Howa 1500 or Ruger American?

[ausdub]

Hi all,

Im looking to buy my first .308 bolt action

im tossing up between 2 options:

-Howa 1500
-Ruger American

Anyone have any recommendations on which is better, pros and cons of each and overall experience they have had?

Much appreciated

[Bennybigbores]

Don't know a thing about ruger American but can vouch for howa, as many others will, if you look at my posts you'll find a thread about howa's, you'll see some good reports and photos, put it this way I'm buying another after my next rifle my .243 howa varmint has and is performing flawlessly, great value for money and great variety of build options

[bigfellascott]

I haven't used a American Ruger so can't comment on them, I do however have 3 Howa's and all are excellent value for money, I'll be buying more in the future no worries there at all.

[Westy]

Howa 1500 shoot like stink right outta the box and normally really well priced !! Sadly a lot of rifles made in the good old USA at present aren't worth a pinch of s**t!!! the figures shown to me last week show 1 in 10 rifles are faulty and are having to be replaced for 1 reason or another , not looking to good for them.

[ausdub]

Thanks everyone for your replies! was definitely leaning towards the howa initially and now theres no doubt

[mausermate]

One more for good measure.
Howa for me too. I have one in 243 with Houge Stock. Great work gun.

[Fozzy]

I have a Ruger American and cant fault it yet

[MeccaOz]

Im a Ruger fan... BUT I'd go the Howa over the American, but thats just my 2c worth

[NukeBOMB88]

Howa 1500 is a great gun. I've got one in .223 and I love it, it's not the lightest of rifles , but it's highly accurate and reliable. I would highly recommend

[ausdub]

Thanks heaps guys

[ausdub]

Thanks heaps guys

[Timb0]

Howa 1500 shoot like stink right outta the box and normally really well priced !! Sadly a lot of rifles made in the good old USA at present aren't worth a pinch of s**t!!! the figures shown to me last week show 1 in 10 rifles are faulty and are having to be replaced for 1 reason or another , not looking to good for them.

Hmmm I have an on going problem with a Kimber I might tell one day if I ever get it fixed!
I haven't had much to do with the Ruger American and not a heap to do with Howa's but a lot to do with the Weatherby vanguard and they are the same action and barrel made in the same factory. They are great rifles for the price, very hard to beat for the money. I believe Weatherby even had their flagship model the Mark V built in the howa factory for a few years, before they came back to the U.S.

[bigfellascott]

Howa 1500 shoot like stink right outta the box and normally really well priced !! Sadly a lot of rifles made in the good old USA at present aren't worth a pinch of s**t!!! the figures shown to me last week show 1 in 10 rifles are faulty and are having to be replaced for 1 reason or another , not looking to good for them.

Hmmm I have an on going problem with a Kimber I might tell one day if I ever get it fixed!
I haven't had much to do with the Ruger American and not a heap to do with Howa's but a lot to do with the Weatherby vanguard and they are the same action and barrel made in the same factory. They are great rifles for the price, very hard to beat for the money. I believe Weatherby even had their flagship model the Mark V built in the howa factory for a few years, before they came back to the U.S.

What's the go with the Kimber mate?

[Combat_Wombat]

The American is fine for what you pay for but the Howa punches well above it's weight.

[Westy]

Howa 1500 shoot like stink right outta the box and normally really well priced !! Sadly a lot of rifles made in the good old USA at present aren't worth a pinch of s**t!!! the figures shown to me last week show 1 in 10 rifles are faulty and are having to be replaced for 1 reason or another , not looking to good for them.

Hmmm I have an on going problem with a Kimber I might tell one day if I ever get it fixed!
I haven't had much to do with the Ruger American and not a heap to do with Howa's but a lot to do with the Weatherby vanguard and they are the same action and barrel made in the same factory. They are great rifles for the price, very hard to beat for the money. I believe Weatherby even had their flagship model the Mark V built in the howa factory for a few years, before they came back to the U.S.

I also know for a fact that Anschutz was making a few rim fire rifles for weatherby in recent years!!!!!

[Timb0]

Howa 1500 shoot like stink right outta the box and normally really well priced !! Sadly a lot of rifles made in the good old USA at present aren't worth a pinch of s**t!!! the figures shown to me last week show 1 in 10 rifles are faulty and are having to be replaced for 1 reason or another , not looking to good for them.

Hmmm I have an on going problem with a Kimber I might tell one day if I ever get it fixed!
I haven't had much to do with the Ruger American and not a heap to do with Howa's but a lot to do with the Weatherby vanguard and they are the same action and barrel made in the same factory. They are great rifles for the price, very hard to beat for the money. I believe Weatherby even had their flagship model the Mark V built in the howa factory for a few years, before they came back to the U.S.

What's the go with the Kimber mate?

It's a Kimber Montana .270. Really nice rifle, very light, very accurate for what it is. However it has had problems with light primer strikes/ misfires. It's been back for repair twice now and I'm picking it up again tomorrow. I will see how it goes and might do a post about the details.

[bigfellascott]

Howa 1500 shoot like stink right outta the box and normally really well priced !! Sadly a lot of rifles made in the good old USA at present aren't worth a pinch of s**t!!! the figures shown to me last week show 1 in 10 rifles are faulty and are having to be replaced for 1 reason or another , not looking to good for them.

Hmmm I have an on going problem with a Kimber I might tell one day if I ever get it fixed!
I haven't had much to do with the Ruger American and not a heap to do with Howa's but a lot to do with the Weatherby vanguard and they are the same action and barrel made in the same factory. They are great rifles for the price, very hard to beat for the money. I believe Weatherby even had their flagship model the Mark V built in the howa factory for a few years, before they came back to the U.S.

What's the go with the Kimber mate?

It's a Kimber Montana .270. Really nice rifle, very light, very accurate for what it is. However it has had problems with light primer strikes/ misfires. It's been back for repair twice now and I'm picking it up again tomorrow. I will see how it goes and might do a post about the details.

Thanks for that Timbo, hopefully she will finally be sorted mate, bloody frustraiting when something doesn't work right. How old is it mate?

[Timb0]

Howa 1500 shoot like stink right outta the box and normally really well priced !! Sadly a lot of rifles made in the good old USA at present aren't worth a pinch of s**t!!! the figures shown to me last week show 1 in 10 rifles are faulty and are having to be replaced for 1 reason or another , not looking to good for them.

Hmmm I have an on going problem with a Kimber I might tell one day if I ever get it fixed!
I haven't had much to do with the Ruger American and not a heap to do with Howa's but a lot to do with the Weatherby vanguard and they are the same action and barrel made in the same factory. They are great rifles for the price, very hard to beat for the money. I believe Weatherby even had their flagship model the Mark V built in the howa factory for a few years, before they came back to the U.S.

What's the go with the Kimber mate?

It's a Kimber Montana .270. Really nice rifle, very light, very accurate for what it is. However it has had problems with light primer strikes/ misfires. It's been back for repair twice now and I'm picking it up again tomorrow. I will see how it goes and might do a post about the details.

Thanks for that Timbo, hopefully she will finally be sorted mate, bloody frustraiting when something doesn't work right. How old is it mate?

Yes it's pissing me off. It's a bit over a year old. It was going good for about 8 months.

[Westy]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ouchhhhh that's gotta hurt Timbo, great rifle normally, from all accounts.

[bigfellascott]

You might be entitled to your money back mate if its been repaired that many times and its still fooked! There's new consumer protection laws that might just cover that situation, so if its still doing it I'd be looking into it.

The wife had issues with her mobile phone (3 times it was sent for repairs and each time it was returned it had more issues plus the original ones) to it was replaced with a new phone or we had the option to have the account wiped.

I also had issues with a laptop that was out of warranty - I took it back to Harvey Norman who pointed out it was out of the warranty period, I pointed out to him the new laws and that a $1300 laptop shouldn't s**t itself after just over a year and that one would reasonably expect it to be of better quality and service life than a cheaper one, he carried on a bit and I just mentioned if you'd like you can speak to xyz at the Depart of Fair Trading who I've been speaking to about this particular problem computer and she's only too willing to take up the case on my behalf.

Next thing ya know the computers been sent away for repairs at their cost! Bloody motherboard s**t itself which from what I'd searched is a common problem with this particular one.

Stand up for yourself and don't let the pricks rob ya!

[bigfellascott]

Is there a small screw or something in the firing pin? I've read a few reports on that being part of the issue, the other is the spring being too short.

[MeccaOz]

Howa 1500 shoot like stink right outta the box and normally really well priced !! Sadly a lot of rifles made in the good old USA at present aren't worth a pinch of s**t!!! the figures shown to me last week show 1 in 10 rifles are faulty and are having to be replaced for 1 reason or another , not looking to good for them.

Hmmm I have an on going problem with a Kimber I might tell one day if I ever get it fixed!
I haven't had much to do with the Ruger American and not a heap to do with Howa's but a lot to do with the Weatherby vanguard and they are the same action and barrel made in the same factory. They are great rifles for the price, very hard to beat for the money. I believe Weatherby even had their flagship model the Mark V built in the howa factory for a few years, before they came back to the U.S.

The vangaurd actions are the cherry picked Howa actions which are also modified by Weatherby when they get them. Yeah they come from Howa, but it's not strictly true they are the same action after Weatherby has had there way with them.

[deye243]

4 howas this way 2 x 223 243 7mmrem mag all 1moa or better .... 3 in boyds stocks and i dropped the 243 in a B&C .

[MeccaOz]

4 howas this way 2 x 223 243 7mmrem mag all 1moa or better .... 3 in boyds stocks and i dropped the 243 in a B&C .

Cant argue with that ! I was tossing up getting a howa in 223 or 22-250 at one stage, but I decided to go for a 257 Weatherby instead. They are by all accounts pretty good rifles, and a bargain for what you get.

[deye243]

THE ONE THING THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON IS THEY FEED LIKE SILK EVEN THE BELTED MAGNUMS

bugger caps

[bigfellascott]

Howa 1500 shoot like stink right outta the box and normally really well priced !! Sadly a lot of rifles made in the good old USA at present aren't worth a pinch of s**t!!! the figures shown to me last week show 1 in 10 rifles are faulty and are having to be replaced for 1 reason or another , not looking to good for them.

Hmmm I have an on going problem with a Kimber I might tell one day if I ever get it fixed!
I haven't had much to do with the Ruger American and not a heap to do with Howa's but a lot to do with the Weatherby vanguard and they are the same action and barrel made in the same factory. They are great rifles for the price, very hard to beat for the money. I believe Weatherby even had their flagship model the Mark V built in the howa factory for a few years, before they came back to the U.S.

The vangaurd actions are the cherry picked Howa actions which are also modified by Weatherby when they get them. Yeah they come from Howa, but it's not strictly true they are the same action after Weatherby has had there way with them.

Tell us a bit more about that will you Mecca - the only thing I see diff about the Vanguards are the bolts fluted, diff bolt shroud and the stock, they may do something to the trigger too but haven't tried one to know for sure. Where did you get your info on them being "Cherry Picked"?

[bigfellascott]

THE ONE THING THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON IS THEY FEED LIKE SILK EVEN THE BELTED MAGNUMS

bugger caps

Yep mine are reliable feeders and the bolts are smooth as.

[Timb0]

Is there a small screw or something in the firing pin? I've read a few reports on that being part of the issue, the other is the spring being too short.

Thanks for the earlier advice its good to know.

You are correct about the small screw and there is possibly a problem with the spring.

[bigfellascott]

Is there a small screw or something in the firing pin? I've read a few reports on that being part of the issue, the other is the spring being too short.

Thanks for the earlier advice its good to know.

You are correct about the small screw and there is possibly a problem with the spring.

Your welcome mate, sounds like they had some spring issues from the quick search I did on me. What have the Gunsmiths done to your's over the last to warranty returns?

Like I said before I'd be asking for a refund or replacement if it continues, they will no doubt try and tell you that you can't have either, if that's the case I'd be getting onto the Dept Fair Trading and take it from there, pretty sure they have to by law do as I said - replace or refund.

[Westy]

You might be entitled to your money back mate if its been repaired that many times and its still fooked! There's new consumer protection laws that might just cover that situation, so if its still doing it I'd be looking into it.

The wife had issues with her mobile phone (3 times it was sent for repairs and each time it was returned it had more issues plus the original ones) to it was replaced with a new phone or we had the option to have the account wiped.

I also had issues with a laptop that was out of warranty - I took it back to Harvey Norman who pointed out it was out of the warranty period, I pointed out to him the new laws and that a $1300 laptop shouldn't s**t itself after just over a year and that one would reasonably expect it to be of better quality and service life than a cheaper one, he carried on a bit and I just mentioned if you'd like you can speak to xyz at the Depart of Fair Trading who I've been speaking to about this particular problem computer and she's only too willing to take up the case on my behalf.

Next thing ya know the computers been sent away for repairs at their cost! Bloody motherboard s**t itself which from what I'd searched is a common problem with this particular one.

Stand up for yourself and don't let the pricks rob ya!

good onya Scott most Aussies are firstly over charged here for 2nd rate items, and if that wasn't bad enough then we have become a country of roll over and take it like a sooky-la-la's !!These pricks need to be put back into place from time to time ,so good onya mate. Retailers are no ones friends as these laws have had to be put in place to protect us from them!!!