly depending on the caliber you choose. Unless things have changed recently, in the past, they use the same platform for short action and long action, so being said, example: a .243 would have the same length as a .3006, provided the barrel length is the same. The other is, if you picked a heavy recoil caliber, it will punish your shoulder, much more than the Vanguard, or Bergara. It's still a well made, and very accurate rifle though.

Not to sound like I'm picking on Tikka, if you don't care for a little heavier rifle, you'll find the Vanguard and Bergara a little hefty. My vote would be to go handle these 3 rifles in person before you decide. IMO, I'd stick with these three.

As far as the riflescope, it depends on the scope? However, IMO most of the time with a combo rifle/scope, the scope will be inferior, and sometimes complete trash! I'd buy my own riflescope separately.
 

Nimrod71

Senior Member
Ya'll are right, the scoped combo's I have seen in the past have a scope that is just a something to get by with. If you want a good scope it will cost about as much as the rifle. But like I said above being retired makes you a better money manager.
 

chuckdog

Senior Member
You don't have to spend a ton of $$$ to get a decent scope. An accurate adjustable parallax and reliable tracking are two things I look for in a target scope.

One of the better target scopes I had was a 30mm Cabela's house brand on closeout. It was manufactured in Japan by the same folks that make many of the top drawer brands. It tracked like a precision clock.

Research and watch for closeout specials!
 

Nimrod71

Senior Member
Thanks Chuck, I have looked at the Cabela scopes before just never bought one. I may do more investigating on them.
 
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