Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Howa 1500 Lightning - lightening

To show what can be done...

Pre- Weight is 39oz.

After - 29oz.

So minus 10oz, without paint. Not sure where its headed but can't see where I can get any more significant weight reduction without drilling holes or something crazy. Only a couple pinholes, unlike the black Mini previously done that was like Swiss Cheese.

Rifle is at 8lbs 14.7 oz as pictured. Was 9lbs 12 oz, including a sling before IIRC... Heavy steel rings and bases and that SWFA is not know for lightness.

I see the floorplate hanging down a bit, not sure if I've got it bound up or I sanded it that far ditching some form lines down there...


To get the rounded forearm tip look I wanted, had to fill a bit of a void with Devcon. It is what it is...







Dollar Tree flip-flop. 13 7/16" LOP.

Good job.

Creedmoor?

Yes. Forgot or otherwise don't know what the availability of these are for you but here they're only $330. Pretty hard to ignore at that price, just the heft and bulk to contend with. Pretty much bought it to try this mod... G'day.

What's the barreled action alone weigh?

I wish Boyd's would offer their "Barracuda" stock for these and the Remington's.

Not sure David, 7.1 pounds minus scope rings and bases? If I get to tearing it down I'll try to remember to check. It's heafty, but built like a tank.


As an aside, I sure had my head up my ass when I sold my SS Mtn Guides...


Also, this thing feels much better than before, myself preferring slim stocks. So, we'll see where it goes. One of those, Don't Laugh It's Paid For stickers would suit it well. So easy to buy from Whittaker Guns on layaway too!

Looks great, MtnBoomer.

FYI to folks wanting less weight, Brownells (and maybe others) sell Howa 1500 barreled actions chambered in the Creed with a No. 1 20" barrel. That combined with an Edge stock might help.

Gday back...

Yes they're available here and though not at those prices they're still among the most affordable of good bolt actions.

The availability of the 6.5 is still a little spotty here. Looking to consolidate a few niche rifles into one utility gun and the 6.5 CM would be great, but I'm leaning towards a 308 due to availability of rifles and brass / bullet logistics.

Wanted to mention directly, as was brought up on another thread, this was a fully hard plastic stock, however, with the same exterior characteristics and dimensions as a typical Hoque Overmolded stock. Have long made the assumption Hogue makes 'em.

Thanks, it's coming along...


Utility gun is exactly what this seems to be. Been shouldering it - fits pretty good - I'm starting think it'll work. Sure like the lil'Creedmoor round and 308s too...

Knocked off another 1.5 ounces so it's 27.5 down from 39. Narrowed a little more on the forearm and scalloping a bit at the rear of the floorplate area, and some more grip trimming. Scrubbed and ready to prime.

Solid orange or Flectone?

For David, the complete barreled action with floorplate, mag box, screws, follower weighs 85.5 OZ (5lbs 5.5oz) WITH the steel Burris XTR Two-piece Picatinny bases. Anyone know their weight? They're on with Loctite, for now not going anywhere and they're my only compatible Picatinny bases.

A few particularities.
I knocked out the lil'red fire indicator. I'll plug the hole before priming. On the Minis I masked them.

This shows the roughly 3/16" band of Devcon put in to fill the void show earlier. The light gray strip.

My uber flip-flop attains a compressed look from sitting with the weight of the rifle leaned against the wall. Provides for quick shouldering I guess. It's Devcon'd BTW.

I looked and unless you get some discount at Brownells it's 100 bucks cheaper to buy the whole rifle from whittackers if they have what you want.

Looking good,MB.

If you'd like to lose a bit weight more you could cut the fore end back to the web
behind the swivel stud,round it off,and add a bbl band.

Here's one I did that way. 17.5" bbl @6lb 2oz

The real benefit would be the lighter profile barrel, seems always at a cost... Since this Creedmoor will not be an extreme long range rig, I am toying with chopping the barrel but it'd be mighty easy to just leave it. Compared to other sub-$350 rifles I gotta say it seems built for the long-haul.

Update - especially for those on the edge of their seats LOL. Got it painted this morning. A medium blend green (lighter than OD), with black, beige and gray Flectone. Also, was pleasantly surprised to rid the combo of 4.3 more ounces by switching out the Smith Enterprise steel rings (over 7oz) with some Buckeye aluminum/titanium units (under 3oz). Of course a plethora of pics will follow...



Thanks EZ. I had considered that move and just about went that way... What action is that in your pic? This one will never get that light. That's ok though...

It's a S&W(Husqvarna 1640 action in .30-06). Bbl'd action(w/o action screws)Weaver bases,magazine spring,and follower weighs 3lbs 12oz. The bbl was a fwt contour with a bulge at the muzzle. Stock is a Choate for a large ring 98. I got it down to 20ozs.

That's true and Darrik is a great guy to do business with. I just pointed those out for folks who are interested in building lighter rigs. Darrik might have them or be able to order them too.

Here's the show-off part!

8lbs 12oz. Use a light scope, ditch the sling and 8# may be possible.

Flectone #2 for me.

Somewhere south of $XXX all up, including all parts, shipping and the transfer....

I love posting pics of my stocks... Well duhhh!

Here it is upside down...

Appreciate the ideas and discussions on the thread and via the PMs.

That looks great!

What kind of rings are those?

Thanks! Not sure it's a cost effective option, but for me, the price was right, labor all inclusive. LOL. Looking forward to shooting, and still thinking of chopping the barrel, maybe as far as 17-19". With heavys it seems it'd only cost me a click or two...



The rings are from Buckeye Optics. Have only seen them mentioned around here a couple times, I think they're Perfection and would happily buy more. $60 and perfect machining. 2.7 oz for the set.

--------

Buckeye Optics takes Picatinny-style mounting to an entirely new level. Machined from a single piece of aircraft-grade aluminum, this mounting system is one of the strongest and lightest available today. Designed with long range shooters and big game hunters in mind, this system will ensure your scope won't shift under severe recoil.

Product Information

Material: CNC Machined T6-6061 Aluminum

Finish: Mil-Spec Type III Hard Coat Anodized

Ring Diameter: 30mm

Ring Height: 0.26" (measured from base of ring to bottom of scope)

Crossbolt: Grade 5 Titanium Alloy

Warranty: Lifetime Warranty

Proudly Made in USA

I don't know what a fella would end up with after hiring you to work the stock over but that rifle you have for sub 1k is great. I'd chop to 17" and thread should you ever want to do that? Looks great man