[howaman]

Just bought a howa m1500 chambered in .223. What are some mods I can do or have a local gunsmith do to improve the accuracy of this rifle? Please tell me the mods and an estimated price. Want to use this gun mainly for varmint and target shooting.

[masterPsmith]

Before you do anything to it, have you even taken it out and shot it yet to see where it's at on accuracy ???

There are many things you can do to accurize a rifle, depending on the $$$$$ you have in your wallet.

The two most basic that will help any rifle are stock bedding and a good trigger.

Hard to say what will need to be done to it without seeing targets shot with good ammo. I would not want to steer you in the wrong direction and spend $$$ that you don't need to. It's like asking a doctor over the internet, whats wrong with my big toe when it hurts......


Jim................

[stalkingbear]

There are a few things that don't always automatically help-but don't hurt either. The Howa don't have a "floating" bolt head (locking lugs) so lapping the bolt should help.

A good trigger won't make your rifle itself shoot better-but it WILL enable you to shoot it more accurately.

Glass/pillar/aluminum block bedding will enable your rifle to maintain zero better, even through disassembly and reassembly.

Proper scope mounting is MUCH more important than commonly believed-that includes lapping the rings in the case of steel rings to eliminate damage to the scope.

See the sticky thread at the top for more detail.