howa rifles

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NigelM said:
Now pour yourself a coffee and get back to your morning studies. I'm sure you will be able to make a positive contribution to someones quest to shoot bug holes at 1000 yds :-D
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I am supposed to be retired from internet forums. I killed Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, changed my email address and moved country. Oh how joyously liberating that felt. Various forums were quietly deleted from my bookmarks, and pretty quickly forgotten about. This one, however, still entices me to write ridiculously long posts that I am quite sure few actually read. Or to copy and paste other ridiculously long stuff from the archives that I'm quite sure no one read at the time either. And, sometimes, to take the **** a bit when the armchair keyboard warriors get hot under the collar and go on, and on, and on...

Anyway. bonny18 - get a Howa. Don't modify it until you've put at least 200 rounds through it and you're absolutely convinced the bling money you're about the spend is going to make a measurable improvement that delivers a significantly different outcome to whatever you want to use it for.
 
My experience with a Hogue stock was a bad one. Rifle was a .243 sporter with a black rubber Hogue stock. I was convinced that the barrel was knackered as the gun shot so badly. I could not get better than 3 to 4 inch groups at 100yards (often much worse) It shot all over the place, when shot off every type of rest tried (bipod, bag, bench, sticks). The gun was not fit to be used in the field as it was. After lots of time and money wasted on ammunition, a bore scope showed the barrel was actually sound. It was suggested by a shooting friend with a vast knowledge of rifles that the stock was causing the problem, causing free floating issues. The stock was changed for a Bell and Carlson Meadalist, and withing a very short while back on the bench using the same bullets and powder, this proved absolutely to be the case. The rifle was never a problem ever again. Here's a snip of the final load I used on that Howa, after simply swapping the stock. Not saying its an absolute necessity, I'm a firm believer of "if it ain't broke dont fix it". But mine was, and changing the stock did fix it.
Howa 1500.webp
 
Howa's generally seem to be out of fashion in the last years. One can hardly give them away. Earlier Howas were very good and apart from the odd stainless bolt galling in the stainless action. Fitted in a good glas or carbon composite stock they shot very well and also semi customs on Howa actions were popular. In the meantime Tikka T3 seems to be running away with the market and I would also way prefer a T3 or even a Remmy over a Howa.
Most rifles do better if a stock is upgraded or at least a good bedding job is done. Same applies to Howa. I am a firm believer of getting a rifle ready before shooting it, no point in wasting ammo with a non free floating barrel, bad stock action fit etc. Most of us in the meantime know what is needed to get a rifle shooting properly. Roedale, Brock & Norris and several others offered factory "tuned" Howa rifles just for these reasons.
edi
 
ejg said:
Howa's generally seem to be out of fashion in the last years. One can hardly give them away. Earlier Howas were very good and apart from the odd stainless bolt galling in the stainless action. Fitted in a good glas or carbon composite stock they shot very well and also semi customs on Howa actions were popular. In the meantime Tikka T3 seems to be running away with the market and I would also way prefer a T3 or even a Remmy over a Howa.
Most rifles do better if a stock is upgraded or at least a good bedding job is done. Same applies to Howa. I am a firm believer of getting a rifle ready before shooting it, no point in wasting ammo with a non free floating barrel, bad stock action fit etc. Most of us in the meantime know what is needed to get a rifle shooting properly. Roedale, Brock & Norris and several others offered factory "tuned" Howa rifles just for these reasons.
edi
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I remembered the last post on this thread and thought hmmm, next time I'm out load testing or in this case measuring drops to validate muzzle velocity, I'll take some photos. To prove to anyone that cares what a crock of BS most of the anti-Howa sentiment is... here's the performance at 300yds with a relatively easy going load behind Sierra ProHunter 100gr (1540):

(Bog standard Howa 1500 .243, unmolested Hogue stock, 20" barrel. I lapped the bolt lug faces, fitted a DPT suppressor and a Weaver Grand Slam 4-16x44. Usual breezy, wet spring day. The 13.543" is the bullet drop from point-of-aim with no holdover.)

20170921_132413.webp 20170921_135012.webp 20170921_135034.webp

Oh, forgot to mention, this rifle has just gone past the 50 mark for deer, in less than 12 months, only 7 of which were taken at less than 150yds. I don't bother counting goats or pigs. Good old .243, cheap rifle, old fashioned soft point projectile... half MOA accuracy at 300yds... what's not to like...?
 
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Bit late but thought I'd join in .
I've had 2 , my original 243 which shot sub 1/2 moa with 58 grain ,when it was standard and a 270 which shoots 1/3MOA.
If you want a little better finish and dbm , look at the Wembley Empire, essentially a Howa in a dress.
 
MarkT said:
If you want a little better finish and dbm , look at the Wembley Empire, essentially a Howa in a dress.
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MarkT, I tried googling the internet shorthand "dbm" and came up with.... divorced black male, database management, depressive black metal and department of bitching & moaning. Which one are you refering too?!
 
dodgyknees said:
MarkT, I tried googling the internet shorthand "dbm" and came up with.... divorced black male, database management, depressive black metal and department of bitching & moaning. Which one are you refering too?!
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Aagh, Yeh !
The department for bitching and moaning. My favourite Green Party website .Hosted by Chris Packham , I believe. :)
No ,I was was referring to " drop box magazine " . :thumb:
 
So I have a Howa .308, boyd stock and timney trigger[it was bought that way.] I have loaded various weight bullets for it from 120gn to 200 in various makes etc, all at base start load and all have shot at worst 1inch at 100 yards, any 150gn bullet sub moa!.
I cannot fault it as a cheap rifle and I'm happy packing it for foreign trips and loaning it out to clients here.
 
Yep, I have a Howa .308 Hogue stock and factory trigger. Mine is topped with a 6x42 SB and DPT mod for woodland stalking.

Bit agricultural, but reliable, and shoots sub 1 MOA with Federal Powershok. Great value for money and you won't cry if it gets wet, scuffed or muddy.

I don't use a bipod so can't comment on the critism regarding flexing of the forend, though.
 
Like lots of howa owners I thought of putting a better stock on my .243 but it's a tac driver and haven't touched it.
I got a stock but as it's so accurate I'm not willing to change it over.
 
bobby18 said:
To all howa users,whats your view on them,whats the hact trigger like,would it be worth getting a bell&carson stock over the hogue.
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Howa 1500 Stainless .243W with overmoulded 'Sand' Hogue Stock:
I have had it as my main stalking rifle for some 7 years. It does the job just fine, perfectly accurate.
Reports about a slight flex in the fore-stock are correct, but it doesn't effect accuracy, even when fitting a BiPod.
Spent your money on Bino's and scopes, save your money on buying a Howa 1500.
 
Last night I finished fettling the stock on my 6.5x55 Howa. I think the stocks may have been strengthened as mine didn't have too much flex on it to start with.
Anyway, I dremelled the end of the forestock and made a slightly larger end opening. The stock does have a line on it where I believe this was the cutting guide for a varmint barrel (mines a sporter).
Then I proceeded to put some strength into the stock by filling all the compartments along the inside of the stock with fibreglass resin. I drilled the webs through to the next web which ensured that resin would flow between the webs and give it a key and extra strength.
Then bedding.
This was a more complicated act than I first thought, but after working out the damming areas, i roughed up the areas that would come into contact with the compound, drilled some shallow holes (be careful here) at various different angles to give a "cats claw" grip effect, and went ahead.
I used JB weld for the bedding with copious amounts of Kiwi neutral polish as a release agent.
Left it 24 hrs to set, removed the action and spent a long time (too long) cleaning it up. My fault, and a hint is don't use blu tak as your damming agent.
Anyway, put action and barrel back in, and no flex, stock doesn't go anywhere near the barrel on a bipod or by trying to force it to manually.
Going to the range to resight and check tomorrow, but I'm pretty certain that it will now shoot .0001 MOA with any ammunition out to a mile :rofl:
 
howa are a very underated rifle, they do the job no frills, id sooner spend my money on a howa, than a blaser. dave.
 
I have an idea that the Howa`s are the biggest selling brand in Australia.

I have to add to the mix its well known that blokes that can shoot well can shoot with either expensive rifles OR cheap rifles.

A good man will go out with his 'Porsche' brand or his open sighted ex mil .303 British and still connect lead with deer.

I would be happy to have a Howa in my claws when Mr Big walks past.
 
Accurate, reliable and cheap, what's not to love? You don't have to worry about dinging a lovely stock or taking it out in the rain! I love my howa and given half the chance and the funds id buy a new one tomorrow!
 
Sophisticated, silky smooth and flash they are not. Reliable, accurate, hardwearing and great value they most certainly are.

A minor improvement that I did on my .243, and I'm currently doing on the 6.5CM before I bed it and break it in, is lapping the bolt lug faces. I haven't seen a Howa yet thats got bolt lugs perfectly square to the action. I use medium and fine valve lapping compound. Easy to do and results in a noticable improvement to the feel of the bolt as you open and close the action. And, without a great deal of data to back this next statement up, on the .243 I reckon I've gained maybe 0.2-0.3" in group reduction at 100m. Every time I go out and check zero before a hunt, I'll fire two foulers then a quick 3 shot group off a bag, and they are definitely tighter since the bolt lapping.
 
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