opinion on Howa

[fredbeer]

Greetings, New to the forum and the .204 Ruger. I need to fill the void. Currently shooting the .17 HMR and .223, but the .204 sounds very promising for yotes.

The Howa Hogue is getting alot of good feedback in the accuracy dept. Can anyone comment on their experience with this rifle? How does it compare with the CZ american as far as accuracy, fit and finish, and bolt function?

[futuretrades]

IMHO, you can't go wrong with the howa. i own a howa 1500 in 204, i have found a very promising load with h335 powder and a 32 gr. vmax. when the weather around here settles down a bit, i have loaded a few with benchmark for testing. as for fit and finish, i think it is as good as any commercial rifle. and as far as accuracy, it will shoot with any commercial rifle. also have a weatherby vangard in 223, that is basically the same rifle. imho, also a great rifle. to make them even better, i have installed timney triggers on both. i used to own a 17hmr, in a ruger m77. i sold it because of the winds where we shoot. the 17gr bullet, in my opinion, is too light to shoot at any range in the wind, and drops off way too much after 200 yds. and i cannot reload them. my shootin partner is shooting a cz in 223. the cz is also a great rifle, and the trigger is really nice. the only thing i don't like about the cz, is their clip and release set up. i probably would have bought a cz, if it wasn't for their clip and release.
just my 2 cents

[glenn asher]

I've got a .223 Howa that I'm very fond of, it's a weary veteran of the Prairie Dog Wars, and deserves a new barrel, at the very least. I really like that old gun, it's done some really good work for me.

What's making me weep, is that when I rebarrel it, what chambering will it be? .223 would be smartest, of course, but I never was smart............... They feed .221 Fireballs like a champ, and would feed .20 VarTargs, too, or .17 Remington Fireballs, or .204s (and I'm a .204um moderator, so that one should get an Honorable Mention!)

I think your .204 Howa would and will be an excellent rifle, I haven't heard much about them here, YET, but it's a new chambering for Howa, so that's to be expected. Other than some trigger tinkering, there really isn't much you'd need to do, just shoot the dickens out of it.

[Vartarg]

I' ve got a very fine Weatherby Vanguard, which is the same rifle....mine is in 22-250. A real shooter, and well built. I have installed a Timney trigger and an aftermarket stock.

[Glen]

fredbeer--Welcome to the Forum. You don't hear bad Howa stories very often at all.

[fredbeer]

Well gang, from what I've read here and other forums, I'm sold on the Howa, 1500 Howa/Hogue. I ordered one today. It will be topped with a Weaver V-16 scope.

The .204 Ruger sounds like a very accurate cartridge in just about any rifle. I feel certain that I will be able to handload some accurate rounds.

[acloco]

You will be a happy camper.

Spend a little money and buy some quality rings. May I suggest Burris Signature Zee? Have the plastic inserts to protect the scope and are very good in retention.

[Bergcrane2]

You'll like it. I bought the Howa Hogue in 300WSM. It took a little playing with powder/loads but I got it under 3/4". I lightened the trigger up myself and got it about 1 1/2# with just slight creep. Make sure the action is tight to the stock. Mine was touching at the forearm. I'd move it, and it would creep back. I had to torque it and LocTite it.

[glenn asher]

I've solved my rebarrelling issue . Some years back, my bestest shootin' buddy had a Howa .270 Win. in a B&C stock, that shot really well. For the simplest of reasons (not a deer hunter) he sold it to a mutual friend of ours, who bought it for his son-in-law, who's only a half-fast deer hunter. Said SIL has now decided he wants a .223, more fun to shoot, and cheaper, too.
I always lusted after Jim's .270, as it was a pretty good shooter, so when they proposed an even trade on my old, worn-out, barely MOA veteran of the PD wars, I couldn't say "NO". I need another .270 like a hole in my head, but that one shoots good, and I know it shoots good, so it's not a big thing, and I have a pretty good stockpile of components on hand. The swap is on...................... I just have to chase down a suitable scope for it. I think I have one in the back closet, come to think of it..............

[Bayou City Boy]

.......I always lusted after Jim's .270, as it was a pretty good shooter, so when they proposed an even trade on my old, worn-out, barely MOA veteran of the PD wars, I couldn't say "NO". ..............

glen,glen,glen......

-BCB

[glenn asher]

They came to me, BCB, I didn't chase 'em down I have given them the right of return, too, if they ain't happy with it, bring it back, and no harm done. I don't care either way, I don't need another deer rifle, so it's not a make or break thing for me.
It WILL mean I'll have to chase down another rat rifle, though, before I head West for PDogs. I was planning to rebarrel the .223, to what, I wasn't sure, but that was/is gonna have to happen before I go back out West, or I'll be short a rifle. I was kinda looking forward to getting it up and running again, but I could live without the expense. Either way, I'm sure it'll work out.
I'm not out to skin anyone, that's not my way. I'm keeping an open mind about it all. I sure do like the faux wood pattern on the Old English stock design of that B&C (it's a lot like a Winchester Featherweight stock), but I have lived without it this long, so it's not critical. If Charlie wants to bring it back, I won't shed any tears.

[nzs204]

Hello there, i have a Howa M1500, standard barrel in.204 that now wears a Hogue Full-Bed Aliminium Block Stock, and a Leupold 6-18 scope.
It is a very accurate rifle and the trigger aint bad either (i adjusted it myself)
I used to have the Hogue Pillar Bedded stock on it but switched it, as through a brilliant stroke of luck i got the aliminium full-bed model for free. ( i wouldent have bothered changing it if i hadent got it free)
anyway i highly reccomend this rifle, i shoot about 3/4 inch at 100meters off my bipod with no rear rest and factory hornady ammo. I have absolute faith that this rifle will shoot exactly where i am it.

[woodog]

The Howa Hogue is getting alot of good feedback in the accuracy dept. Can anyone comment on their experience with this rifle? How does it compare with the CZ american as far as accuracy, fit and finish, and bolt function?

I bought a Howa/Houge in 22.250 and .270 WSM last month and they are both shooters at a very fair price. While the trigger is adjustable, the manual tells you that you will void the warranty if you mess with it. Well, the 22.250 was set at about 5 lb from the factory and the .270 WSM at over 6 lb. Both have a lot of creep. I adjusted the 22.250 to about 3 lb and it still as a little creep, but I can live with it. Haven't adjusted the .270 yet. They both shot well (less than 2 inches), but are handicapped by the creep. I think I will end up having the seers honed or drop in a Timney (sp) trigger which will cost about the same as a trigger job by a gunsmith. I also have a Savage .204 (heavy) and .17 HMR that are absolutely awesome out of the box and cheap with the best stock trigger available. I also have a CZ 527 American in .223 and will pick up my new .204 next week when it is paroled from the California Gun Jail. The CZ is an excellent rifle and weighs just over 6 lb with a very good adjustable trigger.

What to do, what to do?

SteveH

[tmfisher57]

Welcome to the forum Fredbeer. I also have a mdl. 1500 Howa .204, after a bit of work it is a shooter. I bought the sporter weight barrel with the laminated thumbhole stock. I had to float the barrel (get rid of a little extra wood in the barrel channel), glass bed the action, & tussle with a few different handloads. (She was a picky one) But now, it shoots on a good day, for me at about .40 5 shot groups at 100 yrds. I Load it with 26.5 grains of H-335 with 39grn bks. Not sure what the velocity is, don't matter to me with groups like that. It knocks the heck out of these Oregon coyotes. Will end up dropping a Timney trigger in this winter, mine has had work done by two gunsmiths and although better, still not good. Looks like other people have had a trigger issue too. Anyways! Hope you enjoy your Howa.

[fredbeer]

Thanks for the responses. The Howa .204 is a very nice rifle, fit & finish, bolt smoothness. The first 35 rounds fired were not very impressive. I hope this will improve as it gets shot-in. Handloads were 27.1 of IMR 4895 with the 39 bk, about 2". The Factory 32 gr Rem accutip was .90 (best group). I'm going to try a few different reloads with the 32 vmax and 39 using Varget and H-335. I feel sure that being a new rifle, accuracy will improve the more I shoot it.