ONe thing that's very nice with the Howa made rifles, the bolt handle is very long, compared to the Remington, that gives you more leverage to open the bolt. That's usually not much of a factor, but it might explain why Remington bolt handles have been snapped off, in the past. I live near a Remington Warranty Station, and it seems like every time I'm in there, someone is bringing in a 700bolt to have the handle fixed. I might see more of it than the average guy, but it does happen. The extra leverage might make banging on the bolt handle with a 2x4 unnecessary...... Having owned both, I think it's a tossup, but I like the Howasa lot.

Banging on the bolt handle with a 2x4 is never necessary.

LOL Id love to see the recipes they are shooting to need a 2x4 to get the bolt open

"Banging on the bolt handle with a 2x4 is never necessary". I would agree, but sometimes the bolts will stick. I've never had to do it, but apparently some others, HAVE. I see lots of things at a public range........... most of which make me cringe. I HAVE had some factory ammo split cases and make it pretty tough to open a bolt, but I've always managed to get it open without tools. I won't buy Remington ammunition for that reason. I tend to load conservatively, myself, to extend life, limb and barrel life, haven't shot factory ammo in anything but .204 or rimfire, for many years (and the .204 was toget brass, when it wasn't easy to find). Again,I see lots of stuff happen at public ranges......