I've been offered a second hand howa .243 in syn stock for £500, reviews?

I looked at Howa and thought they just seemed 'cheap'. Nearly bought one twice, but glad I went for a T3 and a Sako 85 instead.

They seem decent, but I could see myself swapping and upgrading. At this time I have absolutely no desire to swap from my Finnish offerings.

I have spoken to a number of people who seem very keen (Moray Outfitting on here being a strong supporter).

Does it have the removalble mag conversion?
 
Ask munty hunter on here he might sell his now he has a 6.5
His is very accurate. And has a mod to
 
Yours is not standard, it's a semi custom!

Ah yes "semi custom"... I once had a "semi custom" ford escort 1.4 (go faster stripes, bonnet vents, and tacky alloys). Solid car underneath but still a 1.4 escort ;)

p.s. Particularly bitter about it tonight as there's a tikka t3 tactical with a load of extras up for a grande on SD :'(
 
I looked at Howa and thought they just seemed 'cheap'. Nearly bought one twice, but glad I went for a T3 and a Sako 85 instead.

They seem decent, but I could see myself swapping and upgrading. At this time I have absolutely no desire to swap from my Finnish offerings.

I have spoken to a number of people who seem very keen (Moray Outfitting on here being a strong supporter).

Does it have the removalble mag conversion?
A certain gentleman from Montana will tell you he will climb over a pile of finnish rifles and blasers to get to a decent Howa! For £650 I think they are very good as they are.
 
A certain gentleman from Montana will tell you he will climb over a pile of finnish rifles and blasers to get to a decent Howa! For £650 I think they are very good as they are.

I never said it wasn't a good gun, just that £650 for a new one makes more sense than £500 for a s/h one
 
Ah yes "semi custom"... I once had a "semi custom" ford escort 1.4 (go faster stripes, bonnet vents, and tacky alloys). Solid car underneath but still a 1.4 escort ;)

p.s. Particularly bitter about it tonight as there's a tikka t3 tactical with a load of extras up for a grande on SD :'(

Yeah! that would pee anyone off! But what a rifle you have! The trigger has been "worked on" so well that the difference is almost undetectable!
 
A certain gentleman from Montana will tell you he will climb over a pile of finnish rifles and blasers to get to a decent Howa! For £650 I think they are very good as they are.

I wonder if the same guy would climb over Emma stone , Megan foxx and Kate moss to tuck up to Susan Boyle ?!
Or walk past a range rover and jump in a smart car !:)

******** aside though , you get a lot of gear for your money !
 
At the mo, you can get a Howa rifle, rubberised Hogue stock, sound mod, tilting bipod and Niko Diamond scope for £899 ish

Why would you buy secondhand ?
 
I never said it wasn't a good gun, just that £650 for a new one makes more sense than £500 for a s/h one
No argument here brother! There was a second hand Howa 1500 in 300wm. On here not so long ago for £350! That's a whole lot of gun for that kind of money.
 
No argument here brother! There was a second hand Howa 1500 in 300wm. On here not so long ago for £350! That's a whole lot of gun for that kind of money.

I know - Brough got it, I should see it in the flesh soon. £350... that's about what I paid for my semi custom trigger lol :(
 
But at the end of the day you have a Howa, with a strange green fury stock and a mediocre scope.

Buy a 2nd hand decent rifle, keep it a few years and you can make money on it.
 
A Howa dose what it says on the tin & the same as any other rifle from a CZ to a bespoke H&H it will only ever be as good as the user, but will hit what ou point it at but £500 is too much secondhand unless it has extras of is modded in some way I'd buy new for the difference and know its ok and how many rounds it's had through it.
 
GF

The strength and part of the confusion surrounding Howa is the range of models.

If the 243 on offer is a blue version with the standard Hogue stock and has no other 'juicy bits' - eg good mounts, mod etc, then £500 would get you a brand new one with a little shopping around. If its a stainless version with a B & C stock, its a very good buy - and so on etc etc. This makes it quite hard to judge values at times.

Whilst not loving the basic Hogue stock, it does perform - despite forestock flex. The Framed Hogue is different and the B & C totally changes the rifle. Stock changes are a near mix and match/ drop it in situation - so the option to change at a later date remains. Current UK stock holdings are based upon actions and stocks coming together at the order stage - so, recent B & C s/a delivery delay aside, most of the 'parts' are on the shelf and ready.

Every Howa we've come across shoots well, not a lemon yet.

The plastic Mag conversion is a great idea and Ok design in just plain the wrong material - needs a metal floor frame and a better latch design for field use. The Sonic mod doesnt float my boat either, I'm a Harris preferee as well. So the Combination package - whilst on paper a good deal, doesnt do a great lot for me personally. I'd rather spend on the higher level stocks.

Secondhand, as Apache points out there will be an economic consideration. Prices are low ( ish ) and some dealers are already under-cutting. So residual values are going to be fraught. But those that do come up tend to be offered at not much below new price - because there simply is nowhere really to go price wise. Swapping and changing kit is ( I suspect! ) 90% of the joy of this hobby of ours :D. That to me is the biggest potential downside to Howa choice. But every one we've sold is still in its original happy home!
 
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