Howa 1500 Oryx Review - The good, the bad, the ugly

[TT_Twister]

Howa 1500 oryx review. Chambered in 6.5 CM

Pro's:
- shoots decent groups with factory match grade ammo. Mine average .7" with this gun, best 3 shot group is .45", worst group was 1.13". (I shoot .26" 5 shot groups with my custom)
- factory adjustable trigger is decent. Mine checked in at 2lbs 12oz without adjusting it.
- chassis is nice (fit, form, function). Cerakote finish is ultra flat and scuffs easily.

Cons:
- Bolt finish and throw are terrible. Surface finish is around 125 micro. I expect more when paying over $1000 out the door for a rifle, my $300 rifles have a better finish and throw. Can be remedied by lapping the bolt but any modifications void the bs lifetime warranty.
- Will not feed AICS magazines without a binder plate, rounds catch under feed ramp. MDT poly mag with binder plate provided with the gun binds up with factory Berger and Hornady match ammo due to cartridge length. Expect to spend to get mags without binder plates and have the feed ramp notched to get it to feed correctly but again lifetime warranty voided.
- Customer service. The people are nice enough but after sending it back twice due to the firing pin chipping out, due to a bad bolt their gunsmith finally found the issue on the 2nd return and they didn't fix it and it just broke again after 2 shots.
- The first time it was sent back I sent all components that came with it, they decided I didn't need the bottom metal and although they were notified it was missing decided not to replace it.

My recommendation is don't risk the hassle, buy something else. After it broke the second time I ponied up and spent $3600 to build a custom so I never need this thing again. This rifle has been the most expensive and worst functioning factory gun I've purchased and the customer service experience is the worst I've dealt with in my personal and professional life.

They made a lot of promises the last time I sent it back and did not one thing they said they would do.

 

[stilesg57]

Dude I’m sorry that is terrible. Completely unacceptable CS to boot. Boo.

I’m generally a Howa fan but maybe I’ve just gotten lucky. Will have to see if there are feeding issues with my barreled action (SA, 6.5CM) when I drop it into an MDT XRS chassis this week.

 

[TT_Twister]

Dude I’m sorry that is terrible. Completely unacceptable CS to boot. Boo.

I’m generally a Howa fan but maybe I’ve just gotten lucky. Will have to see if there are feeding issues with my barreled action (SA, 6.5CM) when I drop it into an MDT XRS chassis this week.

It shot well enough but all of the other issues made it impossible to shoot prs matches. Between feed issues and 25+ light strikes during 2 separate matches I had to move on. I just wish they would fix it so I can eat my losses and get rid of it.

 

[jcmullis2]

Sorry about your bad experience and I too was hopeful that howa would have a good product. I was just about as let down as you fellas. Just about because I bought used. I’ve bought Remington 700s or clones primarily. My howas bolt and stock feel really cheap but the trigger is okay. It shoots less than 1 moa so it’s not terrible, just cheap. Maybe if I throw money at a decent stock I’d like it better but I’d have more in the stock than the rifle if I wasn’t really careful. Too bad for each of us.

 

[TT_Twister]

Sorry about your bad experience and I too was hopeful that howa would have a good product. I was just about as let down as you fellas. Just about because I bought used. I’ve bought Remington 700s or clones primarily. My howas bolt and stock feel really cheap but the trigger is okay. It shoots less than 1 moa so it’s not terrible, just cheap. Maybe if I throw money at a decent stock I’d like it better but I’d have more in the stock than the rifle if I wasn’t really careful. Too bad for each of us.

I wish you luck. I just wanted to post because when I researched before I bought and everything was sunshine and rainbows in all of the reviews I read and watched. As a member of our community I want to make sure that other can avoid this terrible experience. This is my first year shooting PRS and I absolutely love it, had I not had the funds to build a custom this may have had me walking away from it and I want to see the sport grow.

 

[JeffLebowski]

Good, honest review. Thank you.

 

[BadAccountant]

That sucks man.

I've never had any problems with my Howa, but I went with a .308, a blind magazine, and I bought just the barreled action and fit my own stock to it, so feeding has never been an issue.

 

[stello1001]

Curious, what didn't you like about the bolt lift?

 

[TT_Twister]

Curious, what didn't you like about the bolt lift?

Lift wasn't an issue, not terribly light or heavy.

Bolt throw (forward push and retract) was an issue. Terrible surface finish off their lathe, very stiff and made a zing kind of a sound during feeding. I resolved this by applying 600 grit lapping compound and working it back and forth sitting on the couch for awhile. Its smooth now but terrible from the factory. I work in manufacturing, it would literally take them less than 10 seconds to slow down the feed on the finish pass and get a 32 micro and eliminate the issue... It was the worst finish I've seen on a bolt.

 

[Jscb1b]

I had a remington 700 6.5 cm in an oryx that did the same thing feeding bullets. The tip would get stuck under the feed ramp. I got out the dremel and notched the ramp.

 

[wade2big]

I had a remington 700 6.5 cm in an oryx that did the same thing feeding bullets. The tip would get stuck under the feed ramp. I got out the dremel and notched the ramp.

Some aftermarket actions will do the same thing when using Mags without binder plates.

 

[jcmullis2]

Some aftermarket actions will do the same thing when using Mags without binder plates.

That’s what he had. Remington doesn’t sell anything in a oryx chassis. He added that chassis and didn’t know to buy mags with the binder plates. Then he voided the warranty. He’s probably been blaming Remington all this time. Lmmfao

 

[Harman117]

The two Howa's I have, have been preforming great. Granted I would agree with you that out of the gate the bolt body finish is a little rough, but after a few hundred cycles and some lube it gets really slick.

 

[TT_Twister]

I had a remington 700 6.5 cm in an oryx that did the same thing feeding bullets. The tip would get stuck under the feed ramp. I got out the dremel and notched the ramp.

Yes it's a common remedy but Howa/Legacy Sports International is making an issue out of it despite it having zero impact on the bad bolt that came with it. The issue started last September with the firing pin chipping out, I didn't notch it until April before my first match.

 

[TT_Twister]

Some aftermarket actions will do the same thing when using Mags without binder plates.

No issues on my terminus Zeus I replaced the howa with. Runs flawlessly.

 

[Jscb1b]

That’s what he had. Remington doesn’t sell anything in a oryx chassis. He added that chassis and didn’t know to buy mags with the binder plates. Then he voided the warranty. He’s probably been blaming Remington all this time. Lmmfao

No, I notched the ramp so I was not limited to mags with binder plates and could load longer COAL.

 

[TT_Twister]

The two Howa's I have, have been preforming great. Granted I would agree with you that out of the gate the bolt body finish is a little rough, but after a few hundred cycles and some lube it gets really slick.
View attachment 7389464

I wish it would have worked out the same for me. I really felt like I was getting the best bang for the buck when I got it and was planning on shooting production class for a season or two.

 

[jcmullis2]

No, I notched the ramp so I was not limited to mags with binder plates and could load longer COAL.

That’s not what you said. Your first reply said you had a problem with the tip getting stuck under the feed ramp so you got your dremel and notched the ramp. Now it’s you notched it to use mags without the binder plate and load longer COAL. Maybe, and I’m not saying this is what happened, you bought the wrong mag, modified your rifle because you didn’t know you needed the mag with a binder plate, voided the warranty, didn’t like me laughing about it, but at least you’re mess up allows you to use any mag and to load longer COAL. I understand, I’m sure I’ve done stuff as bad as that. The important thing is it worked out for you. Like I said I shouldn’t laugh because I’ve done worse and it didn’t work out. Sorry I used you and your problem for a laugh

 

[Drew M]

Sorry to see you have had issues,
It's not the Howa experience most have.

I'm curious to know what has caused the bolt chipping ?
Looks like some of those primers were hit too hard/deep as well as the light strikes ?

Hopefully someone who knows what's going on will chime in & share some knowledge.
Could pierced primers have caused the bolt to chip/pit ?

 

[TT_Twister]

Sorry to see you have had issues,
It's not the Howa experience most have.

I'm curious to know what has caused the bolt chipping ?
Looks like some of those primers were hit too hard/deep as well as the light strikes ?

Hopefully someone who knows what's going on will chime in & share some knowledge.
Could pierced primers have caused the bolt to chip/pit ?

The last time I spoke with their gunsmith in Reno he told me he noticed the pin retracting on an angle and the bolt was bad, firing pin having collisions with the firing pin hole of the bolt. They failed to replace it but its now chipped out 3 firing pins. One after 40 rounds, one after 8 rounds, and 2 rounds.

Everything ran through it has been factory ammunition. I intended to buy all the reloading equipment this year but the money I had set aside for it went into my custom build instead.

I emailed Sunday and called Monday and have not heard back.

 

[308pirate]

Sorry about your bad experience and I too was hopeful that howa would have a good product.

Howa HAS a good product. A bad sample of one means absolutely nothing to the overall quality a manufacturer puts out.

I've had three of them since 1999, and still own two of them. The first two (30-06 sporter and 308 varmint) have been flawless. The third (223 varmint) had an extractor issue that was fixed by Howa as a running change in production. I called Legacy Sports and spoke with the gunsmith directly. He diagnosed the problem on the phone, answered my questions on how to replace the extractor, and sent me TWO updated extractors for free.

Both my 308 and 223 sit in KRG X-ray chassis and both have fed flawlessly from every brand of AICS pattern magazine I've tried (Alpha, MDT, Magpul) from the very moment they were dropped in the chassis without having to alter anything at all in the receiver.

So yeah, putting down a brand (that has many satisfied customers not just in the US but also in Europe and Australia) because of one bad review is pretty ignorant.

 

[TT_Twister]

Howa HAS a good product. A bad sample of one means absolutely nothing to the overall quality a manufacturer puts out. Bashing would be me sharing all of the email correspondence over the last 5 months.

I've had three of them since 1999, and still own two of them. The first two (30-06 sporter and 308 varmint) have been flawless. The third (223 varmint) had an extractor issue that was fixed by Howa as a running change in production. I called Legacy Sports and spoke with the gunsmith directly. He diagnosed the problem on the phone, answered my questions on how to replace the extractor, and sent me TWO updated extractors for free.

Both my 308 and 223 sit in KRG X-ray chassis and both have fed flawlessly from every brand of AICS pattern magazine I've tried (Alpha, MDT, Magpul) from the very moment they were dropped in the chassis without having to alter anything at all in the receiver.

So yeah, putting down a brand (that has many satisfied customers not just in the US but also in Europe and Australia) because of one bad review is pretty ignorant.

This is a review based on my experience, I got a gun with a bad bolt. If the rifle functioned or their gunsmith and customer service corrected the issue instead of making empty promises and failing to resolve the issue, the tone of the review would be different.

Glad you've had a good experience with the ones you bought, but others within the community should know what they are getting into incase they get a bad one that makes it through their quality department because their customer service is severely lacking.

 

[308pirate]

This is a review based on my experience, I got a gun with a bad bolt. If the rifle functioned or their gunsmith and customer service corrected the issue instead of making empty promises and failing to resolve the issue, the tone of the review would be different.

Glad you've had a good experience with the ones you bought, but others within the community should know what they are getting into incase they get a bad one that makes it through their quality department because their customer service is severely lacking.

I haven't disputed your experience with the product or their service.

What I have a problem with is the typical reaction here (and in most internet forums) where a company or product is immediately labeled as inferior based on an N=1 sample size. Again, that's not you making that assumption. The person who did make that leap is quoted in my post. His exact words were "I too was hopeful that howa would have a good product".

Too many people simply can't grasp that mass manufacturers will always have a few poor quality leakers get out to their customers, despite the overwhelming majority of good products they put out. It's just a fact of life.

By all accounts, the Howa 1500 is an excellent rifle at the price point. The bolt lift on all of mine was heavy initially and quickly smoothed out with use and with proper lubrication in the cocking piece. But then none of my rifles were cerakoted. Which brings up another question, you say the "bolt finish was around 125 microinches". Where on the bolt did you measure that and what did you use to measure it? Even if it's a ballpark estimate, the where matters a whole lot. The surface roughness of the bolt body matters a whole lot less than what the surface roughness on the OD of the the bolt lugs. The bolt body doesn't really touch anything inside the receiver, it's the outer diameter of the bolt lugs that ride on the receiver raceways and the surface finish on the bolt lug OD of all my rifles has been excellent (better than 32 micro by my eye and feel). Also, were the receiver raceways and or bolt lugs cerakoted in your rifle? The receiver looks like it was, since it looks like a dull flat black and Howa only blues their C-M actions and barrels. If they were that's most likely where your roughness and binding is coming from.

I also wanted to give a counterpoint about Legacy Sports' service. To be transparent, my positive interaction with their CS people was 2 - 3 years ago.