howa 308/30-06 opinions

[bigrich]

okay fellas , here's a discussion that may open a can of worms i've had a nice custom early sako built with a barrel that needs a full day to clean . that and the fact it's "too pretty" are making me rethink my priorities and opinions . i've been thinking of exchanging the sako for a stainless 30-06 howa and setting it up in a bell and carlson stock . weatherproof and in a solid bedding/stock platform it would make a good practicle hunter . i've heard accuracy can be quite good with handloads in howa's as well . the howa is a little heavy compared to other actions so maybe a 308 is a better option as a short action will be marginally lighter .
can anyone give me any personal feedback on the howa's in these two calibers . not interested in varmit barreled rifles , just sporters . i'm wanting in particular to hear of any QC problems , feed issues ,poor accuracy , ect . cheers

[flashman]

Hi Bidrich I’ve have a Howa sported in 308 and it’s a pearl to shoot , weight is responsible for hunting , finish on mine is great , shoots 1/2 Mia with hand loads , value for money great well worth the investment, only thing I should have gone stainless…….

[wrenchman]

i have a 308 and a 30-06 they are great rounds and each have things that will make one better then the other for each person.
the 308 is chambered in lighter and short action rifles the 30-06 can be loaded hotter with heavy bullets for moose and bears.
both are great rounds i think the 308 is more common now then the 06

[in2anity]

The ought six is a lot of recoil in a light gun.

[deye243]

Well if you are using factory ammo if you took one of each out with a same length barrel same bullet weight and did some cronographing you would be very surprised what the results where as just about everything manufactured for a 308 is modern not so for the 06 nine times out of ten Factory loaded ammunition is loaded to a lower pressure they are virtually identical handloading completely different ballgame over 3000 feet per second with a 150 2852 2904 180g makes for a very formidable hunting cartridge.
I find recoil to the on par with a shotgun but then again I'm not exactly a small bloke others may find it uncomfortable

[Oldbloke]

BR. Both are great. The 30.06 only has a small advantage with say,,,180gr bullets or heavier. Just look at the data.
I think you reload. So go the 30.06, you can always reduce the powder a little as I do. Can't go the other way.

Due to action length I guess the 30.06 will be about 30 or 40 grams heavier. Just having a leak fixes that.

Got my doubt u can go wrong with a Howa. Everyone loves them.

[bigrich]

Ahh, the old 30-06 vs 308 debate
As a few of you fellas have stated, they each have their advantage and disadvantage. I hand load for all my guns, so 06 takes the win for me. I was really fishing for opinions on the howa platform mainly

[deye243]

Have never own one that did not shoot well under Moa had 3 223 2 243 7 millimetre Remington Magnum every one of them fed smooth as silk quite simply for the money cannot be beat and I tend to put value on accuracy more than anything else so they are very very cheap rifles hammer-forged barrel so no need for run in BS and exceptionally easy to clean .

[bigrich]

Have never own one that did not shoot well under Moa had 3 223 2 243 7 millimetre Remington Magnum every one of them fed smooth as silk quite simply for the money cannot be beat and I tend to put value on accuracy more than anything else so they are very very cheap rifles hammer-forged barrel so no need for run in BS and exceptionally easy to clean .

Thanks mate. That’s the sort of info I’m after. The other thing about the howa is I can use the classic leupold bases and rings I like. Sako optilocks can be a little fussy with the plastic ring inserts at times. Once their set their great but . Where any of your rifles stainless actioned ? My smith reckons the chrome moly actions are longer lasting. I have heard the bluing on howa’s can be prone to surface rust .
Opinions?

[bigpete]

I can't really comment on howa per se,but I've had several weatherby vanguards over the years,which are virtually the same thing,and they've always shot well and been reliable in their standard form. My first brand new firearm was one in 308 and that could print ½" groups with suitable reloads up until the day I traded it in on a Remington model 7 308. If you don't mind a heavier rifle,then I don't think you'll be disappointed too much

[deye243]

Have never own one that did not shoot well under Moa had 3 223 2 243 7 millimetre Remington Magnum every one of them fed smooth as silk quite simply for the money cannot be beat and I tend to put value on accuracy more than anything else so they are very very cheap rifles hammer-forged barrel so no need for run in BS and exceptionally easy to clean .

Thanks mate. That’s the sort of info I’m after. The other thing about the howa is I can use the classic leupold bases and rings I like. Sako optilocks can be a little fussy with the plastic ring inserts at times. Once their set their great but . Where any of your rifles stainless actioned ? My smith reckons the chrome moly actions are longer lasting. I have heard the bluing on howa’s can be prone to surface rust .
Opinions?

The 2 243 were stainless one of the 223 was and the 7mm Remington Magnum was stainless.
And as for chrome-moly lasting longer through my old retired gunsmith I know of a couple of pro Roo Shooters in Queensland that had put more than 4 barrels on actions because he did very cheap as he personally knew them and used to go up there every year so he would re barrel them there two spares ea that makes 4 rifles just for the cost of the barrel and those rifles were still chugging along up until the day he retired.
And it is a very common misconception that the front and rear bridge is the same height as a Remington and it is not , from memory there's 0.018" or 0.020" difference is why I put Leupold Rifleman I think it is picatinny rails on mine as very good rail for the price and just about everybody makes rings that suit a picatinny rail.
The feeding of my latest Howa 223 is not as good as the others but that is not their fault as it has gone into a MDT chassis and those ACIS mags feed like s*** compared to floor plate design.

[SCJ429]

Have never own one that did not shoot well under Moa had 3 223 2 243 7 millimetre Remington Magnum every one of them fed smooth as silk quite simply for the money cannot be beat and I tend to put value on accuracy more than anything else so they are very very cheap rifles hammer-forged barrel so no need for run in BS and exceptionally easy to clean .

Are you sure they have hammer forged barrels? What causes all the tooling chatter marks you see with their barrels?

[Vince24]

In term of Howa accuracy, the only experience I have is my in-law trying to do a 10 shot group with a Howa Sporter 308w at 100 metres, 180gr HDY HPBT projectiles, 42.8gr 2208, x24 scope. Also tried some factory ADI 147 FMJ rounds.

Outcome was not great with both, see pic for the 180gr below.
Just after that, he did an excellent 10 shot group with a 243W super varmint barrel and sako factory rounds, so no problem with the shooter, but possibly a problem with the load (randomly picked within range, no load dev) - or with that specific rifle.

Howa Sporter 308w.jpg (591.18 KiB) Viewed 6257 times

Howa 243W Varmint.jpg (522.52 KiB) Viewed 6257 times

For what it's worth...

[deye243]

Have never own one that did not shoot well under Moa had 3 223 2 243 7 millimetre Remington Magnum every one of them fed smooth as silk quite simply for the money cannot be beat and I tend to put value on accuracy more than anything else so they are very very cheap rifles hammer-forged barrel so no need for run in BS and exceptionally easy to clean .

Are you sure they have hammer forged barrels? What causes all the tooling chatter marks you see with their barrels?

To be honest I have no idea I just assume they are hammer-forged barrels because the only barrels that are this easy to clean are like madco hand laped match grade barrels and hammer forged barrels in my experience anyway .
plus never seen one yet that required a run in procedure between the ones that myself my two sons and several mates have and you would be looking at over 25 rifles none have never needed anything to do with so-called running in procedure they just shot from day 1.
But very happy to be corrected if someone knows.

[deye243]

Well it seems my Google who is not totally useless if you can believe what they write on their website yes they are hammer-forged.

20221228_230255.jpg (328.8 KiB) Viewed 6252 times

[bigrich]

Thanks for your posts and opinions fellas. Makes good reading at breakfast. I’m currently on a big property west of Saint George in Queensland. Me and my mate nailed 4 young pigs on a water tank yesterday afternoon . His 30-06 with 165 Speer were devastating at around 30 yards. My 6.5x55 with 140 sst did a good job but. Sitting around last night having a couple of quiet drinks and a couple of feral cats showed up . I missed one at 60 meters with my 357 Rossi, but my mate nailed one at 40 with his 32-20 ‘92 winnie with a red dot

[deye243]

Thanks for your posts and opinions fellas. Makes good reading at breakfast. I’m currently on a big property west of Saint George in Queensland. Me and my mate nailed 4 young pigs on a water tank yesterday afternoon . His 30-06 with 165 Speer were devastating at around 30 yards. My 6.5x55 with 140 sst did a good job but. Sitting around last night having a couple of quiet drinks and a couple of feral cats showed up . I missed one at 60 meters with my 357 Rossi, but my mate nailed one at 40 with his 32-20 ‘92 winnie with a red dot

That is great stuff just wondering with the high velocity and short-range like that how did the SST penetrate I used to use the 150 grain in an omark on sambar deer years ago even out past 200 yards they would not exit the neck of a sambar but by Jesus did they blow the neck vertebrae drop them like a rock Woodleighs would mushroom and just sail clean through

[jpsauer88]

Already has been said but il repeat
If going heavier bullets settle on 3006, if shooting 150g as a max (like me 150g barnes - dont need heavier with barnes they always pass through) it doenst make a diff - loading manuals both at max pressure are 40fps from each other. 308 brass easier to come by ammo seems abit cheaper too if that means anything to u. I have both.

Note on howa, they were made more "beautifully" in early days 2007-2009, glossier finish, smooth bolt. My latest one has machine marks on bolt that are easily sanded out. A weatherby vanguard is only $200 more but finished better. In all honestly compared to a sauer, cz, remington, i hate to admit this but the howa and weatherby shoot better. That's just with my experience. Can't beat it for the money or even double the money. Never shot a sako so can't compare to that.

[bigrich]

Thanks for your posts and opinions fellas. Makes good reading at breakfast. I’m currently on a big property west of Saint George in Queensland. Me and my mate nailed 4 young pigs on a water tank yesterday afternoon . His 30-06 with 165 Speer were devastating at around 30 yards. My 6.5x55 with 140 sst did a good job but. Sitting around last night having a couple of quiet drinks and a couple of feral cats showed up . I missed one at 60 meters with my 357 Rossi, but my mate nailed one at 40 with his 32-20 ‘92 winnie with a red dot

That is great stuff just wondering with the high velocity and short-range like that how did the SST penetrate I used to use the 150 grain in an omark on sambar deer years ago even out past 200 yards they would not exit the neck of a sambar but by Jesus did they blow the neck vertebrae drop them like a rock Woodleighs would mushroom and just sail clean through

Yeah, the sst work pretty good as a “all round “ projectiles. Got onto more pigs yesterday afternoon, I took two black pigs about 40 kilograms at 30 yards. One was a shot behind the shoulder with a one inch exit, the other was a rear angle shot through the back hip up into the chest . No exit on that and it dropped on the spot. 129 sst would work better on pigs in this smaller weight range I reckon, but 140’s are needed if a bigger one shows up . I’ve hit goats at around 200 yards years ago and found one inch exits and instant drops with the 140sst out of the Swede with warm loads. My mates 30-06 hits like the hammer of Thor with 165 Speer boat tails but. Much more emphatic than my Swede. The Swede is much easier to place accurate shots I think though
As far as the 140 sst goes on close range, I hit a goat at 20 meters years ago in the shoulder and it looked like it was hit with a RPG. Just destroyed the front end of it . I’ve brought my “territory gun “ along for sh!ts and giggles, loaded with 250gn nosler accubonds. I’m wanting to see how this performs on the lighter pigs. Up in the NT the 9.3x62 was a great all round performer.
Probably going to have a tin can shooting match this morning, my open sighted 357 Rossi against my mates red dotted 32-20. Gotta do something while we’re waiting around for late afternoon pig shooting

[deye243]

Haha now yep that does sound great to me nothing like a bit of plinking competition you've probably guessed I like stretching things out a bit .
me and my son used to have a lot of fun with a Winchester 94 in 3030 trying to hit stuff out at 500 yards was absolute great fun.

[Blr243]

Not terribly relevant but i have a short hb howa 308 with my thermal at the moment. Best trigger ever And my stainless 243 hb howa shoots 1/2 inch groups with factory ppu . Also not terribly relavant ( hb )

[bigrich]

Not terribly relevant but i have a short hb howa 308 with my thermal at the moment. Best trigger ever And my stainless 243 hb howa shoots 1/2 inch groups with factory ppu . Also not terribly relavant ( hb )

thanks for your feedback mate

[bigrich]

Haha now yep that does sound great to me nothing like a bit of plinking competition you've probably guessed I like stretching things out a bit .
me and my son used to have a lot of fun with a Winchester 94 in 3030 trying to hit stuff out at 500 yards was absolute great fun.

once i found my sighting holds, (my 24" octagonal barrel rossi needs a taller front sight) plinking with the 357 is fun . youtube is a bad influence , water filled beer cans don't like 357 PPU hollow points . i was supprised how accurately i can shoot with irons .small water filled bottles at around 150-170 meters was great fun too . all the shrapnel was picked up and binned . keep australia beautiful .....

[Oldbloke]

BR, have you decided what to do?

[deye243]

Haha now yep that does sound great to me nothing like a bit of plinking competition you've probably guessed I like stretching things out a bit .
me and my son used to have a lot of fun with a Winchester 94 in 3030 trying to hit stuff out at 500 yards was absolute great fun.

once i found my sighting holds, (my 24" octagonal barrel rossi needs a taller front sight) plinking with the 357 is fun . youtube is a bad influence , water filled beer cans don't like 357 PPU hollow points . i was supprised how accurately i can shoot with irons .small water filled bottles at around 150-170 meters was great fun too . all the shrapnel was picked up and binned . keep australia beautiful .....

Sounds like great fun to me good stuff.
Now after doing quite a bit of loading last night for the 223 80vld and some test loads for my 260 I had full intentions of hitting the range today on the farm for testing and some fun but stuck in the house yesterday looks like I'm stuck in the house today and for a day or two yet this is doing my head in .
Oh well tomorrow can only get better than today

[bigrich]

BR, have you decided what to do?

i should just buy both suprised no one on this forum has suggested that .

i'm still mulling this choice over . for practicality 308 wins . 30-06 has a slight performance edge with medium game bullet weights . being able to shoot heavier than 180's in the 06 is a bit irrelevant as for 99% of my hunting 150's are spot on .

the fact that in queensland i can "like for like" (no waiting for a PTA ) ,and put the rifle i'm disposing on consignment sale may be a factor .

[bigrich]

Haha now yep that does sound great to me nothing like a bit of plinking competition you've probably guessed I like stretching things out a bit .
me and my son used to have a lot of fun with a Winchester 94 in 3030 trying to hit stuff out at 500 yards was absolute great fun.

once i found my sighting holds, (my 24" octagonal barrel rossi needs a taller front sight) plinking with the 357 is fun . youtube is a bad influence , water filled beer cans don't like 357 PPU hollow points . i was supprised how accurately i can shoot with irons .small water filled bottles at around 150-170 meters was great fun too . all the shrapnel was picked up and binned . keep australia beautiful .....

Sounds like great fun to me good stuff.
Now after doing quite a bit of loading last night for the 223 80vld and some test loads for my 260 I had full intentions of hitting the range today on the farm for testing and some fun but stuck in the house yesterday looks like I'm stuck in the house today and for a day or two yet this is doing my head in .
Oh well tomorrow can only get better than today

your lucky you can shoot on your farm . my load testing is limited to when my local ssaa range is open . what do you use your 260 for, game wise ?

[Blr243]

I jusr re read original post to see what the rifle would be used for ( hunting wise ) but there did ot appear to be any i fo there. Perhaps in between in otherpostsits there. Being a fellow bris lad and hunting similar game the biggest thing we hav handy would b red stags. So 308 plenty of gun. Once fired Brass Always available everywhere at very resdonable prices . The 9.3 u wlready have i think makes the o6 seem less attractive purchase ... thats all i can think off. Just woke up brain not really kicking in

[Blr243]

I jusr re read original post to see what the rifle would be used for ( hunting wise ) but there did ot appear to be any i fo there. Perhaps in between in otherpostsits there. Being a fellow bris lad and hunting similar game the biggest thing we hav handy would b red stags. So 308 plenty of gun. Once fired Brass Always available everywhere at very resdonable prices . The 9.3 u wlready have i think makes the o6 seem less attractive purchase ... thats all i can think off. Just woke up brain not really kicking in

[bigrich]

I jusr re read original post to see what the rifle would be used for ( hunting wise ) but there did ot appear to be any i fo there. Perhaps in between in otherpostsits there. Being a fellow bris lad and hunting similar game the biggest thing we hav handy would b red stags. So 308 plenty of gun. Once fired Brass Always available everywhere at very resdonable prices . The 9.3 u wlready have i think makes the o6 seem less attractive purchase ... thats all i can think off. Just woke up brain not really kicking in

sorry about the lack of game info . the usual stuff in southern QLD . average pigs where the biggest might be 80kg , or reds and rusa

in reality 9.3 is too much gun for most of what i hunt unless i head north again . not enough resistance for projectile expansion on southern QLD game . i enjoy big game comps at my local range , and being used to 9.3 recoil makes my 6.5x55 seem like a pop gun, and my 06 is , well , pleasant to shoot yes 308 makes sense , especially not being worried about retreiving brass in the bush cause it's so cheap . but i really don't like waiting for PTA's so like for liking to another 06 is less hassle

i can understand the brain not working . doing a 8 hour run yesterday back from bollon left me a little drained my mate called the 3 hour run from st george to dalby the "brain dead highway" cause of the loooong straight roads with no features except bush . and more bush and more bush my 6.5x55 is okay , but doesn't have the energy transfer of a 30 cal . might do a run up to the big C on teusday to handle a howa and check out the build qaulity and finish .