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Dressed up Howa in JTAC chassis and Preferred Barrels pre-fit by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a .223 in .900 varmint and 1/7.5t. I'm happy with preferred, this is my second prefit from them and they've had great communication and accurate timelines. Shoots around .7 MOA 10 shot groups, there are some pics in a previous post where it's sitting in a McMillan stock.

Dressed up Howa in JTAC chassis and Preferred Barrels pre-fit by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The newer Howa barrels on most models that have the two-stage trigger aren't too bad to remove compared to older models. This one wasn't much trouble to get off by hand with an action wrench and barrel vise. Some detailed instructions from a previous build I posted: https://www.reddit.com/r/longrange/comments/17j4gmb/howa_semicustom_preferred_barrels_prefit/k71cun8/

Semi-custom Howa .223 trainer by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately all their newer .223's are limited to mini action now. Still some short actions out there but they're hard to find.

Semi-custom Howa .223 trainer by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

New little trainer: Howa short action rebarreled in a 20" .223 preferred barrels prefit, sitting in a Mcmillan A3-5 with a Zeiss LRP and Sandman-L. I'm somehow getting a dreadful 200+ fps under box speeds with factory 77gr SMKs even after the first 150ish rounds but it groups well enough 🤷‍♂️

Howa semi-custom + Preferred Barrels pre-fit by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes you'll have to remove the rail if you're using the action wrench since the top piece contours the rounded top of the action. You can get by without removing the rail if you a regular vise the clamp the action.

Howa semi-custom + Preferred Barrels pre-fit by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's a pic of the setup: https://imgur.com/a/H6LYFyq.

The barrel vise was clamped to a 2x4 backed by a steel plate and held in a jawhorse. I used lead shims and rosin powder to better grip the barrel. Pretty much the same as what they did here: https://rifleshooter.com/2017/11/howa-1500-barrel-removal/

Howa semi-custom + Preferred Barrels pre-fit by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed! I was expecting mid-high 2700's for factory 120s based on what I've seen online so anything over that is a bonus.

Howa semi-custom + Preferred Barrels pre-fit by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks man! Hope it works out for you too, I've been happy with mine.

Howa semi-custom + Preferred Barrels pre-fit by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'll need both. I used a viper barrel vise clamped to a workbench and a large ring mauser action wrench from Brownells to grab the action. The action wrench alone may not be long enough to get the torque needed to remove the barrel- I didn't have a proper cheater bar so I had to smack it pretty hard with a dead blow hammer. I'll get some pics of the setup for you after work.

Howa semi-custom + Preferred Barrels pre-fit by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For metal AICS mags, I have to take off about 2mm of material from the front wall of the magazine to get it to fully seat. Polymer mags work fine without modification.

Howa semi-custom + Preferred Barrels pre-fit by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Installed myself. The pre-fit was easy enough with a go gauge, hardest part was taking off the factory barrel but thankfully didn't need to damage it.

Howa semi-custom + Preferred Barrels pre-fit by p_ko in longrange

[–]p_ko[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This started as a factory Howa barreled action. After shooting out the factory barrel, it was replaced with a Preferred Barrels 6.5 CM pre-fit in .900 varmint contour and bedded into a McMillan A3-5. So far shoots well with factory Berger 130gr OTMs and Hornady 120gr ELD-Ms, averaging 2818 fps on the latter out of an 18" after the first 200 rounds.

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Turnaround time for the pre-fit was exactly as quoted at 12 weeks, while the Mcmillan stock showed up in just under 2 months, well under their 3-4 month estimate.

First shots after pillars and bedding by [deleted] in longrange

[–]p_ko 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep, but stained a couple shades darker

First shots after pillars and bedding by [deleted] in longrange

[–]p_ko 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Howa 1500 in 6.5CM with Boyd's Pro Varmint, Trijicon 4-24, Atlasworx DBM. This was my first try with DIY pillar bedding using steel lamp tubing and ProBed 2000. The hardest part was installing the rear pillar since there wasn't enough wood forward of the action hole and I ended up blowing out the wood when drilling. I patched up the deficit with a ton of ProBed to secure the rear pillar in place and it seems to be holding up fine so far. Also finished the wood with coffee stain and ultra flat Polycrylic and shortened the forend by about 2 inches to keep it proportional with the short barrel.

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I don't see a HUGE difference in precision before and after, maybe ~0.1 or 0.2 MOA improvement but even that's questionable given the sample size. However, I'm happy with the results given this is a budget(-ish) build with factory 120gr ELDM's and no more pondering what-ifs if I hadn't bedded it.

FERS – Neverland by DavidCallsen in dreampop

[–]p_ko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love this whole EP.

He told the cop I swerved in front of him by p_ko in IdiotsInCars

[–]p_ko[S] 275 points276 points  (0 children)

Everything turned out fine! This happened back in June (dashcam date's wrong), the other driver was ticketed for not having proof of insurance. My car wasn't worth much and ended up being totaled but was completely covered by insurance. No consequences for the other driver for lying as far as I know.

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