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NJSigfan

School me on LSI/Howa rifles

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 Recently I’ve become intrigued with the idea of buying a precision rifle and learning to shoot long range.  Are LSI/Howa rifles any good for a newbie?  Looking at 6.5 creedmor caliber with a Nikko Stirling Diamond 30mm 4-16x50mm scope.  Aside from my ARs and Mosin scout rifle this will be my first trip into buying a rifle.  

Thanks

Gabe (NJSF)

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Howdy.

The Howa lineup is actually pretty awesome.  The build quality from all that I've seen is good.  Accuracy is on par with every other rifle out there.  The triggers are solid out of the gate as well.  The Nikko-Sterling will serve you well in the beginning but you may wind up ditching it for something else if you get more involved in longer range shooting.  

Where you will wind up wanting something else (Remington) is IF  you decide to upgrade something on the rifle down the line.  Stock, trigger, scope base...  things of that nature.  There are not as many options out there for rifles such as Howa, Tikka, Savage as there are for Remington 700 clones.  The number one reason all my rifles are Remington 700's is because of the plethora of triggers available for them.  I'm a 2stage guy, and there is no 2stage trigger available for Savage actions.  

And good on you for going 6.5.  The Creed is a great round for a beginning precision shooter.  I had a 6.5 as well and it made me look like I know what I'm doing.  Keep us in the loop.

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I just recently picked up a Howa.  I have yet to shoot it... still need to get my but up to Cherry Ridge to sight it in and break it in.   But in all of the research I did it seemed it was a good solid starter rifle for this.   I got mine in .308 with a 26" heavy barrel. I wanted the cheaper round, longer barrel life and more emphasis on me actualy learning to shoot better.  Seems to be that 6.5 is just easier to shoot long range so IMO i'd rather start at .308 and practice my way to good long hits rather than taking the easier approach.  Looking forward to some long range plinking.  I just fell in love with the cerakote design on this special edition, i just had to have it.

 

IMG_2420.jpg

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10 hours ago, Lakota said:

 I wanted the cheaper round, longer barrel life... 

Seems to be that 6.5 is just easier to shoot long range so IMO i'd rather start at .308...

I just fell in love with the cerakote design on this special edition, i just had to have it.

 

IMG_2420.jpg

Lakota,

you bring up an interesting point...how much different is barrel life on a 308 as compared to 6.5c.  I would expect barrels to last thousands of round so if I’m off in that understanding and info would be appreciated?

when you say 6.5c is easier to shoot, what do you mean.  Flatter flight path.

and that is th exact same rifle I’ve been looking at for the past week.  It’s on Davidson’s GOG as a package for what I think is a good price.

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50 minutes ago, Bully said:

There is a Tikka in the classifieds that, IMHO, is an awesome choice if you want a .308.  

Yep, been trading a few a messages and trying to research it as much as I can.

and thank you for your other post. Definitely helpful.  Do you have any specific recommendations in a Remington 700 that looks like the HOWA?

 

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https://www.remington.com/rifles/bolt-action/model-700/model-700-pcr

Tikka's are renowned for building awesome shooting rifles.  There is even a "poor man's trigger job" that costs about 15 bucks.  In the Tikka that I once owned, it made a world of difference.  

6.5Creed, or any of the 6.5 cartridges really, are mildly "overbore."  Meaning that the bullet to case size differential is significant.  IE: the case is significantly larger than the bullet.  That situation creates a lot of heat and pressure and speed (heat) which will wear the barrels' rifling down more quickly.  The 6.5C is the same case size (essentially) as a .308Win so it is more overbore and will wear the barrel down more quickly.  If you're shooting factory, expect 1500-2000 rounds out of a 6.5 and 2000-2500 out of a 308.  If you're handloading, and running them on the hotter side, expect less.  And although 1500 rounds sounds like a lot, it's not if you shoot consistently.  I shoot 50-100 rounds a week.  1500 rounds is basically the summer.  Just to keep it in perspective.  Barrels along with bullets/powder/primers are a consumable.  You get about 3 seconds of usable life from a good barrel.  Again, for perspective.  

 

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The 6.5Creed is a much flatter shooting cartridge than the .308 and it works better in the wind.

Example:  I took a class in PA out to 750 on steel with my 6.5x47Lapua.  My buddy's were shooting 308.  They had to start correcting for wind at 300 yards pretty aggressively.  By 600 they were fussing with significant hold overs.  With my 6.5, I did not hold over for wind until after 600 and at 750 it was still pretty mild.  On the edge into the wind and I was getting 1st shot hits all day.  I was shooting a lighter bullet (130) at just under 3K and that was my experience.  If I had been shooting 140's, the difference would have been even greater.  

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Thanks Bully.. you certainly explained it better than I could.  I know what i read from numerous sources.. but being able to then explain it to someone else in a fashion that is understandable... yea .. i cant do that yet :)  

1 hour ago, NJSigfan said:

Lakota,

you bring up an interesting point...how much different is barrel life on a 308 as compared to 6.5c.  I would expect barrels to last thousands of round so if I’m off in that understanding and info would be appreciated?

when you say 6.5c is easier to shoot, what do you mean.  Flatter flight path.

and that is th exact same rifle I’ve been looking at for the past week.  It’s on Davidson’s GOG as a package for what I think is a good price.

Well I can only say so far that it looks even better in person than it does online since I have yet to shoot it. I was pleasantly surprised by the glass that came with it.  Seems like some decent glass to start with, which also helped in my decision on this one as I didnt have the cash to go drop on a vortex or something else equivalent.  It's a heavy bitch, the weight of this thin shocked me...  I can't wait to shoot it.   I got mine through brownells because i had  handful of GC's from christmas.    good luck with whatever you choose.

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Lakota. Thank you for the update on how the rifle looks in person compared to online.  I'm definitely leaning more towards that than the Remmy 700 or Ruger; based on the package pricing.  

Shopped a bit on Brownells last night and need to make comparison chart t]of each to help with final decisions.   Factoring in costs of mages, rings, scope, ammo, barrel replacement and trigger upgrades.  Hoping this helps me decide.  

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2 hours ago, NJSigfan said:

Lakota. Thank you for the update on how the rifle looks in person compared to online.  I'm definitely leaning more towards that than the Remmy 700 or Ruger; based on the package pricing.  

Shopped a bit on Brownells last night and need to make comparison chart t]of each to help with final decisions.   Factoring in costs of mages, rings, scope, ammo, barrel replacement and trigger upgrades.  Hoping this helps me decide.  

Good luck. 

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20 hours ago, NJSigfan said:

Lakota. Thank you for the update on how the rifle looks in person compared to online.  I'm definitely leaning more towards that than the Remmy 700 or Ruger; based on the package pricing.  

Shopped a bit on Brownells last night and need to make comparison chart t]of each to help with final decisions.   Factoring in costs of mages, rings, scope, ammo, barrel replacement and trigger upgrades.  Hoping this helps me decide.  

If you start with just the action there are no replacement parts just the parts you want. If you buy a complete rifle you’re paying for things that you may not use.  The upside is you’re out shooting as soon as the nics check is done. 

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