Pighunter wrote:Is there a reason he isn't considering a short action? Magazine issues are the most common issue.
70gr.
Oldbloke wrote:Thx pighunter.
He has picked up a 1500 Howa in 223 and he said it was heavy. He is looking for light weight.
Pighunter wrote:Oldbloke wrote:Thx pighunter.
He has picked up a 1500 Howa in 223 and he said it was heavy. He is looking for light weight.
Well he certainly isn't wrong. My short action howa is the heaviest gun I own. I don't have any slings on my rifles and I can carry the Citadel Levtac-92 around all day without getting tired the Marlin 336 is a bit heavier but not terrible. But the Howa feels like I'm carrying my anvil collection around (I usually just shoot off the top of the Land Cruiser with it).
I would say if he can sort out any magazine issues it might have (should it suffer from any) he will have an enjoyable rifle fit for hunting. At the price point Howa is phenomenal and I can't see any reason not to buy one. So my advice would be if he likes the fit and feel of the Mini action give it a go. Worst case is he resells it.
If he is after a bipod I can recommend the Magpul Polymer bipods they're light and sturdy that's what I use on my 1500.
JohnV wrote:In a 223 I would go the Weatherby in the longer action and longer barrel with hinged floor plate mag. It gives you more potential for later reloading .
For a walk about stalking rifle I would move up to some bigger caliber with a bit more range because .223 is marginal on goats and pigs and you never know when you run into a deer .
Blr243 wrote:My howa 243 sits inside original hogue stock 1/2 moa with ppu factory ammunition
Oldbloke wrote:JohnV wrote:In a 223 I would go the Weatherby in the longer action and longer barrel with hinged floor plate mag. It gives you more potential for later reloading .
For a walk about stalking rifle I would move up to some bigger caliber with a bit more range because .223 is marginal on goats and pigs and you never know when you run into a deer .
Primary target species will be foxes. I agree less than ideal for larger goats, pigs etc. But he has a 308 for those.
I picked one up yesterday, I think the weight will be a winner. Agree floor plate is better than the magazine but again the weight of the 1500 is a hell of a lot more.
If they came out with a floor plate or blind magazine I would buy one and sell my Marlin ASAP. About time someone made a light weight sporter.
Pighunter wrote:Is there a reason he isn't considering a short action? Magazine issues are the most common issue.
Hogue stock flexing doesn't affect accuracy in my short action .223, it's an absolute nail driver in terms of accuracy, I only use it out hunting. I'm a massive fan of Howa and less of a fan of .223 I should have gotten a .308 for the pigs we've been seeing lately, but I generally have either my .44 magnum or my 30-30 rifles with me as a back up so it's not an issue.
I currently use 55gr PMC ammunition and it's very accurate, I'm looking to get some heavier ammunition this week so I'll let you know how accuracy is with something closer to 70gr.
Lazarus wrote:Pighunter wrote:Is there a reason he isn't considering a short action? Magazine issues are the most common issue.
Hogue stock flexing doesn't affect accuracy in my short action .223, it's an absolute nail driver in terms of accuracy, I only use it out hunting. I'm a massive fan of Howa and less of a fan of .223 I should have gotten a .308 for the pigs we've been seeing lately, but I generally have either my .44 magnum or my 30-30 rifles with me as a back up so it's not an issue.
I currently use 55gr PMC ammunition and it's very accurate, I'm looking to get some heavier ammunition this week so I'll let you know how accuracy is with something closer to 70gr.
I don't know if it's of any use to you pighunter, but during some recent ballistic gel testing I decided to compare the 62gn steel core SS109 with the 70gn Nosler RDF for penetration on something a bit tougher.
The Nosler blew a hole in some rail track plate I could poke my little finger through and the SS109 "penetrator" left a shallow crater.
The RDF also gives me 1.5 inch groups at 400m from my 24" 9 twist Howa varmint.
northdude wrote:The stock on my one wasnt to bad but I filled it with epoxy and it stiffened it up quite well
northdude wrote:Howa minis are pillar beded. What i did with mine is take the bottom metal/plastic off it and find some steel tube that the action screws fit nicely through then drill the plastic so the tube is a nice fit in the plastic cut a couple of thin pieces and glue them into the bottom plastic then you can tighten action down without splitting plastic
bladeracer wrote:northdude wrote:Howa minis are pillar beded. What i did with mine is take the bottom metal/plastic off it and find some steel tube that the action screws fit nicely through then drill the plastic so the tube is a nice fit in the plastic cut a couple of thin pieces and glue them into the bottom plastic then you can tighten action down without splitting plastic
It's not pillar bedded if you had to install your own pillars.
My brother did the same with the Boyds he put on his Ruger American.
northdude wrote:bladeracer wrote:northdude wrote:Howa minis are pillar beded. What i did with mine is take the bottom metal/plastic off it and find some steel tube that the action screws fit nicely through then drill the plastic so the tube is a nice fit in the plastic cut a couple of thin pieces and glue them into the bottom plastic then you can tighten action down without splitting plastic
It's not pillar bedded if you had to install your own pillars.
My brother did the same with the Boyds he put on his Ruger American.
Well they have tubes in the factory stock which I presume are pillars
Wyliecoyote wrote:Howa minis do have pillars installed from the factory. What northdude did is insert tubing into the poly floor plate to prevent it being split under torque.
Wyliecoyote wrote:How do you know it's a crap setup if you don't understand what was done? Tikka and Steyr does a similar thing where the tubes or washers if you want to call them that are molded into the floorplate. It is a good fix for Legacy magazine kits as their floor plates are very prone to splitting. The idea is to be able to put as much torque on the action screws without stressing the polymer of the floor plate. Is that still a crap setup?