Howa 1500 stainless or CZ527 .223

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nun_hunter

nun_hunter

Well-Known Member
I will hopefully be in the market for a new .223 rifle for foxing and longer range rabbits/corvids etc

I plan to shoot 50/55 grain bullets and shooting will be done from highseats/prone/tripod not really off hand or from a vehicle.

I am leaning in favour of a Howa 1500 SA in stainless for £599 with a 20" 1:8 twist barrel. This only comes with the basic Hogue stock but other stocks are widely available, I had a GRS Berserk on a Tikka which I was really keen on. The new Howa's seem to get good reviews and the fact it is stainless is a bonus. The HACT trigger is supposed to be quite good but like the stock is widely replaceable if necessary.

The CZ with a synthetic stock is nearer £700 and not stainless but comes with a single set trigger and a 22" barrel. This doesn't have such a range of aftermarket bits to tinker with but does have a metal detachable magazine as standard, not that I am adverse to the floor plate of the Howa.

I've handled an older Howa and thought it was pretty nice, not Tikka standard but then its almost half the price, I've not handled a CZ 527 but I had a CZ452 which was pretty agricultural but shot well.

I appreciate I could get a"nicer" secondhand rifle but I'd like to buy new so what do the members think of the two rifles I've mentioned?
 
I have the Howa 223 1:9 twist and it shoots mint with 69grain tipped matchkings.
The standard rubber stock it pants unless you brace it.
I have mine in the Apc chassis which is top class .
Marcus
 
I have both. The Howa I have has been plagued with ejector problems, as have others I have encountered. The CZ has been flawless in this respect. For accuracy, I think the CZ is moreso than the Howa. Even the 18.5" carbine delivers effortless accuracy. I heard Howa has improved their triggers. CZ's always take some adjusting and breaking in but once broken in, are usually pretty fine. CZ has the Single Set but I never use it. CZ's use a 13mm mount. Good rings are available from Burris, Leupold, Warne, etc. Most models come with CZ rings which I don't like.

All in all, I guess i'd edge towards the CZ.~Muir
 
I've bought a Howa 1500 in 223 not too long ago and have found it to be a really good rifle in every respect. I also acquired a 1500in 243, that too has proved a very accurate rifle.
I think it comes down to personal choice in the end, as all the CZs I've ever used have been very good too. One thing the Howas offer is the ability to "customise" them a bit should you wish with a wide range of stocks and triggers available, although as you say the new HACT trigger st up works very well.
 
I’ve had a blued Howa 1500 in 223 for about 5 years and will still shoot under 0.5 moa at 100 yards. I’m shooting 40 gr V-max in a 1 in 12. I don’t like the trigger or Floor plate mag but that aside, great shooter
 
For the application you describe I would be buying a varmint barrelled rifle, no question. Others will disagree, but a heavy contour on a varmint rifle for use on rests, prone, etc, just makes sense. Heavily suppressed, a well setup heavy barrel .223 varmint rifle is fantastic and makes for fun and highly effective pest control.

Howa, CZ, Tikka, doesn’t really matter, they all do the job. I went out this evening with my T3 Super Varmint for the first time in ages to shoot bunnies out to 250m and I was reminded of (a) why I love the T3 SVs so much, and (b) why I infinitely prefer the 3 position safety on the Howa. So there are pros and cons.

(I’ve been using Howas pretty much exclusively for several months and become “autopilot” used to the 3 position safety and find not having it on the Tikkas frustrating.)

I grew up on CZs so have a soft spot for them though the ones I’ve used in recent years haven’t stood out as worth close to double what I pay for a Howa, at NZ prices that is, not a chance! But accurate and functional they surely are, no different to the others really.

The factory ammo brand, the hand load discipline, the shooter’s skills, factory variance in the action or barrel, the stock fit and finish... lots of variables that mean its hard to compare two different rifles objectively when it comes to out-the-box accuracy, not without fairly extensive testing. All my rifles (Howas and Tikkas) are very very dependable and accurate hunting rifles, but its the time and patience taken with the hand loads that make them so. I took on a mate’s Howa .270 Win with a walnut stock recently, he wasn’t happy with it and was wanting to throw it away. With some help from an expert friend of ours and some patience, we got it shooting tiny little groups with 130gr ProHunters, way better than any .270 I’ve ever seen. If you’d gotten a review of Howa from my mate before Xmas, he’d have said they are complete sh^t but now he reckons it’ll wipe the floor with allcomers and will never sell it. So making your mind up from forum advice is fraught with danger!
 
dodgyknees said:
For the application you describe I would be buying a varmint barrelled rifle, no question. Others will disagree, but a heavy contour on a varmint rifle for use on rests, prone, etc, just makes sense. Heavily suppressed, a well setup heavy barrel .223 varmint rifle is fantastic and makes for fun and highly effective pest control.

Howa, CZ, Tikka, doesn’t really matter, they all do the job. I went out this evening with my T3 Super Varmint for the first time in ages to shoot bunnies out to 250m and I was reminded of (a) why I love the T3 SVs so much, and (b) why I infinitely prefer the 3 position safety on the Howa. So there are pros and cons.

(I’ve been using Howas pretty much exclusively for several months and become “autopilot” used to the 3 position safety and find not having it on the Tikkas frustrating.)

I grew up on CZs so have a soft spot for them though the ones I’ve used in recent years haven’t stood out as worth close to double what I pay for a Howa, at NZ prices that is, not a chance! But accurate and functional they surely are, no different to the others really.

The factory ammo brand, the hand load discipline, the shooter’s skills, factory variance in the action or barrel, the stock fit and finish... lots of variables that mean its hard to compare two different rifles objectively when it comes to out-the-box accuracy, not without fairly extensive testing. All my rifles (Howas and Tikkas) are very very dependable and accurate hunting rifles, but its the time and patience taken with the hand loads that make them so. I took on a mate’s Howa .270 Win with a walnut stock recently, he wasn’t happy with it and was wanting to throw it away. With some help from an expert friend of ours and some patience, we got it shooting tiny little groups with 130gr ProHunters, way better than any .270 I’ve ever seen. If you’d gotten a review of Howa from my mate before Xmas, he’d have said they are complete sh^t but now he reckons it’ll wipe the floor with allcomers and will never sell it. So making your mind up from forum advice is fraught with danger!
Click to expand...

I’ll second that. Spend the time with different powders and bullets and with a good home loading discipline, you’ll get great accuracy. As stated, spend the time up front and you’ll reap the benefits for many years to come.
 
Dagben77 said:
I’ve had a blued Howa 1500 in 223 for about 5 years and will still shoot under 0.5 moa at 100 yards. I’m shooting 40 gr V-max in a 1 in 12. I don’t like the trigger or Floor plate mag but that aside, great shooter
Click to expand...
I have had a Howa ( S&W ) 1500 in walnut and blue, .223 Rem, 1:12 twist, for 20 years. With 55-grains and below, it shoots tiny groups.
I am drawn to buy another .223 Rem in a T3X, CZ 527, or Ruger American, but have been adding a scope to my AR-15 HBAR for now.

If you are walking and stalking, a lighter rifle like the T3, CZ or Ruger is good. But if you are going to settle down and shoot small varmints at 250 to 500 yards, a heavier rifle might serve better.
 
Thanks DK for taking the time with such a detailed reply and for everyone else who has commented. I did see a new Howa stainless varmint in a GRS Berserk stock that pretty much ticked all the boxes but was £900 which I could probably get together when I sell my .222 but I hadn't planned on spending that much just yet.
 
The thing that sealed it for me with the CZ was that it uses the mini Mauser action, not a long action for a short cartridge as with most other choices. It's well made, if a little agricultural in a charming sort of way. Triggers aren't the best but not the worst either. Mounts AKAIK are 15mm (at least on mine but that could be measured across the top), with good QR one piece mounts made by KOZAP.

Mine was shot out when I bought it so I can't comment on accuracy of the factory barrel except to say others find them very accurate. I re-barrelled mine with a LW-LW50 match contour 26" barrel and it shoots very well. CZ stocks come up quite short in the LOP department, at least in varmint rifles (don't know about the others) so I dropped mine into a Boyds thumb-hole stock, fully Devcon bedded. That rifle has been responsible for as many small deer as my .308 and has taken countless vermin species over the past few years as well as given stirling service on the ranges. They're relatively inexpensive in the UK, and I think make for a neater small CF solution than the competition purely for that lovely little action, and quality metal mag.
 
I have a 223 howa in a beserk stock. Had brock and norris tune the trigger. Its a brilliant gun.

I have the issue with the extractor, asked mike norris about it while he was doing other work on the rifle, and he quickly took the extractor claw off, pulled out a small spring and replaced it. Problem solved. He says that nothing other than the spring getting weak ever goes wrong with the extractor. And its an easy fix. I could have done it at home
 
Had 4 howas.still got 3.all shoot better than I can..although the hogue stocks do flex I've found with a heavy barrel as all mine are they still shoot great..saying that.2 are in grs stocks and 1 is in a mdt stock.2 have timney triggers and 1 has the hact trigger with a spring kit off eBay which is as good but £100 cheaper.loads of aftermarket parts for howas if you like playing..
 
Cool. These are the little gems of info that come up from time to time, I wasn’t aware there was a spring kit like this. My Howas are all HACTs, the .243 adjusted perfectly to 2lb with no creep, but the 6.5 Creedmoor won’t adjust that low and is too heavy, I need it to be the same as the .243. The .270 is the same as the 6.5, stuck at 3lb minimum, so both rifles will get the spring kit treatment. Thanks rangey!
 
i have a cz 527 223rem very accurate AT FIRST after 3 years use the barrel became very badly pitted even though the bore was oiled after every use,i used a lot of russian surplus ammo and this may have caused the pitting not sure.the rifle is still accurate but for how long i dont know.you can single feed the cz 527 but it will cause ejection /loading problems so in reallity its magazine fed only set trigger is usefull.mine is the varmint in 1in 9twist and is accurate from 40grs up to 70gr.would i buy another cz 527 NO,would i buy a howa NO. tikka stainless every time.
 
Good information that rangey, I think I will go for the 2lb spring set for all three Howas so they are (hopefully) identical. Both my T3s are set to 2lb.
 
I had a howa in .223 with the hogue stock. I had the trigger Sears polished and lightened and it was lovely to shoot. Funnily enough it loved ppu soft point ammo, they were only £55 per 100 and would easily shoot to 1" at 150 yds. For what it cost me I couldn't fault it. A mate of mine had the 527, it was a cracking gun and well made but I found its dimensions a little small.
 
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