Howa anyone?

[ogallala_1]

Has anyone done much custom stuff with a Howa action? I have been looking around the site but not many custom howa's. Is there a reason? From what I understand they are built with metric threads but i'm not sure if that is what the problem is. Any insight would be great.

John

 

[Scot E]

I believe MCR does a lot of Howa action work. You are correct, Howa's are metric and some guys aren't set up for them or aren't comfortable doing it so that is probably part of what you see. But they excellent out of the box and fantastic with a little work.

Scot E.

 

[B23]

My dad had his 6.5-06Ack Imp built on a Howa 1500 long action. It sits in a Manners T2 stock and has a 27in. Lilja 1-8tw barrel and a Timney trigger. He uses necked down 30-06 Lapua brass and it spits Berger 140's out at 3200fps and into tiny little holes. It turned out really well for a relatively inexpensive semi custom build.

 

[B23]

Also, over on Snipers hide forum they have a lot of Howa builds and build information. If I remember correctly they have quite a few different threads dedicated to Howa information.

 

[Willys46]

They are a great action to build off of if you have a smith that will do the metric threads. With that said if you plan on selling it they do not hold the same value as a equivilant Remington.

I built a 6-47 on a trued 700 and used the same reamer and built another on a HOWA for my brother. The untrued HOWA shoots better.

There is a lot to like about the HOWA and many things people pay for to get on their Remington.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Kevin Cram
Montour County Rifles
Weatherby Vanguard(howa) in 300 win mag go to rifle

 

[Hired Gun]

The Howa/Vangard is no problem at all. The only thing negative to using one and it is a non issue is the factory barrels are torqued on them twice as tight as any other rifle. Aftermarket trigger selection is limited compared to the Remington.

 

[gunwalker]

I have two, one built on a Vanguard and the other on a Howa 1500. They both are extremely accurate rifles. The Howa is a 6.5-06 AI that shoots 140 Bergers at about 3120 right at 1/2 moa. The Vanguard is a 7mm wsm on a short action that loves 180 Bergers. I seat them to mag length which is about .130 jump and they shoot under 1/2 moa at just shy of 3000 fps. The Howa is in a Stockys laminate and the Vanguard in a Bell & Carlson Laminate. The medium priced stock options are limited for these actions. Rifle basix and Timney both build good triggers for them.

 

[1tonpower]

Im shooting Box stock vangaurd sub-moa. Shoots half inch at 100 with my 87vmax loads. Also likes 80g federal SP and 70g NBT. The 58gvmax superformance shot well also.

 

[ogallala_1]

Could a take off barrel from a remmy be rethreaded to fit a Howa?

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Could a take off barrel from a remmy be rethreaded to fit a Howa?

Maybe but to many variables, I would bank on no for the most part.

 

[ogallala_1]

Does anyone know the barrel size for Howas? Really thinking about having an ackly built on my howa.

John

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Does anyone know the barrel size for Howas? Really thinking about having an ackly built on my howa.

John

Barrel size? Please explain more. If your having a rifle built buy a barrel blank. The action should be trued, if you skip this step there really is no point in not just taking your chances with a factory rifle. In truing your action the rifle smith may end up cutting your action threads to a bigger diameter to fix any issue with the action threads being out of round. This was my issue.

Additionally HOWA threads are metric Remington threads are standard. On a barrel with a long enough shank it may be possible to have enough barrel left to re thread it after the old threads are removed. I most cases I would say no.

 

[Hired Gun]

We have rebarreled a few Vangards and the actions are pretty darn straight and true as they come. Most recent ones (10 years) are fine shooters. Putting a Remington barrel on one would be a step in the wrong direction. Spend the $330 and get a good blank and have it put on by someone that employs the latest methods and you are assured of one mighty fine shooter. Even using simple methods it probably will still shoot great. Action truing is only needed to get maybe the last 2-5% the rifle will deliver. Have the smith check and correct your lug engagement. The barrel quality and crown are the biggest factors. Stress free bedding and a floated barrel are very important too.

If you decide on truing, the bolt should be bushed to get any advantage of getting it perfectly squared. Otherwise the bolt is sitting on the bottom lug due to the trigger sear holding it pinned to the top of the action. The bolt face will be tipped accordingly. When the trigger is released the pressure of firing slams the bolt back against the lugs throwning a vibration the length of the rifle. Without sleeving truing does nothing to minimise this.