I am In love "again".

[airedale]

 

[bugsNbows]

Nifty looking rifle. Now, if it shoots, we have a winner.

[airedale]

Same rifle in a blue version tested out by Ron Spomer.

 

[bugsNbows]

I like old Spomer. His endorsement means something.

[airedale]

When I fall in love it does not take me long to act. Went to Davidsons Gun Gallery and put my order in for their version with the muzzle brake and cerakote finish. Guzzled more 6.5 cal Koolaid and got it chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor.

Picked her up at "Gunworks" in Verona this morning, mounted a 1X5 Leupold in Leupold rings and bore sighted.

She is SWEEEEEET!!!, I like everything about this rifle, all the online hype was spot on.

Will give her a go hunting on my buddy's farm later this week.

Al

[New York Hillbilly]

Love or lust? Good luck with your new hookup! Lol 

Keep us posted on how she delivers. 

[bugsNbows]

Wow, you moved fast on that girl. Good luck with it. Go kill Bambi’s big brother.

[Shoots100]

Nice rifle, but a 1x5 Scope on a 6.5  ?

SJC

[bugsNbows]

Not to be critical but I was wondering the same thing. Most likely it was just what he wanted… which is great. As Dan Bongino says… you do you.

[airedale]

 

11 hours ago, Shoots100 said:

Nice rifle, but a 1x5 Scope on a 6.5  ?

A couple of things, first off is the theme of the rifle which is light weight and fast handling. I want to match the scope to the rifle's theme and keep the total package as light as possible within reason. For the way I will be using this rifle the 1X5 Leupold fits the bill perfectly as the outfit weighs 5.83 lbs on my scale.

Second, I am for the most part a woods hunter, I do not believe I have killed a Deer much over 100 yds in the last 40 years or so and the longest shot I ever made on a deer was about 250 yds. That 1X5 Leupold will handle any of those type shots easily including the 250 yarder. Also the field of view is huge and what I want in a woods rifle to get on target in close quarters fast. I will most likely have the scope set on 2X power when hunting.

Many of my Deer rifles have 2.5 and 1X4 scopes, my slug gun has a 3X Leupold mounted on it and has accounted for probably half the Deer I have ever taken. I just do not see the need for a big mambo high powered scope for Deer where I hunt.

One last thing, there is a misconception that a high powered scope is required for longer range shooting, for best results for target and dedicated varmint hunting that is true. For Deer here in NY for the most part a hunter that knows his gun will get along perfectly fine with a scope with a lower range in power and make the longer shot if need be.

That is my take, if someone wants to use a high powered scope as long as it suits them I have no problem with it, just not my cup of tea.

Al

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by airedale

[airedale]

A quick review of this little Super Lite rifle, I have messed around with quite a few firearms in my lifetime, but this Howa has really grabbed me. I knew I was going to like this rifle from the press it was getting, I could tell Ron  Spomer was taken by it. When you pick this rifle up and get a feel for it that is when it hits you, 4.7 lbs is unreal. I purchased up a Winchester model 70 "Featherweight" just a short time ago, it only weighs a tad over 7 lbs which is fairly light for a walnut stocked bolt action. Side by side compared to the Super Lite it feels like a heavy barrel varmint rifle, lol!

I have just it's scratched the surface and only used it hunting for a couple of weeks but so far I love it. For carrying and hunting the woods this rifle is tough to beat and for me personally it is unbeatable, it is like handling a wand. The accuracy I have been getting had been very good for a pencil barrel and pretty much mirrors what Spomer was getting group wise and that is with factory ammo. I have yet to shoot my handloads but I am confident they will be at least as good as the factory load I used to sight in and hunt with and more than likely even better.

The detachable magazine is great, convenient and handy, I like them better than the blind detachable floorplate magazines most bolt action rifles have.

The Howa trigger is a two stage and very good, once the first stage is taken up the second is light and crisp, as good as it is I still prefer a single stage because that is what I have used all my life.

As for the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge I took a medium size Doe and as expected it performed great. I think the 6.5 caliber is just about perfect for Deer hunting.

Now that the season is over I have made a couple of changes to the rifle, first off I removed the one piece bridge base and replaced the scope mounts with two piece Tallys that are a bit lighter and lower. The 1X5 gloss Leupold was borrowed from my 375 H&H, so I picked  a matching bronze cerakoted Leupold 1X5 for the Super Lite and put the gloss 1X5 back on the 375 H&H.

As mentioned above I have tried to keep this rifle as light as possible, even the sling is the lightest I can come up with. pretty much set up the way I want now. I will give a report on how my handloads shoot down the road.

Al

 

 

 

[bugsNbows]

Eye candy there. Awesome.

[Shoots100]

Great looking rifle and it weighs only 2 Oz's more than my 500 S&W handgun !