Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 508 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.61 kg
- Introduced
- 2018
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain is a lightweight bolt-action mountain rifle built on Howa Machinery's M1500 barreled action in Japan and configured for backcountry stalking and hunting. Chambered primarily in .308 Winchester (with 7mm-08 Remington and .243 Winchester also offered), it pairs a 20-inch free-floated, threaded barrel with a slimmed, hand-wrapped pillar-bedded fiberglass stock to keep bare weight down to roughly 5.75 lb. The action uses Howa's forged one-piece bolt with twin locking lugs and a three-position safety, and it wears a Cerakote finish over the action and barrel for weather resistance in exposed alpine conditions. It feeds from a five-round internal magazine with a hinged floorplate and breaks with the adjustable two-stage HACT (Howa Actuator Controlled Trigger), and Howa guarantees sub-MOA accuracy from the glass-bedded, free-floated setup.
Named for the alpine hunting it was built for, Howa's Alpine trims its already sub-MOA M1500 action into a sub-6-pound mountain rifle by wrapping it in a hand-laid fiberglass stock and Cerakote armor - the same barreled action that underpins the Weatherby Vanguard.
Sold in Europe and the UK as the Howa Alpine (distributed by Highland Outdoors) and in North America as the Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain Rifle through Legacy Sports International, sometimes packaged with a Vortex Viper scope. The lightweight fiberglass stock has been associated with Bansner/Legendary Arms Works production. The underlying M1500 barreled action is the same platform sold internationally as the Weatherby Vanguard.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Howa Machinery
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- In production
- Produced
- 2018
- Variant of
- Lightweight mountain
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 508 mm
- Overall length
- 1022 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.61 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Striker fired
- Trigger
- Two stage
- Trigger pull
- 13.0 N
- Capacity
- 5
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Fiberglass
- Finish
- Cerakote
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 800 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 3110 J
- Effective range
- 500 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
- Lightweight mountain configuration
Hand wrapped pillar bedded fiberglass stock
Free floated barrel
Glass bedded action
Cerakote finish
Threaded muzzle
Hact two stage trigger
Forged one piece bolt
Hinged floorplate
Sub moa accuracy guarantee
Recoil pad
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 157 .308 Winchester rifles | 2.61 kg | 3.22 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 146 .308 Winchester rifles | 1022 mm | 1067 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 166 .308 Winchester rifles | 508 mm | 559 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 162 .308 Winchester rifles | 5 | 5 | Holds more rounds than about 70% |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain
How much does the Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain weigh?
The Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain weighs 2.61 kg (5.75 lb) empty. It is the 10th lightest of 157 .308 Winchester rifles in the catalogue.
What caliber is the Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain?
The Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain is chambered in .308 Winchester, .243 Winchester, and 7mm-08 Remington.
How many rounds does the Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain hold?
The Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain holds 5 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain?
The Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain is 1022 mm (40.2 in) long overall, with a 508 mm (20.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain?
The Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain is made by Howa Machinery (Japan).
When was the Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain introduced?
The Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain was introduced in 2018.
How does the Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain operate?
The Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is striker fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
74%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/howa-m1500-alpine-mountain' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "howa-m1500-alpine-mountain", "name": "Howa M1500 Alpine Mountain", "manufacturer": { "id": "howa", "name": "Howa Machinery", "countryCode": "JP", "foundedYear": 1907, "website": "https://www.howa.co.jp", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "version": "92a63959c6eadbabe566297f6ef96a1554d837fd5792be753c7906ecdbc12361" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "JP", "year_introduced": 2018, "barrel_length_mm": 508, "weight_empty_g": 2608, "action_type": "bolt_action"}