Versatile 243 Win. Bolt Actions: Howa’s 2N1 Versus Thompson

The $679 Thompson Center Dimension was more than just a single rifle. Its stock and receiver were a platform for caliber combinations ranging in power from 204 Ruger to 300 Winchester Magnum. Note the gear-like barrel nut beside the front scope ring. The stock was unique in itself, offering an easy index mount that was both solid and comfortable with two removable spacers. We produced a best-of-test 0.6-inch five-shot group firing Black Hills Ammunition 58-grain GMX rounds. The scope is a 4-16x Steiner Predator Extreme model

Lost in the current frenzy to hoard any and all Modern Sporting Rifles are fresh innovations being applied to bolt-action rifles. Not only are new manufacturing techniques making "minute-of-angle" bolt guns less expensive but more versatile, too. In this test we will evaluate two bolt action rifles chambered for 243 Winchester that offer something extra. The $641 Howa/Hogue Youth 2N1 rifles come with two different stocks so that the same Howa M1500 action will accommodate more than one shooter. Both stocks are manufactured by Hogue, using the OverMolded technique. …