Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by bigfellascott » 11 Dec 2017, 11:01 am

marksman wrote:
pete1 wrote:Ive got a older howa in 223 Probably 15 years old now, loved it so brought a 308 brand new both work fine no feeding issues what so ever.


I have my old deceased uncles cmc mountaineer made in japan by howa (howa butt plate) and it's a beauty has awesome fiddleback in the walnut

your right bigfella all makes can have issues, I've seen tikka's with the same ejection problems as you talk about, still rate them though
obviously the howa's are not getting as much or as good QC at the moment, they are good rifle's and I recon the company's under the pump trying to compete and keep there prices down, I would rather have to do a little tweaking than replace but it all puts off the new buyer :unknown:
what ******'s me though is the "you can buy an aftermarket replacement part to fix that" attitude, you can make a budget rifle very costly
some people want to bling there latest toy and good for them but me I buy a rifle because I want that rifle and expect it to work :thumbsup:


Yep I’m not into blinging rifles either - I like just buying howa barreled actions and put a stock on I know works for me and only other thing I do to em is get the triggers tuned as I do with all my rifles as a rule.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Rikta » 12 Dec 2017, 9:37 am

FlyingStick wrote:Hi All,

Just a quick one. In summary, I've had a few feed issues with my 2 month old 223 Howa 1500 (internal 5 round mag). The first couple rounds that are stacked on the right hand side of the mag are flicking up at the rear and jamming between the bolt and chamber. The dealer has swapped the internal mag out but the problem still exists (in starting to think it has something to do with the lips of the action and the round is bouncing out too early).

I am now being told that I am not cycling fast enough as it is a double stacked internal mag system (and because it's a push feed system), so I need to slam them in (and consequently have every animal in the area aware of my presence).

In short - am I being bs'd?



if youre laying in wait why dont you have one chambered already? and stalking.... De-cock the rifle with one in the chamber or do the unholy and single most unsafe thing in my mind and use the safety.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Oldbloke » 12 Dec 2017, 6:34 pm

Soooo,,,, how long have magazines been around? 130 years?
Should get it right, just plain slack in my view.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by FlyingStick » 03 Jan 2018, 1:22 pm

Rikta wrote:
FlyingStick wrote:Hi All,

Just a quick one. In summary, I've had a few feed issues with my 2 month old 223 Howa 1500 (internal 5 round mag). The first couple rounds that are stacked on the right hand side of the mag are flicking up at the rear and jamming between the bolt and chamber. The dealer has swapped the internal mag out but the problem still exists (in starting to think it has something to do with the lips of the action and the round is bouncing out too early).

I am now being told that I am not cycling fast enough as it is a double stacked internal mag system (and because it's a push feed system), so I need to slam them in (and consequently have every animal in the area aware of my presence).

In short - am I being bs'd?



if youre laying in wait why dont you have one chambered already? and stalking.... De-cock the rifle with one in the chamber or do the unholy and single most unsafe thing in my mind and use the safety.


I assume/hope that is sarcasm. There is/was an issue with the rifle, simple. People shouldn’t have to use them in a certain way to avoid a defect. Besides, I find the safest for me is to have a loaded mag with the bolt over the top and an empty chamber. Especially when I’m in the 4x4 scouting a property. If I spot anything - I work the bolt and load a live one. If I miss my opportunity during whilst doing this - oh well, prefer my safety over a bunny!

Didn’t realise this post was still kicking!

As posted previously - the rifle was fixed and returned and it hasn’t skipped a beat since. Used it only last weekend and cycling was smooth and problem free.

I have also noticed a few posts on Facebook about this issue - seems I’m not the only one and that there is something up with the manufacturing process which results in similar symptoms I have for some owners. It’s a pity - it’s a great rifle and deadly accurate - only last weekend nabbed me a rabbit with a clean head shot past 100m.

Will I go Howa again? Doubt it. I just don’t have the confidence I need in the brand to go again. I simply don’t have the time nor convenience to run around getting things repaired (not to say it won’t happen with another brand). I think a Tikka 308 is on the list this year!

To those having issues. Push hard! It needs to go back to OSA for repair - simple!
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by bigfellascott » 04 Jan 2018, 7:22 am

What was the repair they did to it?
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by FlyingStick » 04 Jan 2018, 9:02 am

bigfellascott wrote:What was the repair they did to it?


No idea. I asked and they couldn’t provide an answer :unknown:

At that point I just wanted a rifle that worked!
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by tom604 » 04 Jan 2018, 9:47 am

okay had a look at both vid's and it looks to me that the bullets are flicking up too much when they get past the guide of the magazine to the point that they seem to almost eject (well maybe not that much) and that's putting them out of shape and jamming. have you tried compressing the spring just a bit? just my thinking as it happens in the first few rounds, by the way i have a Howa 223 and while i changed over to an external mag (10 shot) i never had a problem cycling rounds with the internal mag,slow or fast. jmho :thumbsup:
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by kb1 » 06 Jul 2018, 6:40 am

have a look on aussie reviews on youtube for howa 223 , big feed problems straight outta the box.
seems like its common
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Member-Deleted » 06 Jul 2018, 11:58 am

kb1 wrote:have a look on aussie reviews on youtube for howa 223 , big feed problems straight outta the box.
seems like its common

If we're talking about the same Ozzie Reviews video, the problem there was a dodgy box magazine. He makes the point in the video that they sent him a new magazine and problem solved.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Brian Gollop » 08 Dec 2018, 12:25 pm

I researched this with a gunsmith who also tested the cycling of the rifle I was purchasing at the range. No issues including with slow gentle feeding. So I happily purchased.
Upon viewing feed issues from YouTube it became apparent to him that the plastic magazine in the video (and perhaps this Topic Review) had been damaged by trying to top feed the magazine instead of sliding in rounds from the front.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by solarpak » 09 Dec 2018, 6:32 pm

Member-Deleted wrote:
kb1 wrote:have a look on aussie reviews on youtube for howa 223 , big feed problems straight outta the box.
seems like its common

If we're talking about the same Ozzie Reviews video, the problem there was a dodgy box magazine. He makes the point in the video that they sent him a new magazine and problem solved.


Polymer mags can be a law unto themselves!!!!

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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Blr243 » 09 Dec 2018, 7:20 pm

I looked at the video. And I’m about a thousand miles away from being able to offer a soloution but one thing for sure I would definitely not put up with it
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