Reviews please! Howa 1500.

[Philward]

Howa 1500 actions can be found in many configurations and manufacturers over the years. Weatherby Vanguards, Smith and Wesson imported them under their name as 1500, 1550 (DBM) version, and 1700LS, a lightweight version with nicer stock, and Mossberg had them as the 1500 and 1550. Don't hesitate to buy one if it looks interesting to you. Triggers are not great onthe ones I have dealt with but no experience with the newer ones. I have a Vanguard in 257WBY stainless in plastic stock with Timney trigger that shoots fine, and a Mossberg 1550 in 30-06 in plain wood stock and it shoots fine too. Dad has had several Vanguards and a couple of the Mossberg 1550 and one S&W 1700LS that he called the kangaroo rifle because it jumped so bad when firing it, it was 30-06. I think he bought a 223 in a Howa recently and it seems to shoot well.

 

[Shubey]

Howa 1500 actions can be found in many configurations and manufacturers over the years. Weatherby Vanguards, Smith and Wesson imported them under their name as 1500, 1550 (DBM) version, and 1700LS, a lightweight version with nicer stock, and Mossberg had them as the 1500 and 1550. Don't hesitate to buy one if it looks interesting to you. Triggers are not great onthe ones I have dealt with but no experience with the newer ones. I have a Vanguard in 257WBY stainless in plastic stock with Timney trigger that shoots fine, and a Mossberg 1550 in 30-06 in plain wood stock and it shoots fine too. Dad has had several Vanguards and a couple of the Mossberg 1550 and one S&W 1700LS that he called the kangaroo rifle because it jumped so bad when firing it, it was 30-06. I think he bought a 223 in a Howa recently and it seems to shoot well.

Thanks!

 

[Hoss50]

I bought a new stainless howa 1500, 3006 to build a custom. Got rid of the barrel, stock, and trigger.
Then put a pacnor barrel chambered for 7mm rem mag. Had the bolt face opened for the 7mm. Had the receiver blue printed. Put in a timney trigger and bell and carlson stock. Glass bedded the stock. Put a burris veracity 4 x 20 scope on it when they first came out.
I reload berger 168g vlds. At 3020' mv.
Have been using this setup for years. Have killed lots of deer, antelope, and a few elk. Very stable rifle it shoots 1/2 to 3/4 moa. Probably shoots closer to half moa, but I am getting old. Longest kill was a Mule deer at 525 yards. It's been lots of fun over the years.
Most people don't use howa 1500s to build a custom. But they are relatively cheap and they work.

I had a custom built when I shot out my 257 barrel. I love the way it turned out and the new 257 shoots under .5 MOA.

 

[T3ninja]

I bought a 16.5 " barreled action from
Brownells and carbon stockys stock. I had full intentions of immediately stripping the barrel off in favor of a carbon barrel. But it shoots so good I'm just going to put up with extra weight of the steel barrel

 

[Shubey]

I bought a 16.5 " barreled action from
Brownells and carbon stockys stock. I had full intentions of immediately stripping the barrel off in favor of a carbon barrel. But it shoots so good I'm just going to put up with extra weight of the steel barrel

Great!

 

[Fishhunt]

I got a Vanguard in 270wsm. Factory barrel with a brake and a Bell&Carlson stock and Timmeny trigger. Shoots .050-.075 groups with 140 gr Accubonds handloads. Only 3,000 fps but groups decent. It's not light, but its a good poor man's long range gun for the money.

 

[Fishhunt]

I got a Vanguard in 270wsm. Factory barrel with a brake and a Bell&Carlson stock and Timmeny trigger. Shoots .050-.075 groups with 140 gr Accubonds handloads. Only 3,000 fps but groups decent. It's not light, but its a good poor man's long range gun for the money

 

[LongOdds]

Weatherby and Howa present one of the best values in the market, IMO. Hard to do better for the $$.

 

[Shubey]

Weatherby and Howa present one of the best values in the market, IMO. Hard to do better for the $$.

I agree. I have 2 howa superlight, s. Less than 5#,s! Good shooters!

 

[victor3ranger]

My wife's older 270 Howa is a tack driver and my 1500 Lightning 7RMag is a great shooter too, but I would like to find a good stock for it and get away from the Hogue overmolded.

 

[Mountain Sloth]

My Vanguard(Howa 1500) in 300 win shoots handloads great. Put it in a B&C stock and had a local smith put a radial brake on it and its a kitten to shoot.

 

[Shubey]

My wife's older 270 Howa is a tack driver and my 1500 Lightning 7RMag is a great shooter too, but I would like to find a good stock for it and get away from the Hogue overmolded.

I think Stocky,s has some cool stocks! Check 'em out!

 

[wwbrown]

I have built a couple of guns using the Howa 1500 actions and had great results. I had a couple of 30-06 Howas that I bought at the right price for donor actions and decided to take one bone stock bear hunting this last Spring. Shooting the Howa off of a bipod got me groups in the range of 2-3 inches, which was frustrating. I switched back to using sand bags and the groups tightened right up to under an inch at 100 yards.

The bag supported the plastic forearm closer to the action, I think the bipod mounted out on the forearm was causing too much flex causing the accuracy to suck, I repeated the small grouping off the bags and poor shooting off the bipod with an additional two range trips to verify all was good before going on the bear hunt.

I have a Boyd's stock that will go on the 30-06 that way I should be able to use a bipod, not having a bipod is a handicap for me as I like the stability they offer.

The only drawback I see with the Howas when compared to other factory actions is the action is a little heavy, but them so am I and my wife has not looked for a lighter version so I won't complain about the Howa's weight.

 

[Chokoloskee Joe]

If you switch out of the factory stock to the Hogue OverMolded Stock with the aluminum bedding you will see a huge improvement in the groups it will shoot.