Howa Alpine Mountain Rifle test drive

[Big Fin]

Thanks so much! I was wondering if you know if it is pillar bedded also? Have your groups tightened up even further? I have one on hold at SW and I think I will pull the trigger tomorrow on it. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

Yes, pillar bedded.

As to groups since the first pics I posted, I have not taken more pics from the bench since those pics I first posted. The groups, when I do my job, are under 1" at 100 yards. It's performance in the field this season attests to its accuracy, with kills ranging from 180 yards to 385 yards.

At Elk Camp earlier this month, I sat by Wayne Van Zwoll for a breakfast. He had been given one of these rifles to test drive, in a 7mm-.08. I asked him what he thought about the rate of twist for a barrel of that length and in the calibers of .308 Win and 7mm-.08. Wayne said he had no worries about it. At least not in normal hunting distances with normal hunting bullets.

Not many guys I know are trying to build 500+ yard rifles from a lightweight platform. If you are looking for a long range bomber, this rifle would not be the best choice. If you are looking for a light rifle, with a great trigger, on a custom stock, dipped in a Cerakote weather resistance, then this one is surely worth the time to investigate.

Wayne did make it clear that in his rifles, he prefers the hinged floor plate over the detachable magazine, as do I. This rifle comes with both the detachable magazine and the hinged floor plate.

Given the results from this season, I suspect these rifles will be all we use in the TV show. Both the 7mm-.08 and the .308 are more than enough for any of the animals we hunt. We are already carrying a ton of gear, even on short day hunts, so having a compact lightweight rifle that shoots as good as these two, is a huge plus to us. And, I suspect it would be for most guys hunting areas/species we hunt.

 

[jjw]

Recoil

Thanks for all the time an info. I love both calibers and it sounds like a great season with a nice rifle. Wayne is certainly knowledgeable. I purchased my rifle today and I am very excited to run it through its paces, but sadly, in looking at it, it is not centered in the stock channel and I can not run a dollar bill between the barrel and the stock. I guess I will have to wait and see if Howa will make it right for me. Its a shame considering what I paid for it.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I am not a long range guy, so this rifle is exactly what I was looking for. Looking forward to seeing the show.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Hey, all you MN guys who have been looking at these. I was just in Joe's Sporting goods in Roseville, and they had an alpine rifle in 7mm-08 w/ a vortex viper 3-9 included for about $1300. It is a sweet little rifle!

 

[slimatsea]

I'm VERY interested in purchasing one of these.
1. Do they have a raised cheek piece or not? The one pictured here does others I've seen online don't.
2. What is the barrel contour? I'd prefer to order a .308 vs 7mm-08 but if it's a real pencil barrel I may go 7 mm for the smaller bore.

 

[Big Fin]

1. Do they have a raised cheek piece or not? The one pictured here does others I've seen online don't.

Both of mine have that. I am assuming they all have that feature.

2. What is the barrel contour? I'd prefer to order a .308 vs 7mm-08 but if it's a real pencil barrel I may go 7 mm for the smaller bore.

See below from the Howa catalog on their website. Hope that answers it.

 

[WT_in_MT]

A #6 contour?!?! Whoever did the proofing for their catalog failed miserably. It should read #1 contour, just like it does for all their models that use the lightweight barreled action.

ETA- are they really pushing 14" LOP?

 

[slimatsea]

BigFin thanks for the info. I'm embarrassed about how much time I spent looking for specs on the Howa website and it didn't cross my mind to download the catalog. It's awesome that you can order barelled actions with the ceracote too. I need to see what aftermarket stocks are available because I could see a magnum version in my collection also. I like everything about Howas except for the hogue stock. These Legendary Arms stocks are fantastic. If they (howa) can use a similar quality synthetic stock on other models I couldn't imagine how many they would sell. They're much better quality than the B&C stocks offered on the Vanguard with ceracote, IMHO.
Now, as far as my cheek piece question goes, here is the video that has me confused.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvcDmHibuE

I suspect that the first run of the rifles had the cheek pieces and newer production models don't. I called my local shop and told him I want one in 308 if there isn't a cheek piece. He's calling his distributor to verify. I'll know on Tues.

 

[slimatsea]

Thanks for all the time an info. I love both calibers and it sounds like a great season with a nice rifle. Wayne is certainly knowledgeable. I purchased my rifle today and I am very excited to run it through its paces, but sadly, in looking at it, it is not centered in the stock channel and I can not run a dollar bill between the barrel and the stock. I guess I will have to wait and see if Howa will make it right for me. Its a shame considering what I paid for it.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I am not a long range guy, so this rifle is exactly what I was looking for. Looking forward to seeing the show.

Is the barrel supposed to be free floated? I haven't read anywhere that it is. I assumed it had full contact with the stock like the vanguards do.

 

[mustangkid]

jjw

Did you get any word or help from Howa? I went into my local Sportsmans warehouse and they had both a 243 and a 308 but both barrels where not centered in the stock.

 

[Talyn]

What NoHarleyYet said.

On the 260 v. 6.5 creedmoor, it's about sales, and I doubt a specialized cartridge like the creedmoor would pump out the volume that a 260 would. Plus, the 22-250 was based off of the 250 Savage, which was based off of the 300 savage. Different case dimensions from the 308.

Not that I'd buy either. Now, if they offered it in a .358 Winchester that would get me there.

the 250 Savage, which was based off of the 300 savage.

Wrong! The 250 Savage came out in 1915 and the 300 Savage came out in 1920.

Plus the 6.5 Creedmoor is a more advanced design vs. a necked down 308.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Wrong! The 250 Savage came out in 1915 and the 300 Savage came out in 1920.

By George you are right. Thanks for the correction!

 

[Talyn]

No problem. BTW, I'm in Lolo. Lived in Helena for a couple yrs. back in the early 90s.

Regards

 

[Talyn]

BTW the 6.5 Creedmoor was designed off of the 30 TC case.

 

[Huntin' Gun]

The prototype I was sent to test drive has been "driven." Lots of great results in the field; Mountain Goat, Pronghorn, Mule Deer, with more mule deer and wolves to come this season.

I was sent a .308 Win and I hope to get some "bench time" with that one. I am sure it will become as accurate my 7mm-.08 is. And given the weight, it will be a great elk rifle for the times I am interested in less weight in my hands.
[/URL].

Hi Randy,
I was wondering how well the Cerakote has held up over these past few years. Any chipping or peeling? I'm on the cusp of getting into one of these but I'm just trying to make sure there will be no issues down the road.

 

[Huntin' Gun]

Well, Despite not getting a response on the question above, I pulled the trigger and got one of these in 7mm-08. I ordered it online and it was shipped to me. When it arrived yesterday it was the first time I had actually seen one of these in person. Mine has the hinged floor plate, not the magazine. My barrel is in the center of barrel channel in the stock and is free floated. It does NOT have a raised cheek piece. The stock is solid and feels to be of good quality. It's a decent looking rifle.

But it does NOT weigh 5.7lbs. On 2 different digital scales it weighs in at 6lbs 1oz. That is rather disappointing. It has Talley Lightweight rings/bases, and I mounted a Leupold VXII Ultralight 3-9x33 (9.3oz). All up it weighs 6lb 14oz. Not too shabby, but almost 1/2 a pound more than I thought I was gonna get. I hope it shoots well, and can get acceptable velocities from the 20" bbl. If either of those criteria don't cut it, then I'll be sending it down the road.

 

[Matt-LSI]

Well, Despite not getting a response on the question above, I pulled the trigger and got one of these in 7mm-08. I ordered it online and it was shipped to me. When it arrived yesterday it was the first time I had actually seen one of these in person. Mine has the hinged floor plate, not the magazine. My barrel is in the center of barrel channel in the stock and is free floated. It does NOT have a raised cheek piece. The stock is solid and feels to be of good quality. It's a decent looking rifle.

But it does NOT weigh 5.7lbs. On 2 different digital scales it weighs in at 6lbs 1oz. That is rather disappointing. It has Talley Lightweight rings/bases, and I mounted a Leupold VXII Ultralight 3-9x33 (9.3oz). All up it weighs 6lb 14oz. Not too shabby, but almost 1/2 a pound more than I thought I was gonna get. I hope it shoots well, and can get acceptable velocities from the 20" bbl. If either of those criteria don't cut it, then I'll be sending it down the road.

the 5.7lb weight is with the DBM setup, not the metal floor plate and internal magazine.

 

[Huntin' Gun]

Apparently 5.7lbs is with the DBM setup, but WITHOUT the magazine inserted. So with all necessary parts of the rifle, it will still weigh more than 5.7 lbs. I'm surprised Howa didn't just quote the weight of the rifle without the bolt inserted. That would make it a lot lighter to quote in the advertisements, and just as far from reality as what they're currently doing!

 

[Matt-LSI]

Apparently 5.7lbs is with the DBM setup, but WITHOUT the magazine inserted. So with all necessary parts of the rifle, it will still weigh more than 5.7 lbs. I'm surprised Howa didn't just quote the weight of the rifle without the bolt inserted. That would make it a lot lighter to quote in the advertisements, and just as far from reality as what they're currently doing!

these are custom stocks from legendary arms, weights will differ a little bit, add in scale deviations...

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

Sounds like it's +/- the polling margin of error


I learned that on fox news

 

[Rooster52]

They need to build one of these on left hand.