Howa - Axiom

[1911 Shooter]

Well, more of a first impression than a review.

In November I ordered a Howa 1500 in.308 with heavy stainless barrel and the aluminium Axiom stock, it finally arrived and I picked it up last Saturday!
Today I got to shoot it!

Zeroing only took about 10 rounds, then it was shooting to point of aim. I put another 20 rounds through it, just to get the feel, then had a red centre put on the target, you know the loose ones with a wire through the centre, about 2.5" dia.

I'm pleased to say that I then put 5 shots on the red disc, things were a bit up and down after that, but considering the weather, rain, cloud, strong wind gusting and veering, oh and an improvised shooting rest (my gun bag) I'm pretty well chuffed............did I mention the range?.........300 metres

There's no detachable box mag, so loading is through the ejection port, a bit fiddly with a big scope mounted and feeding wasn't always smooth. I'll put that down to a new gun and see if it free's up with use. Single round feed was perfect, as was ejection.

One of the reasons for getting the Axiom stock was the double recoil reduction system. I'd seen the website and the demo looked amazing, but you never know until you try it. I can confirm that it really works, felt recoil was about the same as my .223 Speedmaster, very light for a .308 and no fatigue after a mornings' shooting.

I've also got the same Howa action in a laminated thumbhole stock in .223 that needs to be 'scoped up and I'm looking forward to taking them to the sniper range at Lydd, 1100 metres should show their true potential.

Updates to follow.


http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/barryjsaunders/Howa-Guycep002.jpg


Barry

[nice one]

did you spot the shots , any muzzel flip , you know what i mean

[1911 Shooter]

did you spot the shots , any muzzel flip , you know what i mean

Had butt markers. No muzzle flip, there's a compensator and the recoil reduction system pulled the muzzle a little to the left, but the target was still visible through the scope.

Barry

[Simon G]

Nice one Barry!!:D

[1911 Shooter]

Nice one Barry!!:D

Thanks Simon, like yours too! ;)

Barry

[nice one]

bet they are great in 204 :)

[flims]

Barry to which city is Lydd rifle range close to? do they have metal gongs hanging at different distances over there?

as a side note, does anyone know if radnor ranges are still in use?

Thanks for the review barry.

[1911 Shooter]

Barry to which city is Lydd rifle range close to? do they have metal gongs hanging at different distances over there?

as a side note, does anyone know if radnor ranges are still in use?

Thanks for the review barry.

Lydd is on the Romney Marsh midway between Rye and New Romney. I haven't shot on every serial there (they have 65!) but I don't know of one using metal gongs.
It's used by the army for training troops deploying to Iraq and Afganistan so has paper targets, falling plate, electronic and long distance sniper as well as "urban" scenarios.

Barry

[jagxkrs]

Got my paws on one of these today in the shop, the FAC application is going in :D

[1911 Shooter]

Got my paws on one of these today in the shop, the FAC application is going in :D

You won't regret it! :D

Barry

[jagxkrs]

I will, it will cost me a soddin fortune :D:D

[1911 Shooter]

I will, it will cost me a soddin fortune :D:D

Not as much as an RPA! :eek:

Barry

[Vic Thompson]

What ammo were you using ? and did it have a standard trigger, my Howa 1500 stainless varmint has, and the pull is dreadful. Whilst mine is accurate at 100 yards with FMJ, I doubt that I could achieve a 2.5 inch spread at 300 yards, even from a rest.
As an aside, I'm not sure what stainless means to Howa, because in my case I've got rust on the receiver and barrel from getting drenched at Bisley a few weeks ago. It went rusty before I could get home and clean it.

Vic T

[1911 Shooter]

What ammo were you using ? and did it have a standard trigger, my Howa 1500 stainless varmint has, and the pull is dreadful. Whilst mine is accurate at 100 yards with FMJ, I doubt that I could achieve a 2.5 inch spread at 300 yards, even from a rest.
As an aside, I'm not sure what stainless means to Howa, because in my case I've got rust on the receiver and barrel from getting drenched at Bisley a few weeks ago. It went rusty before I could get home and clean it.

Vic T

Vic,

factory ammo bought from the club, 156 gr. BT from memory.
Yes, standard triggers on both, .308 has a "surprise" break with no creep and .223 is even better although I've only dry fired it so far. Howa say trigger is user adjustable and my RFD thinks you should be able to a 1lb. let off with no trouble. Have you spoken to your dealer or Highland Outdoors?
Better check my stainless is rust free tonight! :rolleyes:

Barry

[nice one]

have you shot it again hows it going ??????????????

[1911 Shooter]

No, I'm scoping up the .223 next week and will be using that at the next shoot (May 17th), then will be taking both to the 1100mt. sniper range on 24th.
Will report back. :D

Barry

[baz]

That will be on serial 45? Good fun and out to a decent range;) Be prepared for 30 or more feet of windage if its blowing a hooley as usual:D ANd the .223 will probably be a waste of time past 300 fig 11s, mine couldnt knock them right down with 50grners

The Howas triggers can be transformed by careful adjustment and if it feels notchy a simple clean up on the sears and polish they are easily as good as Timney although not quite the same as Jewel:D

[1911 Shooter]

That will be on serial 45? Good fun and out to a decent range;) Be prepared for 30 or more feet of windage if its blowing a hooley as usual:D ANd the .223 will probably be a waste of time past 300 fig 11s, mine couldnt knock them right down with 50grners

The Howas triggers can be transformed by careful adjustment and if it feels notchy a simple clean up on the sears and polish they are easily as good as Timney although not quite the same as Jewel:D

Yes, good ol' 45 ;) In the past I've taken my Speedmaster .223 out to 700mt. with 62 gr. although to be honest it's more luck than judgement at that range. For a laugh I sometimes take my 10/22 and it will (just) put them down at 100, 200 and 300mt.

My triggers feel pretty good at the moment, so I'll just let them bed in.

Barry

[baz]

My old PSS .308 used to knock them down no problem right out to the furthest (without going up the tower:D) but had to used the bullet splash in the shingle to judge windage which on some days was a tad extreme, past 400yds I couldnt even see any shingle move from .223

I want to try my 300 WSM on there but I think it may be a bit over the range limit even though the army use 338:rolleyes:

[1911 Shooter]

My old PSS .308 used to knock them down no problem right out to the furthest (without going up the tower:D) but had to used the bullet splash in the shingle to judge windage which on some days was a tad extreme, past 400yds I couldnt even see any shingle move from .223

I want to try my 300 WSM on there but I think it may be a bit over the range limit even though the army use 338:rolleyes:

Baz,

there's been a lot of to'ing and fro'ing between the range authorities and NRA re muzzle velocities lately, there was talk of .308 being banned! :eek:
Check out Bisley Camp to see what is now allowed.

Barry

[Simon G]

There is a very good rumour at the moment that Landmarc have managed to get the ME limit waived at Lydd and Hythe because the back stop of the safety area is, in short, France!

[1911 Shooter]

My apologies for the delay in updating my range test.

I took both Howa's to Lydd 2 weeks ago and spent the afternoon on the 1100mt. sniper range, the down side was the weather, winds gusting 30 -50 mph, veering east/west - s. east/n.west. In short piss poor for any degree of accuracy!

The .308 was up first and I started conventionally with target 1 :rolleyes:, not much of a challenge, but I was soon out to 500mt., then spent some time trying for 700mt. Got it eventually, at some expenditure of ammo!
In all honesty, the wind was so strong that the rifle was moving on the shooting rest.

Changing over to the .223 I had as much success, which surprised me. Wind conditions seemed to have a greater effect on the heavier bullets. This was borne out by my 10/22. I took 100, 200 & 300mt. with virtually no holdover, then 400 with half a target elevation.

Sorry I can't give more info on the longer ranges, but it really wasn't a great day for shooting!

Triggers were very good though, light and crisp.

Barry

[zigliss]

Barry,

any more updates? Particualrly accuracy; build and reliability. How is the recoil reduction working for you?

Cheers

[1911 Shooter]

Accuracy is very good, straight out of the box, at 300mt. I can still put shot after shot on the red disc (weather and my shooting allowing ;))

Reliability.......no problems other than having to tighten the screws on the Axiom stock. I don't know if this is down to the recoil system or not being tight enough from my supplier. It's something I'll keep an eye on.

Triggers are still light and crisp with no hint of trouble.

Barry

[Verminator 66]

bet they are great in 204 :)

they are put a fox target out 130 yards
put 3 shots down and the only way you could see the 2nd shot was the way it came out the back of the ply backing
Cheers would recomend one to any fox shooter

[NoEntry]

Can I ask what make the muzzle brake/compensator is..I would like one to stick onto mine.

Mike

[Biped]

I thought I'd put my name down for a Howa 1500 .308 with the Knoxx Axiom too. It arrived the other day and I got to take it out for a couple of hours.

It's a smart looking bit of kit and I'm very, very happy with the way it performs.

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/5183/howa1500withknoxx007.jpg

I'm just waiting for Legacy to deliver the much needed retro-fit removable magazine housing for the Howa, and with my PMII, I figure I'll have the best kit I can get for the money (that means not spending £10k+ for RPA-type goodies).

At a later date, I may also opt for a fluted barrel to go with it. :D