Howa barrel quality

[timbernomad]

Are Howa barrels well made? I was reading a thread about POI "walking" from the barrel getting hot, and someone said that only happens if the barrel is junk. Well, are Howa barrels junk? Are they stress-relieved? (Does it matter?)

Besides Tikka, which rifles come with the best factory barrels?

 

[General RE LEE]

Howa barrels are cold hammered forged in Japan. I’ve run a bore scope down mine and after a good cleaning, it’s smooth as glass.

With that said, my Howa is more finicky than Tikkas I’ve owned.

 

[bpitcher]

I've owned 3 over the years and they have all shot well.

 

[Wrench]

I've never seen one that wouldn't shoot well.

 

[morgaj1]

I am 50:50 with Howa barrels. A 270 Win that shoots lights out. A 300WM that was horrible. Best I could get was 2" groups, with most being closer to 5". Had that one rebarreled with a Bartlein and it now shoots very well.

 

[westsloper]

Howa QC is not as good as Tikka and you’re more likely to have an issue with them. Still, I think the reporting of stringing shots with Howa probably have more to do with bedding issues than barrel quality.

I know people get soooked by Howa’s recommended break-in procedure. But I recall one of the Howa guys saying that their break-in instructions were basically copied and pasted from another barrel maker to satisfy all the people calling and asking how to break in their barrels.

 

[KyleR1985]

Anyone with a bad Howa barrel able to confirm with 100% certainty it wasn't a stock bedding issue (barrel touching, action moving, etc.) or an action screw torque issue?

It's difficult to parse through good and bad barrels without that info.

I'm about to put some effort into a gun and am very curious here.

 

[KenLee]

Anyone with a bad Howa barrel able to confirm with 100% certainty it wasn't a stock bedding issue (barrel touching, action moving, etc.) or an action screw torque issue?

It's difficult to parse through good and bad barrels without that info.

I'm about to put some effort into a gun and am very curious here.

I never got to the barrel part. Receiver was warped. Refund and a no thank you on another

 

[KyleR1985]

I never got to the barrel part. Receiver was warped. Refund and a no thank you on another

How did you determine the receiver was warped?

 

[hereinaz]

Most modern manufactured rifle barrels will shoot. I don’t think Howa is different.

Yesterday, I shot a brand new .223 mini, suppressed. 55 grain Wolf ammo was 3 moa, and groups went for smaller as ammo got better with Winchester White box, Fiocchi, etc.

Factory 73 grain Hornady ELDm ammo was sub moa.

 

[KenLee]

How did you determine the receiver was warped?

I thought I could see the twist when I was about to mount the scope.
Laid rifle on a $20k fab table and it was obvious. This was 20ish years ago.

 

[hereinaz]

Anyone with a bad Howa barrel able to confirm with 100% certainty it wasn't a stock bedding issue (barrel touching, action moving, etc.) or an action screw torque issue?

It's difficult to parse through good and bad barrels without that info.

I'm about to put some effort into a gun and am very curious here.

The front Howa action screw goes into the recoil lug.

If you torque the front action screw too much too soon, then it lifts the rear of the action into the air. Then when you crank down the front it’s not bedded flat.

So, when torquing, you want to do it evenly and slowly. I have seen that doing that alone is enough to fix a “bad barrel”.

My buddy bought 6 Howa from .243 to 30-06 and all of them shot really good. Some of it was with old crappy ammo so it was 1.5-2” groups, but they are deer guns. His two 6.5 Creedmoor rifles shot sub moa with match ammo.

 

[hereinaz]

I thought I could see the twist when I was about to mount the scope.
Laid rifle on a $20k fab table and it was obvious. This was 20ish years ago.

How many other actions are in the list you don’t use?

 

[xsn10s]

I have a Howa Superlite (7-08 with Stocky's blem stock) and a Weatherby Obsidian in .223. Both are unbedded and make consistent hits on a 750 steel coyote. I think the action is walking in the Superlite stock and the Obsidian isn't free floated. but both are reponding well to my handloads. I'll bed the Superlite once I decide whether to get the aluminum bottom metal. The Obsidian might get a different stock in the future.

 

[Southernfried]

So any issues with Weatherby Vanguards with the same issue?........

 

[mainbeam pursuit2]

Vanguards I've had and shot were all great shooting rifles.

 

[KyleR1985]

My wife’s mini, with a huge gap between bottom plastic and inlet under rear action screw, and two cracked bottom plastic mounting surface areas, and a barrel channel thay looks like this, shoots ok the first time I took it to the range….

 

[KenLee]

How many other actions are in the list you don’t use?

I don't use short action chamberings in long action receivers, so Tikka. I hate the wing ding safeties, so any with Mauser style action, including model 70s. I will not stalk or walk into a stand through thick terrain with a rifle without a bolt lock, so model 700 styles are out unless it's basically a clear walk into a ladder or box stand. I seem to only use these on easy hunts with newbies, as I have some nice shooting youth rifles which are 700 style.

 

[TaperPin]

Howa rifles are moderately priced and the barrels are appropriate for the cost of the rifle. Some will shoot great, some will shoot bad, and most will be about where other similarly priced rifles are. Howa has never tried to make a name for themselves as extra accurate, and has always been right there in the middle.