My first range report on Howa 20" heavy threaded

[Six5x39]

I knew it was going to be up in 95degrees so I wanted to get there early to test my howa out . my plan was to just zero the scope and perform box test .

Rifle performed great ! one thing I noticed was how jumpy was . thinking to myself , even my 16" odin that is 3lbs lighter than howa recoil isnt this bad .. maybe its my this oryx chassis due to short length of pull and was making me shrug up excessively to get right bench position . but , I just had to deal with it and zero it in .

once I was done with zero using hornady black , swapped with 3 rounds of SST and aimed for right lower corner of blue sticker and managed to get 1inch group .

Here the stupid mistake I made .. I found out why the rifle had heavy recoil lol
( see pic ) no the cool logo I wanted on top , goes on bottom ** facepalm**

one question tho..I fixed the muzzle . do you think my POI will change vertically ? hmmm I guess next range time will tell .

if anyone is planning on getting oryx chassis , order a set of their spacer kit together ( will save time and shipping cost ) . kit comes in 4pcs and each .25thickness . Im only 5'8" and I probably will need to use all 4 lol .

[pacificpt]

Nice looking group. Getting the length of pull just right can really help tighten things up and make it more comfortable to work extended sessions.

[Popeye212]

Every time I put one on it just doesn't seem right putting that logo underneath. Until I realized the way the ports are on top it wouldn't go well there.

[Ron B]

Reading your experience and using it to compare to my project. Running Ruger American Predator.. First tried it out of the box decent groups little over an inch with the Hornady Black 123 ELD same round I use with my 18" barrel on my AR. Tried 95gr v-max behind 30gr 8028XBR about a 2" group. I couldn't tell weather it was me or the gun as the trigger and stock were less than great. Switched to the new Magpul stock and a timney trigger. Hornady factory ammo was under an inch and the hand load was abut an inch. Stock and trigger made a huge difference. Good luck with yours

[Six5x39]

After correcting muzzle break and added about .80 length of pull , took the howa out for 2nd time . muzzle rise was reduce . rount count total 67 . I was shooting SST , BLACK , A-MAX . my range is upto 200 , Im going to see If i can zero at 150 or 200 . judging by by group at 100 , idk if I can zero at 200 tho .

[Six5x39]

^ above was with bipod .

today I tested some loads using bags ( front and rear ) idk if it was me , but POI shifted big time .

do you guys think I should go back to bipod or keep using sandbags .

[A5BLASTER]

^ above was with bipod .

today I tested some loads using bags ( front and rear ) idk if it was me , but POI shifted big time .

do you guys think I should go back to bipod or keep using sandbags .

Put it back on the bags and check the free float of the barrel.

If it's good. Get on the rifle while it's bagged and have someone check the free float while the stock is under pressure like you would be shooting.

If free float checks out good both ways. I would ditch the bipod and resight off the bags.

[Six5x39]

ty A5 , I'll give that a try

the chassis seems to be good . not touching the barrel or isn't flexing .

I will finish the testing loads and then will adjust with the load I pick if needed . I might even put back bipod since I'll be shooting most of the time out in field as well .