HOWA 1500

[gejshooter]

I'm looking at a Howa 1500 in 308 with SS barrel. I have never owned this brand, nor have any experience with it. I will use it for deer hunting in south Mississippi. Shots are 300 yards and under. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

 

[DoyleAlley]

It is the same rifle as the Weatherby Vanguard. Nothing wrong with it. Not fancy, but it will certainly do the job. As with ANY rifle, go through as many flavors of ammo as you can afford to find out what it likes and what it doesn't like.

 

[kwb377]

I've got one I bought for cheap a few years ago with the factory Hogue stock and mounted a relatively cheap Vortex...it was consistently @ .8MOA. I dropped it into a used XLR chassis I found and now my ability is it's only limitation.

Mine definitely favors 168gr..

 

[dc2010]

I'm looking at a Howa 1500 in 308 with SS barrel. I have never owned this brand, nor have any experience with it. I will use it for deer hunting in south Mississippi. Shots are 300 yards and under. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

They are VERY light.....which means you really have tp hold them steady to get a good shot. And the slightest pull of a trigger to the right or left will cause accuracy issues big time.... i have a ss howa 1500 308. With the houge stock. Believe me I got frustrated with mine shooting at a can. Shot twice propped up on a gate and hit the same spot both times, pulled to the left of the can. Got mad, went and put it in the truck thought the rifle was off. Got my 6.5 out, propped up on the same gate, 1 shot and there was a hole in the can. I decided i was going to go threw a lot of ammo trying to adjust myself not to pull to one side or the other.

 

[dc2010]

They are VERY light.....which means you really have tp hold them steady to get a good shot. And the slightest pull of a trigger to the right or left will cause accuracy issues big time.... i have a ss howa 1500 308. With the houge stock. Believe me I got frustrated with mine shooting at a can. Shot twice propped up on a gate and hit the same spot both times, pulled to the left of the can. Got mad, went and put it in the truck thought the rifle was off. Got my 6.5 out, propped up on the same gate, 1 shot and there was a hole in the can. I decided i was going to go threw a lot of ammo trying to adjust myself not to pull to one side or the other.

I am assuming it was the recoil combined with the very light weight of that factory Houge stock that caused it to shoot left. Maybe i need to look into a different stock or ammo. That was shooting 150 gr federal soft points.

 

[gejshooter]

It is the same rifle as the Weatherby Vanguard. Nothing wrong with it. Not fancy, but it will certainly do the job. As with ANY rifle, go through as many flavors of ammo as you can afford to find out what it likes and what it doesn't like.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[gejshooter]

I've got one I bought for cheap a few years ago with the factory Hogue stock and mounted a relatively cheap Vortex...it was consistently @ .8MOA. I dropped it into a used XLR chassis I found and now my ability is it's only limitation.

Mine definitely favors 168gr.. View attachment 13264 View attachment 13265 View attachment 13266 View attachment 13267 View attachment 13268

Wow. Thanks for taking time to respond, and for showing the proof. Does a new "chassis" or stock make that much difference? Do you use the rifle for hunting, or range shooting? Also, what caliber?

 

[kwb377]

I've had two rifles that I've dropped into a chassis, this Howa and a Rem. 700P (AICS chassis), and it made a significant difference on both as far as tightening groups and maintaining consistency...drawback is they add significant weight. I don't hunt with mine, just shoot bench or prone off a bipod.
My Howa above is .308.

 

[gejshooter]

I am assuming it was the recoil combined with the very light weight of that factory Houge stock that caused it to shoot left. Maybe i need to look into a different stock or ammo. That was shooting 150 gr federal soft points.

I've looked up other guns (Browning Abolt, Winchester Mo 70, Ruger American, Savage 110, Remington 700) and all are slightly lighter than the published weight of the Howa 1500 in 308 (7.8 lbs). I also looked at a Browning BAR, and it is also lighter. I'm guessing 7lbs is about average. I do agree heavier guns have less recoil, and are sometimes more accurate.

 

[Griz375]

I'm looking at a Howa 1500 in 308 with SS barrel. I have never owned this brand, nor have any experience with it. I will use it for deer hunting in south Mississippi. Shots are 300 yards and under. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

Got a deal on one with a RH Laminated TH stock & 24" HB in 2003 or so.
Lightly sanded the stock, urethaned it and found it shot every factory load at 1" or less. At that time NORMA Diamond Line 168G was available and that combo was 0.56-0.69; spread was all dependent on me.

As noted, maybe not the prettiest but for out of the box accuracy, very hard to beat and it take R700 mounts etc.

 

[gejshooter]

Got a deal on one with a RH Laminated TH stock & 24" HB in 2003 or so.
Lightly sanded the stock, urethaned it and found it shot every factory load at 1" or less. At that time NORMA Diamond Line 168G was available and that combo was 0.56-0.69; spread was all dependent on me.

As noted, maybe not the prettiest but for out of the box accuracy, very hard to beat and it take R700 mounts etc.

Thanks for your reply.