n South Africa, many hunters and shooters are under the impression that the Howa Model 1500 is a relatively new addition to the list of rifle offerings on the international market – far from it. The Model 1500 has been in production since 1979 and has been popular in overseas markets for many a decade. In fact, there are several custom rifle manufacturers, especially in the USA, that use the barrelled actions or just the actions as the basis for custom rifles. They are also very popular with military “sniper” units all over the world. To give you an idea of its popularity – it was the 3 best-selling bolt-action rifle in the USA in 2020. Think about that for a moment – a Japanese-made rifle outselling many “proudly USA” brands that are household names amongst American sportsmen! In South Africa, the brand has seen an explosion
