Howa 1500 Randy Newberg Edition

By: Tanner Varndell

The Randy Newberg edition of the Howa 1500 was the best bang for your buck at the time of my purchase and in my opinion still is. Being equipped with a HS precision stock, made with Kevlar, carbon fiber, with Fiberglass that supports the aluminum blocking with a barrel centering screw.  The trigger is Howa’s iconic Howa.Actuator. Controlled. Trigger. The trigger is set at around 2.8 pounds, with being a two-stage trigger, it gives you the opportunity not to get trigger flinch or whatever might happen to you when you’re behind the trigger. To top it all off, Legacy arms toped it with a Leopold VX-3I CDS with being 3.5-10x40 put together with Leopold’s signature dove tail ring and base set up.  With that package weighting in at around 7.4 lbs. In my opinion, that is around ideal for the perfect mountain rifle. 
 
To dig into, the specific 1500 I purchased, I ended up going with the 6.5 PRC model.  My number one rifle in my collection at the moment while I build up the 1500 is my 6.5x284 built on a Remington 700 platform. You might be thinking, that I’m in love with the 6.5 family, and you’d be correct, but I’m not into the typical Creedmoor. That’s another story for another day, but with the PRC, compared to my 284, they both are equipped with a HS precision stocks, the 284, has a Juul trigger, and 26-inch McGowen barrel, topped with a Vortex Viper 6-24x50, pushing a Berger 140 Grain VLD at 3100 FPS. The PRC at the moment, I’ve kept stock except for the trigger has been bumped down to 2.5 lbs., and I took the Leopold off, and threw a Gen II Vortex Viper 5-25x50 that we had on a 7MM. At the moment, we are building loads, to get the best velocity and grouping. At the moment, the load that is going to be the ticket is the 143 ELD-X, with 60.5 grains of H-1000, pushing around 3150 FPS and in fact as stated by Howa, this rifle has been sub moa and the groupings are better than expected when it comes to a mass production rifle especially compared to my custom 284. The 6.5’s might be up and coming, and might slowly take over the sales of magnum rifles, but in the end, whatever rifle you choose is the one that is the best for you. To top it all off, the Randy Newberg edition is available in .308 Win, 7MM, 7mm-08, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 6.5 PRC which gives you a quite a selection of calibers to fit your hunting needs. 
Remember to Aim high, and enjoy our public lands with wildlife conservation always in mind- Tanner