Howa 1500 action strength???

H

HAMMER1DOWN

New member
Hey y'all, I have a hoes 1500 in .300 WM. I am looking to build a custom rifle off that action and instead of the .300 WM I want make it a .300 WM Ackley Improved. Is that action decent enough to build a custom rifle off of? I am going to use the rifle for long range plate hammering and maybe some hunting.
 
Considering that the Ackley Improved model will operate at the same pressures as the 300 Win Mag parent case, you are good to go.

Don't know why you would want to AI a 300 Win Mag though, as it is a fine long range load as is, easily capable of 1300 yard shots with tuned ammo.

Jimro
 
A Howa is an ideal action to build off of.

It's design is a very close copy of the old Sako L-46 action. It's a flat-bottom receiver which IMO is an improvement over a Remington action. It has the durable Sako style extractor as well. To give credit where it's due, the Howa action has influence in some way or another from Sako, Mauser, Weatherby, and Remington. The result is a strong, durable, accurate action that is very under-rated. I'd say it's at least as strong as any other action out there except for maybe a Weatherby Mk V.

Here's an excerpt from a Chuck Hawks article pertaining to the Howa:

"Weatherby showed Howa how to make a superior, modern bolt action and they learned the lesson well. The Vanguard is a heavily modified Mauser pattern action that incorporates as many Weatherby Mark V features as possible. Its Mauser heritage shows in its small body bolt, dual opposed front locking lugs and 90-degree bolt rotation. Vanguard features common to both the Mauser 98 and Mark V include a flat bottom, forged and machined steel receiver with an integral recoil lug, generous loading/ejection port, one piece bolt, one piece firing pin and hinged magazine floorplate. The release for the latter is mounted externally in the front of the trigger guard.

From the Mark V action the Vanguard action derives its three gas escape vents in the side of the bolt body and a streamlined steel bolt shroud that completely encloses the rear of the bolt. There is also a cocking indicator below the shroud. The ejector is a claw in the front of the bolt and the ejector is a reliable spring loaded plunger in the bolt face, making the Vanguard a push feed action. The trigger is user adjustable.

Like the Mark V, cartridges may be fed directly into the Vanguard's chamber and the bolt closed. The bolt face is recessed to enclose the head of the cartridge. The Mark V may be faster, smoother and even stronger than the Vanguard, but the Vanguard is a very strong, well designed and well made action in its own right."
 
As you say, the Howa is a derivative of Sako of the 1960s-1970s.
Most of the stuff Ol Chuck touts as drawn from the Mk V are cosmetic.
 
HAMMER1DOWN, One thing I've done on future build and you can AI any case but take a 300mag case and some bullets you like to shoot and play around with seating depth. LR you might want to shoot some VLD (custom throating) and how much room in the magazine as they make target/hunting bullets and figure in load density also.

I've never owned or shot a Howa but I've seen the picture rifle/action and what bullets you want to shoot fit magazine then build.

Well good luck. I've got 4 AI builds good case
 
I want to AI the .300 just to squeeze as much as I can from that cartridge. And on this build I am going with a detachable box magazine from badger ordinance, I have measured the magazines inside length and have plenty of room to run bullets out. I will probably be shooting the heavier 200 + grain match kings or bergers. Now that I know the action is a good one I can get this project going.
 
I wouldn't AI the .300 Win Mag, you're not going to see anything significant in terms of improved ballistics. To do an AI you'll need to set the barrel back or replace it with a new barrel to do it properly. I'd just go straight to a .300 Weatherby or RUM, both have off the shelf brass and dies. Which means no fire forming brass or expensive custom dies to buy.
 
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The 300 Win mag is already "improved" nearly as much as possible. If you feel the need for "more", why not the 300 Wby. Downside of the Howa is the metric threads. Some places charge extra to fit barrels to metrics.
 
If you decided to move up to a .300 Weatherby mag, you could just buy a Weatherby Vanguard chambered for it and come out a lot cheaper than doing a custom build. The newer "S2" Vanguards are all guaranteed sub-MOA and the "Range Certified" models are some of the most accurate factory rifles around.

But on the other hand, if you are biased to .300 win mag and just want a .300 wm AI to be different, I understand that. Weigh all the options and do what makes you happy.
 
I am not wanting a stock rifle for those of you suggesting to buy a weatherby. I am going to Lilja for my barrel and McMillan for my stock. I am putting a 28" barrel with 1-9 twist. Then going to fit it all in a Mcmillian a5 stock and cut out the bottom metal for the badger ordinance magazine setup. I want to shoot 1500 or so.
 
HAMMER1DOWN said:
I am not wanting a stock rifle for those of you suggesting to buy a weatherby. I am going to Lilja for my barrel and McMillan for my stock. I am putting a 28" barrel with 1-9 twist. Then going to fit it all in a Mcmillian a5 stock and cut out the bottom metal for the badger ordinance magazine setup. I want to shoot 1500 or so.
Click to expand...

All the more reason to step up to a RUM or Weatherby cartridge with a long tube like that.
 
If best accuracy is your objective with a detachable box magazine rifle, I suggest you be sure each magazine lets the rifle have the same zero settings on its sight.

Such issues came about when the military M14NM was perfected and easily shot about 1/4 MOA at 100 yards as well as 2/3 MOA at 600 and 1 MOA at 1000 with good ammo. Folks producing the best scores in matches requiring a reload with a second magazine had to find two that enabled the M14NM's to shoot to the same point with both. You'll need no worse than 1/4 MOA accuracy at 100 yards to shoot 1 MOA at 1500 yards. It can be done with the right stuff put together the right way.

Problem's with the way those magazines fit the receiver is the cause; they're not all exactly the same. Modern tube guns used in competition probably have the best magazines and repeatable fit of them, but I'm not aware of any conventionally stocked detachable magazine centerfire rifle capable of shooting that well across several magazines.

Only other comment I've got is rimless bottleneck cases are easier to resize and shoot for best accuracy than belted cases. One of the big 30 caliber modern rimless cases from Remington or Winchester would be my choice. Remington .300 Ultra Mag, for example.
 
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HAMMER1DOWN, Gunsmith that builds my rifles put Badger bottom metal and magazine on his model 70 300mag show customers options. It's one of the few that I liked pretty slick for single stack.

Well good luck
 
HAMMER1DOWN, Yes, bolt face is the same but and always but. AI makes the magazine. I know that the 300mag magazine is 3.650" long (can't remember if that's outside or inside)and max OAL for the ultra is 3.600". You have a hard time with VLD longer types bullets where 1/2 the length is from ogives forward and you have to check but that magazine wasn't made for the Ultra.

Here is site on those magazines
http://www.accuracyinternational.com/accessories_list.php#2

If you want I'm heading up to gunsmith later today and I'll find out more about what actually fit in that magazine. I'll PM you what I find out.
 
Old Roper I would appreciate that. I wish my gunsmith were closer or knew of a competent one in my area. I live in a pretty secluded area. Once I get all my parts and stuff figured out I am gonna take it all to northern Colorado and have my gunsmith there put it together.
 
The bolt lugs on a Rem700, 98 Mauser, M70 Winchester, Savage 110, Howa 1500 etc are all about the same cross section, and so the same strength.

The Savage is an insignificant amount larger.

I have worked up the 98 Mauser to failure with the belted magnum case head. It is at ~ 107 kpsi in Quickload. [primer pocket gets much bigger] That is a soft failure, the bulged bolt and receiver abutments were lapped out, and I has since shot animals with that rifle.

What does it all mean?
They are all good to go for 300 Win mag.
 
Not sure what you mean by "good enough for a custom rifle".

Depends, on what your standards are.

By definition, any time you build your own it's "custom"...

While I've seen evidence that even the high-dollar custom BAT, Surgeon, Barnard, etc. actions sometimes don't live up to standards they should- you shouldn't expect that a Howa is going to be comparable.

If your intent is to wring every bit of accuracy out of it, I expect it would need to be trued/blueprinted the same as you would any other like the 700- though I suspect finding a smith to do it would not be as simple a task.
 
I was thinking about having the action tried or blue printed. I know nothing of what goes into that process. What exactly does blue printing do?
 
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