Howa?

MPFD

MPFD

Active member
I bought my first Howa, it is a ranchland compactin 7-08 (another first on the cartridge). I know that it has a very thin contour of barrel and that I can expect stringing shots if I shoot groups rapidly. Other then that. It's on its way and I'm excited and wanna hear from those who have them, the good the bad and the ugly. While I appreciate input from axiom owners, it is to different of a beast to compare. What kind of real world accuracy can I expect other then Weatherby's 1.5 MOA guarntee? I'm not expecting clover leafs BTW, just good results...
 
i have never shot the ranchland, but i have shot tons of Howas and own several and i love them all and they are all very accurate. I dont think you will be disappointed with it.
 
I have a ranchland in 223. I can get under MOA without much load workup. I have bedded mine and I have worked the trigger over. If you search my old posts, I have posted a link that has a pictorial of how to do a trigger job on a howa. They are fairly nice out of the box though.
 
It's not a ranchland but my pencil barrel 25-06 Howa is scary accurate. Now its not completely stock it has been glass bedded and I have the stock trigger adjusted as light as I can get it. You should have no problem getting MOA or under with it.
 
Originally Posted By: bigsky_songdogsi have never shot the ranchland, but i have shot tons of Howas and own several and i love them all and they are all very accurate. I dont think you will be disappointed with it.

+1
 
I don't shoot prarie poodles, but I'd say a Howa would work just fine. True up a 1500, and it is nearly everything a 700 is, for less the price. Much as I hate to say it. Very good actions, and certainly worthy of building a hunting rifle upon. If they weren't Japanese, I would like them even more........
 
Thank you guys. I really appreciate the input. I have just really liked the Ranchland since it came out. Poor mans model 7 kinda. I really want one in .223 even with the fast twist. 6x45's can push heavier bullets
 
I have a 24" heavy barrel 1500 blued.

Pros...The barrel just does not collect copper. It's like it was hand lapped by a pro. Very accurate off the bench, my best .223 50gr NoslerBT with Varget load is .151 and always under .500 at 100 yards with anything 40gr thru 60gr. Smooth feeding from the magazine and love the 3 position safety. Good looking too. I hope the standard barrels are as nice as mine.

Cons...The barrel is hard to get off the action and requires heat and tons of torque. This is a minor problem only if you ever want to rebarrel.
 
I have one in .243 with the Hogue rubberized stock and the cheapo Nikko scope. BUT, I have shot 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch groups with it. It's a bit on the heavier side, but that stabilizes the rifle a bit more. I couldn't be happier with a $400 rifle.
 
Anybody wanna share a starter load for 7-08? I would like to drive 139 Hornady SST's at about 2800.
 
Re15 works great in my 7-08. Varget as well. I have 3/4" to 1/2" loads with the 140 Sierra GK and 120 BT.

I use mostly Sirerra data or hodgdon.com
 
I am hopeing it will like Varget or 4064. I have two .243 and they both like different powders (Varg/4064) with identical burn rates.
 
Yep! You should be ok. IME, the 7-08 is forgiving and easy to load for. Both of those powder are great in the round. I just prefer the Varget and RE15 for stability. Utah (and PA) have some large temp swings. Stability is necessary!
 

MPFD,

When I was picking up the new Savage, I asked about any 7mm-08s,
and the nice man showed me a Howa Ranchland Compact. It
was $349. Nice looking little deer gun. Maybe the grandson
needs a new deer rifle?
thumbup1.gif


They also had a Savage Axis, in 7mm-08, for $249. Temptations
abound.

Squeeze
 
They have a set that comes with both a youth and a full size stock with the barreled action as a package. Thats kinda cool. I've been carrying a 7mm Rem Mag for the last couple years and even with a 24" barrel its still pretty light. But even though its recoil hasn't really bothered me, I didn't really need that much rifle. I think I will like this handy little carbine better.
 
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