Timney HOWA 1500 Trigger Upgrade: Install, TriggerScan, Shooting

I consider the trigger to be one of the most important parts of a precision rifle. For me, the dynamics of the trigger have a huge effect on how consistently I can shoot a rifle, espeically when that rifle isn’t “locked down” in a bench rest. Recently I performed a rebuild on a HOWA 1500 I was having trouble with, and there was one thing left to address: the trigger. In this story I’ll walk through the process of installing and fine-tuning a Timney 609 drop-in trigger upgrade for the HOWA 1500 in that rifle.

Video Walkthrough

Painless Install

The Timney drop-in trigger upgrade for the HOWA 1500 is very simple, all you need to do is follow the supplied instructions, in short:

  1. Verify rifle is unloaded, remove magazine
  2. Remove action screws and lift barreled action out of stock
  3. Remove single screw holding in factory trigger, remove factory trigger
  4. Drop in Timney replacement trigger, verify fit
  5. Install supplied screw to secure Timney replacement trigger to rifle action (I used blue locktite on the screw)
  6. Optional: adjust peak pull weight to suit your shooting style
  7. Reinstall barreled action in stocka
  8. Go and shoot!

Here’s a look at adjusting trigger pull weight:

TriggerScan Analysis

The DVORAK TriggerScan is a precision instrument which profiles the key attributes for a trigger including peak pull weight, creep, and overtravel. For the Timney HOWA 1500 drop-in trigger, I started with the factory setting for pull weight, and ran successive TriggerScan passes at reduced pull weights until I acheived the “near 1.5lb” target pull weight. Here’s a visualization of the results (click/tap to enlarge):

And here are the key metrics from these TriggerScan tests in table form:

Shooting the HOWA 1500 Timney Trigger

The Timney drop-in trigger upgrade for the HOWA 1500 has made a big difference in the shootability of this rifle. By reducing peak trigger pull weight by nearly 1LB, the rifle feels more predictable when shooting for precision, and that’s something that makes me happy! While shooting this new trigger, I was working on some 6mm Creedmoor load development (story coming), and it was great to have shots falling into nice groups!

Here’s 5 shots at 100 yards, this group shot during load development:

Now I feel ready to take this rifle out to 1000 yards for some PRS match training. That should be a LOT of fun!

If you want to pick up one of these Triggers, the folks at Midsouth Shooters Supply can get you setup! Click here:

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Thanks,
Gavin

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