Howa 6.5 Creedmoor

armednfree · August 28, 2018, 08:56 AM

I see this heavy barrel Howa action in 6.5 Creed sold by Brownell's. Price is right, since if I bought a Ruger American I would have to restock it anyway, but how accurate are they? I have no experience with Howa.

LineStretcher · August 28, 2018, 10:32 AM

They're good enough for Weatherby on their production rifles. Weatherby uses Krieger barrels on most of their custom shop rifles. I have one in .308 on a AR 10 and it shoots sub moa at 100 yards.

jmr40 · August 28, 2018, 05:46 PM

Quote:

if I bought a Ruger American I would have to restock it anyway,

No you wouldn't. No aftermarket stock will ever make it shoot a bit more accurately. If you can't live with the aesthetics then you may CHOOSE to buy another stock, but you certainly don't have to. I'd keep it as is and put the money toward better optics.

I'd not have any doubts that the Howa is probably very similar, but it wouldn't be any better.

If I didn't like the aesthetics of the Ruger and wanted to spend more money I'd make sure it was an upgrade instead of a lateral move. The Ruger, Bergara, Howa/vanguard are all very similar out of the box, but the Ruger is the least expensive. I think this is the next step up in performance. And it isn't that much more expensive than either of the others + an aftermarket stock.

http://www.tikka.fi/en-us/rifles/tik...tactical-rifle

Mobuck · August 30, 2018, 07:27 AM

"if I bought a Ruger American I would have to restock it anyway"
I never understood why someone would buy a low price point rifle(or anything else for that matter) and then spend a bunch of $$ to make it look different.

armednfree · August 30, 2018, 08:49 AM

That depends on how you look at it. I had shot several friends Ruger Americans. As long as you went really light on the forearm to minimize the noodle effect of that stock they all shot great. When I got my 6mm Creedmoor it did likewise, plus it will shift in the stock to the left and has to be slapped back each shot. And of course that magazine is the all time worse.

Had Magpul not announced the hunter stock and the replacement magazine I would not have bought it. Let's understand that had Magpul not done that I would not have bought it. I could have put it in a Boyds stock but then I would still be stuck with that worthless magazine.

Because I had to wait so long for that stock ( it just arrived today) I reinforced the existing stock. That helped but didn't solve the issues.

Since I want to use this rifle for the sniper walk I do, and possibly for hunting, I didn't want a monster barrel to lug around. I have a 284 with a 26 inch heavy profile barrel I've been using but I'm getting older and that darn thing is heavy. But also I didn't want a sporter weight. I wanted a medium weight rifle which the American Predator is.

So I didn't get this rifle and decide after the fact that I didn't like this or that, nor simply wanted this or that, I knew that up front. I also knew exactly what I was going to do and exactly how much it would cost. In my mind I was buying a barreled action and nothing more. There is no hindsight here. I knew the end would be slightly less than $700 and that it was. The end product worth it.

I have a M700 ADL in 223 that I bought with that same idea. I think I'll go forward with a switch barrel rifle using Pac-Nor barrels and Pac-Nuts. Heavy Palma in 6.5 Creed and something lighter in 7mm-08.

Just to keep on base, I retire in 5 years and these are my retirement rifles. I don't want to be building rifles on a retirement budget. The same reason I'm stockpiling bullets.

Dufus · August 30, 2018, 11:40 AM

I bought the Howa heavy barreled action in 308 Win for my grandson and put it in a Hogue stock.

His first group after he got familiar with it was 1 1/4" for 5 shots using cheapo 168 gr FMJ.

He has shot it at 200 yds and did almost as good.

I think it will shoot under 1" after we start tailoring some loads for it.

shootsocal_dave · August 30, 2018, 11:50 AM

You throw that thing in a Chassis, and it would be a tac driver. If you're restocking the ruger american, they have been reported to cut group sizes in half in a quality chassis.

T. O'Heir · August 30, 2018, 11:57 AM

Howa has been making Weatherby Vanguards on the same production line as their Model 1500 for eons.
A barreled action is really the basis for any rifle. However, it's not as inexpensive to build a rifle as you may think. It's not just slapping a stock and sights on.
"...a Ruger American..." In 6.5 Creedmoor is a Ruger Distributor special thing only.
"...put it in a Hogue stock..." Bed it.

Don Fischer · August 30, 2018, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mobuck

"if I bought a Ruger American I would have to restock it anyway"
I never understood why someone would buy a low price point rifle(or anything else for that matter) and then spend a bunch of $$ to make it look different.

If you can't get what you want in a wood stock, re-stocking may be pretty much the only way to get what you want! I bought a Mossberg Patriot with a plastic stock and the minute I got home called Mossberg and ordered a wood stock. I don't keep rifle's around long with plastic stocks and won't have a stainless rifle. Unless your willing to go high price, wood stock's is becoming a thing of the past.

August 28, 2018, 08:56 AM	#1
armednfree Senior Member Join Date: October 30, 2016 Posts: 211	Howa 6.5 Creedmoor I see this heavy barrel Howa action in 6.5 Creed sold by Brownell's. Price is right, since if I bought a Ruger American I would have to restock it anyway, but how accurate are they? I have no experience with Howa.

August 30, 2018, 11:57 AM	#8
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	Howa has been making Weatherby Vanguards on the same production line as their Model 1500 for eons. A barreled action is really the basis for any rifle. However, it's not as inexpensive to build a rifle as you may think. It's not just slapping a stock and sights on. "...a Ruger American..." In 6.5 Creedmoor is a Ruger Distributor special thing only. "...put it in a Hogue stock..." Bed it. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

August 28, 2018, 10:32 AM	#2
LineStretcher Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2018 Posts: 619	They're good enough for Weatherby on their production rifles. Weatherby uses Krieger barrels on most of their custom shop rifles. I have one in .308 on a AR 10 and it shoots sub moa at 100 yards.

August 30, 2018, 07:27 AM	#4
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	"if I bought a Ruger American I would have to restock it anyway" I never understood why someone would buy a low price point rifle(or anything else for that matter) and then spend a bunch of $$ to make it look different.

August 30, 2018, 08:49 AM	#5
armednfree Senior Member Join Date: October 30, 2016 Posts: 211	That depends on how you look at it. I had shot several friends Ruger Americans. As long as you went really light on the forearm to minimize the noodle effect of that stock they all shot great. When I got my 6mm Creedmoor it did likewise, plus it will shift in the stock to the left and has to be slapped back each shot. And of course that magazine is the all time worse. Had Magpul not announced the hunter stock and the replacement magazine I would not have bought it. Let's understand that had Magpul not done that I would not have bought it. I could have put it in a Boyds stock but then I would still be stuck with that worthless magazine. Because I had to wait so long for that stock ( it just arrived today) I reinforced the existing stock. That helped but didn't solve the issues. Since I want to use this rifle for the sniper walk I do, and possibly for hunting, I didn't want a monster barrel to lug around. I have a 284 with a 26 inch heavy profile barrel I've been using but I'm getting older and that darn thing is heavy. But also I didn't want a sporter weight. I wanted a medium weight rifle which the American Predator is. So I didn't get this rifle and decide after the fact that I didn't like this or that, nor simply wanted this or that, I knew that up front. I also knew exactly what I was going to do and exactly how much it would cost. In my mind I was buying a barreled action and nothing more. There is no hindsight here. I knew the end would be slightly less than $700 and that it was. The end product worth it. I have a M700 ADL in 223 that I bought with that same idea. I think I'll go forward with a switch barrel rifle using Pac-Nor barrels and Pac-Nuts. Heavy Palma in 6.5 Creed and something lighter in 7mm-08. Just to keep on base, I retire in 5 years and these are my retirement rifles. I don't want to be building rifles on a retirement budget. The same reason I'm stockpiling bullets.

August 30, 2018, 11:40 AM	#6
Dufus Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2014 Posts: 1,965	I bought the Howa heavy barreled action in 308 Win for my grandson and put it in a Hogue stock. His first group after he got familiar with it was 1 1/4" for 5 shots using cheapo 168 gr FMJ. He has shot it at 200 yds and did almost as good. I think it will shoot under 1" after we start tailoring some loads for it.

August 30, 2018, 11:50 AM	#7
shootsocal_dave Junior Member Join Date: August 8, 2018 Posts: 6	You throw that thing in a Chassis, and it would be a tac driver. If you're restocking the ruger american, they have been reported to cut group sizes in half in a quality chassis.