Thread: Howa rifle, good deal?

Hey all please to meet you, first post been lurking as a guest for a while

Is this a good deal for a first rifle?

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/sports/hunting-shooting/rifles/centrefire/listing/4602633710

Originally Posted by Noobhunter

Hey all please to meet you, first post been lurking as a guest for a while

Is this a good deal for a first rifle?

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...ing/4602633710

Does not look like it has done much work, but at 17" a 270 will be LOUD

DPT are good mods, that price would be a steal in my neck of the woods, but seems you get Howa's cheaper over there.

I'd offer to pay a holding deposit and the rest once you have either shot it or had a good look-see.

Find a mate with a borescope and bring them along, ask where the rifle was bought from.

I have a couple of Howas and Bushnell scopes myself, both rough and ready but good tools.

Those prices are getting up towards retail, disregard the ammo, thats just a bonus. Personally I'm not a fan of chopping perfectly good barrels so short so it wouldnt be my first choice. But it is a decent rifle, in a B&C stock, looks tidy, and its all set up ready to go. The B&C stocks are excellent, good and strong and reliable. The fluting and fitting the suppressor will have cost a bit. And its a good DPT suppressor.

The ammo that is with it still retains some good velocities despite the shortened barrel, you will pay a fortune for the Sako ammo off the shelf. And you will probably need to have somebody reload the 130's with Superformance. Standard off the shelf 270 ammo wont have the velocity that hes quoted.

All in all its a nice tidy rifle, set up to go shoot shit, and will probably perform fine. I would suggest you see if you can get the opportunity to try it first. It can be the best rifle around, but if it dont fit you, or you dont like the scope, then it wont work as well as presented.

Borrow a borescope from somebody and have a look at how the barrel looks.

Test shoot it to see how it shoots and more importantly how it feels. 270 generally are relatively inefficient and have larger recoil. With the lighter bullets might be fine though. But recoil is subjective.

Would also not be surprised if it was a bit of a flamethrower. That DPT will be getting a hammering.

Nice rifle.
If you are considering it as your first centrefire, I say no.
The recoil will put you off.
The short barrel, as others have said, will make it loud. The suppressor will not take all the noise away.
The other 270 he has for sale would be a better option.

Sent from my SM-G990E using Tapatalk

17" for a 270 puts me off

“270 generally are relatively inefficient and have larger recoil. With the lighter bullets might be fine though.”

Has worked perfectly fine all over the world since since it was introduced. Jack O’Connor for one took a shit load of animals the world over with this caliber along with many others. As stated, recoil is subjective. At 17” it will probably be a flamethrower but if it works it works. Not personally a 270 owner but have used and seen enough being used very effectively to not discount the caliber.

Originally Posted by woods223

“270 generally are relatively inefficient and have larger recoil. With the lighter bullets might be fine though.”

Has worked perfectly fine all over the world since since it was introduced. Jack O’Connor for one took a shit load of animals the world over with this caliber along with many others. As stated, recoil is subjective. At 17” it will probably be a flamethrower but if it works it works. Not personally a 270 owner but have used and seen enough being used very effectively to not discount the caliber.

30-06 and 45-70 too, so whats your point?

Just because something works does not mean its ideal for a new shooter. I do believe there are better options out there in this particular instance.

Look at it this way howa 1500 $1100, dpt $450, vixen 3-12 and rings $550 so your $2100 brand new out of the packet in any caliber you want, just food for thought

It’s a sweet deal, and I’m one for a deal go for it!

That rifle is a good solid work horse in that caliber, even with a 17" barrel, and will still efficiently tip over any deer within sensible shooting range.
And is good buying at that price all ready to rock & roll with the can and scope.
I wouldn't stand in front of it at 400 Yds.

Nothing against the 270 but any large capacity case with a narrow bore gives away a lot more with loss of barrel length.
Ie I had a 243 at 18" and it was not nice. large flames and a big boom and more recoil. Silencer helped.
Sure inside 3-400 meter no deer is going to notice the lower velocity but the shooter will notice, fine for an experianced shooter who wants a bush gun with some reach,
but not ideal for a beginner.
As a beginner I would be staying with a barrel something in the 20-22 in range that going to be nicer to shoot and easyier to resell.
Don't get hung up on having to have a short barrel for bush shooting, many deer have been shot with 24" barrel rifles in the bush for many years.
Z

Hi Noobhunter, my 2 cents worth. I recently got back into hunting after a near 20 year absence and was looking around for an all rounder that did not break the bank. Settled on a near new Howa stainless in 308 from Hamills, our local gun retailer. They had it on behalf, with 3/9 X 40 Bushnell scope and Modular silencer. I got them to add a decent carry bag, scope cover, box of ammo, tri-pod and sling and the lot came to $1,500. Its shot 7 deer in the 10 months I've owned it out to 280m
and, although I realise it's not top of the range it works fine and will see me out. I reckon the one you're looking at is a bit pricey when you consider what you can get a new one for.

@Noobhunter
Probably a far better value first rifle
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...ing/4608647785

Originally Posted by dannyb

@Noobhunter
Probably a far better value first rifle
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...ing/4608647785

well spotted Danny yes that .270 with such a short barrel would have been a bit of a beast to shoot and this .308 could go for a very fair price