I have finally managed to fire a few shots through this rifle and it is very smooth, the recoil is light and the factory two stage trigger is very crisp. I even like the stock Howa have used it is very comfortable and fits me well. All told this is an impressive gun shooting a surprisingly effective projectile with little muzzle blast or recoil. I was unable to shoot many rounds and need to do more using a good scope to assess its accuracy but first impressions are very good.