What to buy?? Howa or savage??

[Canhunter35]

I agree with barrel nut, also check the trigger, and select the best preference. They will shoot similar and be of similar quality

 

[gohring3006]

Let's say we are not changing anything.. what would you choose???

If you are not changing a thing and just buying them to shoot, I would go Savage.
My reason is, I have a couple of Savage rifles that have nothing done to them, no pillars of bedding of any kind. And they are very accurate, that's the reason they haven't been touched, they shot fine untouched. My Vanguard on the other hand needed free floated and bedded before I got it under 1 Moa. It was easy to bed, the action is flat on the bottom with a tapered recoil lug.

 

[NEMTHunter]

Savage has my vote.

 

[Wolf76]

Have both, but prefer the howa. I HATE the accutrigger. Agree on free floating the barrel for the howa. I don't think the person asking the question is even considering barrel swap. $500 budget doesn't scream barrel swap later. I like the stock and trigger better on the howa. To be fair, I did just replace the stock on the Howa because I needed a longer LOP. This gun shot 4 groups yesterday that were <1" at 300 meters. This is really a Ford/Chevy/Dodge discussion. All have +s and -s.

 

[timmay]

I have a feeling that everyone voting for the Savage have never owned or fired a Howa 1500. Savage are notorious for their out of the box accuracy and easy barrel swapping, BUT I have to say Im very impressed with the Howa 1500 I bought in 6.5CM with 24" heavy free floated barrel. The action is very slick. (way smoother than a Savage action) The fit/finish is great, trigger excellent. I was not expecting it to be as nice as it is..Im Very surprised and pleased with the Howa and I own a Savage. The Savage is still a great choice but Ill be buying more Howas and not any Savages if that says anything...
Im really digging the New Howa 1500 Micro Actions that are in 7.62x39 and 6.5 Grendel
Another rifle that I was very pleasantly surprised with is the CZ 550 with turkish walnut stock. I have the Varmint model in 308 and that thing is superb!

 

[WeiserBucks]

Both will likely shoot well but I prefer the Howa . Everything about them just feels like it's better quality and much better fit and finish.

 

[Ol'Gator]

Savage for reasons mentioned. Plus, they shoot!!!

 

[bigngreen]

I will take a button rifles barrel before a hammer forged, both actions have strong points and week points, I really like the accutrigger.
The plastic parts used to worry me but after abusing many of them in some cases they end up better quality than the crap pot metal parts.
I really like building with a Howa for some chambering but as a whole package I'd take the Savage.

 

[Morse Industries]

Its hard to beat the m1500, especially for the price at least for 308 imo. still have a m1500 24in 308 that shoots about 5in at 800. But the barrel nut and awesome trigger of the savage and all the easy available parts make it a winner.
Ill be doing a "budget precision" build here next week and doctumention $:moa stuff. The project gun is a savage 10ba 6.5 24in

 

[Patton243]

1max, I've borescoped a lot of factory barrels and the Savage wins this test.

I owned both Howa and Savage rifles. Currently I have 2 Savage rifles and the Howas are sold. However, the factory barrels on the Savage's were both garbage. I replaced both with aftermarket barrels. In contrast the Howa barrels were far superior to the Savage factory rifle barrels. I also read an article stating that it only costs Savage $15 to make a factory barrel. I kept the Savage rifles BASED on the aftermarket support and easier to replace barrels etc. Howa does not have that. Howa's extraction system is WAY better than Savage too IMO.

 

[gj]

SAVAGE !

 

[Dgd6mm]

Savage first and foremost.

 

[Cleveland48]

I really like my Howa in 6.5 CM heavy barrel. It's been sub moa since day one. The savage is hands down easier to upgrade. I believe straight from the factory the Howa is nicer though. The action is very smooth, and there is some aftermarket support.

 

[Rich Coyle]

I am surprised at those who say the Savage action is not smooth. Recently when I was in the market for a new rifle, I checked all that were available at sportsman. The two best were the Tikka and the Savage when working the action from the shoulder.