Originally Posted By: pkett44I,m thinking of buying a Howa 1500 in .223. The one I'm considering has a 20" barrel. Any opinions,comments, experiences? Any input would be appreciated.
Philip
Don't have a HOWA 223 with a 20" barrel, but do have a Weatherby Vanguard 20" barreled 223. Same rifle, different name. As mentioned, it does have a 1-12 twist, so I shoot light weight bullets, 52 grainers or lighter. It is a very accurate rifle, and came glass bedded at the lug, and barrel free floating. I've shot a couple of 3 shot, 3/8" groups at 100 yards, with most running 1/2" for 3 shots, using a Weaver V-16 set at 16x for load testing.
It is light weight, and very handy with the 20" barrel. Based on it's excellent accuracy, I bought another Vanguard in 25-06.