Howa 1500 upgrades

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Private
Minuteman
Mar 11, 2012
12
0
33
Southwest Wisconsin
#1
Hello all. I have been reading posts on the forum for quite some time, and I now find myself with a question. I purchased a Howa 1500 in .308 a few months ago. I have been shooting as much as I can afford to and have really come to love it, but I feel its time to start making upgrades. For the moment I am looking to get it re-barreled and upgrade the stock.
For the barrel I am looking to get a Palma contour, either light or medium, haven't made up my mind on that one yet, any suggestions would be welcome.
For the stock I am having a bit of a problem deciding. I am actually pretty fond of the Hogue it came in, just not the flex in the forend, I have seen that Hogue makes a version with a full bedding block, looks like that would solve the flexing problem, but for almost the same price I could get a Bell & Carlson Medalist, their 6655, the monte carlo with the vented forend, is what looks most appealing to me, once again any suggestions on these stocks would be great. (I have looked at both Manners and McMillan, way to expansive for my blood)
 
#2
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

If its a heavy barrel then I say leave it alone and just shoot.
I would do a new stock and a good trigger and shoot some more, good glass would be a nice upgrade too.
 
#4
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

I would get the Bell and Carlson stock and shoot the hell out it. You can't give that barrel a fair shake till its in a rigid full aluminum bedded stock. The houge stock flexed so much while shooting prone that i almost gave up on my first Howa. Once in a better stock it shot like a completely different gun. I doubt you will need to waste your money on a trigger though. The old style will go down to 2lbs safely and the new two stage will go lighter than you'll want it while still retaining the saftey. Sounds like if palma contours are to your liking then you can get the sporter channeled stock with minimal sanding to fit nicely and not have a huge gap.
 
#6
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

I swapped in a Timney trigger and dropped the stock adjusted Timney weight down a turn and half - which I beleive is around 1.5 lbs....much better than the stock unit.
 
#7
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

I got lucky with mine i guess 5 out of 6 guns had triggers that worked well. The one that didn't had a ton of creep that couldn't be adjusted out without setting it at 4lbs. that is the only one i have replaced
 
#8
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

I have the 1500 in .300 win mag, i went to Manners Composite Stocks, it was a great custom fit, their lead times are pretty bad though. i also did a drop in timney trigger, love it! hope this helps you out!!
 
#11
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

I have a custom build on a Howa. Don't discount their barrels, they are very good but a bitch to get off. Don't replace it if it's working. Mine originally came as a .223 but now sports a Shilen XX in 300 Blackout. I have a B&C stock on it which made a world of difference. Given my 'druthers, getting rid of the Hogue would be my first choice.

photobucket-1413-1317172090867.jpg


photobucket-57802-1317172066105.jpg
 
#14
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

fraz, I know that legacy Sports, the Howa importer, now sells their own mag-feed bottom metel, well its polymer but anyway. Its something like half the price of the CDI, but I can't attest to its quality, uses its own proprietary mags to, still less expensive then the AI mags though. But like I said, don't own it, so I can't say how it compares to the CDI, not that I have any experience with the CDI either.
 
#15
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

And I have no problem with the accuracy of the stock barrel, just don't like how quick the darn thing heats up, I feel like I have to stop and let it cool every 4 or 5 rounds. Of course I am new to the whole precession shooting thing, so maybe thats what I am supposed to do anyway?
 
#16
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

The polymer bottom metal and mag system is 100 bucks. It's far less than the CDI setup and works quite well if installed correctly. My 300 heats up preatty fast as well, But after 5 rounds my shoulder is ready for a breather so i don't mind letting the barrel cool
 
#18
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

Thanks for all the replies guys. I have gone ahead and ordered a B&C stock. Going to get the action installed and then see how it shoots before I decide on whether or not I really need/want to re-barrel right now, will probably give the Legacy arms BM a look as well.
 
#19
Re: Howa 1500 upgrades

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: fraz1112</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've talked to CDI, they said something about working on it but its not available yet, i'll definitely check out the one from legacy though, thanks! </div></div>

Thats odd i have had the CDI bottom metal for almost 2 years in my 243. Perhaps you miss heard. They are first on the list of available offerings on the website. The one from Legacy will keep you happy, But the unit from CDI is far better. Its worth every penny
 
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