Troubleshoot with Howa 1500

Bigmamma

New Member
Friend bought a new rifle Howa 1500. Went with him this afternoon to zero it in and when shooting on a bipod, the forend is twisting and touching the barrel, it's a rubber stock.... ? Is it missing a plate of some sort in the forend ?? Can anybody advise please
 
Pretty much as Laurie said, get him to shoot off a bag or rucksack. Alternatively, change stock or modify it. I got the new lightning 2 stock and its very stiff, might be worth a look
 
And a massive improvement on the standard hogue

They arnt bad rifles once they’re sorted
 
I have 3 Howa rifles but none are in the hogue stocks.my first Howa was a 223 sporter in the hogue stock and shot pretty well considering the flex in the stock,but eventually put it in a boyds laminate.shot more consistently with that..eventually sold that and bought another heavy barrelled howa,this time just buying the barrell and action knowing i would use another stock.grs laminate.shoots better than I can.then bought a heavy barrel and action Howa in 22.250 and 6.5.another grs laminate and the 6.5 put in a mdt ess stock..Very good rifles but even better in a good stock
 
funnily enough I also have 3 Howas, and have just moved one back into a cheap Hogue stock, if you are using them to hunt they are light, quiet and offer good grip, if you are using them with a bipod and loading that bipod then they are not ideal, I don't use a bipod so don't have a problem, horses for courses, if you don't like the Hogue stock, then don''t buy the cheapest Howa, plenty of other options in the Howa range.
 
Nope - they're crap / non-rigid stocks. More to the point, how well did the rifle shoot? If performance is good enough, flexible 'boomy' stocks don't matter, although I'd have to admit to liking it as much as people making chalk on board noises.
Shooting inch and 1/2 Group with Odd flyers
Pretty much as Laurie said, get him to shoot off a bag or rucksack. Alternatively, change stock or modify it. I got the new lightning 2 stock and its very stiff, might be worth a look
ok thank you 👍
 
I previously bedded my Howa 1500 into a Boyd's laminate stock, which was $99 at the time.

Boyd's recently restarted shipping stocks to the UK, so this may be a cheap option (beware the high delivery costs and Import duty/fees.)
 
Should group under an inch even with the hogue stock.have you tried various ammunition with it.
 
What ammo is he using? Home or factory loads? My. 223 1500 has no issues with federal 55gr and ppu 55gr ammo. All around inch and 1/2 groupings
 
My 22-250 came with a black hogue which i changed for a green one which has pillars and the barrel chanel is much wider possibley for a heavy barel why people lean so heavily onto the stock when using a bipod baffles me i can make the barel touch the stock but only by squeezing them together with my hand
 
That’s my howa in .308 I just ordered another one with walnut stock
 

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I previously bedded my Howa 1500 into a Boyd's laminate stock, which was $99 at the time.

Boyd's recently restarted shipping stocks to the UK, so this may be a cheap option (beware the high delivery costs and Import duty/fees.)
Yep me too, bedded into the Boyd's laminate stock, with home loads off bags it will shoot tiny little groups,well worth the effort 👍
 
I’ll post this again, maybe it will help someone.

The Howa flexi stock problem of the forend touching the barrel when shoot off a bipod is very easily remedied. All you have to do is trim the rubber back to the polymer frame with a scalpel, and sand or Dremel to a acceptable finish. This creates a much deeper channel at the tip of the forend.

I’ve done this to several Hogue stocks now and all rifles are tack shooters. I routinely drop my .243 and 7mm-08 barrelled actions into one of the Hogue stocks for wet and muddy hunting conditions, as the stocks are ideal for inclement weather. Problem with the Boyds laminate stocks is that they are very heavy.

You already own the stock, it’s worthless second hand, might as well give it a go.

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Howa rifled in their Hogue stocks is like anyone who shoots a Ruger straight outta the factory ,,it doesn’t work !
The stock once changed makes for a great gun
 
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