New Howa Tactical Rig — Howa Chassis Rifle (HCR)
Here’s an item for tactical and Precision Rifle Series (PRS) shooters. Howa is releasing a new rifle with a modular metal chassis. The new Howa HCR (Howa Chassis Rifle) combines a Howa 1500 barreled action with a modern, fully-adjustable aluminum chassis. The Howa’s MSRP is $1299.00, so the HCR is directly competitive with the Ruger Precision Rifle (RPR). Available chamberings are: .223 Remington, .243 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, and .308 Winchester.
Mounted on an AR-style buffer tube system, the Howa HCR utilizes the fully adjustable LUTH-AR MBA-3 stock. Length of Pull is adjustable form 12.5″ to 16.75″. Comb height is also adjustable to fine tune for scope height-over-bore. Weight with a 24″ barrel is 10.2 pounds (before optics), so this Howa HCR is lighter that some similar rifles on the market.
Howa HCR Features
• Howa 1500 Barreled Action with 20″ and 24″ Heavy Barrel options
• Black 6061-T6 Aluminum Chassis with Free-Float M-LOK Forend
• LUTH AR Buttstock with LOP Adjustment (12.5″ to 16.75″) and Adjustable Comb
• 10-RD ACCURATE Detachable, Teflon-coated Steel Magazine
• Two-Stage H.A.C.T. Trigger
• 3 Position Safety
The HOWA HCR features an adjustable, two-stage HACT trigger, set for about 3 pounds (combined stages). Crisp and repeatable, this is an excellent trigger for a factory gun. In our opinion, the HACT trigger is clearly superior to the trigger on the Ruger RPR, as well as the Savage AccuTrigger. And there is no annoying Glock-style safety lever in the middle of the trigger blade.
Available in .223 Rem, .243 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Win chamberings.
NOTE: For all chamberings, 24″ barrels are offered, with 20″ options for the .223 Rem and .308 Win as well. Twist rates are 1:9″ for .223 Rem, 1:10″ for .243 Win, 1:8″ for 6.5 Creedmoor, and 1:10″ for .308 Win. We think .243 Win shooters will NOT be happy with the 1:10″ twist. We would prefer to see a 1:8″-twist for the .243 Win so it can shoot the 105-115 grain 6mm bullets. Most competitive 6mm shooters will want a true 8-twist or even a 1:7.5″.
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Tags: .243 Win, .308 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, Aluminum stock, DBM, HCR, Howa, Precision Rifle, PRS, Tactical
1/9 is a pretty poor twist choice for .223. Hope the barrel is easily replaceable.
That aluminum chassis should be quite the thing for outdoor matches* if the sun shines…
Rich
* which is about 100% of them
Editor: I was at the PRS Finale Match in California. It was over 90 degrees. More than half the rifles that I counted had metal chassis, mostly aluminum. Nobody complained about hot hands. With anodized or coated aluminum This is a non-issue IMO.
“better” than any other trigger is a very subjective statement.
First guy that can get it down to 2 oz like my Accu-Triggers, post it here.
Editor: This was designed for tactical games, PRS, and maybe some hunting. You do NOT want a trigger weight in the single digit ounces for those disciplines. Absolutely not. The HACT gives you a first and second stage, which most of the PRS shooters we interviewed preferred.
I’m skeptical (to say the least) of AccuTriggers supposedly “tuned” to 2 ounces. That’s way way under the factory recommended minimum and even with a spring change, 1.5 lbs. is near the safe limit. We had one guy at our club who had messed with his Accutrigger … probably got it down to about 4 oz. He was real proud of it until the gun fired twice in a match as the bolt was closed. First time was forgiven. The second time, that shooter was banned from the range and sent packing.
I honestly doubt that anyone who claims to prefer an AccuTrigger over the HACT has ever shot the HACT.
I agree on the twist rates the .223 should be a 1-7 or 1-& wyde. The one thing that sets Ruger apart from the new prs style rifles I.e tikka t3x, mossberg new chassis system is Ruger barrels can be switched out much easier. Also Ruger bolt throw is better. The Ruger was also designed with the help of Frank Gali.
I’m a big fan of the Accu-Trigger also Rich! I love the one on my Savage 12 VLP .223 1:7″ rifle..
How does it compare to the Weatherby VANGUARD® MODULAR CHASSIS, or is it the same rifle just labeled and marketed by two different manufactures.
@Barry, on a Howa rifle, removing the barrel is a nightmare. In my neck of the woods, most gunsmith will sacrifice the barrel original headspace by cutting a .08″ deep groove at the barrel/action junction in order to unscrew the tube.
I agree, these barrels are on crazy tight. Best option is to part them about .020″ in front of the action face. Metric threads too,… wish they would go to a 16 or 18,… or even a 20 TPI. that all being said,.. these are some awesome actions. feed super slick and very fast,… reliable. I wish Remington would take note.
I have the new Howa 15
00 with the multicam stock & heavy barrel in 6.5 creedmoor. Shoots one hole groups @ 100 yds & so far shot out to 1056 yds with 5 inch group. Load development will shrink that soon. Love the trigger.
I just received mine from buds. Pretty stout rifle, chassis is great quality, mating is solid. If I had one thing to complain about I would have to choose the but stock, there is definitely some movement which I feel kinda defeats the purpose of all the adjust ability. Mine also came with original Howa floor metal and trigger guard in case you wanted to install in a different stock.
Regards to the wobbly buttstock. There is a hex screw on the left side of the buttstock that you have to tighten once you have your length of pull adjusted. After you tighten the screen there is no wobble.