11/20/2022 0 Comments Howa golden bear rifles serial numbersIn fact, it was really quite good, with a slight recess on the muzzle. In terms of finish, close inspection of the crown offered little to raise an eyebrow about. Sako’s process tends to create stronger and harder-wearing barrels, although the process is not necessarily better. Sako, on the other hand, has always fitted its rifles with cold hammer-forged barrels. This is the same method as a number of big names such as Walther and Shilen. Surprisingly made by Howa, they are formed using the button-rifling manufacturing process. The first diversion comes if we start with the barrel. Today’s model 1500 has changed somewhat from the Golden Bear of the 1960s, but it is still based on the great old Sako action, albeit with some design alterations. Contract and patent infringements then forced Howa to stop producing the rifle, and today they are very hard to come by. Although hard to confirm, it is thought that the contract hadn’t allowed for an exact copy of Sako’s rifle, which indeed is what Howa had done with its Golden Bear model. In the 1940s, it secured contracts with the Japanese armaments industry, and this started the ball rolling in the production of firearms.Īlthough initially its focus was on military firearms, a deal with Sako allowed Howa to produce a copy of its soon-to-be-legendary L61 and L579 series, better known as the Finnbear and Forrester. Howa as a company was established in 1907, then under a different name, manufacturing everything from electronics to heavy plant equipment. For those who knew their history, it was hardly a surprise. Price alone was enough for the Howa 1500 to begin walking out of gun shop doors, but it soon started to build a following and reputation on merit. However, as the story behind Howa began to filter through, people started to take a harder look at this understated rifle. Despite this, hunters were guarded about a manufacturer they knew nothing about, and as far as they could tell, had little in the way of a history in making rifles. The marketing spiel boasted 1.5in groups and a variety of calibres, stock options and barrel profiles, along with an adjustable trigger and three-position safety. There wasn’t anything staggering about their appearance, but nothing suggested corners had been cut in offering such a competitive rifle to the market. When we first began seeing Howa advertised in UK hunting magazines, prices seemed to dictate yet another cheap entry-level rifle. Indeed, today’s Weatherby Vanguard comes off the Howa factory floor, branded and shipped under a different name. Behind the scenes, however, rifle manufacturers were well aware of a company that was making rifles for some big brand names. It wasn’t so many years ago when Howa was a non-existent brand among the British hunting public.
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