Thread: Howa .243 Varmint

@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.