Howa 1500- standard or compact (ranchland)?

[CO_west]

I'm looking at a .308 rifle for deer and elk, and I've set my mind on a Howa. Trying to decide between the Ranchland compact model with the 20 inch #1 contour thin barrel and the standard with the 22 inch normal spotter barrel. This will be for hunting in Colorado, so every ounce counts and I'm leaning heavy towards the lighter option. What do I lose by going with the lighter one? I understand the basic concepts behind thin vs heavier barrels and short vs long, but I'm curious if anyone here has hands on experience comparing the two options. Thanks!

 

[HighDesertSage]

Have you looked at their alpine rifle? That thing looks sweet and it's made for hunting the high country.

I don't think the velocity would matter much. Maybe 50 FPS loss going with the lighter option. That's probably only about 2-5%.

Oh and Welcome!

 

[CO_west]

I have seen the alpine rifle. Looks pretty sweet, but it's out of my price range.

I've heard about the POI "walking" with the compact model.... The barrel apparently can get too hot after just a handful of shots. Howa says that this means the barrel wasn't properly broken in. In any case, I won't be unloading dozens of rounds on any elk. I'm not that bad a shot, even if I am a relative newbie.

 

[Sawtooth]

My son has a 308 win. Weatherby Vanguard compact rifle, which is the same barreled action as the Ranchland compact. The gun has been great and he shoots it out to 400 yards at the range and has harvested both deer and elk with it just fine. You nor the animals you are shooting will notice any loss of velocity due to the shorter barrel. My only complaint with his Weatherby is the stock is kind of cheap, but that will be replaced in a couple of years once he is done growing. I haven't noticed any change in movement with point of impact when we are out shooting ground squirrels and he can get that barrel pretty hot, and like you said if you have taken more than a few shots at an elk he is probably long gone. If I was you I would buy the Ranchland now and see if you can get a nice light stock when you have the extra cash. Welcome to the forum.

 

[CO_west]

Thanks for the welcome. I've actually thought about buying the Ranchland now and saving up to buy an Alpine Mountain stock from Howa directly (or some other good lightweight stock). It would be a little bit cheaper than buying the Alpine Mountain rifle, and I could spread it out over the course of a year or two.