Thread: Howa good is your Howa? (picture heavy)

I've got a Howa Alpine in .243, really glad to get it as rare in the UK. Another cult rifle I bought for a song!

Glad it's in .243 as well, would not want to be shooting a .308 one with heavy bullets. I think Howa/ Legacy Sports and Randy Newberg did well on 8t, especially with the 'slabbed' lightweight version of the short action. A 22" barrel would have probably been better than 20" but no real bother as I'm using a moderator anyway.

If/when the barrel goes kaput I'll swap for a 6 Creedmoor action with the sporter contour. Rebarreling costs in the UK don't make sense!

Accurate rifle, good mashup between the Sako L/A series (before Beretta bought them! ) and Rem 700 with the recessed bolt nose. M16 extractor as standard does the trick although I wish they kept the inertial ejector of the Sako. Cost savings no doubt!

The Sako collectors forum has a good thread about the Howa-Dickson Golden Bear which was literally a copy of the Sako L61R.

Only gripe is the trigger isn't great, both single and double (HACT) stage versions, and the three position saftey lever is stupid.

Fitted a Timney but improvement is marginal.