HOWA SUPERLITE .308 REVIEW

When the opportunity came up to test this little Howa I was keen to see whether such a light bang stick could get the job done. At under 2.1kg supplied from the factory, with a picatinny rail, this little carbon fiber stocked rifle is certainly the lightest .308 I have ever tested. Replacing that rail with a set of Talley mounts specific to the Superlite, I chose to fit a Maven 2-10 x 38 scope that also helps to keep the overall weight down. In short, the rifle as pictured weighs in at around 2.5kg scoped. This is incredibly light, and I was very keen to see whether such a featherweight rig could be controlled enough to shoot acceptable hunting accuracy. This is the key point here ‘hunting accuracy’ not ‘benchrest accuracy’. If you want the latter, you are barking up the wrong tree here as the physics of recoil are working against you with such a light centrefire rifle.

The aim was to go through my normal regimen of testing and tuning handloads until I found a combination that worked. This in itself was a lively experience and to get the best out of it was akin to fine tuning a bow. Hold it consistently and you’ll get the results, get sloppy and your groups will reflect poorly. The rifle is certainly capable of shooting 1 MOA but you need to do your part.

The Howa Actuator Controlled Trigger, or HACT for short, breaks with little to no creep at just under 3.5lb. It’s a two-stage trigger that is a little heavier than I am use to but certainly not a deal breaker. Fitted with a three-stage safety this adds to a very complete package.

The carbon fibre stock is manufactured by Stocky Stocks and features a composite bedding system that seems to work well providing you tension it correctly to no more than the specified 35in/lb. With a free floating 20-inch barrel the geometry and balance is excellent with a grippy but not sticky feel. This stock is solid as a rock in the front and light and hollow at the butt end, which leads to a very well-balanced rifle.

The reduced-size action not only functions as it should but plays a big part in the weight saving, along with the composite three-shot magazine that fed smoothly and consistently providing I did my part in pulling the bolt all the way back. A big thing to be aware of is the ninety-degree bolt lift that can get close to your scope when retracted. So be mindful of this with your choice of scope.

It didn’t take too much effort to get my handloads shooting around the 1 MOA mark but I couldn’t say the same for the limited factory ammo I had on offer for testing. The Buffalo River 135-grain ammo shot just on the MOA mark and I have been informed the Winchester 150-grain Ballistic Silver Tips also shoot well out of this rifle…but I’m afraid I had none of that to test.

With an upcoming backpack hunt on the horizon, I was keen to get the Superlite out in its natural habitat. So, with an approximate zero at 200 yards and a load that shot 1 MOA I thought I was good to go. Well, that’s what I thought. This was to prove costly as I hadn’t fine-tuned this little rifle as I normally would. Not doing some longer trajectory validations proved that rough enough isn’t good enough.

After a few days in the bush the only good sambar stag that presented was at 300 yards. Shooting off the sticks I was steady, holding a few inches over its back, this should have dropped that 150-grain projectile in nicely for my preferred high shoulder shot. Watching that bullet sail through the hair of that stag and hitting a rock behind him is never an easy pill to swallow. It was no fault of the Superlite but more the user not sticking to his normal regimen when tuning a rifle.

Even though this was not a great result the time spent with this little rifle in the bush proved to be invaluable. When carried over the shoulder I found myself continually reaching back to check that it was still there. When you got that feeling that something was about to happen, you could hold this little .308 with your forearm extended all day long: something most will struggle to do with heavier firearms. It’s never good having a rifle slung over your shoulder when that stag of a lifetime stands up in front of you. Carrying this rifle whether over the shoulder or in the hand is where it shines.

After returning from this trip, I was able to do some important fine tuning at distance, something I wished I’d had time to do before…but, hey, hindsight is a marvelous thing.

The Superlite is more than capable of hunting accuracy, but you need to bear in mind that with the 20-inch barrel your velocities will be lower than those of rifles with longer tubes. It’s not a deal breaker, but knowing your rifle’s profile will help get the results you are after.

I could go on about specifications all day long but in the end, they mean very little. In short this is not going to shoot benchrest accuracy, nor should it be expected to. The lack of mass and shorter barrel makes it a stalker’s dream to carry and if you put the time in to setting it up correctly it won’t let you down. It’s a fantastic value, lightweight stalking rifle that will get the job done if you know its limitations and work within them.