Howa Superlite - is the juice worth the squeeze?

[OFFSHORE]

Good morning, Roksliders. I have a neighbor who has a Howa Superlite he purchased for his son, it is in .308 Winny. Long story short, the boy doesn't like it because it's not a "Cool-Gun". . .something 6.5CM and a chassis is what "He" feels he should have. Neighbor wants to sell it for $450.00 to get the boy something else so he will stay interested in shooting. The price I know is a good deal, I do not need a fifth .308 Win in my safe. . .BUT - for the price, would this action be worth fooling with for a build? I have two Howa minis and have purchased aftermarket parts to get them to shoot, and that they due. Factory plastic mags and stock/bedding issues have been my main hurdles. I have done some Web-Hunting and do not seem to find much, actually very little about support in the aftermarket area, but I'm not the greatest at it. What are your thoughts/opinions for the Superlite for a build and any first hand experience in regards to the action. Thanks in advance.

 

[OFFSHORE]

No bueno??? I guess there is no love for the Howa Superlite action here.

 

[Kyguy]

The issue with building on the Superlite is that there's not much, if any, aftermarket bottom metal or stocks for it. I think Oregunsmithing offers a hinged floorplate for it and maybe Boyd's does a stock. It's an intermediate length between the Mini action and the regular Howa short action.

It's a rifle that you take as it is, honestly. Is the one he has the wood stock or the carbon fiber?

 

[KyleR1985]

Shot version - unless you intend to build this rifle with weight as the top priority, you can do better.

You’re going to have to put effort into the build. It can make a nice rifle, but for the time and money - if you’re ok with an 8lb+ build, you have better options for similar costs