My kids don't find shooting fun anymore. Living in the greater NYC area, I have to drive a little over an hour to get to our outdoor range and the rules and target options mean my kids can either punch paper slowly, or we can bust up some clays at the shotgun range which one of them likes but the other doesn't. So historically, we've just spent a lot of time at the .22LR range (we have a dedicated one) with their .22 rifles and punched paper. When I stepped up and ordered my SAC .308, my youngest (turning 11 on Thursday) thought he might like to join me in hitting things a bit farther away. Our range has a 200 and 300 yard center-fire range he wanted to try, but would need a gun to do so.
In an attempt to really get him engaged, I decided to build him a semi-custom rifle that he got to make some choices on. I had seen the KRG Bravo chassis and it seemly highly regarded, and I know that Howa had released a line of barreled actions that they were selling through Brownells. He got to pick his scope, the color of his chassis, the caliber, and the bipod. A few weeks ago, we ordered everything. KRG Bravo in tan, Howa 1500 short-action with 20" heavy barrel chambered in .223, Vortex DiamondBack Tactical 4-16x44, rings, 20MOA rail, scope bubble, Magpul bipod, and some cleaning supplies. Cool!
Almost everything came within days, except for the barreled action which Brownells indicated was back-ordered. Got an email on Saturday that my order was cancelled with no explanation. So I checked Brownells on Sunday and the item is still available, still listed as back-ordered, so I bought it again. Called today after lunch, and they informed me that my new order was already cancelled as well. Turns out that Howa has discontinued ALL of their .223 barreled action options. Called up Legacy Sports (the exclusive importer of Howa products), and they confirmed it - fudge!
No biggie, right? The barreled actions weren't a great savings/deal over buying an outright rifle anyways. Nope. Turns out that Howa doesn't offer a 'varmint' .223 (only want it for the heavy barrel) any more. Started scouring all of the Internets for anyone selling a heavy-barreled Howa .223 and found one up in Vermont new-in-box via Gun Broker. Its roughly the same cost as the barreled action I was buying anway, so no loss there. But it had me scared for a second that I'd have to return some things that we've opened up, put together, and played with quite a bit.
Long story. Sorry for the length. Just upset that Howa discontinued them.
In an attempt to really get him engaged, I decided to build him a semi-custom rifle that he got to make some choices on. I had seen the KRG Bravo chassis and it seemly highly regarded, and I know that Howa had released a line of barreled actions that they were selling through Brownells. He got to pick his scope, the color of his chassis, the caliber, and the bipod. A few weeks ago, we ordered everything. KRG Bravo in tan, Howa 1500 short-action with 20" heavy barrel chambered in .223, Vortex DiamondBack Tactical 4-16x44, rings, 20MOA rail, scope bubble, Magpul bipod, and some cleaning supplies. Cool!
Almost everything came within days, except for the barreled action which Brownells indicated was back-ordered. Got an email on Saturday that my order was cancelled with no explanation. So I checked Brownells on Sunday and the item is still available, still listed as back-ordered, so I bought it again. Called today after lunch, and they informed me that my new order was already cancelled as well. Turns out that Howa has discontinued ALL of their .223 barreled action options. Called up Legacy Sports (the exclusive importer of Howa products), and they confirmed it - fudge!
No biggie, right? The barreled actions weren't a great savings/deal over buying an outright rifle anyways. Nope. Turns out that Howa doesn't offer a 'varmint' .223 (only want it for the heavy barrel) any more. Started scouring all of the Internets for anyone selling a heavy-barreled Howa .223 and found one up in Vermont new-in-box via Gun Broker. Its roughly the same cost as the barreled action I was buying anway, so no loss there. But it had me scared for a second that I'd have to return some things that we've opened up, put together, and played with quite a bit.
Long story. Sorry for the length. Just upset that Howa discontinued them.
