Howa 1500 S

About the Howa

Howa Machinery, Ltd. (shortened Howa) is a Japanese manufacturing company that produces a wide range of products, from machine tools and sweepers to doors and windows, but it is internationally known for their production of civilian and military weapons. Originally named Toyoda Loom Works, the company was established in 1907 by the famous Japanese inventor Sakichi Toyoda who wanted to domestically produce looms (machines for weaving cloth), which he invented because most of these kinds of machines were imported back then. Twenty-five years later the company accepted its first order from the Japanese army and started producing weapons, their first product being a hand grenade. In 1936, they then started producing cannonballs, airplane parts and rifles. During the war, they manufactured Type 99 Arisaka Rifle, machine guns, artillery and infantry-gun parts.

After the war, they went back to only manufacturing looms because arms production was at first prohibited in post-war Japan. This all changed with the outbreak of the Korean war when the weapons restrictions were amended and the USA contracted them to produce a copy of M1 Garand and M1 Carbine for the Japanese Self Defense Forces. Howa has also manufactured many products and components for other arms companies, like Weatherby, Mossberg and Smith & Wesson. They also started producing sporting arms, entering the US hunting rifle market and building Japan’s first tunnel target shooting range. In 1960, they produced the Model 300 hunting rifle which was the first mass-produced hunting rifle in Japan. They achieved great popularity with their Howa 1500 bolt-action rifle which they introduced in 1979 and which has since been named one of the best budget precision rifles. The Howa 1500 action is often used by other brands and sold under different names — on such example is Weatherby Vanguard which is essentially a Howa 1500 rifle with a different stock.

Howa 1500 S Rifle Review

Howa 1500 S (also known as Howa M1500) is a centerfire push-feed bolt-action rifle introduced in 1979 as a budget precision rifle. It consists of a Mauser-type action, a cold hammer forged barrel and a forged-steel receiver. The bolt has two locking lugs, an M16-style ejector and extractor. Howa 1500 rifles have a basic two-stage trigger, although models released after 2011 feature a new two-stage trigger system called HACT (Howa Actuator Controlled Trigger). The safety is a three-position catch that locks the trigger and the bolt. The internal magazine can hold 3–5 rounds, loaded through the action, but some models come with a removable box magazine which can hold up to 5 or 10 rounds. Howa 1500 comes in three action lengths: mini, short, and long.

Not to be confused with Howa 1500 SA, this is a much rarer version with a different mounting surface (R47.5 radius instead of R60)

This rifle has four holes on the receiver for mounting purposes.

Howa 1500 S

Figure 3: Howa 1500 S receiver

A: 21.9 mm
B: 98.6 mm
C: 15.3 mm
BHU: 4 mm
Ø: 6-48
R1: R47.5
R2: R17

Which rifles have interchangeable mounts

Two-piece mounts

For two-piece mounts to be interchangeable the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the B dimension which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed. Rifles that have two-piece mounts interchangeable with Howa 1500 S are the following:

none

One-piece mounts

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension. Rifles that have one-piece mounts interchangeable with Howa 1500 S are the following:

none

Our recommendations for mounts

Fixed mounts

None are available.

Detachable repeatable mounts

The EAW company is the only company that produces detachable repeatable mounts for Howa 1500 S. A great fit for the rifle would be EAW pivot mount.

Picatinny rails

This is the only Picatinny rail on offer.

Help us build our riflescope mounts database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu

As low as $419.00

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EAW Magnum pivot mount, 26 mm, Howa 1500 S

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Pivot mounts are a special kind of repeatable mounts that are especially popular in Europe and mainly produced by European manufacturers. Most notable among them are German Companies like EAW (Ernst Apel Wurzburg), Recknagel, Henneberger and MAK. These Companies were also among the first to produce mounts of this type. Non German companies like Rusan are also following this trend.

Main benefits of pivot mounts, or swing mounts as they are sometimes called are:

100% repeatability,
very quick and easy detaching and reattaching,
extremely durable; most mounts of this kind are tested on 10000 or more reattachments,
size and weight; light and small, elegant.

There are also some minor weaknesses that such mounts posses and they are: they are usually more expensive than other types of mounts, the installation on the rifle should be done by a skilled gunsmith and most of these mounts are higher than 14 mm.

A distinct feature of pivot/swing mounts is the way the scope attaches to the rifle. The front foot of the mount on the scope is inserted in the front base under a 90 degrees angle to the barrel. Then the entire scope is pivoted around the front base until it is locked into position by the rear base.

Pivot mounts of all types enable windage correction on the rear base at the time of the mounts installation. There are three main types of pivot mounts which are distinguished by the type of the rear base:

EAW style rear base: produced by EAW and Rusan,
Dovetail rail base: produced by Recknagel, Henneberger, MAK and others.
Leupold type rear base

Different Types of Pivot Mounts

Howa 1500 S

About the Howa

Howa 1500 S Rifle Review

Which rifles have interchangeable mounts

Two-piece mounts

One-piece mounts

Our recommendations for mounts

Fixed mounts

Detachable repeatable mounts

Picatinny rails

Help us build our riflescope mounts database

EAW pivot mount, 30 mm, Howa 1500 S

EAW Magnum pivot mount, 30 mm, Howa 1500 S

EAW XS pivot mount, 30 mm, Howa 1500 S

EAW Magnum pivot mount, 34 mm, Howa 1500 S

EAW XS pivot mount, 34 mm, Howa 1500 S

EAW Magnum pivot mount, 36 mm, Howa 1500 S

EAW XS pivot mount, 36 mm, Howa 1500 S

EAW pivot mount, LM rail, Howa 1500 S

EAW pivot mount, Zeiss ZM/VM rail, Howa 1500 S

EAW pivot mount, Swarovski SR rail, Howa 1500 S

EAW pivot mount, S&B Convex rail, Howa 1500 S

EAW pivot mount, 26 mm, Howa 1500 S

EAW Magnum pivot mount, 26 mm, Howa 1500 S

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Howa 1500 S

About the Howa

Howa 1500 S Rifle Review

Which rifles have interchangeable mounts

Two-piece mounts

One-piece mounts

Our recommendations for mounts

Fixed mounts

Detachable repeatable mounts

Picatinny rails

Help us build our riflescope mounts database

VIDEO

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