Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Howa Mini Hinged Bottom Metal.

I put some rounds through it today. A couple of notes:

With 2 piece Tally Low rings, there's plenty of room to load.

It feeds perfect with 3 down. 4 down is hard to load and hard to chamber. I could probably fiddle around with it and get it feed smoothly with 4 down, but 3 is plenty, so I'll leave it alone.

Ejection is perfect.

Feeds well as a single shot. Just throw one in the chamber and it lines up properly to close the bolt.

My gun went from shooting about 1 1/2 inch groups to sub 1" groups shooting the same factory Hornady Custom 123gr SST ammo. I'm not going to give the bottom metal all the credit, It could just be from tightening the action screws differently when I installed the bottom metal. Worth mentioning though.

I swapped the scope for a Redfield Revolution 3-9 and it now weighs 6lb 8oz. This is with the slimmed down youth stock and the barrel cut to 16 1/4".

Thanks, but the 6.5 Grendel is the one I've pondered.....

Here you go. Shouldn't be too hard to find a take-off stock, or you can go for one of the Brownells walnut ones.

https://www.brownells.com/rifle-par...avy-barreled-mini-action-prod113624.aspx

I like that stock and its color camo....

wife likes the piece of furniture ya got it sitting on.... she wanted me to mention that also...

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Bell & Carlson has an M40 and Sporter style stocks available. I have a takeoff stock if anyone is looking for one, its Kuiu colored.

McMillan can make you one.

That looks nice. Always wanted a manlicher stocked mini but never got one due to the mag kind or defeating the purpose of a mini to me . Think one is going on the list now

Did you weigh the bottom metals individually?

Also did the bdl give any oal increase?

I didn't weigh it separate, but the gun weighed 1oz more after I installed the new bottom metal. So the aluminum unit weighs 1oz more than the plastic unit with the cut down mag.

I didn't measure the box, but it still had plenty of room with the Hornady 123 SST factory ammo.

Thanks.

Cool. Thanks, sweet looking rig and I like that camo pattern

Thanks, Here's the 5 step process for the Patented Weagleflage pattern

First coat is black Rustoleum textured outdoor furniture paint. It has a sandpaper like texture.

2nd a few splotches of red primer,

3rd Camo pattern over that with blue painters tape.



4 Spray over the entire thing with desert tan Krylon fusion

5 add some rattle can webbing.

6 Peel off tape

Mine is on the way.

They hope to have an 18oz. stock for sale in a few months. Now we're talking!

Bottom metal looks nice and great job on the painting.

Sweet!

Sorry I missed it .. who is "they"... do you have a link? Thanks

http://www.oregunsmithingllc.com/

The stock may be available in about four months. Price will be in the $400-$450 range, hopefully. You know how that goes...

I was going to get one of the DIP replacement units, but this is about the same price as that, if you factor in a spare mag like I did, and much more to my liking. My aversion to DMs, on CF hunting rifles, excepting some flush-fit versions, is pretty strong.

I have been considering getting the barrel cut down on mine. How do you like it?

I love the shortened barrel. The ballistics from the 16" barrel are still more than plenty for my hunting needs and it's such a handy rifle in the current configuration.

To each his own. I want all the barrel I can get to maximize velocity, making the stubby little bugger all it can be. Thinking about a 24-26" for a Contender. Speer lists their 120gr GD at over 2600 with one powder. Pretty good performance from such a mild cartridge, IF true; not far short of a 6.5x54.