Howa 1500 Tactical Build

O

Olympus

New member
I'm kicking around the idea of doing a tactical/long range build using a Howa 1500 barreled action in 6.5 Creedmoor using a Bell & Carlson Medalist stock. I can build the gun for $650 minus the EGW 20moa base and optic. Anyone have any experience with the Howa 1500 barreled actions? There seems to be a little info on the forums, but all seems to lean positively regarding accuracy. About as far as I can shoot is 800 yards.

Also interested in some suggestions for a decent optic, best bang for your buck kind of pricing.
 
Finding one might be the challenge. The barreled actions don't seem to be quite as abundant as they once were. You may have to buy a complete rifle to get the 6.5 Creedmoor chambering.

As far as experience is concerned I have a Vanguard, although a 270 not a 6.5 CM, and it's a great shooter
 
The Creedmoor usually uses a 1:8 twist Scorch, I'm sure the 1:20 is a typo. I can't imagine many 6.5 bullets being able to stabalize in a 20 twist barrel. Maybe it is a 20" heavy barrel?
 
I'm wondering if I should be adding another caliber to my list of rifles with the 6.5 or if I should stick with a caliber I already own. I have 243, 25-06, and 270. I'm thinking about selling the 25-06 though, so that would take me down to two calibers.
 
A 243 Win pushing a 115gr DTAC bullet is a fine "tactical" cartridge.

The 6.5 bore is probably better for high BC match bullet choices though.

Jimro
 
Off the shelf, you're better off sticking with the 6.5 Creedmoor. The .243 is a great long range round but the only current factory rifle capable of using all the best 6mm bullets is the Ruger Precision rifle (RPR). The RPR uses a 1:7.7 twist which should allow you to use the 105-115 grain match bullets that'll keep up with any 6.5 bullet at long range. Though my preference would be to use 105 grain bullets at 3100+ fps over the 115 grain Berger or DTAC.
 
Can't say anything about the 6.5, but I can say that the SS Howa 1500 barreled action in .223 1:9 twist I bought last year is pretty nice. It shoots very well. Using my best recipe, which is a rather mild load of IMR 8208 XBR behind Sierra Match King 69gr, shoots sub 1/2 MOA 5-round groups nearly every time at 100 yards. It's normal to come home from a morning at the range with at least one 5 shot group in the "twos". The mechanical fit, finish, visual appearance, and feel is very good, especially considering the price.

But, in my search for accuracy I built a fancier .223 using a Savage Match Target action, Shilen Match Select barrel, McMillan stock, etc. etc. I was quite sure that I would have even more precision than the Howa. My hope has yet to be realized.

After 520 rounds down the barrel, I'm still searching for a recipe which will equal the average accuracy of my Howa 1500 which has 4298 rounds down the barrel and is still shooting as accurately as ever.
 
1/2 minute can be obtained with factory receivers, and aftermarket match barrels. IMO, getting to 1/4 minute and better is a different world-benchrest comp accuracy- similar to going from 600 yards to 1000 yards when shooting.

Absolutely everything needs to be trued and concentric to very tight tolerances- beyond what production CNC's from the big boys can spit out. There are a number of smiths with sizeable operations that have CNC's instead of manual lathes now that can fine tune them from threading to chambering with tolerances to less than a tenth, and do it for a very reasonable cost.

But I'll readily (and without shame!) admit that I can't outshoot a 1/2 minute rifle yet (though I'm close...). IMO, it's about the intended use of the rifle.
I just can't see spending $1500 for a trued, match barreled action for hunting whitetail at 200-300 yards.

To the OP, I have no personal experience with the Howa 1500 (same as the Weatherby Vanguard), but I've only read positive reviews and they supposedly deliver at least the minute of angle accuracy needed for long range. I didn't know B&C made a stock for it, aftermarket support had been pretty limited. Timney makes a trigger for it as well, so you'd be GTG for a long-range build off it.
 
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