Howa 1500 in 6.5x55

WTF

Active Member
Does anyone have any experience of the above and by any chance know what the action is?
I would be grateful to hear.

Thanks

Ian
 
Thank you Erik,
I have been looking at some reviews etc that suggest there is a problem with lighter rounds, the long throat and OAL, have you ever used lighter (<120gn) rounds?
 
Most 6.5x55 rifles are chambered with a long throat seen as the standard 140-156 grain bullet for it is a long bullet. I haven't heard of one that doesn't shoot well with the lighter bullet weights. Mine shoots excellently with the Sierra 100 gr Varmint HP for fox. You don't always have to kiss the lands to get good accuracy.
 
Alternatively, if 100 grain or thereabouts is your preferred weight, is a 6.5x55 giving any real advantage over a 243?

In 6.5x55, our recommendation tends to be either 129 grain Hornady bullets at lower end or 139/140 grain for all round. So confess to little direct experience with lighter bullets. Those we have seen do not appear to 'unhinge' deer size game any quicker than the heavier weights, in fact ( and not enough data to be meaningful ) slightly less effective whilst tending to be a bit harder in terms of carcase damage.

But against that, all the Howa's we've sold/ seen in this cal. Have shot very well - with PPU doing very well. The only Howa element that I cannot take to is the revised Mark Two trigger. It can often be resolved with work - but takes more effort than the Mk1 and is often easier to just replace with Timney. Not a huge issue given pricing of the rifle - we like them a lot.
 
I owned one for a short while. With the sporting taper it makes a good hunting rifle. With lighter loads it wasn't as accurate as I wanted, and I for one wanted to be able to use the full range of bullets available to this calibre otherwise as stated above other calibre's could be more appropriate.

I thought it would have benefitted from having the varmint barrel version available... Shame it didn't and was the reason I changed it for a Tikka T3 sporter.

Imo having owned one, if you want a light weight hunting rifle it's spot on. If you want to get the best out of the calibre then maybe another action would be better as I found.

I do have a varmint barrelled Howa in .22-250 (rifle bassix trigger) and it will one hole at 75m so the action with a heavier barrel can be as accurate as any other 'off the shelf'. So I am definitely a fan......
 
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Thank you Erik,
I have been looking at some reviews etc that suggest there is a problem with lighter rounds, the long throat and OAL, have you ever used lighter (<120gn) rounds?

Standard factory Federal 100Grain softpoint: Groups 2" at 100 yards with is fine for most stalking scenarios.
Home-loads: 85 Grains Nosler Partition, groups sub 1".
Standard factory Federal ballistic tips 55 to 80 Grains groups sub 1"

So nothing to worry about unless you are a paper puncher/competition shooter.
 
Just tried to post but seem to have lost it, so if this duplicates what I have said, many apologies.

Firstly many thanks for your contributions, they are really helpful and reassuring.

I have used the cal before as I had it on my ticket as a shared ownership. My daughter had her first cull with it. Have now decided to go the whole hog.
I wonder if I can ask a couple of questions here, being a newbee I am not sure this is in order but here goes.

I am looking at a RFD transfer but without travelling hundreds of miles to see the rifle first. I have never done this before and it always sounded a bit risky, so what happens if the rifle turns out to be a lemon, can I take it to a range test fire it and if it is rubbish return it. The dealer sounds like a good chap.
WHat about making an offer do rfd's expect to haggle a little in this situation, I always do it face to face but this feels a bit different.
 
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