LSI also offers the Howa/Axiom Varminter Rifle and Scope Package, which adds a Nikko-Stirling 4-16X 44 mm Nighteater scope, mounts and rings to the basic rifle. We received such a package for testing.

Later, I owned another Howa 1500 for a few years—a second-hand heavy-barreled .308 that was one of the most accurate rifles I’ve ever owned. I wish I’d never sold it . In an age of futuristic-looking ...