I bought a Tikka WT Hunter a couple months ago( + -).I haven' t had time to shoot it yet.After trying the trigger,working the action and the overall quality I was sold on it.BassPro had them for 399.99 which I think is a good price. It was available in 300 Win Mag or 7mm Rem Mag for that price. I went with the 7mm.Sako makes the clamp on rings for it,or you can use regular bases.The clamp rings were 40.00.I have no experince with the Howa' s.I would save a little longer and buy the Tikka with a quality scope.You said you won' t use it this year anyway,so you have plenty of time for next years season.
Ruger Redhawk