Thread: Howa .243 Varmint

Morning all,
Just been eyeing up options over here in Aus and Cleaver Firearms have the Howa 1500 on sale for $549 new.

At that price I’ll grab a B&C stock too but keen to hear if anyone has owned that rifle, or if anyone has a Howa .243 and their experience with accuracy, factory ammo, reloading and any issues with projectiles etc...

I did see a modified mag that was cut down by a forum member but can’t remember who did it! Looked a good bit of work and kept the mag fairly flush.

Will be doing mostly shooting from prone and bench so weight is no issue.

It's mainly for my son to move up from .223 and suppressors aren't an option here so one of Gregs' T1 brakes might get a go.

Cheers
http://www.cleaverfirearms.com/Produ...x?Search=Howa#

My howa 243 is quite accurate. I have used the new Winchester super x in 100 grain.

Was going to try federal blue box or hornady American white tail. But have started reloading so haven't bothered.

What projectile are you reloading?

I ran the 87 Vmax and Targex 95 in my Tikka a while back.

They were both really accurate and well priced.

@GWH did a mag cut down just recently. Nice job.

The .243 Howa I have is the sporter version, its taken a shed load of animals, a functional, reliable hunting rifle. The only thing worth mentioning is the throat is quite short and you won't be able to seat bullets that far out before hitting the lands. Its within SAAMI spec, but not much more. It's a 1:10" twist of course and the stability / accuracy limit on mine is breached by the Sierra 100gr GameKing (very ordinary) whereas the Sierra 100gr ProHunter (shorter, flat base) is very good. The Hornady 90gr ELD-X is showing promise but I haven't finished load development.

However the chamber on the 6.5 CM Howa Varmint I have will allow long bullets seated further out than SAAMI c.o.a.l., but the internal mag dimensions then restrict it. Not that it matters, because it shoots the balls off a gnat anyway.

The flexy forend problem on the Hogue stocks is easily solved with a scalpel and a light application of Dremel... My Hogue stocked Howa .243 will shoot sub-MOA all day long off a bipod. You won't need a brake on a .243, especially if its the heavy varmint model.

I cut down the plastic mag on my mini action Grendel.

Post #15 here

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....-action-54754/

That's great info thanks @Flyblown

I'm pretty sure I'll be using the 87 gr Vmax loads from Outback over here to see how they go and then reload them as I've has some success with them in the past.
The Howa Bravo looks a great deal at $1200 here but it doesn't come in the .243 that I'm after.... can always build one anyway for nearly the same price.
The only major drawback of working over here is that I can't pop down to the farm spontaneously and smack some targets. It was a great way to spend time with the kids away from iPad's and switching off for a few days.

Hoping we can make the most of the winter here when the 'wiggly sticks' are not as common.

Farmer here reckons the rabbits are in big numbers and the foxes have exploded....should be able to help with that!


Thanks for the link up @GWH I'll get onto that when I purchase.

Originally Posted by SlimySquirrel

What projectile are you reloading?

I ran the 87 Vmax and Targex 95 in my Tikka a while back.

They were both really accurate and well priced.

Just 95 grain targex and 100 grain Pro hunters in the future.