howa or rem 700

Old Remington vs new Howa, yes, Remington, obviously that's an easy win. New Remington vs New Howa, new Howa all day long.
 
Thanks for all of the input. I am picking up the Howa today and will report back. I did see that zipper thread but it sounded like the exception and not the standard. Generally, in my unofficial survey, of those two, the Howa came out more positive. The Rem700 was the comparator only because it was available (used) and had really good optics that made the package appealing. The jury is still out on the Nikko Precision the Howa comes with but for my abilities, I am sure it will be fine. Maybe not as cool, but fine....;-)

Remingtons lack of support was a small factor in my decision, although the aftermarket support looks great! As I mentioned, this is my first venture into anything larger than a 22lr. I am sure it will not be my last gun. And it is supporting a local sporting shop that gives back to the local sportsman so I have that feel good feeling that buying used does not have. yadayada

And the local shop negotiated a bit with me so made it even more appealing.

Thanks again everyone. Once I get some time with it, I will report in.
Cheers,
Shawn
 
SFRC will probably have a black Friday discount. If they still have howa's in stock might be a good choice. How I got mine last year for 200 off and it's been great
 
ShawnRich said:
Thanks for all of the input. I am picking up the Howa today and will report back. I did see that zipper thread but it sounded like the exception and not the standard. Generally, in my unofficial survey, of those two, the Howa came out more positive. The Rem700 was the comparator only because it was available (used) and had really good optics that made the package appealing. The jury is still out on the Nikko Precision the Howa comes with but for my abilities, I am sure it will be fine. Maybe not as cool, but fine....;-)

Remingtons lack of support was a small factor in my decision, although the aftermarket support looks great! As I mentioned, this is my first venture into anything larger than a 22lr. I am sure it will not be my last gun. And it is supporting a local sporting shop that gives back to the local sportsman so I have that feel good feeling that buying used does not have. yadayada

And the local shop negotiated a bit with me so made it even more appealing.

Thanks again everyone. Once I get some time with it, I will report in.
Cheers,
Shawn
Click to expand...

The Nikko is good, my son's 1500 compact came with one...he has shot many a coyote between 50-200yds.
Lots of quality used scopes on the EE if you decide to upgrade.
 
I always thought the Howa action would be a good base for a target rifle...once I blow out this sporter 6.5PRC I'll put something heavy and decent on it and see how it works out.
 
how many Howa's do you see in the My Rifle shoots XX all day long posts? My bet is there are more Remingtons and Savages ...:)

You know the old saying ..."the Bullshyt stops when the flag drops"...Yeah, everyones Howa's shoot cloverleaf groups until you have to prove it....:)

Military sniper rifles are built off Howa actions, aren't they!

Maybe one day, but sorry folks...not today yet!
 
I really doubt the reason that the military went with the Remington 700 was that it was substantially better than the Howa in any way, except maybe their bolt stop being a potential weak point. The off the shelf Remmy hunting rifle has very little in common with an M40 or similar. A Rem 700 is a cheap piece of pipe that is easy to chuck into a lathe and work on. Cause you'll need to. Mind you I say this as a fan of said rifle.

I've seen more than a few Remington 700s with the barrel pulled off showing a crappy fit with the receiver threads made up for by using loctite, 50-50 contact on the bolt lugs, etc etc. Maybe now with the new tooling in Alabama they are better. They sure feel tighter...this was circa 2009-2010 but I would have bet a lot of money the Howa is much more square out of the box. Actually the shape of the action with its flat bottom and integral recoil lug reminds me of a certain legendary rifle that WAS used in a sniping role.

Until it was replaced by a cheap piece of pipe that was very easy to slap into a lathe and true up

And I wouldn't bet on a factory Remington outshooting a factory Howa across the board...not at all.

As for Savage they have a nice fixture and thread, chamber etc their barrels all in one go with concentricity, and I like how the exterior of the barrel is threaded. On average accurate but the rest of it is a cheap ass rifle. So if the only thing that counts is accuracy, sure.

Just my two bits.
 
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Rich the Butcher said:
The Nikko is good, my son's 1500 compact came with one...he has shot many a coyote between 50-200yds.
Lots of quality used scopes on the EE if you decide to upgrade.
Click to expand...

Last week when I first started looking at the Howa, I asked about upgrading, but, as previously mentioned, he suggested just using the package. He also said he had nothing suitable in stock. But today, I noticed the scope cabinet more full. Before we finished, he asked if I was still interested in upgrading. They got a shipment in yesterday. Bonus! I left the store with a mounted Vortex Diamondback 4x12x40 instead of the Nikko. I feel better about it. The Nikko probably would have been fine, but for the upgrade now, I think the credit on the Nikko was the better way to go versus trying to sell it later.

Now that it is home, I am looking through the manual (I am a nerd) and going over the rifle. The only thing so far that looks crappy is the magazine. It feels like a piece of tupperware. Maybe that is the standard now. Unless it feeds poorly, I guess it should be fine. Does anyone ever upgrade magazines other than looking for a higher capacity? This one looks like it holds 3 calibers, and for a .223, it holds 6.

Another question...in my research, I saw a video suggesting that a new rifle be fired 5-10 times, cleaned with a copper cleaner, repeat, etc for about, iirc, 50ish rounds. Any input for "breaking in" a new rifle? The ammo I have is Winchester 55 grain, FMJ, should that question be coming. There was not a great selection and that was more than I expected so not the cheapest stuff. $22/20. Reloading, here I come...

Geez, third edit....

Another point I read was shoot some ammo first before trying to set the scope. How many is a few? I have never had a brand new gun before so new ground for me.

Can't wait to try this thing out!

Cheers,
Shawn
 
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Joel said:
I really doubt the reason that the military went with the Remington 700 was that it was substantially better than the Howa in any way, except maybe their bolt stop being a potential weak point. The off the shelf Remmy hunting rifle has very little in common with an M40 or similar. A Rem 700 is a cheap piece of pipe that is easy to chuck into a lathe and work on. Cause you'll need to. Mind you I say this as a fan of said rifle.

I've seen more than a few Remington 700s with the barrel pulled off showing a crappy fit with the receiver threads made up for by using loctite, 50-50 contact on the bolt lugs, etc etc. Maybe now with the new tooling in Alabama they are better...this was circa 2009-2010 but I would have bet a lot of money the Howa is much more square out of the box. Actually the shape of the action with its flat bottom and integral recoil lug reminds me of a certain legendary rifle that WAS used in a sniping role.

Until it was replaced by a cheap piece of pipe that was very easy to slap into a lathe and true up

And I wouldn't bet on a factory Remington outshooting a factory Howa across the board...not at all.

As for Savage they have a nice fixture and thread, chamber etc their barrels all in one go with concentricity, and I like how the exterior of the barrel is threaded. On average accurate but the rest of it is a cheap ass rifle. So if the only thing that counts is accuracy, sure.

Just my two bits.
Click to expand...

You can bet all you want but the facts don't show it...:)
 
"The facts" being internet threads, where n=1 though?

If there are any head to head comparisons of off the shelf Howas and Remingtons shot for groups, I'd like to see them, really. The absence of one in a thread doesn't really sway me.

For example, there may be many more people looking for target accuracy who own Remingtons and Savages rather than Howas for whatever reason, and what we are seeing in one thread is largely sampling bias. Maybe not. We just don't know.

Certainly not enough to say that two comparable rifles can be pulled from the store and the Remington will outshoot the Howa.
 
ShawnRich said:
Last week when I first started looking at the Howa, I asked about upgrading, but, as previously mentioned, he suggested just using the package. He also said he had nothing suitable in stock. But today, I noticed the scope cabinet more full. Before we finished, he asked if I was still interested in upgrading. They got a shipment in yesterday. Bonus! I left the store with a mounted Vortex Diamondback 4x12x40 instead of the Nikko. I feel better about it. The Nikko probably would have been fine, but for the upgrade now, I think the credit on the Nikko was the better way to go versus trying to sell it later.

Now that it is home, I am looking through the manual (I am a nerd) and going over the rifle. The only thing so far that looks crappy is the magazine. It feels like a piece of tupperware. Maybe that is the standard now. Unless it feeds poorly, I guess it should be fine. Does anyone ever upgrade magazines other than looking for a higher capacity? This one looks like it holds 3 calibers, and for a .223, it holds 6.

Another question...in my research, I saw a video suggesting that a new rifle be fired 5-10 times, cleaned with a copper cleaner, repeat, etc for about, iirc, 50ish rounds. Any input for "breaking in" a new rifle? The ammo I have is Winchester 55 grain, FMJ, should that question be coming. There was not a great selection and that was more than I expected so not the cheapest stuff. $22/20. Reloading, here I come...

Can't wait to try this thing out!

Cheers,
Shawn
Click to expand...

Excellent choice!
 
Joel said:
"The facts" being internet threads, where n=1 though?

If there are any head to head comparisons of off the shelf Howas and Remingtons shot for groups, I'd like to see them, really. The absence of one in a thread doesn't really sway me.

For example, there may be many more people looking for target accuracy who own Remingtons and Savages rather than Howas for whatever reason, and what we are seeing in one thread is largely sampling bias. Maybe not. We just don't know.

Certainly not enough to say that two comparable rifles can be pulled from the store and the Remington will outshoot the Howa.
Click to expand...

Don't mind me tonight, I'm just tired and grumpy :)
 
hawk-i said:
Don't mind me tonight, I'm just tired and grumpy :)
Click to expand...

We're talkin guns, nothing to mind. Be awful dull if all thought the same. And I want to stress I'm not saying "the howa outshoots the Rem for sure" either. They've even admitted their stinkers, like having the devil's own time getting the 6.5x55 to shoot...which aint usually a problem

:cheers:
 
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