I bought my first non-Tikka in a long time yesterday and I’m looking for info. I know Howa makes the Vanguard line for Weatherby but I don’t know much else. Here’s the ad:

“Up for sale, my "semi-custom", stainless, Howa model 1500 in 7mm Remington Magnum. I customized this to be my "one rifle for anything in Oregon gun". I ditched the Tupperware stock for a Boyd's Micro-Lam. The barrel is free floated and the action is bedded from just in front of the recoil lug to the rear tang. The action locks up smoothly (lapped lugs) and feels (and sounds) solid as a bank vault. The Boyd's factory recoil pad was swapped out for a limbsaver. I then covered the entire stock in a textured epoxy paint. I also installed a Timney trigger which is set at about 2.5 lbs. It wears a Leupold Vari-XIIc, 3-9x40, in matte stainless with Butler Creek Flip up caps; standard plex reticle. It also has QD studs. 24" standard contour barrel, 1-9.5" twist.

I will include a Rhino-Plate soft padded case, a padded strap AND my personal "pet" load data, RCBS dies, brass (quite a lot), specific Lee case trim tool and all the 7mm bullets in my stock (hundreds). It shoots 175 gr. Sierra Game Kings at a bit under 3000 fps very accurately.”

The rifle looks great, as advertised. So tell me about the Howa 1500.




P

Watching this thread with interest as I have thought about one myself. What does the rifle weigh, either bare rifle or with the scope?

I don't have firsthand experience shooting the 1500, but they have always felt solid when I've looked at them.

My concern about that ad is the "lapped lugs." It's my understanding that lugs must be lapped BEFORE the barrel is installed/chambered. Otherwise it could create excessive headspace. It sounds like he lapped the lugs with the factory barrel. I'd be very careful about that rifle.

I have 2 of them. Solid, reliable and reasonably accurate. Never had a bolt handle fall off.

It will be heavier than Tikka. They shoot pretty well. I have 3 Vanguards. I have put Timneys in 2 of them. I like them as well as anything else in their price range. And a lot better than some.

WTH I thought you were just going to get rid of a 7mm Mag for a 280. Rationalize your irrational behavior lol

Pushfeed done well. Drop forged receiver, flawless extractor, one piece bolt , great gas handling, heavy recoil lug which is part of the action.

I’m thinking about turning my 7mm Rem Mag Tikka into something else.



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I bought a Howa 1500 Hogue in .223 some months back. It was purchased to replace a Steven 200 .223 which I have never cared for. Fit, finish, feeding, extraction and the trigger were reasons for replacing the Stevens 200. The Tikka is everything a Remington should have been and at a very reasonable price. One-piece bolt, forged receiver, BDL setup on even their cheap model and more recent models have the HACT 2-stage trigger. The trigger isn't a Tikka trigger but it's decent and came from the factory set at 3 lbs. Feeding is so smooth that I can't feel a .223 shell being fed into the chamber. I've had to visually verify and sure enough, it feeds every time positively much like the Tikka. Howas are not lightweight guns like the Tikka. However, I rate them second to Tikka with Tikka being first. That lineup includes Remington, Winchester, Ruger, Savage and CZ. Bottom line, it feeds and ejects smoothly, has a good trigger and shows promise in the accuracy department.

Pharm, I've had 3 S&W, aka Howa 1500s.
.223, .270, & 30-06

The 270 & 30-06 were 2 of the best looking rifles I've ever owned. The 223 was a lighter color but not blonde.

I hunted and killed deer with both of the larger cals. As long as I owned the 223 they were NOT legal for deer.
I had no problems with accuracy from any of them.

The problem I had with the 270 & 06 was they were so 'purdy' I was afraid of marring the stocks.

A friend still has the 270 and last year HE took these pics and sent them to me.







Jerry

You won't be disappointed, they're very nice rifles. The original Howa's, the Golden Bear, are exact copies of a Sako. In fact, Sako sued Howa for patent infringements over it. So if you ever find a Howa Golden Bear, it's a Sako.

I'm a big Howa fan, but any time you buy a rifle that's been futzed with by someone, there's some risk involved. This one has a silver scope, not a plus to me, and it's a you-know-what to boot. Unless th price is really good, I'd look at a SS Vanguard and skip the potential issues.

Gunbroker has a bunch of new SS Synthetic Vanguard 2s in 7mm RM for under $700. One was $634.

The price was very right.



P

In that case, congrats!

Older Leupold scope installed in unspecified rings and base(s).

Heavier laminated Boyds stock.

No indication of what the asking price is.

Hard to opine if it is a potentially good buy or not.

My 7mm RM is a CLR and maybe a little on the light side, but I don't have any need for a 7mm RM, so it is a hanger queen.

I have several Howa 1500s and V2s and like them. They tend to be a little on the heavy side, more than I want to carry in steep terrain and/or at low oxygen high altitudes, but I'm in my 60's and not in mountain goat like physical condition.

Tweren’t askin’ if’n it were a good deal.

Just want’n to know more ‘bout ‘em.

As evidenced by the original post.




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'Didn't intend to offend you, but if I did, oh well.

Heck no, I’m not offended. Just looking for feedback on the rifle. Already pulled the scope.



P

Oh yea, ditch the trigger and replace it with a Timney.

Yeah, replace the Timney that's in it with a Timney. Makes sense.

The two-stage triggers on the more recent models are very nice, and worth giving a try IMO. I just put a Timney on a FN, however, and am very impressed with the qualitÿ. One thing about Howas that annoys me just a bit is the chintzy safety button. If the Timney safety is like the one in my FN, it'd almost be worth swapping in just to ease that burning little itch.

It's heavy.

I’d like to see Pics of this new rifle.
Also what’s the plan for the 7 mag tikka ?

DIdn't read that part, replacing a vanguard trigger with a timney is automatic.

The safety button on the new Howas and Vanguards is the cheapest one I have seen yet on a Howa.

Well, hell, scrapped the plan for the Tikka. Another guy was selling a Tikka stock with a Limbsaver plus a Tikka barrel chambered in 300 WSM, both for $30. And he’s local, so I bought them. Maybe rebore the barrel to something interesting and screw it onto the 7 mag. Didn’t realize the barrel was blued until I made the deal. So now I have a blued Tikka barrel in 300 WSM.



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I have owned a bunch of the standard 1500 and the Minis. They are very well made, usually moa or better accurate and very reliable. Except for the Minis they are heavy and the older triggers suck. Drop a Timney in and you are good to go. I think they are one of the best values out there.

My current favorite rifle is a stainless Howa 1500 6.5 Creed that I bedded in an Alpine stock. It isn't a lightweight, but doesn't feel heavy. It shoots anything I feed it acceptably and some things really well. The action is solid, the bolt is one piece, the extractor is robust, the factory 2-stage trigger is very nice (but I may replace it with a Timney anyway) and it functions flawlessly. There isn't much not to like about it for an all-around rifle.

I got my first Howa 1500 in .308 Win (also a first) a couple months ago. It is a tank as many have said but I like it so far. The first load I worked up was 130 TTSX over 48.5 gr TAC that shoots 1.11" at 100 yards. Not sure if I will keep the hogue overmolded stock or not but it works.

Happy shooting!

Interesting 1st Howa I ever worked with was back in 1982 in 243,it was smooth, zero'ed fast with moa 3 shot groups. Couple of years a go I traded an m870 field gun to a buddy for his 223 Howa 1500. I took it home and put a 6x Burris on it to see how bad I got took. Zero'ed fast and 3 shot groups under a dime at 50 yds with ammo loaded for my hb m700. What's not to like? So smooth I could not detect a round being fed out of the mag, that is a major first in the rifles I have owned. Trigger can all ways be lighter but sure wasn't so heavy that good shooting wasn't possible. Gun is no lightweight but for $225 I got in it WGAF? There is no such thing as a perfect gun, yet I get the distinct impression that the most important thing to a lot here is how much money you can sink into one for minuscule improvements that you will never recoup if you fall out of love with it. Everyone has different goals with their purchases and I am no different, but if they don't shoot good in stock dress I sure don't spend any money on them, just time and tune. MB

I put a Leupold VX2 4-14x40 CDS in Talley mounts on it. Gonna load some 160 AB over Reloader 26 and try to get 3k FPS.



P

Rolled up a seating depth test with 69 grains of Reloader 26 and 160 AB. Starting just kissing the lands at 2.819” from the ogive, then moving deeper by 0.040” to finish at 2.697.” Six rounds at each depth. The Magnetospeed said 3017 fps with a small extreme spread so I’m hopeful. Weather permitting I’ll find out tomorrow.

Oh, and I sold the scope.




P

Mine in 6.5CM (yes, my man bun is fabulous) shoots factory ammo about an inch at 100 yards and handloads a little less. The action is smooth, the trigger doesn't suck, but it's not a Tikka, and it ain't light.

I hunt sitting in a tree, and when I'm doing that it's awesome. If I'm walking I've got lighter options.

But, I got it cheap, and it's a LOT better rifle (IMO) than other "budget" options from TC, Ruger, and Mossberg that I own.

They all kill deer though.

I have a 20" heavy barrel varminter in 308. 2 stage trigger and 3 position safety. Trigger breaks crisp at 2.5 lbs. I replaced the hogue stock with a B&C medalist. Scoped this rifle is 9-10 lbs. A dream to bench rest.

Just curious, how much did you get for the silver vari x 2? Those things are going for crazy money on eBay. I've got a Howa 223 that has been good. I think it's ready for a new barrel though.

They are fabulous rifles for the price.

I didn’t do my homework and check prices before I listed it. I let it go for what I figured it was worth, $165.

What the hell, 160user got a good deal.



P

I really like Howa 1500 rifles!

Range report:

She likes it short.

The shortest OAL (2.697”) shot just under an inch, 5 shots at .824”, not bad but I want better. I’ll load a few more shorter and see how they fly. Still, .8” ain’t bad for my first ever outing.

Length measured from ogive.



P

Take a look at the bolt stop screw. As in remove it and look at it with a magnifying glass or loupe. Lots of them have rough machining that is effectively a "crack here" starter, right at the step where the shoulder bottoms against the receiver. Use a metric SHCS and get someone to make a little shoulder bushing, and you're GTG.

I traded for a Howa 1500 7mm-08 and love it. All metal is factory cera-koted in a light grey color, stock is KUIU Verde camo, 20" barrel, Vortex 4-12 Diamondback scope. It came with the standard factory trigger guard/floorplate and an additional trigger guard/Mag-Pul detachable magazine. The trigger is taking a little getting used to, but the rifle shoots tight groups with Hornady brass, WLR primers, H4895 powder and 139 grain Hornady Interlocks. A very soft shooting rifle that I will give to my 12 year old grandson for Christmas. I think he'll like it.

I've had four Howa 1500s, and all of them shot well. And the triggers sucked, one .223, two .270s and one 7mm Rem. Mag. All were kinda portly, but that didn't matter too much. I simply didn't like the 7mm Mag. and got rid of it pretty quick, but I flat-out wore the barrel of the .223 out in several trips prairie dogging in SD. It took a LOT of rounds to do that, but I got it done. All of them fed smoothly and had no issues, EXCEPT the screw holding the bolt stop in place is pretty dainty and can sheer off easily. It's a cheap fix to replace it, but it might pay to keep some spares handy. It only happened on the .223, which, as noted, got fired a LOT and perhaps there was some rapid bolt work putting more stress on it than the larger guns.It slayed a lot of prairie dogs, and it was fun.

Every 1500/Vanguard I've owned has been very accurate. Just a bit heavier than I prefer. Only one I currently own is a SS 1500 243 and with 95gr NBST's and RS Hunter will print in the .3's near the middle of book loads. I don't mind the weight on a goat gun.