Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by FlyingStick » 11 May 2017, 10:15 pm

Medic wrote:This is a known issue- see the video on Aussie Reviews.

Best bet is a single stack mag like the MDT chassis. Even then my feed can be kind of sketchy and though it shoots straight and kills well I'm not a fan of the action. Compared to my Browning Abolt 3 it's chalk and cheese


Yep, seen that and actually spoken to him also and anew mag fixed the problem.

I may end up going the mag route if I give up the battle - for now I'd like to see if they can fix th floor plate though.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by PoorShot300 » 11 May 2017, 10:31 pm

Flying Stick... in the least, by accepting the firearm for 'processing', the LGS now accepted it IS an issue...

So i'd say you've had a win...let's hope it continues in this vane... ;)
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by scaredyet » 12 May 2017, 6:12 am

Ozzie reviews had a problem feeding with the How's mini action .223 after changing the magazine everything was sweet

https://youtu.be/3CmQypK8eBo
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by FlyingStick » 12 May 2017, 7:28 am

scaredyet wrote:Ozzie reviews had a problem feeding with the How's mini action .223 after changing the magazine everything was sweet

https://youtu.be/3CmQypK8eBo


Yep. However mine is an internal mag and has been replaced.

This is where I think the issue on mine is, however I am no expert so could be wrong!

https://ibb.co/cAV2GQ

Funnily enough, in Ozzies example it was the feeding lips on the mag (not the action like mine) that was the cause of the issue.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by FlyingStick » 12 May 2017, 7:45 am

PoorShot300 wrote:Flying Stick... in the least, by accepting the firearm for 'processing', the LGS now accepted it IS an issue...

So i'd say you've had a win...let's hope it continues in this vane... ;)


I hope you're right! They still maintained that I need to action it quickly when I handed it in, let's see how I go.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Oldbloke » 12 May 2017, 8:48 am

"They still maintained that I need to action it quickly"

Either they are idiots or they are treating you as one.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by FlyingStick » 12 May 2017, 8:57 am

Oldbloke wrote:"They still maintained that I need to action it quickly"

Either they are idiots or they are treating you as one.


Regardless, time for a new gun shop I think!
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Gwion » 12 May 2017, 9:11 am

Couldn't agree more.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by FlyingStick » 27 May 2017, 8:47 pm

Good news guys!!! Picked up the Howa today after it was repaired under warranty. I was doubtful, however happy to say the issue has been rectified. No one was able to tell me what was wrong with it - will chase it up Monday however primarily I'm just happy to have it back and working as I expect it to.

Funnily enough - the dealer still maintains that it needs to be cycled quickly to feed properly. Taking it home and cycling it super slow just to see has proven them completely wrong...as you can see in the video, when working properly and everything is to spec I can cycle it at any speed I'd like.

https://youtu.be/o9BNriVqJjM
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Oldbloke » 28 May 2017, 7:31 am

Great to hear.
Guess that means the owner of the LGS is an idiot. I'll stay away from him.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Oldbloke » 28 May 2017, 3:00 pm

". Finding a good gun store that does really care about customer satisfaction seems a rare thing. :("

Getting rare for all business these days.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Gwion » 28 May 2017, 3:52 pm

Glad you got it sorted.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by JLM500 » 09 Jul 2017, 4:21 pm

Hi mate, I just bought the same gun in 22-250, and had the same issue. What it was, was the spring leaf in the mag, under the top plate was not holding the front of the top plate up high enough. I simply bent the front of the top plate up a little, where the top plate meets the spring so it holds the front of the bullets up a little higher and it was fine from then on!
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Waratah » 07 Dec 2017, 10:54 pm

Hi, I've has a similar problem with new 1500 in 308. The front of the round seems to come up early and i end up with the bullet nose jamed against top of action behond barrel, and rear under the bolt.

Told by supplier that flat nose rounds not optimum in howa, dissapointing as it was destined to eat cast bullets.

So far ive tried round nose projectiles. Next pay ill try some spitzer bullets.

I'm convinced its the spring, it seems weak compared to 223 which feeds ok.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by marksman » 08 Dec 2017, 10:04 am

FlyingStick wrote:Perhaps video will help:

https://youtu.be/Sljm3Rqi31Q

https://youtu.be/YC5Z9Xv_yv4


only just seen this
it is the front of the feed lips that need to be opened up a bit, not much at all but that is exactly what it is
take your rifle apart and have a look at the bottom of the feed lips and you will see where they have ground them to fix it if they have not re-blued
the way it was feeding is bending your ammo as it goes in, if you can get it to
these rifles are very good and worth the tuning which is all they need

I have just tuned a mauser 98 to feed 22 dasher cases from a 308, it will now feed empty cases perfectly straight as it should
and at any speed even upside down
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Gamerancher » 08 Dec 2017, 4:16 pm

That's the thing with Mauser's, It's not called "controlled round feed" for nothing. :sarcasm:
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by marksman » 08 Dec 2017, 4:48 pm

Gamerancher wrote:That's the thing with Mauser's, It's not called "controlled round feed" for nothing. :sarcasm:


one of the thing's I like about them :thumbsup:
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by crows2332 » 09 Dec 2017, 11:50 am

One of the most common issues people are posting about on Howa FB pages and forums, is the feeding/cycling issues, that you and many seem to be experiencing.
You listed it earlier in the year, and people picking up firearms recently are still having the issue.
They've really dropped the ball on this as a "known issue" that isn't being rectified, especially with fixes on the fly, bending this and that, cycling only fast, changing to detachable mags and so on, is a friggen joke! The follow up shot is becoming something that they have lost reliability with. Go figure! I keep looking and looking at the Howa barrelled actions, 2nd Vanguard S2's, as it's really hard to dismiss the price point. Far out, that'd do my head in having to stuff around that much just to get something to work at its basic level of functionality. That's before you even get to the rest of the process of, accuracy/bedding or anything else that one starts to tweak things with!
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by crows2332 » 09 Dec 2017, 12:03 pm

Had been looking at a 308, and going between a new Howa barrelled action, 2nd hand Weatherby Vanguard, new (but on sale), Browning AB3 and never been fired but 2nd hand Savage Axis.
All for between $450 (Savage & Howa under $500) up to to $695 (Browning).
Really liked the sound of the rock solid action of the Howa/Vanguard (that you could nearly use as a club if you ran out of ammo), but they cycling issues, far out, it's crazy!
Now I've stalled in my thought process.
Howa/Vanguard action might better suit a longer barrel/range modification in a future life being single fed, but initially, walk about/follow up shots, doesn't sound so great at the moment.
So this is a great post you've put up, to get me looking into it a bit more. With a year or more of the known issue, and still being sold from new with the issue isn't a good selling point.
Asides from the price of the new Howa barrelled action & second hand Vanguard S2, are they still worth the hassle of the feeding?Little less confidence in them now.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by marksman » 09 Dec 2017, 12:21 pm

IMHO I still think these rifles are worth tweaking, being new you can ask to show proof that there is no problem in the first place,
being new they cannot be tweaked by yourself and until warranty period is over must stay original
these feeding issues are a quick fix in the right hands not like a few years back where it was barrels that were not up to scratch
the seller/gunstore needs to look after the customer better and they will not get new guys who are to afraid to buy and think they will be burnt
as the buyer you have consumer law on your side but do not try fixing yourself if under warranty, or if just bought secondhand you are still covered
get the seller who is responsible to send it back or repair :thumbsup:
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by crows2332 » 09 Dec 2017, 1:30 pm

Note to self: Don't take it back to the LGS in pieces (like some do the Ruger MkII) saying, it fell apart in my hands Chief!
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by bigfellascott » 09 Dec 2017, 2:53 pm

Got 3 Howas and all feed and function fine for me - always have, got lucky I guess.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by crows2332 » 09 Dec 2017, 4:46 pm

Might be the scenario where, you can have hundreds of an item behave, that you'll never hear much about mentioned, but the ones that misbehave, bring the attention to it more so. Good to hear some good examples mixed in.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Oldbloke » 09 Dec 2017, 5:04 pm

One would think they check such a basic requirements prior to leaving the factory.
Piss poor if you ask me. But typical of business.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by bigfellascott » 09 Dec 2017, 6:20 pm

Oldbloke wrote:One would think they check such a basic requirements prior to leaving the factory.
Piss poor if you ask me. But typical of business.


You'd think Sako quality control would do better too! Got a mate with 2 sakos that were new from the factory that had stuffed barrels (look like they used a chisel on em) :unknown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihURwQQwGlc
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Gamerancher » 09 Dec 2017, 11:34 pm

"New from the factory with stuffed barrels"? I seriously doubt that bigfella. Why didn't he return them? Seems strange to me. Perhaps they weren't really "new"?
What are the odds of the same bloke getting two "new" rifles that looked like someone had "used a chisel" on them? Sorry ol' mate , calling B.S on that one.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by bigfellascott » 10 Dec 2017, 8:25 am

Gamerancher wrote:"New from the factory with stuffed barrels"? I seriously doubt that bigfella. Why didn't he return them? Seems strange to me. Perhaps they weren't really "new"?
What are the odds of the same bloke getting two "new" rifles that looked like someone had "used a chisel" on them? Sorry ol' mate , calling B.S on that one.


You can call BS all you like mate, fact is it's true, they were returned and replaced - cals were 222 and 260 from memory - we realised something was wrong when we tried cleaning them, the patches would get tight and grabby type thing, an inspection with my mates bore scope soon revealed the problem!

The rifles were bought around 2mth apart from memory both new from a shop in Brisbane (in the city from memory) and both wouldn't shoot worth s**t either (for obvious reasons) my mate did email the pics from the bore scope too me but I can't find them, you'd be amazed at how bad the bores were, how they got through their inspection system is a mystery but it definitely happened. :unknown:

And as you can see from the video I put in my original post you can see they definitely have inherent flaws in their designs too, which was also encountered by the same owner of the 2 duds (not sure what cals he was having issues with with the ejection issues - my mate pretty much owns mostly sakos of all models and a few anshultz etc so likes his quality gear.

Got a Tikka myself that doesn't shoot real well (T3x) but I think it's problem is the barrel touches the wooden stock which I thought was odd but I can sort that out easy enough and hopefully that's all the issue is.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Gamerancher » 10 Dec 2017, 10:02 am

I'd say somewhere between factory and your mate getting them, someone f#cked with them. I've seen a brand new barrel completely f#cked by a gunshop using a bore-sighter to set up a scope for a bloke. The fact that they were both from the same gunshop makes me think you may have isolated the problem.
Easier for Sako, or, ( most likely ), the shop in question, to just exchange than prove, not worth the hassle.
As for the ejection problems, even the "expert" in your video states that he didn't know whether it was just a scope mounting problem or not.
There is always the "idiot" factor to contend with no matter what brand of rifle you are talking about.

Fact: Sakos are renowned for their extraction, that's why people get Sako extractors put in their Remingtons, ( and their clones ) , especially in high end target rifles. They do this for reliability.

It's pretty obvious that you like your Howas, that's good, each to his own. But, putting s**t on other brands when a problem with them is discussed, doesn't solve the problem.
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by bigfellascott » 10 Dec 2017, 10:45 am

Gamerancher wrote:I'd say somewhere between factory and your mate getting them, someone f#cked with them. I've seen a brand new barrel completely f#cked by a gunshop using a bore-sighter to set up a scope for a bloke. The fact that they were both from the same gunshop makes me think you may have isolated the problem.
Easier for Sako, or, ( most likely ), the shop in question, to just exchange than prove, not worth the hassle.
As for the ejection problems, even the "expert" in your video states that he didn't know whether it was just a scope mounting problem or not.
There is always the "idiot" factor to contend with no matter what brand of rifle you are talking about.

Fact: Sakos are renowned for their extraction, that's why people get Sako extractors put in their Remingtons, ( and their clones ) , especially in high end target rifles. They do this for reliability.

It's pretty obvious that you like your Howas, that's good, each to his own. But, putting s**t on other brands when a problem with them is discussed, doesn't solve the problem.
Happy hunting. :drinks:


It's not an extraction problem with the sakos it's a ejection problem! :thumbsup: Some cals for whatever reason have this issue more than others (brass dropping back in the action or hitting turrets on ejection) both rifles were brand new and nothing done to them as my mate sets his rifles up correctly and wouldn't let some flea from a gun shop near em as he knows they most are incompetent when it comes to setting things up correctly. He uses Optiloks on all his sakos - the problem is well known to those who own and use sakos in the cals affected..

And wasn't hanging s**t on em as you say just pointing out all brands have issues of manufacture no matter their brand name or how much you pay for em they all have a percentage of duds. :drinks:

I've also owned a Sako and it was an ordinary shooter to say the least, no matter what I did with it it just wouldn't shoot for s**t, my mate now owns it too as he wanted it right or wrong, he knows it doesn't shoot but he will tinker with it and hopefully get it shooting right (it has the worst trigger of any rifle I've ever owned) nothing including a well known trigger guy could get it to where it needed to be to be a decent trigger and possibly the reason why it wouldn't shoot or at least it contributed to it for sure, my mate has a trigger sitting there to put in it which will see that problem solved finally.

cheers :drinks:
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Re: Howa 1500 "Slow feed" issue

Post by Gamerancher » 10 Dec 2017, 10:03 pm

I own and use Sako's, 9 of them all up, that I've put thousands of rounds through each without any of the problems you seem to think are intrinsic to the brand, or even heard of anyone else other than this "evidence" here in this post. What calibres are supposed to be problematic?
Cases hitting the scope is hardly a problem you can blame on the rifle manufacturer, you are after all, talking about a bolt-on, aftermarket accessory. Tried higher mounts to give enough clearance for longer brass? Just because they are Optilocks, doesn't mean they are suited to that particular chambering wearing that particular scope.
There needs to be enough clearance between the scope and action to allow brass to eject at the angle it comes out at. That angle is fixed and determined by the length of the case, the position of the ejector and is independent of how fast or slow you cycle the bolt. The speed will usually only effect how far you send the case off into the dirt.

What this has to do with a problem with Howa's is beyond me , but anyway, that's usually the nature of forums 'ay?
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