I've never owned any of the 4 but have shot a Howa that seemed pretty nice for what it was (entry level rifle). Everyone will have an opinion but the only rifle I've heard anything close to a concensus against buying would be the Stevens. I guess I'd go for Howa.
Go for the Marlin. Great little guns for the price and they have a great trigger (pretty much as good as the savage accutrigger). Pick one up at your local gun shop and youll know what I mean
I have a Remington 770 in .300 Win Mag that I'm very happy with. I know they are also available in .243, and you can get them as a scoped combo for under $500 with a Bushnell 3-9X40.
Mine has never lost zero for over 140 rounds fired, and still shoots to point of aim every time at 300 yards.
yeah, i'd go with either the howa or the marlin... i have a weatherby vangaurd and it is indeed a howa barreled action and it is very nice!! i've yet to play with a marlin yet but i'd like to pick one up in 7/08...
the gun dealer i work with was telling me the howa was a good gun i just have never heard of them. but i'm new in gun's. the Marlin i did some reading on it and sonded like a good gun. i took a trip to bass pro to do some looking and the thing i did see on the Marlin was the barrel was smaller the only uther one thay for me to look and tuch was a mossberg 100 atr and that one looks like a bull barrel.
my .02 on the 4 listed, i would not buy the mossberg. i would be torn between the marlin and the howa. the marlin is basicly the same thing as the savage, so is the stevens, but the stevens doesn't have the accu trigger. howa's are good guns. shoulder them all and buy the one that seems to fit you best.
" have never heard of the howa but have been told it's a nice gun."
The Weatherby Vangard IS a Howa barreled action. In the past they have been sold under the Smith & Wesson and other USA brands as well. The actions are GOOD, the triggers are good, the barrels are good, they look good.
My Vanguard .243 shoots some bullets very well, others poorly. That's no different from any other rifle I've ever used! But, it's accounted for a lot of crows and ground hogs with 75-85 gr. bullets. A good number of deer with different 100 grainers, never needed a second shot on any of them.
For all around game and varminting use my old 3-9x40 AO Leupold in low mounts has been near perfect on it.
I once put a 7mm Mag Howa barreled action in a Bell and Carson stock for a friend. With Rem factory 170s he gets .75 MOA, consistantly. What's not to like?
for the price you can't go wrong with the marlin as it is certainly more gun than the stevens and from a weight standpoint the marlin is a good bit lighter... that howa/vanguard action is very stout. for a std barreled model my vanguard 22/250 is "hefty"...
why not jut get the savage .. accutrigger helps a stevens a lot..
still marlin does fine.. i have had some..
after you get it sighted in ..its mostly a matter of learning your gun an the ammo it likes..shootin paper is what gives you the knowledge to shoot the deer where you want to hit him..confidence is a heck of an asset. jmo slim
the stevens for the price wouldn't be a bad gun but it don't come with the accutrigger like the savage. i have a savage .17 hmr and it is a nice gun. i let my 5 ad 6yr old use it.
thay didn't have the marlin in stock so i'm going to hold off a bit to see if thay get it in if not i will get the howa.
i think that is a good call, i looked at a marlin in .243 yesterday in belle fourche, s.d. and was really impressed with the trigger... it was rather crisp, much better than the accu-triggers that i have tried/have. the howa is a wonderful rifle that i have yet to hear anybody badmouth. i have a blued/synthetic std. bbl. weight weatherby vanguard in 22/250 that i really like. the stock is better than the howa in my opinion and the trigger cleaned up very nicely. to be honest i haven't shot it much, have only had the rifle for about a month now but it's a nice rifle....
I'd go with the marlin. Many people do seem happy with their weatherby's/howas, that's great, I may just have been unlucky but the one I owned and the one my friend bought were both very disappointing. I won't recommend a howa/weatherby to anyone.
HERE ,HERE.-i remember when they were imported under the cmc banner,-commercial marketing corp.-howa tool still makes AND assembles howa and weatherby and make harley bike parts.the two i had the misfortune to own.both had extraction probs.-p**s weak claw..-sinmilar to a savavage 110e in 22 hornet. -always taped a piece of fencing wire on the side of rifle.-pity as the action is built like a brick sh*thouse,and very underated.-dont laugh but i think the action strength comes close to a rem bdl.-i said CLOSE.
All of the Vanguards I have shot or seen shot were tack drivers. Weatherby also stands behind their products as well as any gunmaker. If you have problem with their products, did you even contact Weatherby?
Not trying to convince anyone "against" the Marlin, as I own and love my Marlins. Just sayin'.
Dan
i called all the shops arond to see what thay had in the 243 and didn't find to much. the dealer i work with whar he gets them from thay are out of stock of the marlin.
i did find some more info on howa it looks to be a nice gun and that one thay do have instock.
Just like a kid in a candy store Be sure to post up some pics when you get it.
Dan
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