Has anyone ever had (or seen) issues with the bolt release screw on the Howa 1500/ Weatherby Vanguard? After 9 years of faithful service, I somehow managed to shear off the screw that holds the bolt release on my 30-06.

I got a replacement part from Howa and was able to remove the sheared end of the screw left in the action, so the fix will be quick and simple. What concerns me was when I talked to the rep at Howa, he said that that the screw is designed to break before a more expensive piece breaks. Does that seem wrong to anyone else? Shouldn't nothing break?!

I guess to further my question, is there any simple alternative to make the bolt release screw (or whole) unit more robust?

Thanks in advance!

You could make the screw yourself and make it as tough as you think you need, or, use the original screw with a little loctite, being careful not to over tighten it. It works just fine the way it is but you can't horse it.

Nothing is unbreakable. So you must decide what you want to fail first.

I think Howa did just fine with this design.

Ever notice that allen wrenches get shorter in length as they get smaller in diameter?? Thats to help keep you from over torquing the screw

Plenty of things in this world are designed that way. You break a small, easily replaceable part before a much bigger part that might also have bigger and more dangerous consequences.

The issue here is what percentage of these have broken over the years. IF THE mean time between failure per number of units produced is too high THEN Howa have a problem.

Another way of looking at it is if every few have broken,
then what were you doing that caused it to break ?

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