Anybody here have a Howa Mini Action yet?

OlongJohnson - "Anybody here have a Howa Mini Action yet?" From the lack of responses I'd conclude... NO! Homesteader

Interesting. Bud's has a .223 OD green one for $520 cash. Rate of twist isn't in the specs but I did find this on Howa's site as a Howa/Hornady recommended twist.

.223 Rem. 20"/22"/24" 1 in 9" VX Ammo 53 GR.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/2391

They're 1-9". I called and asked.




Dave

If you go on LSI's site and look at the barreled actions, you get more specs.

http://www.legacysports.com/1500-mini-barreled-actions

9" isn't horrible to live with until you can shoot it out and rebarrel wonder what the mag restraints are?

Mike

20" barrel slinging 64gr PP's in the woods! Sounds like a handy little package.

If I didn't have a RAR already I'd be very interested.

Mike

I'm interested in these too

Nope, but I'm sure hoping they turn out a Grendel, preferably in stainless. CZ may have one in the works, but the stocks I've seen on 527s have been kinda spotty of late.

I also wouldn't be averse to putting together a 6X45 on one, come to think of it.

The Howa action, even the regular "short" action, works very well with the Fireball cases, too. A buddy of mine built a .221 Fireball on a regular short action Howa, and it fed and extracted and ejected those short little guys just fine.

The new Mini action should be just as good. Not a huge fan of the box magazine, but I concede that they can be useful. Heck, I've got four CZ 527s, so I can' really fuss much about that.

That Fireball, BTW, shot like a sumb!tch with the PacNor SuperMatch barrel he put on it, you had to work pretty hard to shoot groups over a quarter inch, even with the horrible trigger. And it shot everything really well, too, with a 14" twist barrel. He shoulda kept that one, but he got bored with it. (first world problem, it provided no challenges).

They should come with both mag systems.

The DBM's feed slicker than schit. But certainly aren't for everybody.




Travis

Agreed.

A nifty idea but I've already got a 527 .223 so not much interest there. A 6x45 would be appealing.

I think the Mini would be a nifty platform for the 6.8 SPC...

I went down the rabbit hole on the SPC bolt gun idea a few months ago. There are only two factory SPC bolt guns I could find, the Rem 700 and a Ruger MkII. Both were done prior to the development of SPCII specs, so you can't safely fire ammo that's loaded to optimize performance for any current production AR barrels. So you'll want a custom barrel.

I like the idea of sharing ammo with a semi-auto, but when you get into it deeper, you'll probably be segregating brass and just neck sizing for the bolt gun while full-length sizing for the SA, not to mention the possibility of different COALs, so you end up with two different processes, two different product streams, and adjusting tooling back and forth.

The bolt head is a problem. There are custom bolt heads for Savages, and a few people just open up .223 bolt heads. Maybe something like that could be done with the Howa - I didn't find it. Then you need the barrel, etc. Ends up being an expensive little project.

I think I remember seeing some talk on a 6.5 Grendel forum about the possibility of a factory Howa Grendel option, due to the 7.62x39 bolt face being viable. Doesn't quite have the sauce of the SPC, though.

In the end, I came to the conclusion that the SPC is best at what it was created for - optimizing the terminal performance of the AR platform.

I also realized the .250 Savage is essentially a ballistic twin to the SPC. It uses a standard bolt face, and there are decent rifles already out there chambered for it. Even keeps you from getting brass mixed up. But if you're going to do that, why not just go with a .260 and have more headroom? You can still load it down if you want, and it's all off the shelf.

I called Howa about 4 months ago and asked if they were going to bring it out in the 6.5 Grendel. Was told it was one of the chamberings they were looking at.

Everyone should pester them about this.

Jerry

The Grendel is coming. there are also some really good deals out there on the 223 right now...

There are a handful of Howa Lightnings left out there at silly-not-to prices, like $35X. The stock is essentially identical in form to the standard Hogue, but the outer surface is hard polymer, not the rubbery stuff. 20-inch #1 contour barrel on most of them makes it not as light as a Tikka or Mini, but still lighter than your standard Howa sporter.

We have Lightenings for $329.99. I have a bunch of the mini's coming too that should be here any day now. They're also $329.99.

That's quite a bit cheaper than the mini's we have on the shelf...

So I've had a Howa mini for about a month now, seems to be a quality bit of kit. Anyway with the Aussie doller around 70c versus the Yanky dollar, smart local manufacturers do stuff like this !!

A few more pics.

At the moment this is the best of all the Mini actions. Zastava's not in the game and Sako's L461 are 45 yr old collector pieces.

hoping to get a range session this sunday.

That's a great work bench, BTW.

Yeah ole mate use to be an engine builder in his previous life.

Barreled actions or the whole gun?



Travis

That is ridiculously cheap for a fine Japanese made rifle !

we have to pay double that downunder !!

And is that for the lightweight or standard or heavy barreled gun?

I'm also wondering about magazine length. The 1/9 twist isn't ideal for heavies, but does the magazine allow for seating the medium/heavies out where they should be?

Depends how it's throated but I would say that if you are wanting to play with the longer bullets, the standard SA is going to be the safest bet.



Travis

The Howa model number is HMA60203+. It's a complete gun. This one has the OD Green plastic stock.

As to barrel contour, their website shows it as a #2. I currently have one on the shelf and it's more like a #1...22" long.

These are the specs for the non-Mini barreled actions. They rotate some off when they stop pushing them into distribution, but they often still have inventory. Generally, the rifles are one of these in some kind of stock.

http://www.legacysports.com/barreled-actions

69/70gr proj should be the upper limit for the 1:9 twist, the rifle should be at the range testing some 70s tmw

How does the Howa MA mags dimension compare to other 223 mags

Remington Model 7 - 60mm
Howa Mini Action - 59mm
Mini MarkX Mauser (aka Zastava m85) - 58mm
AICS 223 - 65mm

Ole mate has been working on a fixed butt stock with an adjustable cheekpiece. We have different gun laws across the different states 8n Australia, so collapsible and folding stocks arent an option for me. Should be finished this week

So currently the mini is available in .204 and .223. Any other rumors out there besides 6.5 Grendel? SAS is the batch you have incoming 204's and 223's?

6.5 Grendel will be available by mid next year 7.62x39 late in 2016.

The batch is 223 -- they came in today. $329.99...

SAS is there any prospect of a hinged floorplate version?

I hate those magazines protruding down.

Hey Stevil,

Desperate thread revival happening...

Im looking for a chassis for the mini and seems my only option is a mdt from cleavers.

Where is your chassis from?

Cheers mate.

Welcome to the forum. Expect politically incorrect responses to your arrival. You may be expected to live up to them. Rifle loonies are always welcome.

kwg