placed in the rear position, the
bolt is locked, and the rifle cannot
be fired. In the middle position,
the bolt can be lifted to remove a
cartridge from the chamber, but
the safety still prevents the rifle
from firing. With the safety in the
forward position the rifle is ready
to be fired.
As indicated, the Howa Model
1500 has undergone minor changes
over the years. However, the most
significant change occurred in
- While a slight repositioning
of the ejector and extractor had
occurred prior to 2012 to better
direct fired cases out of the ejec-
tion port, the current 1500 bene-
fits from those design changes
with smoother feeding and more
reliable extraction and ejection.
Rifles built after 2012 include a
new two-stage trigger that results
in an approximate 2.5- to 3-pound
pull right out of the box. The slid-
ing three-position safety became
standard at this time and is an ap-
pealing feature for field rifles.
The Model 1500 is offered in
most popular cartridges from
.223 Remington to .338 Winchester
Magnum. In its basic configura-
tion, it is available in two action
lengths. The short-action version
houses cartridges that range from
.223 Remington through .308 Win-
chester and have an overall car-
tridge length within 2.810 inches.
However, it will also accommodate
the various short magnums that
have overall cartridge lengths up to
2.860 inches. The long action eas-
ily houses .30-06-length cartridges
(3.340 inches) as well as .375 H&H-
length cartridges (3.600 inches)
such as the .300 Weatherby Mag-
num. (Howa offers a third action
length known as the “Mini” that is
designed specifically for the .223,
6.5 Grendel and 7.62x39mm, but
that version features a detachable
box magazine and is not the tradi-
tional Model 1500 reviewed here.)
I have been using Howa Model
1500 rifles since the 1970s and have
developed considerable respect for
their out-of-box accuracy, smooth
function and reliability. For exam-
ple, beginning in 2012 a number of
Howa 1500 rifles were purchased
in several calibers for the specific
purpose of developing handload-
ing data for Wolfe Publishing’s
LoadData.com website. These
rifles have been shot extensively,
with many thousands of rounds
being fired through each, but none
of the rifles experienced a single
mechanical failure. When sub-
jected to this same abuse, other
common bolt-action rifles have
failed with broken extractors,
ejectors, etc. The 1500’s reliability
cannot be ignored.
Howa barrels are constructed
of high-quality chrome-moly steel
that is cold hammer forged to help
prevent warping during manu-
facture. Barrels are closely scru-
tinized for proper surface finish
and checked for straightness to
assure accuracy. While hammer-
forged barrels are not usually a
first choice among match shoot-
ers, they can be very accurate if
care is taken in their construc-
tion. They can be produced in
large quantities at a modest cost,
July-August 2019 http://www.riflemagazine.com 35
