Howa 1500 question..Barrel tapped??

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jimbombo

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Hello. Looking to purchase a used 1500 in .308, as a newbie to bolt action rifles, is it normal for the barrel in front of the reciever to be drilled and tapped? As far as i know this is stock from the factory...also looks to be heavy barrel.

Thanks
 

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just an fyi for howa
HOWA rifle safety notice, bolt recalled
In the December 2002 issue of the American Rifleman (p. 85) is an Important Safety Notice concerning Howa rifles made between 1970 and 1993.
I just read it last night, while perusing the magazine.
Anyway ...
"Howa Machinery Ltd. of Japan is performing a safety upgrade on all Model 1500, 1550 and 1700LS series rifles manufactured between 1970 and 1993.
"The affected rifles bear serial numbers from one of the following series on the receiver: PN00010 through PN87159, LS00001 through LS05150, M000001 through M020422, LS10001 through LS10309, B000001 through B028450.
"The safety upgrade will replace the bolt sleeve to prevent misassembly of the bolt, which might occur on affected rifles. Such misassembly might result in a hazardous condition in which the rifle can be accidentally discharged without the bolt being fully engaged, causing severe injury.
"These rifles were distributed by Smith & Wesson, O.F. Mossberg and Sons and Interarms. These rifles may bear the distributor trademark.
"Stop using your rifle immediately and visit our website at www.regen.com/howa or call Howa at 1-800-456-5131 to receive a Bolt Return Kit.
"Only the bolt sleeve is being upgraded. Your bolt will be returned to you after the upgrade.
"NO OTHER HOWA RIFLES ARE AFFECTED. CHECK YOUR SERIAL NUMBER
 
Thanks. Looks like serial is after recall...looks in excellent shape, with bipod and cheapie centerfire scope for $275, sound good???
 
DANG IT!!!!, My 1983 Model 1500 in '06 falls in those numbers. I hate to do anything to this gun as it is a shooter!!!
 
Mine is a Mossberg 1500 Howa in .270 Win. I won't be worrying about it either way. Works fine as far as I can tell. Only trouble I ever had with it is the cartridge magazine is sometimes sticky if I am not careful how I fill it.
Maybe if this alert from Dec 2002 is still active to get a bolt return kit, I'll get one shipped to me. I am not sure what my ser number is at the moment but I'll check. Then I'll call em if it falls in the range.
My rifle is not tapped for a front site.

Late edit: Just checked Mine is M020015 so I fall in the recall.
 
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The issue the recall addresses is only if the bolt is disassembled then reassembled incorrectly.
The link in a prior post is dead...not sure if Legacy, who now imports Howa, has any liability or repair process for this...

My Howa 1500 .308 is a great shooter, and $275 is about half what I paid for a new heavy barrel one last year!
 
That is a great deal for that Howa. The only downside to them is they are a tad heavy but who cares? Maybe a pound more than the same caliber in a rifle that would go for two or two and a half times that.
 
My 223 heavy barrel is D&T'ed at the same spot. I suspect it's for an old style target scope base, because it's way too far back for a front sight and a bit too far forward for a rear sight, especially since there's no provision for an accompanying front sight.
 
Most modern rifles are drilled and tapped for scope mounts from the factory. Both my Howa 1500 rifles were. (30-06 and .223)
True, but the two holes on the Howa heavy barrel are in addition to the normal two sets of holes on the receiver.
 
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