don't forget the two stage trigger, although it breaks crisp enough and light enough, feels as cheap as the rest of the gun, both the two stage action and the blade itself...the single best most proper component on mine is the Jefferson outdoor bottom end lol, if only the entire rifle was built proper like that piece, the action/barrel are ok just wrong material of course...little things lol
Howa 1500 Superlite?
- Thread starter Iron Sighted
- Start date
don't forget the two stage trigger, although it breaks crisp enough and light enough, feels as cheap as the rest of the gun, both the two stage action and the blade itself...the single best most proper component on mine is the Jefferson outdoor bottom end lol, if only the entire rifle was built proper like that piece, the action/barrel are ok just wrong material of course...little things lol
agree, that barrel too short for me in a 308 based 62,000 psi cartridge but with a 20" look out, love the 16" on my ruger American ranch 6.5 grendels at 52,000 psi it's all the blast/noise one wants to live with while taking hunting shots without ears imo, but that rifle is in a different league than the cheap wimpy push feed non-stainless replace everything howa's, the effort to smooth, polish, tune, bed that...even rebarrel to 20" would be worth it and could make a wonderful legacy pride of ownership firearm
Those rifles seems like a lot of work!! I have some old mauser, husky, browning, Ruger that needed zero work on them to shoot around moa, all walnut stocks and blued steel never had one rust on me and a stock being flimsy or break… I usually spend around 20 days in the bush rain snow or shine from plus 30 to minus 45c in canoes, freighter, snowmobile, on foot, lining up rivers going down rapids… I know 20 days seems little for some!
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Wow ! So much HATE 
: RJ
: RJWow ! So much HATE
almost all of it from my wallet, which is still scared there may be more to come yet
My atv gun is a ruger American ranch in 308 Winchester. Muzzle blast is minimal in my opinion. I also have a 12”bbl 45-70 if you wanna talk about muzzle blast.
I'm a 2 stage trigger guy, so that is right up my alley, yeah trigger is a little narrow, but not some deal breaker for me at least.
The hammer forged barrels are well done, never had one shoot badly, here is a bore scope of my 243 and 257 Vanguards, pretty ####ing smooth and don't foul at all, you would pay handsomely for a cut rifle barrel polished to this level. This is after shooting them too, zero fouling.
Don't forget, forged and milled receiver with intagrel lug, one piece forged bolt...real one piece forged bolt, coned breach like a 700 for strength, lots of venting in case of case failure, very strong and well made old school type actions, that ain't cheap to make.
This is Remingtons version of hammer forged barrel, see the difference?
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I'm a 2 stage trigger guy, so that is right up my alley, yeah trigger is a little narrow, but not some deal breaker for me at least.
The hammer forged barrels are well done, never had one shoot badly, here is a bore scope of my 243 and 257 Vanguards, pretty ####ing smooth and don't foul at all, you would pay handsomely for a cut rifle barrel polished to this level. This is after shooting them too, zero fouling.
Don't forget, forged and milled receiver with intagrel lug, one piece forged bolt...real one piece forged bolt, coned breach like a 700 for strength, lots of venting in case of case failure, very strong and well made old school type actions, that ain't cheap to make.
This is Remingtons version of hammer forged barrel, see the difference?
My 240 Weatherby Vanguard barrel looks great they are well made firearms and will not hesitate to buy another one
I bought a pile of them when they were cheaper then a used HVA 1600 lol. Yeah, never had any issues with the Vanguards, they seem a step above the Howa's I've bought, actually sold all the Howa's except one.
Bought a barely used Vanguard S2 7mm in the white camo stock, came with a Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24 that looked brand new for $600 from prophet river several years ago, I felt like I stole it lol.
Scope went on a 308 target rifle, the 7mm is a tack driver and the sort of heavy long action Vanguards soak up recoil very nicely. One of my favorite newer rifles, hell of a bargain.
the vanguard stainless and Mcmillan sako classic combo guys seem to do is maybe the best way to do a howa, I'll never know lol...moved right up to a sako 90 peak and would still do a tikka before the vanguard so that ship sailed, maybe Weatherby can get howa to do stainless mini for them and it would be a thing with a Mcmillan on it, proper hinged floor, still have to nuke that trigger/safety for better..timney but maybe the vanguards get better safety tab? anyway, all derail at this point...howa can suck me sideways...well I should clarify...legacy sports international can suck all of North America sideways
Bought one in 6.5 Creedmoor. I had a few things I wasn’t crazy about but with minimal effort quickly changed that to my liking.
Namely: the bolt as mentioned by some, had the zipsound when opened and closed. Less than five minutes of polishing with 320 grit on the lathe made my bolt as smooth as any tikka T3 I’ve had. Next was the camo finish. I really did not like the dipped pattern and quickly removed it with lacquer thinner, followed by a quick sponge job in green finish over the black carbon fibre… Lastly, the action was glass bedded and the rear tang built up slightly to blend seamlessly with the stock. It originally sat out there proud.
The action machining is very nice aside from the zip zip that originally existed, and I much prefer the M-16 style extractor over any Sako for reliability…. I have no issues with the detachable magazine as it fits flush and is very dependable for both feeding and retention in the rifle I have.. I changed the rail out with Tally lightweight mounts from Profit River which I really like. The rifle is unbelievable in terms of accuracy 127 gr Barnes LRX into sub .3 inch groups and 140 grain Barnes match burners into 0.100” groups. I like the tool less firing pin removal, one piece bolt, flat bedding surface, consistency in receiver, dimensions, and the machined casting of the receiver. A very strong set up. I also tuned up the trigger to allow it to break with lighter pull on both the take up and final break. The HACT triggers tuneup to my liking as good as any Kimber or tikka trigger I’ve worked on and I have come to like the two stage for hunting/field scenarios as it allows me to take up the slack and then settle in for the final pull. it’s a personal thing I’m sure but have recently changed many of my rifles to the similar two-stage trigger..
The only thing I’m not crazy about now is the short length of pull as I prefer 13 3/4” inches. Overall, I am very happy with the rifle. I would not hesitate to buy another… I agree with the comments on stainless steel why legacy dropped most of the stainless steel is beyond me.
I like the Howa and Weatherby vanguard variants of the 1500 and prefer them over most other actions on the market, especially for the price point I think they offer, exceptional value, accuracy, and reliability. I try to pick up the stainless versions whenever I can, as I am not crazy about the blue steel models nor do I care for Cerracoat as it does nothing to protect the bore of my rifle like stainless steel does.
Namely: the bolt as mentioned by some, had the zipsound when opened and closed. Less than five minutes of polishing with 320 grit on the lathe made my bolt as smooth as any tikka T3 I’ve had. Next was the camo finish. I really did not like the dipped pattern and quickly removed it with lacquer thinner, followed by a quick sponge job in green finish over the black carbon fibre… Lastly, the action was glass bedded and the rear tang built up slightly to blend seamlessly with the stock. It originally sat out there proud.
The action machining is very nice aside from the zip zip that originally existed, and I much prefer the M-16 style extractor over any Sako for reliability…. I have no issues with the detachable magazine as it fits flush and is very dependable for both feeding and retention in the rifle I have.. I changed the rail out with Tally lightweight mounts from Profit River which I really like. The rifle is unbelievable in terms of accuracy 127 gr Barnes LRX into sub .3 inch groups and 140 grain Barnes match burners into 0.100” groups. I like the tool less firing pin removal, one piece bolt, flat bedding surface, consistency in receiver, dimensions, and the machined casting of the receiver. A very strong set up. I also tuned up the trigger to allow it to break with lighter pull on both the take up and final break. The HACT triggers tuneup to my liking as good as any Kimber or tikka trigger I’ve worked on and I have come to like the two stage for hunting/field scenarios as it allows me to take up the slack and then settle in for the final pull. it’s a personal thing I’m sure but have recently changed many of my rifles to the similar two-stage trigger..
The only thing I’m not crazy about now is the short length of pull as I prefer 13 3/4” inches. Overall, I am very happy with the rifle. I would not hesitate to buy another… I agree with the comments on stainless steel why legacy dropped most of the stainless steel is beyond me.
I like the Howa and Weatherby vanguard variants of the 1500 and prefer them over most other actions on the market, especially for the price point I think they offer, exceptional value, accuracy, and reliability. I try to pick up the stainless versions whenever I can, as I am not crazy about the blue steel models nor do I care for Cerracoat as it does nothing to protect the bore of my rifle like stainless steel does.
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A hearty endorsement there! Howa produces a quality action for sure.
Not all Howas come out so nice, mine looked like someone had threaded the last 4 inches of the bore, the rest looked perfect like your pictures. Was a 2 moa gun no matter what factory or loads I put through it. I have never been more disappointed in a rifle purchase. The cheap stock, bottom metal, plastic trigger and mag release were huge turnoffs, that’s not to mention the bolt zipper. Mine was really bad, an audible vvvvvvtttt. I didn’t even have the will to try to bed it. Last rifle i will ever order before handling in person.I'm a 2 stage trigger guy, so that is right up my alley, yeah trigger is a little narrow, but not some deal breaker for me at least.
The hammer forged barrels are well done, never had one shoot badly, here is a bore scope of my 243 and 257 Vanguards, pretty ####ing smooth and don't foul at all, you would pay handsomely for a cut rifle barrel polished to this level. This is after shooting them too, zero fouling.
Don't forget, forged and milled receiver with intagrel lug, one piece forged bolt...real one piece forged bolt, coned breach like a 700 for strength, lots of venting in case of case failure, very strong and well made old school type actions, that ain't cheap to make.
This is Remingtons version of hammer forged barrel, see the difference?
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I saw one critique about the firing pin hole and how the pin fit through. Maybe not common on all ? Did you change the spring ?
overall a fine endorsement in deed
My only 'thing' with the vanguard vs mark 5 is the 2 vs 3 lug and the bolt throw
Only issue you could run into with firing pin/hole clearance is if you are running high pressure loads with standard cartridges that are also available with small rifle primers. Stuff like 308/6.5CM/6mmCM, that sort of thing, small rifle primers let you load a little warmer, but you need a smallish firing pin and nice tight clearance, or you can run the risk of piercing primers.
Run those same cases with larger primers as intended and no issues.
