Howa 1500 Superlite?

blakeyboy said:
You will never be satisfied with these cheap little pigs with lipstick. Doesn’t matter how much money you throw at them.
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Maybe you won't, but don't speak for me. Not every gun I own needs to be a showpiece or a collector's item or an Ultimate Hunting Rifle. There is definitely an appeal attached to an accurate, super-lightweight, non-fancy little hunting rifle that you don't mind beating up a bit.

I had a Savage Lightweight Hunter stainless for awhile; the original pencil-barreled gun, not the new CF-barreled one that cost twice as much and still weighed the same or more. It was the kind of gun that is just fun to grab and use without worrying about what might happen to it. If that had been a .308 rather than a 6.5Cr I would absolutely still have it and use it. And I don't mean that I would immediately start to "build" it either; the only money I spent on it was for lightweight aluminum mounts and a nice little Leupold. Had those already sitting on the shelf, but would have bought them if I hadn't, rather than using some massive steel mounting solution and ridiculous 2-pound big-ass scope like many seem to need.

No lipstick at all, but far from a pig. But then, I enjoy shooting Ruger Americans and Savage MkII .22's and 10/22's and H&R's and...well, you get the idea. Nice rifles have their place...and so do beaters. Both can be satisfying.

I'm with S&S on this one; make it stainless, in .308 or .243 or maybe .338Fed and I will reach for my wallet. I could live with the detach mag but, honestly, I'd prefer it with just a blind mag; shave off another couple ounces that way too. Floorplate? I don't need no stinkin' floorplate! :)
 
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^^^^Pretty much how I feel as well. As long as it is reasonably sturdy and meets the accuracy claims I'll probably take a chance on it and see if it does what I want from it. If I like it then I can look at getting it cerakoted down the road, and hopefully someone will make bottom metal for it to replace the detachable mag. Remove the pic rail and replace with some Talley Lightweights and a light scope in the 11-13oz range and you have a 5.5lb hunting rifle. It's certainly not a super high end rifle but I'd guess it'll get the job done?
 
I have one, I’ve done a lot to it, wanted to love it, still very unsatisfied and it’s about the 3rd one I built. Slow learner. You cannot get away from the cheap toy. Stainless I #####ed about that for awhile also and then with timney, Jefferson bottom ends and completely refinish the stock and recoil pad and then it might be a thing. That savage lightweight stainless would be twice the rifle. My buddies savage axis is twice the rifle lol. Not joking. Should kept that savage. Hold out for a Kimber imo and save the disappointment. But lots of us like to learn lessons first hand and enjoy projects so go ahead...this is the perfect platform for that. ;)
 
blakeyboy said:
I have one, I’ve done a lot to it, wanted to love it, still very unsatisfied and it’s about the 3rd one I built. Slow learner. You cannot get away from the cheap toy. Stainless I #####ed about that for awhile also and then with timney, Jefferson bottom ends and completely refinish the stock and recoil pad and then it might be a thing. That savage lightweight stainless would be twice the rifle. My buddies savage axis is twice the rifle lol. Not joking. Should kept that savage. Hold out for a Kimber imo and save the disappointment. But lots of us like to learn lessons first hand and enjoy projects so go ahead...this is the perfect platform for that. ;)
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Lol, I gave up on Kimbers long ago. Had several centerfires but could not get both accuracy and good function out of the same Kimber; sometimes even failed to get either! They are sleek and lightweight but I just don't trust them anymore. Inconsistent, always a gamble and, for me at least, usually a losing one.

Also had several Howas and Vanguards and was always impressed with them, never had a bad one. Most were cheap synthetic-stocked rifles that always worked and shot well, punched well above their weight class in just about every way. One was a Vanguard Deluxe with a magnificent wood stock and high-gloss blue that I kept for years, used a lot and sold only because the chambering wasn't a favourite of mine. That Vanguard put to shame the several Mk V 'Bees I owned over the years and predisposed me to like and trust Howa rifles.

But...I didn't "build" any of them. They all served very well for their intended purpose right out of the box. If you insist on trying to turn sow's ears into silk purses, you will not be happy. You will, at best, end up with expensive tarted-up sow's ears.

Refinishing stocks? New recoil pads, new bottom metal? Nope; these are all budget tools. Do you put stag grips on your claw hammers and have your vice-grips balanced and blue-printed? Not all lessons need to be learned the hard way; some mistakes are self-evident and don't need to be made.
 
blakeyboy said:
I have one, I’ve done a lot to it, wanted to love it, still very unsatisfied and it’s about the 3rd one I built. Slow learner. You cannot get away from the cheap toy. Stainless I #####ed about that for awhile also and then with timney, Jefferson bottom ends and completely refinish the stock and recoil pad and then it might be a thing. That savage lightweight stainless would be twice the rifle. My buddies savage axis is twice the rifle lol. Not joking. Should kept that savage. Hold out for a Kimber imo and save the disappointment. But lots of us like to learn lessons first hand and enjoy projects so go ahead...this is the perfect platform for that. ;)
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I agree they need Jefferson bottom metal and they certainly aren't a Kimber. The rest tho? You lost me with the Axis statement.
 
Never was impressed by Kimber past the initial spec sheet.

I have had a few different rifles as one might assume from a reader rating north of 100… these feel good. I have had em all… Winchester, Remington, savages of literally all breeds except the impulse, customs, Christensen’s, fierce and a few different Sako…. They all do something a little different or better than the other.

I agree, the bottom metal needs changing…. I hate the release on the plastic crap.

The bolt had a bit of a zipper sound, nothing like an American action, but noticeable. Over 100rd later plus dry fire, it’s getting much quieter. It never really bothered me.

I did have my walnut stick crack behind the tang, the distributor is one upping warranty and sending me a carbon Fiber replacement from stockys. Wood cracks. The customer service so far is awesome, so a true test will be once it’s sitting in a solid stock.
 
blakeyboy said:
Perfect em both up and shoot em. One feels like a cheap Walmart toy, the other feels and shoots like a real gun.
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Can you get a blind mag or hinged floorplate conversion for the Axis? One piece bolt? Integral recoil lug? 3 position safety? How about an action scaled to the cartridge?
 
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I done lipstuck muh pig!

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One more thing to add for anyone putting the Kimber on a pedestal over the carbon stocked mini.
This is one of many Kimbers I've owned over the years. It was chambered in .300 BLK and was supposed to fill the role of the Mini that I put together in the previous photo...it went down the road. Gritty action, rough feeding and sharp edges that would draw blood. The advertised weight was also incorrect as mine came out 1/4lb heavier and I was right miffed.

That "pig" pictured above is twice the rifle over the one pictured below at a cost savings I might add.


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jbmauser said:
Can you get a blind mag or hinged floorplate conversion for the Axis? One piece bolt? Integral recoil lug? 3 position safety? How about an action scaled to the cartridge?
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I shot them side by side and one feels like a rifle and other a cheap pos. Zeroing my own expensive cheap pos against a buddies axis I just rescoped for him. Don’t like that opinion? Go find out for yourself. This is what I’m getting at here. In the end most will be left wanting. You can discuss features all day.

I ha fled a buddies kimber montana and feels like a real rifle and fits the light handy theme here in the super light. Whatever tuning polishing extra as a project would be 100x better effort and spend than into a howa. I’d take that kimber over howa to do again, I should have gone that route and tuned one of them up rather than mess around with a howa. Stainless crf super stiff stock that feels solid, the howa has none of that lol.

Anyway, take my opinion or leave it. Have built 3 projects on them. The last one still needs stock work, complete refinishing, maybe add some grip areas, redo the recoil pad junction, paint the porous carbon finish, maybe fill the butt stock, bed/float better as it’s forend is a wet noodle easily contacting barrel in any direction with hardly any pressure. It’s just garbage with lipstick. Go ahead and find out for yourself. And when all done trying to get it close to how it could have come yours still short, no stainless lol. Dumbass howa’s. Will let the kids beat the #### out of this last one just to give me back some sort of satisfaction for the money and effort. Slow learner I know...my fault I get it.

Trying to be extra clear for those who don’t wanna learn the same lessons.
 
Sun_and_Steel_77 said:
One more thing to add for anyone putting the Kimber on a pedestal over the carbon stocked mini.
This is one of many Kimbers I've owned over the years. It was chambered in .300 BLK and was supposed to fill the role of the Mini that I put together in the previous photo...it went down the road. Gritty action, rough feeding and sharp edges that would draw blood. The advertised weight was also incorrect as mine came out 1/4lb heavier and I was right miffed.

That "pig" pictured above is twice the rifle over the one pictured below at a significant cost savings I might add.


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They sure are nice though.
 
Sun_and_Steel_77 said:
Lol way thinner than a 6.5G Mini barrel in their light profile.
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I am not sure (literally), but the profile as I found online measured by an owner of a .308 for super lite is : Muzzle at the start of the threads, .582", 18"-.592" and 16.5-.603". Pretty light barrel profile…. Very similar to the mini action barrel profile. I’ll throw a set of calipers on it when I get a chance. It’s very skinny as well.
 
duncansuds said:
I am not sure (literally), but the profile as I found online measured by an owner of a .308 for super lite is : Muzzle at the start of the threads, .582", 18"-.592" and 16.5-.603". Pretty light barrel profile…. Very similar to the mini action barrel profile. I’ll throw a set of calipers on it when I get a chance. It’s very skinny as well.
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I had a 6.5G Mini with the light profile about 3 years back and I don't recall the barrel being that skinny, but you may be correct. Let us know what you come up with for a measurement.
 
I’m so on the fence about buying one of these. I know fit and finish was sacrificed on the superlites. The copy of the superlite I was able to handle was rough. Made the same zipper noise as the ruger American. The machining marks on the bolt looked more visible than any of the ruger Americans I’ve handled/owned Seems they are hit or miss with accuracy. There is a couple reviews on YouTube and these rifles were shooting great groups. But one of the reviewers was having feeding and extraction issues. I’ve read on multiple forums that some people have had good luck with accuracy and feeding and some have had the opposite. I want one of these rifles badly. I’m not concerned about fit or finish. I just want it to feed and extract reliable and shoot a decent enough group for inside 200yard hunting. There’s been a half a dozen times I’ve had one in my cart ready to order but then worry about the horror stories and decide to sleep on it longer. There is just no other way to get into a sub 5 pound rifle for this price point. Mag fed is a must for me for the purpose I intend to use this rifle. I think after the holidays I’m going to take the risk and order one. Wish me luck.
 
I know it's weird, but I like the Vanguards as they come out of the box, different finish then the Howa's, never had a rough or ####ty one, the stocks are solid and usable.
Howa I always ditch the Hogue stocks, got one zipper ##### in 6.5PRC that angered me, the mini's got the right idea, just executed ####ty with ####ty stocks and ####ty plastic bottom metal and ####ty over priced plastic mags.
If I'm going mini action, CZ527, old Sako Vixens, Rem 7, anything but the Howa mess.
 
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