Yep the Howa 1500's, Weatherby Vanguards, S&W 1500's, Mossberg 1500's (older guns), all the same. Good shooters for the most part. As with ANY brand, you may get a lemon. I have a 30-06 Vanguard that is a decent gun for the bucks. But these guns are lot like Savages (which is a another very decent gun for the money BTW) they usually need aftermarket stuff to make them come up to par, so to speak. Aftermarket stocks, triggers, bedding the action and the barrels, is not uncommon. A lot of guys even do custom builds with the Savage and Stevens actions and the result is usually some really fine and accurate guns. Competitions are won often by Savage guns or Savage custom builds. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of the Howas or Vanguards though, for two reasons........first you're gonna get a decent shooter right off the bat......second when money is tight and only comes in small increments, then 3-400 bucks now and then a 100 more, and then a couple hundred more is easier to swing than spending it all at once. Sure it adds up, but it's kinda like buying a house or car on credit, keep putting into it and you wind up with what ya want and have pride in what you've done to it also.
