Howa 1500 GK project

[steveNChunter]

Should fit about any average scope. The base screw holes are spaced similar to pretty much everything else. The long action takes the same one piece base as a Remington 700 long action.

Your short action Howa can use two-piece 700 bases, but a one-piece for a short action 700 won't work. Slightly different spacing.

All my scopes are 1-inchers. Nothing against 30mm other than it's sort of oddball around here and there's less selection of rings in stock at most places.

Redfield is OK, they are owned by Leupold which means a good warranty. For the money I think the VX-II is a better scope than the Redfield. But that's just an opinion. Also check out the Burris Fullfield E1 line, and The Vortex Viper. Both good scopes for the money in the Redfield price range.

Fitting a scope depends more on what rings you use than the action itself.

[Duzell]

true, but i remember when the savage axis had issues with scratching the scopes. i just wanted a opinion on some good ones. im currently happy with the nikko GK

[Duzell]

well i picked it up today at 9am, there was a misspelling in the paperwork so i had to wait a bit and redue it. but i got a free box of Federal Premium gold Medal Match loads which is a redone sierra matchking redone by federal. its 32$ a box so...for 15 min of my time i think its a nice free-bee. I've also decided to name it kindness in Japanese, which is "Shinsetsu".(howa is a Japanese company so it seemed only natural), more of a joke name, but i digress.

the stock has a good solid feel to it. the weight is more forward, as its a heavy barrel. serial number is "163", i thought that was kind of cool to get such a low number.

the scope is mounted and bore sighted for 25 yards. the scope is better than i thought id get for the 20+$'s i paid for the GK series. i love the illuminated crosshairs, and the small sub triangle steps is a very handy thing for precise distance shooting. it adjust quickly and smooth on the light and parallax.

stock wise i like the hogue a lot, but i may get a blackhawk at some point to do a comparison with.

i would like the detachable magazine system, i may buy that later in december.


so far i will zero it out to 100yrds, then i will do a comparison of groups with the ruger american my friend has.

personaly for a base starting gun id always reccommened the ruger american in 308, or lower. but anything higher, i'd suggest loading lead into the stock.

[Duzell]

the howa shinsetsu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgVJBq3nmgE

[steveNChunter]

I like the olive green stock. I tried to order my Hogue stock in the olive color but the only color they had for the bedding-block stock at the time was black. That scope looks to be mounted a little far forward for my liking, but I'm a short guy with short arms and I sometimes have to make up for the stock being slightly too long by setting the scope back just a little to get proper eye relief. Just make sure when you shoulder the rifle that you don't have to move forward from what feels natural to get a full picture in the scope. Looks like a nice rifle, hope it serves you well.

[Duzell]

as i didnt mount it im glad it fits my eye relief, its actually perfect for me, but im 6'1" with long arms and long fingers. after disassemble i was very impressed with the stocks bedding, and its trigger setup is very high quality. though i was annoyed with re-installing the drop plate for the bullets, took me a while to lock it back in. i will get the magazine conversion kit with a 10/5 round magazines. the ten looks a bit to long for me, but the 5 round looks well suited for my target shooting


i will do my zeroing at 50 then 100 yards, i will be using federal premium gold medal match loads, which is made from the sierra matchking. which is as good as i can get for consistency, i will stick with sierra rounds as i trust them and have never had any issue with them.

-thanks i hope it goes well, i will try shooting it as soon as i get the bipod from caldwell and the magazine kit

[Duzell]

so ive purchased the 10 round detachable magazine kit made by legacy arms, via cheaperthandirt. shipping + price has it to be 88$

ive also purchased a caldwell xla bipod pivot model. for 37$s, this should be in tonight, via amazon

i will attach and do some pics and maybe a video with the bipod on

[Geezerbiker]

A couple years ago I bought a use Howa .223 Varmint model that came with a Boyds laminated stock. I've only shot it a few times but so far it's a keeper. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I was in the market or tripped over a good deal on one...

Tony

[steveNChunter]

so ive purchased the 10 round detachable magazine kit made by legacy arms, via cheaperthandirt. shipping + price has it to be 88$

I've considered getting the detachable mag kit for my Howa but I just cant justify a need for it as it is a hunting rifle and only needs one shot per hunt. It holds five as it is, but if it takes more than one, I did something wrong, not the rifle.

The mags look nice though, if you're into the "tactical" thing

[Duzell]

@geezerbiker, ive not shot her yet , but i cleaned and greased her up for some shooting to come. im looking forward to her first shoot, im really impressed and glad i went with the howa rifle.

@steveNChunter, i choose to get the new magazine kit, because when disassembling i had trouble placing the drop plate back in easy. im hoping the magazine system makes this easier. i completyly agree, 1 bullet 1 kill, other than that im doing something wrong.


serial number question
one of the things that strikes me as unique is the serial number is low on this one. she is marked on barrel and bolt as # 163. thats kind of low when compared to my other rifles which are 229028 , 9000897 , ect , i wonder why that is so? any other howa owners have a low number , or was i lucky?

stocks
looking around, there are not a lot of stock options like that of a Remington 700, but on the other hand from what i gathered, the howas factory actions are higher than the 700. now ive looked at a few stock, nighthawk, and the RCS II H1500, and the boyds. the nighthawk seems... well weird looking, i get its functionality, but its not appealing to me, the RCS II H1500 is kind of pricey , and the boyds... ive got one on the mosin and i have no issues with them, but ive already got one. so far im just thinking of keeping the hogue and leaving that as is, it seems very solid and very well made. i trust hogue with my pistols, might as well trust them with my rifle.

[Duzell]

currently the magazine should be here in 3 days(ATI)

but i also found this magazine kit on midway USA thats metal and says it can take normal 308 magazines , anyone have any experience? because if true ill get crazy and slap on a 15 rounder on it

link

[Jim Watson]

"Normal" .308 magazines? What's that?
The Midway ad says "Trigger guard assembly will only work with Wyatt's magazines."

[steveNChunter]

but i also found this magazine kit on midway USA thats metal and says it can take normal 308 magazines , anyone have any experience? because if true ill get crazy and slap on a 15 rounder on it

That kit will only use the Wyatt's brand mags. By "normal" I assume you meant AR10 .308 mags or something? I don't care what kind of mag it takes, I wouldn't give the asking price of $250 for it.

Also keep in mind that it you fire ten shots in rapid succession from a sporter weight barrel, you will start to see a POI shift after about shot #3 or 4

For that reason I don't see the purpose of a ten round DBM on this type of rifle. But to each his own

[Duzell]

ah darn..

well i know the issue, but it might have come in handy on the tournaments i have to fire more than 20s not rapid succession but would have helped me not need to reload for a while

Also sorry i said normal i should have stated "standard" 308 cartridge, that was an error on my part.

mainly i just want to see how this platform works before i get crazy with it.
just slapping on the ATI mag kit and a biod to see how it handles. then i might look into a timny trigger system and an alternative stock to "play with"

so far the goal is 300+ yards sub moa and its supposed to do that out of the box. the federal gold medal i have is highly consistent so i have a good idea of its grouping. so lets see how she goes. ati mag will be in on wends and installed that day (hopefully no issues)

[Duzell]

also found this.

i wonder if this might use other magazine besides 10 and 5...

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/748...aluminum-black

[Duzell]

well first thing i noticed is my floor plate is that special star screw head.....
i had to run out and get my gun tool kit with that head size. without that i would have no way to take it off.

easy instal and fits in with bolt closed. feels like plastic but has good mag grooves for pull and grip. its 10 rounds and easy to install

i just hope that i can get the PTG hand guard that uses the acis mags , then i have a nice amount of options in magazine size. currently they are out of stock. so im working with what i could get

[Duzell]

my review post shooting of the howa GK and its magazine + bipod attachments

video

[Duzell]

i will postpone shooting shinsetsu for a few weeks, as im currently trying to get a handgun (RIA 1911 tac 45acp) before the end of the year, because in January a few new laws kick in which jack up the price of pistols here in CA, and also outlaw some of the companies pistols.

so im sorry for those who were looking forward to pics or videos, next week was my intended shooting time. but it will happen , so i apologies to those who are following the project. my state is just being more difficult than usual

[steveNChunter]

If you'd like to get an even lighter trigger pull on that Howa, they are relatively easy to adjust. Here's a link to the video I watched before adjusting mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58c7i0iM3fc

[Duzell]

thanks,thats really usefull, i was actually wonder how to do that

[steveNChunter]

Howa says that "technically" their triggers are pre-set from the factory and not adjustable, but they just put some type of epoxy over the adjustment screws that you have to scrape off. Just make sure when you adjust it that you give it a good safety-test by slamming the bolt shut and droppping the butt of the stock against the floor, do both several times, with the safety off (rifle unloaded of course!). If neither of those actions causes the rifle to dry-fire, you should be good to go.

The newer Howa two-stage trigger is great as-is for hunting, but for long range target shooting the lighter the better IMO.

[Duzell]

thanks , this will really help the project and i did not want to get another trigger as im quite fond of this factory trigger

[steveNChunter]

Yea it's a good trigger. You could get a Timney for it but I really don't see the need. Some people don't like the 2-stage feel but once I got used to the amount of take up it has I like it better. The older Howa trigger wasn't terrible, but not nearly as good as the new one and only had a two-position safety.

[Duzell]

ok project is back on.

im planning to shoot it soon

also i have a new ar 15 lower project im starting with my father , this will be my first ar build its on the semi forum

im looking at getting some magazines for the howa (1 is kind of to little) and midway has a clearance on them

[Clark]

I have a Howa 1500 and have shot it the way it is.


The 98 Mauser has:
1) flat bottomed receiver to take torque from rifling
2) controlled feed
3) claw typed extractor
4) safety on firing pin, often modified to be 2 or 3 position M70 type
5) multi stage gas filter on firing pin hole for safety
6) bolt handle is integrally forged as part of bolt body
7) safety lug below rear bridge
8) integral recoil lug
9) knife ejector in bolt lug slot
10 an inner C ring to put the tenon threads in compression

The rem 700
1) receiver made from round tubing
2) push feed
3) little wimpy extractor
4) safety on trigger
5) simple bolt
6) bolt handle tacked on with screw and solder
7) nothing for safety if bolt lugs fail.
8) recoil lug is a modified washer that is captured by the receiver and barrel
9) plunger ejector
10) No inner C ring, so the only thing holding the barrel to the receiver is the tenon threads in tension

Of the ~100 bolt action covered in the above book, they seem to all be on the spectrum somewhere between the simple Rem700 and the complex 1898 Mauser design.

The Howa 1500:
1) flat bottom receiver
2) push feed
3) short claw extractor is bigger than rem, but smaller than M98
4) three position bolt safety
5) simple bolt
6) Integral bolt handle
7) nothing
8) integral recoil lug
9) plunger ejector

I would give the Howa Mauser scale = ~50% Mauser
I would give the Howa Rem700 scale = ~50% Rem700

I rebarrel my Mausers, Win M70s, and Rem700s, and they are all fine rifles.

But the howa barrel tenon has metric threads, M26-1.5 I have read.
I have never cut metric threads on my lathe. I would have to change some gears.