I wanted to ask folks out there if anyone has a Howa 1500 in 30-06, and if so how you liked the rifle? The good, the bad and the ugly about it. On Nov 30th here in Michigan a group of six of us did a few mini drives on public and bumped a few, but one of our friends had a S&W 1500 chambered in 30-06....made only a few years by Howa for S&W in the 80's....I was interested in this rifle. I own a Rem 7400 in 280 REM, and a Rem 700 in 270 WIN but have been thinking of getting a rifle chambered in 30-06 SPRG. Curious if anyone owns this rifle out there?

I have a weatherby vanguard which is made by Howa in 270. Nice gun and well made in my opinion.

The Howa 1500 and Weatherby Vangard are the same rifles and have a pretty fair reputation. They made a few with checkered walnut stocks and they were pretty good rifles. I don't care for the black Tupperware found on most.

Sounds to me, you're just trying to justify a purchase. A 30-06 has no advantage or nitche over what you already have. Howa makes a good gun. If you want it. Get it. It's your money.

That is true. Sharp rifle I thought.

When my kid got out of Marines, he was looking to buy his first rifle. A Gunny suggested he get a Howa 1500, which he did. His is a .308 Win with bull barrel. Heavy gun, but has light recoil. Has a good crisp trigger. Shoots pretty well right of the box. Only problem he has had was the return spring used on the bolt latch fell out. Service for these rifles is run by a company out of Las Vegas. I called, gave them the part number and they sent me a replacement for free. Have asked around and mentioned them to a couple gun smiths and both had nice things to say about them.

If memory serves, action is a Rem 700 clone and bolt is easy to strip by hand (no tools). Useful when setting up sizing dies and searching for lands during load development.

Not a 700 clone just some similarities

There is also a Mossberg 1500 made by Howa. They are great rifles for the price. The barrel threads I believe are metric. I like their extractor (M16) setup.

I have owned several and all were good shooters.

Still have a couple of the mini Howa’s that I use suppressed.

I’ve had a Howa 1500 for over 20 years in 270. It has been a tack driver, if I do my part when I pull the trigger it’s a dead critter. Has always went bang when the trigger is pulled. Eric

I killed 2 deer with 2 shots with my vangaurd 270. One yesterday one wednesday. Had it a long time. No idea how many rounds its had through it. When I want to play I will grab a different tool time to time but when I want meat i grab that old 270. Vangaurd which is a howa 1500. If you want a 30-06 you could do a lot worse than a 1500.

I own quite a few Howa 1500 in various calibers. For the price point, great quality. I would judge them as superior to a Remington, better than a Browning A bolt, and just a step up from a Tikka. My 22-250's have 1000's of rounds through them and no signs of wear. Triggers are adjustable for tension and creep. A number of after market stocks. I wouldn't hesitate to own another

I bought a Howa 1500 with a real stock this summer. Very very accurate, has one of the best triggers of any new gun I've ever bought and a really nice wooden stock.

Best bang for your buck imo.

They're good rifles, I have a .308 and a .22-250 I haven't had any complaints. My favorite rifles all have levers on them, but the 1500's are accurate and they've always said bang when I asked them to. They have a much better stock than most of the budget friendly rifles too

I have S&W1500 in 300 win mag I bought when I was 14 and I am 53 now so been awhile. Has been a good rifle very accurate have take a few animals with it plan on using it on grizzly this spring. I also bought a Remington model 7 308 around the same time that Is my go to rifle. I like the 308 just because it is small and handy. Both have killed tons of moose ,caribou, bear and some deer on the islands.