A little while back, I bought another rifle in one of my favorite calibers - a Howa 1500 SS Varmint heavy barrel w/the Boyds laminated stock in 22.250 cal. I mounted a Bushnell Elite 4200 4-16x40. I heard they were a lot of gun for the money. So, I wanted to see for myself. Last Sunday, I took it to the range for the first time. I brought twenty handloads and twenty factory loads in 40 grn. I used a one piece rest which supported both the forend and the butt of the rifle. The temp. was about 58 deg. and a feather would have floated straight to the ground.
I sighted in at 100 yrds. I let the barrel cool and fired a string of 10 shots of factory ammo, letting the barrel cool about a minute between shots. Nine shots measured just a breath under .5 inch. A flyer (I knew it was bad when I pulled the trigger - poor technique) brought the group out to 1.1 inches. I was very surprised at the results, and in myself. I seldom shoot that consistantly at 100 yrds.
I had heard on various websites, and word of mouth that Howas were a lot of gun for the money. Anyway, in my case, it turned out to be true. I didn't get around to firing the handloads. Its one rifle I didn't have to hock my watch to get.
John (Rojo)
