INSTRUCTION & SAFETY MANUAL READ CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS FIREARM HOWA SERIES 1500 SPORTING RIFLES IMPORTANT! Do not discard! Keep this manual with your rifle. It should accompany the rifle to any new owner.
ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY THE FIRST STEP The first step in the safe handling of any firearm is to know how to CLEAR it. The Howa rifle is considered CLEAR when there is no ammunition in the chamber or in the magazine, the bolt is open and the safety is "on". To clear the rifle: Point the muzzle in a safe direction. lift the bolt handle and pull the bolt fully to the rear. This should eject any cartridge that may be present in the chamber, but LOOK in the chamber anyway to be sure it is empty.
SAVE YOUR EYES AND EARS Always wear protective shooting glasses and ear plugs or "earmuff" type protectors whenever you are shooting. Your vision and hearing are priceless, and irreplaceable. Always make certain that persons close to you are similarly protected. Shooting glasses will protect your eyes from burns and abrasions caused by powder gas, metallic particles, burning powder grains, lubricant, and similar debris that can emanate occasionally from any firearm in normal use.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Muzzle of barrel Barrel Floor plate Floor plate catch Trigger guard Trigger Stock Sling swivel stud Butt end of stock Bolt handle Cocking Piece (with firing pin) Bolt sleeve Bolt Receiver Safety 16. Red dot indicator 17. Bolt stop 18. Magazine (inside stock) 19. Chamber end of barrel Important Terms Which Are Not Individual Parts: Bore: The hole lengthwise through the barrel through which a fired bullet passes.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Type and Caliber Sporting .223 Rem .22-250 Rem .243 Win 6.5x55 .25-06 270 Win .30-06 .308 Win Varmint .223 Ram .22-250 Rem .308 Win Magazine Capacity Barrel Length Overall Length Rate of Twist 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 22" 22" 22" 22” 22” 22" 22" 22" 42.0" 42.0” 42.0" 42.5” 42.5” 42.5" 42.5" 42.
TO AVOID A CATASTROPHE ALWAYS keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Never point any gun – loaded or unloaded – at anything you are not willing to see destroyed. ALWAYS assume every gun is loaded until you personally prove otherwise. Don't trust your memory, and never take anyone's word for it. ALWAYS hold your gun so that you can control the direction of the muzzle if you fall or stumble.
AMMUNITION 1. Use only high quality, original factorymanufactured ammunition. Do not use cartridges that are dirty, wet, corroded, bent, or damaged. Use only ammunition of the caliber for which your firearm is chambered. The proper caliber is permanently engraved on your firearm; never attempt to use ammunition of any other caliber. 4. Make a habit of regularly examining your fired cartridge cases, particularly when trying different ammunition.
AMMUNITION WARNING! Excessive pressure in the barrel when a shot is fired can blow up even the strongest firearm, and cause death or serious injury to the shooter or others nearby. Even at normal firing pressure (often in excess of 50,000 pounds per square inch), if the cartridge case bursts the uncontrolled escape of propellant gas from the barrel into the receiver area can be extremely dangerous.
WARNING ON RELOADED AMMUNITION Such problems seldom arise from original factory-made ammunition from major manufacturers who have the experience and facilities to produce it correctly. It is much safer to use only original factory-made cartridges, and you are emphatically urged to do so. Some intrepid souls nonetheless will choose to use reloaded ammunition. They should understand that they are embracing an extra and potentially lethal risk, and must accept full responsibility if injury results.
BORE OBSTRUCTIONS An obstruction from a stuck bullet can occur if: WARNING! • The cartridge has been improperly loaded with insufficient or no propellant powder, or the propellant fails for any reason to ignite. (Ignition of the primer alone will push the bullet out of the cartridge case but usually does not generate sufficient energy to drive the bullet out the muzzle), or • The bullet is not properly seated tightly in the cartridge case.
BORE OBSTRUCTIONS (continued) Soil, mud, snow, water, ice, vegetation, mudwasp nests, etc. are all dangerous inside a gun barrel. If the muzzle of your riRe comes into contact with the ground, or you have reason to suspect that something has gotten into the barrel, unload the rifle and look through the bore. It's not enough to just look at the muzzle; debris can slide some distance inside where it can't easily be seen. If anything is there, clean it out with a rod.
USE OF THE SAFETY: TWO POSITION The safety on the Model 1500 rifle consists of a knurled lever on the right side of the receiver immediately to the rear of the bolt handle. When "on", it locks the trigger. Its purpose is to prevent firing if the trigger is pressed inadvertently. It should not be relied upon to prevent accidental discharge from other causes. See page 13. A. The safety is "on" when the lever (15) is pushed fully rearward, covering the red indicator dot in the stock. B.
USE OF THE SAFETY: TWO POSITION (continued) When the rifle is uncocked, the cocking piece (11) is recessed approximately 3/8th of an inch inside the bolt sleeve (12). In order to place the safety "on" from this position, the rifle must first be cocked by raising the bolt handle fully upward, then closing it again. The safety operates directly on the trigger mechanism. For this reason, the trigger adjustments have been sealed at the factory.
USE OF THE SAFETY: TWO POSITION (continued) It is important to recognize that no firearm can be absolutely safe from firing if it is dropped when a cartridge is present in the chamber. Like any complex tool having small parts, a gun can be damaged or broken, and its safety mechanisms defeated, if it is subjected to sufficient abuse such as being dropped on a hard surface. 3 RULES TO REMEMBER ABOUT A SAFETY 1. NEVER TOTALLY DEPEND ON A MECHANICAL SAFETY. It is not a substitute for proper gun handling.
Use of The Safety: Three Position The new 3 position safety works the same as the 2 position safety in the first 2 safety positions "ON" and "OFF". In the new 3rd safety position (all the way to the rear), the safety is "ON" and the bolt cannot be opened. To summarize, the three positions in the new safety are as follows: 1. The safety is "OFF" when the lever (17) is pushed fully forward, uncovering the red indicator dot (18) in the stock. 2.
LOADING WARNING! 1. While loading (and at all times!) make sure the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction! 2. Risk of an accident is greatly increased when any firearm, no matter how safely designed, is carried with the cartridge in the chamber. Unless the firearm must be ready for immediate firing, leave the chamber empty. Load the chamber only when you are ready to actually shoot. 3.
LOADING Beginning with the rifle empty and uncocked: 1. Point the muzzle in a safe direction! Lift the bolt handle and pull the bolt to the rear until it stops. Put the safety "on". Check the chamber to make sure it is empty. 2. Press cartridges down into the magazine one at a time as shown in Fig. 5 until the magazine is full (5 cartridges in standard calibers, 3 in magnum calibers, 6 in .223 caliber). 3.
LOADING Loading an extra cartridge In certain hunting situations you may wish to load the rifle with one cartridge more than the magazine capacity. This is accomplished by inserting an extra cartridge directly into the chamber before closing the bolt. To prevent the bolt from also attempting to chamber the top cartridge in the magazine as the bolt moves forward, depress the column of cartridges in the magazine as shown in Fig. 7 and close the bolt on the extra cartridge.
UNLOADING 1. Point the rifle in a safe direction! The safety should be kept "on"! 2. Lift the bolt handle and gently pull the bolt to the rear. This will extract any unFired cartridge present in (j) the chamber. Remove this cartridge from the rifle and leave the bolt open. 3. Empty the magazine from below (Fig. 9). Hold one hand loosely under the floor plate to restrain it, and depress the Floor plate catch 141. The hinged Floor plate will pop open, allowing the cartridges to be dumped into your hand.
FIRING While shooting any firearm, an unfired cartridge or fired cartridge case might become jammed between the bolt and the barrel. Clear the rifle as follows. Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and, if possible, the safety on. Pull the bolt fully rearward. The jammed cartridge can then be shaken out or picked out with your fingers. Discard any cartridge that is dented or that has the bullet shoved back into the cartridge case.
FIRING WARNING! 1. Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, the safety "on", and your finger away from the trigger until you are ready to fire. Take the firearm and the ammunition to a gunsmith for examination. 4. Never uncock the rifle with a cartridge in the chamber. This is an unsafe condition, as the firing pin would then be in direct contact with the primer of the chambered cartridge. An impact on the bolt could then cause the rifle to fire accidentally without the trigger being pulled. 2.
DISASSEMBLY First make sure the rifle is unloaded. Put safety "on". 1. To remove bolt from rifle (Fig. 10): A. With the bolt part way to the rear, depress the bolt stop and withdraw the bolt rearward out of the receiver. WARNING! 1. Wear safety glasses to prevent eye injury in case any part under spring tension escapes from your grasp. 2. To remove stock: A. Place firearm on a clean padded surface which allows you to firmly grasp rifle.
BOLT DISASSEMBLY & REASSEMBLY It is seldom necessary to dismantle the bolt, as routine cleaning can be accomplished by brushing and wiping off its exterior. However, should more thorough cleaning be needed, proceed as follows: NOTE: If the bolt sleeve/firing pin assembly is rotated too far, the cocking piece will snap forward into the uncocked position (Fig. 13).
BOLT DISASSEMBLY 23
BOLT DISASSEMBLY 1 24
REASSEMBLY 1. To install bolt in rifle If any cartridge is in the chamber or the magazine, remove it first! Orient the bolt with the handle pointed up and to the right. Align the locking lugs on the bolt with their races in the receiver. Viewed from the rear, the rectangular projection of the cocking piece must be pointing straight down (at 6 o'clock, as shown in Fig. 41. Push the bolt forward gently into the receiver until the bolt stop snaps in place behind it.
CLEANING & OILING First make sure the rifle is unloaded! Using a cleaning rod, cloth patches and nitro solvent, wipe out the bore until the patches come out clean. Always insert the cleaning rod from the chamber end to prevent wear on the rifling at the muzzle. Take particular care to thoroughly clean the barrel chamber and the face i,e., the front) of the bolt. Use a bronze bristle bore brush to remove metal fouling and powder residue from the barrel chamber.
TRANSPORT AND STORAGE PARTS When transporting your firearm to and from shooting activities, keep it unloaded for your safety and for the safety of others. When storing your firearm, keep it separated from ammunition, under lock and key and out of the reach of children and other inexperienced or unauthorized persons. Your stored rifle can be rendered inoperable in many ways. The simplest is to remove the bolt and keep it in a locked drawer. Trigger locks are widely available.
PARTS LIST 1 (a) 2. (b) 3. 4. 5. 6. 7A. 7. (c) 8. 9. 10 11. 12. 13. 14 (d) 15. 16. (d) 17. 18. (c) 19A. 19. (e) 20. (e) 21. (e) 22. (e) 23. (e) 24. (e) 25. (e) 26. (e) 27. (e) 28. (e) 29.
EXPLODED VIEW HOWA SERIES 1500 29
SERVICE To expedite service on any firearm returned to us for adjustment or repair, please follow these instructions: 1. Federal law permits you to send a rifle or shotgun to LSI for service via the U.S. Mail (handguns are not mailable except by federal licensees). You also can send it through common carriers such as United Parcel Service (UPS).
MOST GUN ACCIDENTS HAPPEN BECAUSE THE SHOOTER CARELESSLY VIOLATES THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT RULE OF SAFE GUN HANDLING: ALWAYS KEEP THE MUZZLE POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION! 31
WHY NO WARRANTY CARD HAS BEEN PACKAGED WITH THIS HOWA RIFLE The Magnuson-Moss Act (Public Law 93-637) does not require any manufacturer or seller of a consumer product to give a written warranty. It does provide that if a written warranty is given, it must be designated as "limited" or "full" and sets minimum standards for a "full" warranty.
