Howa Axiom riffle .204?? or something else??

[chris_32212]

Does anyone own one? How do they shoot? Accuracy is extemely important to me. I think it looks great but I would like to know more about it before I buy.

What would you recomend to a guy who doesn't want to spend more than a grand but wants as much accuracy from a .204 riffle as he can get??

Thanks in advance!

[Mike]

$1k for the rifle alone, or is that including glass?

[Rick in Oregon]

Well, one suggestion would be to snag a used Cooper 204. I was able to find a nice Cooper M21 VR in 223 for $700, and it shoots bugholes. Of course with adding glass as Mike mentioned, it went way over a grand quickly. But these rifles are out there if you just take the time to poke about a bit and ferret them out.

But for a $700 rifle, you can't argue with targets that look like this:



If you're talking about rifle only for less than a grand, I'd look at the CZ 527 Varmint. Alot to like: set trigger and HB in either a Kevlar or walnut stock, and from what I know about them from friends that own them, they all shoot quite well. Another friend has two Howa's, one with an aftermarket barrel, both in 204 with lam stocks, and with a bit of bedding and tweaking, both shoot extremely well, especially the Pac-Nor barreled rig.

[Mike]

Well, one suggestion would be to snag a used Cooper 204. I was able to find a nice Cooper M21 VR in 223 for $700, and it shoots bugholes. Of course with adding glass as Mike mentioned, it went way over a grand quickly. But these rifles are out there if you just take the time to poke about a bit and ferret them out.

How did I know that we'd have similar thoughts about this?

[Rick in Oregon]

How did I know that we'd have similar thoughts about this?

Great minds think alike?

[RowdyYates]

Don't know much about the Howas; they're pretty rare in this neck of the woods, and getting parts/service could be an issue (?)
FWIW: www.budsgunshop.com is selling walnut (the catalog pic shows laminate) CZ 527 Varmints in .204 for $612 shipped. Add a Weaver Grand Slam 6-20X (<$400) and, well, there ya' go for a grand!
Oops, I'd better shut up. I have Bud's on speed dial and my finger's getting itchy at the thought of that C-Z bargain...

[wirelessguy2005]

I agree with Rick. The CZ 527 would be the way to go. I have one or two of them and have been extremely happy with the accuracy. I am a fan of the Howa's as well. If you are inclined to go that way i would recommend buying a 204 Heavy barreled action only from Howa and then buying an HS precison stock to drop it in. I recently purchased a Howa Barreled action and they are a great bargain.

[chris_32212]

I threw out the "$1,000" figure for a riffle just because I wanted to get some info on some of the more expensive riffles. I don't really want to spend that much unless the riffle is truly worth the extra money. I already knew about the Savage having a pretty good reputation for accuracy. I didn't really know about the CZ having a good reputation like a couple have mentioned so that is certainly good to know. But I suppose my original post was more intended to ask about some of the more expensive riffle manufacturers and how they shoot and if they are really worth the extra money? Any suggestions other than Cooper?

I just did a little bit of reading on the cooper riffle. They sound really nice. Maybe too nice. I do want to take my my .204 out in the field to hunt coyotes once in a while and I would hate to mess up a beautiful wood stock like that. And I didn't find any .204 on thier site that wasn't single shot. I definately need a repeater for hunting. Cooper customer service sounds amazing though. I will probably end up with one down the line but I am leaning away from them for this time because it sounds like a heck of a bench riffle but overdressed to be a field riffle.

I already have a cheap scope that I could use, a Simmons white tail classic 6.5-20 by 50mm. Its not my dream scope by any stretch but its usable. I really would like a riffle that will shoot .5 MOA out of the box or better.

Since I posted this, I did a little reading on the Howa Axiom and it would seem that it doesn't deliver much accuracy out of the box. I read one review for a .308 Axiom using hunting ammo that could only manage just under two MOA. That would be good enough for most medium and big game hunters but for a heavy barrel and a free floated forearm, one would expect much better results than that.

I will have to read up on the CZ's a little more. I didn't realize they were getting this much love from the forum regulars. I did visit the Savage website and I really like the video they have about they're accuracy and accuracy features(especially the accustock and how it is supposedly better than glass bedding). Thanks for all your input.

[chris_32212]

I suppose I am also a little spoiled with my Black Riffle because it shoots so well. I am not interested in a bolt action that isnt capable of out performing what I already have. I like the Higher velocity of the .204 and it makes sense to get it in a bolt action instead of using the gas ejection system of an AR style riffle because the AR bleeds some velocity due to the gas operation.

In almost stock form, My 20" 1 in 9twist .223 Bushmaster AR shot .7moa 3shot groups three times in two different shooting trips. Twice at 200 yards(using 55grn FMJ HSM hunting ammo. only attempted two three shot groups and both were .7moa) and once at 100yards(with 50grain Vmax that may have been a little light for my barrel) with over the shelf ammo. I put a free floated forearm on the riffle since then but am waiting for my trigger to get back from colorado so I can go shoot again.

[Rick in Oregon]

Chris: Consider looking about for a used Cooper Phonex in 204....they're out there, trust me. All the accuracy you need plus some, synthetic stock for the field, and if you've hunted for long with a single shot, even for coyotes, you'll soon learn to actually become not only used to it, but a much better shot as a result. (Resistence to this is normal after using gas guns....I understand, been there.)

In the end, you can easily spend what a used Phoenix will run, and still not get the accuracy it offers, the precision/asthetics, pride of ownership, nor the resale value. JMO

[chris_32212]

Chris: Consider looking about for a used Cooper Phonex in 204.

This may sound a bit ignorant but I really don't know where to look for a used cooper phoenix in .204. Should I look on craigslist? gun shows? pawn shops? that kind of thing? I guess I have never looked for a used gun and don't know where to start. Any ideas? Thanks for the advice though and I will highly consider this option.

Chris

[wirelessguy2005]

You should be able to find a used Cooper 204 on Gunbroker occasionally. Otherwise keep an eye on this forum or on the Saubier forum in the classifieds.

Chris: Consider looking about for a used Cooper Phonex in 204.

This may sound a bit ignorant but I really don't know where to look for a used cooper phoenix in .204. Should I look on craigslist? gun shows? pawn shops? that kind of thing? I guess I have never looked for a used gun and don't know where to start. Any ideas? Thanks for the advice though and I will highly consider this option.

Chris

[Mike]

Chris: Consider looking about for a used Cooper Phonex in 204.

This may sound a bit ignorant but I really don't know where to look for a used cooper phoenix in .204. Should I look on craigslist? gun shows? pawn shops? that kind of thing? I guess I have never looked for a used gun and don't know where to start. Any ideas? Thanks for the advice though and I will highly consider this option.

Chris

Chris, you won't find anything on Craigslist. They have a strict policy against firearms and will remove such ads very quickly.

As others have mentioned, keep an eye on some of the forums. Gunbroker and a couple of other gun listing web sites will also have Coopers for sale, but I haven't seen many great deals there. You might also try a basic Google search periodically. I've done that before and found listings on forums that I didn't even know existed. Best of luck to you.

[Shamu25]

Chris,
Bought a CZ Varmint with walnut stock in December on gunbroker.com for $575 new. Topped it off with a 6..5-20X50 Whitetail Classic for under $100 and it is .5 MOA out of the box. I am convinced that some glass bedding and tweaking with loads will do even better. You can spend lots more for something else out there but this is hard to beat for the price.

[chris_32212]

Thats not bad! But I really want a bolt gun to shoot like this guys riffle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiH1RhOdGWU

Like I said, I have a black riffle (AR-15) that shoots .7MOA (or did before I upgraded to a free float fore arm and a better trigger, so it should do a little better now) and I would like to buy a bolt gun that is an improvement to what I already have otherwise I might as well buy another AR in .204. I am curious though how you like your White tail classic. I bought the same scope cause it was a hundred buck there for a while at Midway. I haven't used mine yet.

Chris