LEGACY SPORTS INTERNATIONAL HISTORY AND PRODUCT REVIEW
|
Today's Howa Model 1500 is, with very minor changes, yesterday's Weatherby Vanguard. Introduced in 1970, the idea behind the Vanguard was to give aspiring Weatherby owners a more affordable yet look-alike rifle chambered in standard calibers to supplement the flagship Mark V line chambered in Weatherby's proprietary magnums. That was the intention, anyway, but the Vanguard line became so successful that ultimately Ed Weatherby found himself pressured by the realities of the marketplace to do what his father never intended: to offer the Vanguard in Weatherby Magnum calibers, albeit only in the two most popular ones, the .270 and .300. Having a rifle that looked so much like a Mark V available in Weatherby and other belted magnum calibers and selling for substantially less, the company's own Vanguard became the Mark V's toughest competition! From a marketing standpoint, successful though the Vanguard was, it didn't make a lot of sense if Weatherby expected the Mark V Magnum to remain the standard-bearer of the line. It was with some reluctance, then, that Ed decided to pull the plug on the Vanguard in 1995.
Oddly enough, while Howa Machinery in Japan was producing the Vanguard for Weatherby, they were also supplying what was virtually the same rifle with a different stock, first to Smith &Wesson (1979-1984), then to Mossberg (1986-1987), who were marketing the gun under their own names. Interarms took over the line from Mossberg in 1988 and chose to name it after the manufacturer, Howa, and have had the line ever since. - Sundra, Jon. "The working man's custom gun." The complete rifleman 2000.
|
|
|
In 1998 Interarms went out of business and its product line was purchased by Legacy Sports International, who in 1999 started marketing the Howa line of bolt action rifles with the addition of Boyd's laminated stocks. As a result of this successful venture, LSI has been introducing new models of rifles and shotguns every year. Legacy Sports has the distinct advantage of being the first firearms company to have the most models of laminated stocked rifles in the industry. Currently, there are 160 models of Howa rifles available with Boyd's laminated stocks. And with roughly half of all Howa's being imported by LSI (the rest are imported by Weatherby) this number is sure to increase in the coming years. I have personally shot many Howa rifles and have to give most of the credit to the manufacturer, Howa Machinery Ltd. for the high quality of materials and quality control that go into their rifles. I can take an out of the box Supreme Varmiter rifle chambered in .308 Win., complete with Boyds laminated stock, and shoot 1/2" MOA groups at 100 yards using Federal Gold Medal Match 168 gr. BTHP ammunition. What sets these rifles apart from all other large makers is that I can do it again and again and get the same result every time. Each rifle is a mirror image of the next. Legacy Sports products are what gave Kings Mountain its start in the world of gun dealing on 9/15/01. - Matt Koenigsberg Proprietor of Kings Mountain
|
|
|
Web reviews of Howa rifles In 2003, A Howa Supreme Varmiter was supplied to Sniper Central.com by Kings Mountain, for testing. Retired National Guard sniper Mel Ewing reviews and critiques this rifle along with other heavy barrel commerical and military sniper style rifles on his website. -- Read the Complete Online Review on Sniper Central.com of the Howa .308 Supreme Varmiter.
Magazine reviews of Howa rifles Gun Tests October, 2003. Gun Tests Reviews a Howa Varmiter .22-250, against a Sako. Rifle Shooter Magazine, January/February 2002. Review by Jon Sundra of Howa Laminated Stocked rifles.
|
|
|
Targets Shot by Matt Koenigsberg of King Mountain. |