Howa action question ATT Mickey colman

[skeetlee]

I was over on sniper hide and i was asking about the Howa barreled action for sale on gun broker. I read some where that the Howa actions had better machining and were a better quality than a rem 700 action. I was told to ask a fella by the name Mickey Colman. I am looking for as much info as i can find on the Howa actions and barrels. Thanks lee

 

[J. Valentine]

I have a Howa , One Of 500 Celerbration rifle ( similar too Howa 1500 action).
It is a .223 and it is about 14 years old , I think by now. It has fired 5000 rounds . It is a good rifle now but did take some work to get it shooting.
However I have seen some good accurate ones out of the box also.
I don't believe they are any better than a Rem 700 really.
They are both similar actions except my Howa has a solid fixed recoil lug and an extractor roughly similar to a Sako or M16 extractor.
I think any obvious machining differences would be on a single purchase to purshase basis and not obvious over the whole range of both rifles.
I personaly think a Rem 700 is a better buy for the average American as there is so much that can be done to it or bought for it in the USA.
Outside USA then the Howa is a good buy. The solid recoil lug makes barrel removal and swaping a bit easier for the amature.
Maybe things have changed in the last 14 years and the Howa has got much better however I cant say.
I don't have a very high opinion of the quality and accuracy of the Sniperhide forum.