Howa Golden Bear is a

bolt-action rifle Bolt action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the turn-bolt via a bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (as most users are right-handed). The majority of b ...

that was manufactured by Howa Industries in the past.

History

Howa Industries established its firearms manufacturing plant in 1960 after World War II. In the same year, Howa released the M300 as a hunting gun for domestic markets. Soon after releasing the Howa M300, the company began working on a new type of a

hunting rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles ar ...

in order to meet the demand for large-caliber bolt-action rifles in Japan. During the development, the designers used the Finnish

SAKO Sako Limited (natively ) is a Finnish firearm and ammunition manufacturer located in Riihimäki, Tavastia Proper in southern Finland. It also has owned the Tikka brand of bolt-action rifles since 1983, and is now owned by the Italian firear ...

L61R "Finnbear" as the basis of the design. In 1967, Howa introduced the Howa Golden Bear large-caliber rifle at the US Open rifle exhibition in Chicago, USA. At the time, it was the only large caliber hunting rifle available domestically in Japan. Approximately 3000 golden bear rifles were sold to the United States and passed every test at the renowned HP White Laboratory, one of the world's most renowned firearms testing facilities. Following the launch of the weapon, Howa gained popularity and acceptability in the American market. The Golden Bear was launched in Japan and the United States in 1967, and the export specification grades were three types: deluxe, presentation, and medallion. In Japan, only the deluxe model was sold. In the United States, the Howa rifles were sold by Dickson Roses company as "Dickson-Howa Golden Bear". Also in the US Market,

Weatherby Weatherby, Inc. is an American gun manufacturer founded in 1945 by Roy Weatherby. The company is best known for its high-powered magnum cartridges, such as the .257 Weatherby Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .340 Weatherby ...

, which had business connections with Howa, also sold Howa rifles ( OEM) under the name of Weatherby Vanguard. In 1979, an updated design/model of the Howa Golden Bear, the M1500 were introduced, with the older Golden Bear model becoming discontinued in same year.

Design

Howa Golden Bear is very similar to its parent weapon, the Sako L61R "Finnbear".

Use by Japanese law enforcement

Despite being designed for hunting, the Golden Bear was adopted by elements within Japanese law-enforcement. Based on the lessons learned from the Kin Kiro Incident in 1968, the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: National Revolut ...

deployed a Golden Bear rifles to the prefectural police as equipment for taking down

criminals In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Cane ...

and rescuing

hostages A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

. Additionally, all police Golden Bear rifles came with a scope. When the Setouchi Seajacking incident occurred in 1970, the Osaka Prefectural Police Special Gun Corps (currently the Anti-Firearms Squadron) sniper took down the criminal with a Golden Bear rifle, allowing other officers to rescue the hostages. The Golden Bear is also said to have used the

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department The , known locally as simply the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), is the prefectural police of Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Founded in 1874, the TMPD is the largest police force in Japan by number of officers, with a staff of more than 4 ...

's Special Squadron (now the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

). According to Megumi Tsukiji of Far East Gun Sales, the Golden Bear used by the Japanese police was chambered in

.30-06 Springfield The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military us ...

and equipped with an

Bushnell Corporation Bushnell Corporation is an American firm that specializes in sporting optical instrument, optics and outdoor products. It is based in Overland Park, Kansas and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Revelyst. Bushnell makes binoculars, telescopes, spott ...

3-9 scope with magnification.

Notes

References

{{Reflist Hunting rifles Bolt-action rifles of Japan Sniper rifles of Japan