Remington 783 or Howa 1500

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Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by onfoot114 » 28 Jan 2020, 1:24 pm

I've been looking for a cheap .223 for use as a general hunting rifle. Within my budget the best rifles seem to be the Remington 783 and Howa 1500.

I've seen a lot support for the Howa here and other places online and was leaning towards this. However after looking at both rifles on the weekend and speaking with the guy at the gun shop I think the Remington may be a better rifle. It comes with an accuracy warranty and has a stiffer stock, as well as being marginally cheaper.

Could anyone who has a Remington/ Howa offer some advice? Is there any major reason I shouldn't buy the Remington?

Cheers!
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by juano86 » 29 Jan 2020, 6:48 am

onfoot114 wrote:I've been looking for a cheap .223 for use as a general hunting rifle. Within my budget the best rifles seem to be the Remington 783 and Howa 1500.

I've seen a lot support for the Howa here and other places online and was leaning towards this. However after looking at both rifles on the weekend and speaking with the guy at the gun shop I think the Remington may be a better rifle. It comes with an accuracy warranty and has a stiffer stock, as well as being marginally cheaper.

Could anyone who has a Remington/ Howa offer some advice? Is there any major reason I shouldn't buy the Remington?

Cheers!


Id stick with the Howa mate, from personal experience they shoot awesome. There's loads of aftermarket goodies around for them now, so you can always upgrade the stock etc later.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by Am88 » 29 Jan 2020, 7:25 am

Howa mate.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by SCJ429 » 29 Jan 2020, 8:10 am

If you are up for a challenge, you should get the Remington that you have your heart set on. I think there are better quality rifles made in China these days and would place the rifle last on my list of budget rifles. The machining is very rough, the barrels foul badly, the trigger needs replacing.

I am not saying the Howa is perfect, I have seen some rough barrels from them but the action is a good design and you can work with the trigger. A popular Brisbane fun shop with a big online presence was selling barrelled actions for $399. Get yourself a GRS stock and you have yourself a nice package.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by marksman » 29 Jan 2020, 8:36 am

+1 :thumbsup:

howa all day long :drinks:
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by AZZA'S HJ47 » 29 Jan 2020, 10:45 am

Howa 1500
Sako Varmint 243,Marlin 917, Lithgow La101 .22 , 1917 BSA 303 (ted), Finnish Vkt 1944 M39,T3X Super Varmint 223, Marlin 1895 SBL 45-70 Howa 1500 308, BSA CF2 222, 1911 9mm, Adler 12G, Sako 7mm rem Mag,Ruger m77 mk1 22-250AI, Rem 700 17 Rem, BSA No 5 303
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by onfoot114 » 29 Jan 2020, 12:44 pm

Thanks fulla's I think that about settles it, Howa it is!
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by in2anity » 29 Jan 2020, 1:19 pm

Correct me if I'm wrong oh mighty gurus, but I believe the 783 has a two piece bolt (i.e. the bolt head is pinned to the bolt body) where the howa is a one-piece affair. The Howa should therefore offer a tighter lockup (in theory).

What's more, the howa has the inegral recoil lug vs a seperatated one in the Remington. This should also help with overall rigidity.

My 223 (non-service) comp gun is built around a Howa 1500 action. It is an absolute beast that only prints in the wrong place when I pull the trigger at the wrong time. Let's keep the s**t talk heresay rolling and refer to the quality of the machining "Japanese excellence". But seriously though - they are well made.

I don't like the Howa factory triggers though - I much prefer me a single stage. Nevertheless an aftermarket trigger is a super easy installation on the Howa - just the one screw to deal with.
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by tophet1 » 29 Jan 2020, 3:10 pm

Howa barrelled action straight into a B&C stock. Job done.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by SCJ429 » 29 Jan 2020, 4:36 pm

in2anity wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong oh mighty gurus, but I believe the 783 has a two piece bolt (i.e. the bolt head is pinned to the bolt body) where the howa is a one-piece affair. The Howa should therefore offer a tighter lockup (in theory).

th.

I believe you are correct, the bolt head looks similar to the Savage design. Some buyers have found that the bolt handle is detachable as well, falling off due to poor work by Remington. I believe the design was acquired when Remington took over Marlin. The trigger also looks like a copy of the Savage Accutrigger.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by JimTom » 29 Jan 2020, 5:06 pm

Always seems to be overwhelming support for the Howa on this forum. Obviously a good reason for it. May have to invest in one myself at some stage eh.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by hunting99 » 29 Jan 2020, 6:40 pm

I have a 308 in the Rem 783 and a 223 in a Howa 1500 with the heavy barrel.
Both are good and work well. But like others have said the Howa is all round a bit better, especially the trigger.
The 223 is a real tack driver.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by in2anity » 29 Jan 2020, 7:46 pm

JimTom wrote:Always seems to be overwhelming support for the Howa on this forum. Obviously a good reason for it. May have to invest in one myself at some stage eh.

They just work, which is nice (in this day and age). On the contrary I've bought lots of rifles that don't really "just work" - you buy cheap, you roll the dice.
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by JimTom » 29 Jan 2020, 7:51 pm

I am a bit of a believer in you get what you pay for, however in this case, there seems to be an exception with Howa. Great price and a good performer.
In saying that, I have a Ruger American Ranch that shoots as good as my Sako A7. Who’d have thunk it eh......
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by marksman » 29 Jan 2020, 7:55 pm

a personal view but l like the flat bottoms and sides on the actions for rigidity on the howas as well
l understand that the tube like actions of the rems are easier to machine but they are not as rigid
l did tweaking work on a rem 783 for a bloke and it shot well but l could not guarantee it for long and told him so but he was very happy :drinks:
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by Diamond Jim » 30 Jan 2020, 2:28 am

My brother has Howa varmint profile in .223. I own CZ 527 varmint in .223.
Howa shoots as well or better than mine. Mine cost three times as much.
Howa are seriously good value for money.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by wrenchman » 30 Jan 2020, 3:25 am

i have a few remington guns i am not a 783 fan i like the 700 and the model 7 i would go with the howa also
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by K2bonsai » 31 Jan 2020, 8:21 pm

I bought my Howa last year and absolutely love it and have zero regrets!!
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by jovialjosie2002 » 01 Feb 2020, 9:00 pm

You said that the salesman at the shop was trying to persuade you to get the remington?????

YOU HAVE JUST LEARNT THE FIRST RULE IN THE SPORT OF SHOOTING.....DON'T TRUST GUNSHOPS....THEY ARE JUST PAWNBROKERS AND WILL TELL YOU COMPLETE LIES TO MAKE MORE $.....

GET THE HOWA!!!!!!!
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by marksman » 01 Feb 2020, 9:05 pm

jovialjosie2002 wrote:You said that the salesman at the shop was trying to persuade you to get the remington?????

YOU HAVE JUST LEARNT THE FIRST RULE IN THE SPORT OF SHOOTING.....DON'T TRUST GUNSHOPS....THEY ARE JUST PAWNBROKERS AND WILL TELL YOU COMPLETE LIES TO MAKE MORE $.....

GET THE HOWA!!!!!!!


you didn't need to yell but your dead right :thumbsup: :drinks:

rule #1 its all about you spending your money :lol:
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by Blr243 » 01 Feb 2020, 9:16 pm

I approached a store about the browning rifles they sold and I gave a bit of background info and why , salesman talked me out of it and sold me a sauer 100 instead ... I had not heard of these rifles before. I paid deposit strictly based on his recommendation... I trusted him and it worked out well ... I ended up with a sub moa rifle that feels nice and has excellent adj trigger. And it was fair bit cheaper too , and I did not have to wait for it ......they don’t always just sell what they want to sell
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by Thom318 » 01 Feb 2020, 10:20 pm

I've got the 783 in .223 package, came up at the right time for the right price. Mine shoots well, three shots touching from a quick 50 meter sight in off bags.
I did go through two of the original package scopes under warranty, one so bent you couldn't move the bolt around it, the other just wouldn't adjust. I gave up and put a cheap Bushnell on it.
The poly stock is crap, feels horrible and the fore end bends like it's made of Play-Doh, I'm seriously looking at replacing it with a Boyd's thumbhole, but for the price I paid I can't complain.
My opinion is if it were the same money as the Howa, I'd go the Howa, but being a few hundred cheaper it suits me and is perfect for bouncing around the tractor, and I don't feel bad if it gets banged around because it's as ugly as a hat full of a-holes. I actually like the feel of the squared off bolt.
I'd suggest handling both, the Howa is a better rifle, but the 783 is good if it's cheap enough.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by SCJ429 » 02 Feb 2020, 7:40 am

Thom318 wrote:I've got the 783 in .223 package, came up at the right time for the right price. Mine shoots well, three shots touching from a quick 50 meter sight in off bags.

My opinion is if it were the same money as the Howa, I'd go the Howa, but being a few hundred cheaper it suits me and is perfect for bouncing around the tractor, and I don't feel bad if it gets banged around because it's as ugly as a hat full of a-holes. I actually like the feel of the squared off bolt.
I'd suggest handling both, the Howa is a better rifle, but the 783 is good if it's cheap enough.


The Howa starts at $399, how much was your Remington?
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by Bugman » 02 Feb 2020, 1:09 pm

Had this type of decision some time back. Ended up with a Weatherby Vanguard. Pretty much like the Howa and the only thing I changed was the trigger. No regrets at present.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by MalleeFarmer » 08 Feb 2020, 2:16 pm

These rifles are all sub MOA rifles the bottom 2 are both Howas I liked the bottom one so much .308 I built a custom 6SLR varminter out of a Howa barrelled action.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by in2anity » 08 Feb 2020, 3:17 pm

Nice cheek riser Mallee! :lol:
At what point does lack of maintenance become patina?
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by MalleeFarmer » 08 Feb 2020, 7:38 pm

Thanks in2anity I was wondering if anyone would notice :lol: :drinks: John Deere branded 100mph tape and Chux wipes for stuffing works a treat. It’s certainly a cheaper paper puncher than the one above it.
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by flutch » 09 Feb 2020, 1:29 am

I own both, DO NOT BUY THE 783!!!

Run away from it, it will cost you as much as the howa costs to make it shoot like the howa anyway, and aftermarket for them is zilch.

BUY THE HOWA!
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by flutch » 09 Feb 2020, 1:42 am

Thom318 wrote:I've got the 783 in .223 package, came up at the right time for the right price. Mine shoots well, three shots touching from a quick 50 meter sight in off bags.
I did go through two of the original package scopes under warranty, one so bent you couldn't move the bolt around it, the other just wouldn't adjust. I gave up and put a cheap Bushnell on it.
The poly stock is crap, feels horrible and the fore end bends like it's made of Play-Doh, I'm seriously looking at replacing it with a Boyd's thumbhole, but for the price I paid I can't complain.
My opinion is if it were the same money as the Howa, I'd go the Howa, but being a few hundred cheaper it suits me and is perfect for bouncing around the tractor, and I don't feel bad if it gets banged around because it's as ugly as a hat full of a-holes. I actually like the feel of the squared off bolt.
I'd suggest handling both, the Howa is a better rifle, but the 783 is good if it's cheap enough.



Yeah mate I spent a tonne on mine to make it even a half as good as my weatherby and howa, I put a Boyd's prairie Hunter stock on, new bolt handle, glass bedded, and have had to replace the extractor as well as some trigger work (actually trigger wasn't terrible and was actually way better out the box than the HACT trigger on my howa 1500) and when I bought mine no one knew what rails to put on to Mount a scope to. In the end I have spent nearly twice what I paid for my howa for a gun that doesn't shoot as well... All in all I'm into the Remington for over $1300 when my howa is how it came still and only cost me $700. They are both sub moa now, but that was impossible on the plastic ****** stock it came with. But the howa is shooting in the same hole more or less at 100m and the 783 is grouping .75" with Hornady SST projies. In any case if I ever replace the 783 it will be with a vanguard or 1500.
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G5 Prime Defy
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Re: Remington 783 or Howa 1500

Post by Silkwaveblue » 16 Feb 2020, 5:14 pm

G'day mate

I have had both. I found the Remington shot better groups with factory ammo and the Howa had a better smoother action.

Having said that i sold both and bought a Tikka. If i was you i'd save an extra $300 and buy a Tikka.

Out of the box the accuracy is amazing and the action silky smooth.

Would never go back to Remington or Howa.

Again having said that, i would go the remington if on budget but make sure you get the timber stocks because the polymer stocks don't have swivel studs.
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