I bought one a few months back. Found one in 6.5x55 at Sportsman's Warehouse for $295. My shoulder is just now getting good enough to shoot following my replacement surgery and I have cranked out a few handloads. I may get to the range this weekend. I fully expect it to shoot MOA. Mine wears the green Hogue stock. I am the exception here but I like it. It's heavy. The whole gun is heavy, but this will be a stand/shooting house gun, so the weight won't matter, and the rubberized stock is great for dampening noise. The gun doesn't feel like other bargain priced guns. It feels well made. The bolt is very smooth. The HACT trigger is pretty good. I am not a trigger snob, so this one will work just fine. Bluing is nice. The barrel floats in the Hogue stock. In researching some of the earlier Howa 6.5x55 rifles, they weren't accurate. Apparently the throat was too long. Howa listened and fixed that issue.
The depth of the throat may not be a problem in and of itself. I have some "Linda Lovelace" 308's that are quite accurate. The diameter of the throat has a bearing as well. If it's a close fit then the length of the throat becomes much less critical.
