I've been looking for a wood stocked rifle in either .223 or .22 Hornet. Lots of nice Hornets out there but (for some reason) they're all crazy expensive so probably going to go with a .223. I like the CZ's but am not a fan of having to run tall rings. I recently started considering a Howa mini action in .223. They're available with walnut stocks and seem to be reasonably priced. I haven't had the best of luck getting any "hands on" feedback from any owners. I could probably find a Howa forum but I'm pretty sure what they would say. Anybody here have any first or even reliable second hand knowledge? I know they made rifles for Weatherby and many others. Thanks.

One of my prairie dog partners uses a Weatherby .223 and is stunningly accurate with it!

Randy

I have a Howa 1500 Mini Action in .223. The one I have came in a synthetic stick, but I purchased a Boyd stock to put it in. Mine has the 20" heavy barrel, threaded for a suppressor.

I haven't really wrung it out, having put fewer than 100 rounds through it so far.

I put a Vortex 4-16 on it, it seems to fit well enough.
The action runs smoothly; the trigger is good, but not fabulous. Howa has a proprietary 2-stage trigger with a weird name that escapes me at the moment. It breaks clean, and is about 4 pounds by my gauge.

The accuracy isn't stellar, but then the only rounds I've used so far are some FMJ Hornady that I purchased to break it in.

I bought it as a mid-range target shooter, out to 300 or so yards. My plan is to cook up some 69gr handloader and play with it, perhaps even out to 600 yds.

All told I'm happy with it. A good buy for the money.

I have no experience with the Howa but bought an Interarms Mini-Mauser action .223 and love it. I also have one in 7.62x39. Both are good shooting rifles but the follower springs are prone break. I got replacements for both of mine just recently. These are not hard to find if you do some looking, well made guns.

I have a Howa Mini in .300BLK, which I purchased mostly to be a suppressor host. I don't have a lot of rounds through it yet, but I like it so far.



It's super quiet with subs, but doesn't like 220gr bullets, which I can see are starting to turn at 100yds, and don't group worth a darn. I need to get around to working up a sub load with 190s or 200s to see if I can get it to group.

It does just fine (~1/2 MOA) with supers, of which I've fired a total of ~20 rounds.



I think it's got even more potential, once I get a little more time behind it.

Here is my 6.5 Grendel Heavy barrel with a Creative Arms Suppressor host tube pinned and welded onto a 10.5" barrel length. It sits in a MDT LSS stock.

It liked the 95gr V-max bullets before and after the suppressor install. They run about 2200fps and are deadly on coyotes out to 200 yards, and I can group five into 3/4" at 100 yards.



The second photo was taken before I shortened the barrel and put it into the MDT stock. That is the factory composite stock.



Possibly a best buy in the market, good triggers, good barrels, and you can use Remington 700 scope bases.

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Captain Dave Funk

It was quite a number of years ago that Weatherby opted for the Howa 1500 to be their Vanguard line of rifles. I believe the only difference between a Vanguard and a Howa 1500 is the stock and the finish on the rifle.

I’m not much of a rifle guy but I take a trip to wipe out prairie dogs every year and my Howa 1500 short action .223 is the rig I do that with. I’ve got the 24” heavy varmint barrel and I’ve put mine in to a Boyd’s AT-One stock, a Vortex 5-25x.

For my needs, it’s been fantastic and I’ve been hunting with it nearly a decade.

Looking at the pics of scoped riles, they look like they're mounted pretty low. How is bolt clearance to the scope?

I don't have the mini rifle but I do have a Howa .223. Mine came from an auction and the stock was trashed so I replaced it with a Boyds thumbhole stock. Heavy barrel and i think it's a Tasco scope. 4X16 IIRC and it shoots wonderfully. I can't show you a target because I don't keep them once I get sighted in. I have the dope in a book but that is the best I can do. See below

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Don't know your intended use; but I can recommend the CZ 527s in .223/5.56..... I've got both the American and a FS

My favorite is the FS/mannlicher stock .... with a Leupold 1-4x20 scope that sits behind the rear sight. The American has no iron sight and IIRC (I'll check the safe later) wears a 3-9x40 on medium rings.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. They've been a lot of help. I do like the looks of the CZ 527's but every CZ rifle I've seen has had to mount the scope pretty high to clear the bolt handle. I own a CZ 455 and had the same scope mounting hassles with it.

I'm not sure what a mini action is, but I have a Howa . 223 (I think just a regular 1500 type)that I built into a NRA Highpower rifle. I shoot our monthly matches using cast bullets and it is an absolutely amazing rifle. Quality has been absolutely top notch, and very accurate. Again, not sure if that's what you're referring to but even if not I can't imagine the quality not being equal.

Patrick L, thanks for the reply. I believe the .223 is available in the "short" action and the "mini" action. The mini action is almost a full inch shorter. I have to agree with you though that it's not likely that they would have dumbed down the mini. I would guess that the quality would be the same for their whole line.

Never owned one, but those Howa mini .223's have a good reputation, from what I have read.

A couple other considerations might be the Mark X mini mauser rifles tha Sam McCord mentioned. I own several of them with the full size action, and they are nice rifles.

The Kimber 84 is another quality, down scaled rifle you might consider. Mine are top notch hunting rifles.

Like Bam Bam said, the CZ 527 is a quality rifle. Mine, in .223 is accurate, but does need tall rings because of the small action / bolt handle design. My scope is 30mm, with a big ocular lens. I am sure medium rings would work with a smaller 1 inch scope.

Larry

I also have a Howa mini action in 6.5 Grendel. I got a barreled action from Brownells. I put it in a B&C M40 stock. Talley 20moa rings. Currently has a Vortex Viper HS 2.5-10 but that is going to be upgraded to the 4-16. DIP bottom metal and reconfigured the mag to a "flush" fit 4 round. 20" heavy barrel, threaded.

Trigger is ~,meh. Timney, among others, make replacement triggers. First outing, I got it on paper at 25 yds. Took it to 100and dialed it in. Using Hornady Black, the next 5 shots went into one ragged hole.

I have a Mini and a 1500, both .223, not 5.56. I bought the Mini for about $250 on a Cabela's close out. I haven't shot the Mini in awhile after I bought the 1500. My Mini is the #2 light barrel. I don't think they make those anymore. My 1500 is the #4 heavy barrel. Howa builds accurate rifles. I chose the 1500 HB for a precision rifle build. I load for it and it shoots 1/2 MOA. The Mini barrel heats up after about 5 shots and starts walking the POI. The rifle was designed as a LW sporter under 6 lbs. so yeah, nobody needs a heavy barrel for that. It doesn't get much use as I don't hunt anymore. Howa used to be the best bang for the buck in bolt rifles. Not sure about that these days. I don't keep up with prices or even what's on the market.

Here's a picture of my 1500. That's a Bell and Carlson stock and a Louie scope.

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That's just somebody talkin.

I have a Model 1500 in .223. It is mounted in a Hogue rubber overmolded stock and is a tack driver with the sporter barrel. I currently have an old Bushnell Scope Cheif scope on it, two piece mounts, medium rings. Proper bolt clearance. I bought a Mini Mark X back in the eighties when that was the first and only, at that time, bolt .223 on the market. Again, with reloads, three rounds would touch at 100 yd. I sold it a couple years ago as I heard that the extracters were prone to breaking and difficult to find replacements. I have become quite the Howa affecianado. I bought a Smith & Wesson deluxe model 1500 in .30-06, you guessed it, a Howa 1500. A 6.5 Swede and a 7mm-08 round out my Howa collection. I think better than the Rem. 700. So much for my two cents worth on Howa.

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Kevin in Oregon

Thanks for all the replies. I was not familiar with the brand but I'm pleased to see that a lot of others are. Of course availability is still lacking but I will now keep my eyes open. Thanks again.

I have a Howa mini action in the black synthetic stock chambered in 7.62X39. It's my go-to deer rifle if I'm pushing or scouting. It's dead nuts accurate with my 123 gr. Hornady SST's on top of 25.5 gr. Reloader 7. I got a good deal on a Leupold 3-9X49 Freedom which now sits on top of it. My only quibble is the very soft mag release. On mine, the light spring makes the mag drop out with very very little pressure. I actually lost a mag in the snow during a hunt and didn't find it until the spring. I now have a string joining the mag to the trigger guard and a spare mag for the UCU's. (unintended cock-up). Other than the mag issue, I love the thing! It's light, easy to carry, easy on these old bones of mine, and works great on whitetail.

Any pics available. I would imagine that with a 49mm objective lens you might have needed some pretty tall rings.

For whatever reason I can't edit my post, but it was a typo. I meant to put3-9X40 not 49. Call it a senior moment.

I have two Howa 1500s. One is a S & W 1500 in 300 Win Mag that's taken everything from ground squirrels to elk and distances up to 500 yards, most with one shot kills. The other is a Weatherby Vanguard in 338 Win Mag that's taken one big (8x7) bull elk. The only difference is that the Weatherby had a nicer stock and a KDF style brake. I used the 300 Mag when I guided on wild hogs in Central Cali while in grad school!

My "doggin'" buddy/rancher friend also shoots a Howa in .223. I'm not sure how it's scoped, but it's been faithful for him for at least the last 10 years.

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John