Howa 1500 7 Mag... OPINIONS???

nobody

WKR
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Sep 15, 2020
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Hey all! Currently in the market for a new hunting rifle. I've been running a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor that I won in a raffle. It's reliable and accurate, and I've taken a mature bull elk with it so I'm not afraid to hunt elk with it.

Having said that... I'm getting the itch for a magnum, specifically a 7 mag. I grew up with my dad and grandpa and uncles shooting them, so there's some personal nostalgia tied to the "want."

Now, I'm not flushed with cash, but I found a deal on a Howa 1500 with a Hogue stock. I know these are made in the same factory as the Weatherby Vanguard, but does anybody have any experience with the 1500 in the Hogue stock, 7 mag or otherwise?

Not looking for other suggestions at this point, just want some overall observations from the "peanut gallery," thanks!
 
Not that relevant to the 7rem mag question but from what I have seen they are good shooters. I have one in .308 with the kuiu verde stock (pretty sure it's a camo-painted hogue stock) that's an MOA shooter. Just a touch heavy for me at a little over 8.5 lbs. scoped but it's hard to beat as a shooter for around $400 for the rifle alone.
 
I had a Howa Lightweight in 6.5CM. If you are not use to their 2 stage trigger you could develop a flinch like I did. I could of switched the trigger out but I had lost all confidence in the gun so I sold it.

I went and bought a Tikka in 6.5CM and are now shooting 0.5" groups with it.

YMMV.
 
I just sold one of those to a friend of mine. I got a super fancy carbon fiber thing and he needed one for moose hunting when he comes up to Alaska. It’s tough, reliable, pretty damn accurate and the trigger is damn good considering it was only 600 for the gun. Not on par with an accutrigger or the trigger tech that came on my MPR but still good. Ive been running the 150gr TTSX out of it. Shoots 3/4“ or better at 100 if I do my part. So far it’s taken 3 moose, been run over by a Polaris 6x6, rattled to death in a terrible gun rack and fallen down a mountain. Only thing to make it look brand new would be a fresh coat of cerakote and a new stock (the graphic has rubbed off quite a bit). I cut some exercise mats and taped them to the stock and covered it with camo grip tape stuff to get a high enough comb to run a Vortex PST (probably more optic than most run). All in all it was a great rifle and if they made 200gr bullets for it, I never would have considered getting rid of it (200gr is the minimum for bison up here).
 
I had a 7RM in the Weatherby model. Extremely accurate but i sold it because of medical bills. Thank god im not in that position anymore. I now have 3 Howa short actions and 2 are in the Hogue stocks. The recoil pad is extremely soft and works well. The stock is a little chunky but it’s not a deal breaker. My long action is waiting to be put in a Weatherby Back Country stock at s teas of the Tupperware it wears currently.

I have had a total of 6 Howa’s and currently have 4 and they’ve all shot MOA or under. No complaints.
 
Thank you everyone, I appreciate the input!

I went ahead and picked it up last night, excited to put some rounds down range. What do you guys torque your scope base screws to? I was gonna do a two piece base, but dumb me put the short length screws on the rear mount and stripped the first two threads on the screw itself. (NOTHING stripped in the receiver, got full screw engagement and torque when I installed the new 20MOA base), so I went ahead and bought the 20MOA base and installed it correctly and fully torqued to 25 inch lbs with blue loctite per Warne recommendations, figured it'll be great if I ever decide to put a LR scope on it! Do you guys do anything different?
 
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Thank you everyone, I appreciate the input!

I went ahead and picked it up last night, excited to put some rounds down range. What do you guys torque your scope base screws to? I was gonna do a two piece base, but dumb me put the short length screws on the rear mount and stripped the first two threads on the screw itself. (NOTHING stripped in the receiver, got full screw engagement and torque when I installed the new 20MOA base), so I went ahead and bought the 20MOA base and installed it correctly and fully torqued to 25 inch lbs with blue loctite per Warne recommendations, figured it'll be great if I ever decide to put a LR scope on it! Do you guys do anything different?
EDIT: Spoke with the guys at Howa, they were minimally helpful. One of them told me 10 inch lbs with no loctite (on a 7 mag? YEAH RIGHT), and the other told me he wouldn't run more than 15 or else the recoil could shear the screws off. Doesn't really add up if you ask me, but ok? At 10 or 15, I would worry about things coming lose with recoil.

Contrast that with the guys at Warne, who I spoke with after Howa, and they adamantly recommended 25 inch lbs with blue loctite. The guy I talked to even had the Howa in a 300 win mag and he said he runs his at the 25 with loctite with zero issues in a couple hundred rounds. I tend to trust their recommendation because scope bases is what they do. But what say you all?
 
Blue Loctite and I even try to squeeze 28in/lb out of #6 screws, and 30 out of #8's. No Loctite on the cap screws and usually torque them to 18-20in/lbs. Done this on 3 different 7mm rem mags and a 300wsm and never had any movement.
 
Do what Warne says and go 25 on the base screws. Loctite is optional, but you should degrease the screws and holes prior to install. I like to spray them with brake cleaner, but I'm lazy. Some paint on the heads will tell you if they ever move. I use enamel model paint in white. Warne knows what their screws are designed for. Howa doesn't.

For vertically split Warnes, 15 is what you should do on the cap screws. More can cause issues. Can. Not necessarily will.

Nice rifle. You should be happy with that one.

Jeremy
 
Do what Warne says and go 25 on the base screws. Loctite is optional, but you should degrease the screws and holes prior to install. I like to spray them with brake cleaner, but I'm lazy. Some paint on the heads will tell you if they ever move. I use enamel model paint in white. Warne knows what their screws are designed for. Howa doesn't.

For vertically split Warnes, 15 is what you should do on the cap screws. More can cause issues. Can. Not necessarily will.

Nice rifle. You should be happy with that one.

Jeremy
Thanks for the heads up! I’m excited, I’ve got a bunch of 140 grain federal trophy bonded tip factory ammo (+\- 200 rounds) to break in and get some brass, then I’m gonna get into reloading it. Planning to try some 140 grain accubonds pushed to like 3100-3200 FPS. Hoping for a laser beam!
 
Two of them have Hogue stocks, they are heavy but are comfortable and soak up a lot of recoil. I've had no reason to bed either since they shoot dead nuts, as is using factory ammo.
 
Two of them have Hogue stocks, they are heavy but are comfortable and soak up a lot of recoil. I've had no reason to bed either since they shoot dead nuts, as is using factory ammo.
That's one reason why I liked the Hogue stock. With a lightweight scope, I figure I can keep the carry weight down relatively low, but hoping the 7 mag will have some punch alleviated with the hogue. Is yours pillar bedded or does it have a bedding block?
 
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