Howa Shooters Tell Me What You Think

[mconway951]

So i am in the market for a new rifle this year i have een a savage fan my entire life and was looking at a new Long Range Hunter in .300 Win Mag. However yesterday my new Howa catalog came in the mail thanks to the sign up on here and now i am really really likeing the Howa Talon thumbhole in .300 win mag. So all you howa guys tell me what you think of yours. I love my Savage with the accu triggers and the ease of finding aftermarket parts for them, ie stocks, barrels, fluted bolts, picatiny rails, and so on. Also i know some dont agree with it but id like to get into the long range shooting out to and beyond 500 yds how is the accuracy of theses rifles.
Thanks in advance guys.

 

[StrutNut]

I used to sell a lot of them back when I helped out my brother. There are some interesting comparisons out there about the different rifles and which is better for longer range shooting. Besides custom builds, out of the box Savage is always up there and gaining more in popularity because of it accuracy and ability to buy aftermarket parts for them. Just as you have found out. Howa was also rated very high but at the time did not have a lot of aftermarket options like the Savage. Both guns are tack drivers and are likely better then 95% of the shooters out there. It all depends on what you are going to do with it. To me, it would come down to if I am going to customize it or not and whatever gun "fits" you better. They are both more then capable and delivering very long range accuracy.

 

[2rocky]

Now I am no long range shooter, but I did notice the trigger on my 2009 .223 Ranchland compact was not very crisp. Even after some work it still has some creep. Now I see they have a new trigger out called the "actuator controlled trigger" that may be an improvement. I haven't heard any feedback on it.

 

[gundog]

The Howa's can deliver very good accuracy and all the ones I've test fired in the shop have been sub-MOA.
I'm not a fan of the Howa trigger but have not seen the new one referenced above. In my opinion, dollar for dollar the Savages with the Accu trigger are hard to beat...great guns out of the box.

 

[fishing4sanity]

In my opinion you could flip a coin, both good guns, both very accurate from what I've seen. Howa's new trigger has been mentioned, I haven't shot the new trigger, but the old one wasn't as good as the AccuTrigger IMO, so if you chose Howa I'd make sure it's their new trigger. The Savage has the muzzle break that can be turned off or on, I haven't got one of those but I've heard good things about them, and the reduced recoil maybe something to consider. It would be good if you can find both models at the same store for a side-by-side comparison, and then just chose the one that 'feels' best. Not to muddy the waters but, have you looked at the Savage Bear Hunter?

 

[mconway951]

Not to muddy the waters but, have you looked at the Savage Bear Hunter?

Yeah i looked at them real close and i like the stainless option but im not a fan of the shorter barrels and i like the break on the LRH. Im not a fan of either stock and woul upgrade right away as well. Im kinda up in the air between the .300 win mag and the 338 Lapua as well for long range hunting.

 

[MThuntr]

I've always been a fan of Savage rifles. I like having the ability of customization with a gunsmith especially when considering rates of twist in aftermarket vs factory barrels.

I'm glad to see that Howa is working on their triggers (I wonder if that will be reflected in Weatherby's Vanguard rifles also). I have found Howas to be unnecessarily heavy but accurate

 

[KRasmussen]

I have a Howa in 7mm rem mag and love it. Bought new with the crappy scope that will be replaced this year. I too was not a fan of the trigger at first. I took it to my 'smith who did a trigger job and reset to just under 3#. Factory ammo it shoots pretty good but did find that ammo I loaded was well under 1 moa. I think it shoots better than I ever will

 

[konasage]

I have been a fan of the 300 win mag my whole life.... Very hard to beat it for all around performance. I also just got the Savage LRH in 300 wm for Christmas and so far its the best rifle I have shot. I loaded up some Accubond 180's and at 100 yrds the holes all touched. It is still new to me and I surely need to do some more work with out farther but so far .. wow. I think this gun will be my favorite for a long time to come.

Like many on here I am not a long range hunter. I think the farthest I have shot at an elk is around 350-400 yards which was far for me. But I like the idea of being able to shoot with more confidence even close in. I also want the option to reach out if I get into a situation on sheep or high country mulies if I need it. Always a learning process.

 

[HowaHunter]

My favorite howa is my .22-250 axiom varmint hunter. The gun shoots great-would take it elk hunting with me if the caliber were appropriate and it weighed less. haha. Very accurate and smooth shooting. Don't think you could go wrong with either Howa or Savage....

 

[pseshooter300]

You guys that are talking about the trigger not being up to par what about changing the trigger to after market like a timney