Saturday, July 22nd 2023: Howa Rifles & Actions ReviewHowa Rifles – General BackgroundHowa is a Japanese heavy equipment company. Two different companies, Legacy Sports International, and Weatherby, import firearms into the United States of America. Weatherby rebrands the guns under the Weatherby Vanguard brand. Legacy sells them as the 1500. Weatherby rifles have a more refined finish than the LSI imported 1500s.
Howa 1500s come with the Howa HACT trigger. This is a two-stage adjustable trigger that can be set to about 3 pounds (combined). This is a crisp and repeatable trigger that’s perfect for a factory-made gun. There is no annoying Glock style safety lever in the middle the trigger blade. The 2-stage design with a wide range of pull weights is ideal for a hunting or PRS rifle. Rifleshooter.com calls the Howa trigger “one of the best factories triggers, along Tikka.” I found the Howa Trigger superior to a Remington 700 – the Howas does not need to be changed.” Steve Comus, writing for the Western Outdoor News WONews.com has field-tested HACT Trigger. Steve Comus writes: “I have always liked two-stage triggering, because I could take up the slack to know when the rifle would go off. The [HACT] was easy to use. The crisp, positive release of pressure during the second stage reminded me of some of the target guns I have shot over the years. Brownells is now selling Howa barreled action. A variety of these actions are available starting at $409.99. This is a great deal, considering that it includes the action, barrel AND the excellent HACT 2-stage Trigger. These Howa barreled action are available in three sizes: Mini, Short, and Long/Magnum. They also come with standard, heavy and carbon-wrapped types of barrels. There are also barrel lengths available for popular chamberings like 6.5 Creedmoor or.308 Winchester. All these M1500 barreled actions come fully assembled with the barrel chambered, installed, and properly headspaced.Here are some of the Howa actions on sale at Brownells on 7/22/2023:How to Remove Howa Factory Barrel from ActionRifleShooter.com has articles showing how to build rifles with Howa barreled actions. Howa barrels can be removed easily, contrary to popular belief. Bill at RifleShooter.com explained the process to us:Q: Is removing a barrel difficult from a Howa 1600? A: Not at all. I’ve heard that factory barrels can be difficult to remove from Howas. The half dozen or so barrels I’ve removed from Howas have been easy. I use a Brownells Action Wrench with the top piece of a Rem Model 700, and the flat bottom against the flat on wrench. You may have heard internet grumblings regarding removing Howa barrels. Some people say it is very difficult to remove them without a relief cutting. Bill from Rifleshooter.com shows that Howa barrels are easy to remove, provided you use the right tools. Watch this video:Howa Barrel Removing Video — Quick and Simple (Click Speaker icon for Audio)
Howa Actions – Three Options
Howa offers three lengths of action: Mini, Short and Long. The bolts for each action length can be seen in the image below. The Mini-Action is similar in size to the Remington Model Seven. However, the Mini-Action bolt does not travel to the rear as far. This is a mixed bag. The upside is that you get a faster action (shorter throw of the bolt). You are limited to shorter cartridges such as the.223 Remington 7.62x39mm Russian and 6.5 Grendel. If you need a larger cartridge, choose the standard action or long-action Howa variant.
Is the Howa 1500 just a Remington 700 copy, or is it an improved Remington 700 version? No, not at all. The top radius of the Howa 1500 is the same as the Model 700 and they both can use the two-piece scope base, but there are some differences. If you compare the Howa 1500 with the Remington 700, you’ll notice that the M700 has a round bottom action, whereas the Howa has a flat bottom action. The bottom half of the Howa reminds me a lot of a Winchester push-feed. The chassis and stocks of a Howa 1500 do not have a V-block base like those on a Model 700. Instead, they have a flat base. The bolt on the Howa 1500 is similar to the Model 700 but it has some improvements. It features an M16-style extractor, and a firing assembly that can be removed without the use of tools. The Howa 1500 features an integral recoil screw that accepts it. This means more of the front screw engages the action. WARNING: Installing it into an action or stock that is not properly fitted can cause it to bind.
Similar Posts:Tags: Brownells Howa, Howa Barrel Removal, Howa Barreled Actions, Howa Mini Action, Howa Rifles, M1500 Action
