Guys,

Who has any experience with these rifles?

Are they really as accurate as they advertise?

Thanks

GD

For the price Howa's are great rifles. I have 3 and my mate has two of them, yes they are accurate and with an adjustable trigger makes them a nice rifle

I bought one last year in .223 cal and once I adjusted the trigger it shoots great,it was a good buy.Good Luck

I bought a Howa 1500 varmint in 22/250 last year.My first new rifle. My 2 mausers were built long before I was even a twinkle in my Daddies eye.
I use it for foxshooting at night and culling fallow does and sika hinds towards the end of our deer season.
Wearing a Kahles 4x12x52 scope,a bipod and a sound moderator it is not exactly my idea of a walkabout rifle.Yes it,s a bit heavy.
Does it shoot ? It shoots like a dream for an out of the box rifle.It was a bit choosey on ammo.But digests Sako 50 and 55gr ammo perfectly.It did not like Winchester Supreme.
Value for money? 10 out of 10.

Weatherby puts their own stocks on the barreled actions and sells them as Vanguards. They have also been privately branded by Smith & Wesson. Timney has a replacement trigger.

Weatherby selects their very accurate ones and sells them at a premium with an accuracy guarantee.

of the 7 rifles i have ( i know,... not that many) a howa in '06 and a spr 18 in '06 are the only factory guns, the rest are built on mausers . the howa shoots as good as my "custom" mausers and i bought that used for $225... 7 years ago.

Lads,

Ditto on the Howa 1500. I had one w/the S&W trademark. It shot well - as accurate as any factory 30/06 - better w/my handloads.

Sold it to a friend, bought it back, traded it at a gun show... lasted an hour on that fellow's table before being sold.

The stock geometry was just right for me, and seemed to lessen recoil - no doubt aiding in my shooting it accurately.

Mike

Excellent action design.....one piece bolt, easily adjustable trigger, reasonable barrels.

Mike Kibble who I hunted with in Namibia in 2006 and 2008 has a custom stocked Howa in 300WM. That rifle SHOOTS!

quote:

Originally posted by Winchester 69:
Weatherby puts their own stocks on the barreled actions and sells them as Vanguards.

I have two of the Weatherby Vanguards that I bought after hearing all the great accuracy claims about them. The first one I bought is in 223 Rem. It came glass bedded at the recoil lug from the factory, and the barrel was also free floating when I got it. I polished the bore good with JB Bore Paste, and did a trigger adjustment. I have shot several 3 shot groups at 100 yards that measure 3/8", using a 20x scope I use for load developing. Not to shabby for a mostly stock factory rifle.
Since buying that rifle, I bought another in 25-06 but haven't shot it yet due to having too much snow here; our rifle range isn't maintained in the winter. It also has a free floating barrel, and it came glass bedded at the lug too.
The 223 is a synthetic stock, 20" barrel model Weatherby sells with two stocks, a youth stock, and a regular adult one. The 25-06 is a Walnut stock model with a 24" barrel. Both are very well made, and I could get hooked on these rifles VERY easily. These are my first Howa/Vanguard rifles.

Don

We sell a lot of Vanguards at the Sportsmans Warehouse where I work. Although guaranteed to shoot no better than 1.5 inches at 100 yards, customers typically get much better accuracy than that. Only issue I see with them is that they tend to be about a pound too heavy, especially when compared with the Tikka T3.

Dollar wise great guns.
.300 Win superbly accurate.
.270 Win Ditto

I've got a Howa 1500 heavy barrel that showed up for a police dept that did not have the M&P only stamp on it. I bought it for a song years ago. It is a .308 w/ a long throat. I always tried to reload close to the lands, untill I started shooting a 6.5x55. I started reloading this rifle to Nato spec for OAL and guess what. Ragged 1 hole 5 shot groups at 100 yards. Sure they are heavier, they have more steel in the action and bolt(bigger) than a 700. Very stable, very accurate. Modified Mauser action. Great rifles.

If wal-mart in your part of the world still sells guns and you can put up with them they normally will have put guns on sale in the spring at some point and you can pick up a Weaterhby Vanguard for $299. You can't beat that.

I know the OP is from SA and thus no wal-mart but anyone else looking for one that applies.

That's how I got the one I have and I ordered a McMillan for it and like it a lot.

The fit/finish on them are better than a lot of the newer Remington 700's if you ask me.

The youth model Vanguard I bought, with the two synthetic stocks, is VERY light, a joy both shooting and carrying.
The Walnut stock model in 25-06 is a heavier rifle however. Don't remember the exact weight though.
I can deal with heavy rifles now since I don't do any mountain climbing any longer.

Don

Found a left over one, still new in the box over at Big 5 of all Places, with the old Alexandria VA stamped on the barrel..

it is a heavy barreled 22.250, synthetic stock and the price was $349.00...

plan on purchasing that today..

bought one for $350 for a nephew a few years ago as a graduation present... that rifle also shot like no tomorrow..

I have a 1500 in Weatherby clothing. It's a 20in bull barrel in .223 I put a Timney trigger in it and it shoots as good or better than any factory off the shelf gun I have ever bought. And for MUCH less money!

I have a 1500 heavy barrel 223 that I put into a varmint stock. I paid about 350 for it. The last time I had it at the range, it was giving me sub 1/2" groups at 100 yds, but it took a while to find a load it really liked. I would definitely buy more if I could find them for that price again.

quote:

Originally posted by seafire2:
Found a left over one, still new in the box over at Big 5 of all Places, with the old Alexandria VA stamped on the barrel..

it is a heavy barreled 22.250, synthetic stock and the price was $349.00...

plan on purchasing that today..

$349.00 !!!That makes me feel ill! They are twice that price this side of the pond....Damn

I have recently aquired a new 1500 stainless on a Hogue green overmould stock in 7mm WSM, very light, even with a large wildcat can, just getting it into "shot in" condition, it gets to go out when the .270w is picked up (can't figure out how to shoot two at once! )