My Howa Mini Action Upgrades

[glock24]

Hey Grendel fellers,

I thought I might share some of the changes I've made to my mini-action in case others are thinking about the same thing;

1. I had Mark at Short-Action Customs install a Kampfeld Campfire bolt knob. This knob has a hard-anodized finish that matches the Howa quite well.

2. Jeff at CDI Precision added his aluminum bottom metal which also allows me to use 308-sized AICS magazines

3. Paul at Pro Precision Rifles spiral-fluted my bolt body in his "vortex style".


I also dropped the barreled action into the excellent Boyd's Pro Varmint laminated stock, and topped it off with a Burris 1-8x24mm XTR2 scope. This rifle is now complete and will be the one I reach for during the MI whitetail deer season later this Fall.

Let me know if I can clarify anything for you. Thanks for looking

[BluntForceTrauma]

Dude. Sweet!

[m796rider]

Nice!

One question: How do you keep the rounds from sliding forward in the .308-sized AICS mags? It looks like your mag well is longer than your feed area.

[glock24]

Thanks guys. Happy to share.

As for rounds sliding forward; great question! I was worried about it myself. So far, so good. I think I get away with it only because the recoil is so mild with this caliber.

IMG_6203

[lrgrendel]

Beautiful work!

Would you mind sharing the cost of your 3 upgrades and did you have any issues with the stock and did you bed it?

[glock24]

Yeah, no problem.

1. The bolt knob was $110 including return shipping. While Mark does great work, I also know Keith and Phoenix Custom Rifles does Howa bolt knobs. I think he's a bit cheaper.

2. The CDI bottom metal was $209 plus the cost of shipping the stock there and back. Jeff is very good about making sure you have no feeding problems. He can help you tune the height of the magazine using custom release levers (if needed)

3. The spiral fluting was $75 plus return shipping, but I also had Paul Cerakote my bolt assembly for another $65.

I had bedded my stock before adding the CDI bottom metal. After Jeff inletted and installed it, it fed perfectly. I didn't have to change anything.

Iy would be nice if either Pro Precision or Short-Action Customs would do BOTH the fluting and bolt knob. Saves time and shipping costs, but I wasn't able to convince either to do so. I guess Howa just isn't popular enough (yet)

[Randy99CL]

That must be the first time they used that bottom metal with the mini-action. It seems to me that if the round slides forward at all it will jam??

I'd make a spacer so you could use one of the AR 6.5 mags. Having an extra long magazine is no advantage if the rounds won't feed.

Edit: The spacer would be to fill in the front part of the mag well.

[Drift]

IIRC, I too was afraid the extra bottom metal on a 308 (on a Remington 700) would allow the shorter Grendel cartridge to slide around.That was easily fixed by replacing the 308 magazine follower with a 7.62x39 follower-and a horizontal bar to hold that in place.
The tactical bolt knob comes in handy when working up hot loads!

[Randy99CL]

IIRC, I too was afraid the extra bottom metal on a 308 (on a Remington 700) would allow the shorter Grendel cartridge to slide around.That was easily fixed by replacing the 308 magazine follower with a 7.62x39 follower-and a horizontal bar to hold that in place.
The tactical bolt knob comes in handy when working up hot loads!

I was thinking about this when I went to bed last night and this morning this idea was in my head: (and you already got part of it): I thought of bending a piece of brass sheet (maybe around 1/32" thick) into a "U" to take up some of the space in the front of the 308 mag and then replace the follower and spring with one from a Grendel mag. If needed, you could use a small grinding wheel in a dremel to shape the feed lips like those in the G mag too.

[Ed Baker]

Have you thought about modifying one of the AI-223 mags to use for your rifle? I looked at one along with a Grendel round. It appears as if all that is needed is to open the feed lips of the AI-223 mag. They are hard polymer like the magpul mags. BTW, your rifle looks great!

[adamjp]

Very nice rig. I would probably go with the PMAG 5 rounder with a block in the front, but that is a well thought out and complimentary enhancement.

[glock24]

Thanks guys.

I haven't had any problems with my rounds sliding forward. This is after shooting about fifty rounds (5x10 mags) I don't know if it is the mild recoil or the stout AI spring, but so far so good.

The AI-223 mag could work also, but it also has a huge amount of extra rooom just like the AI-308 mag.

If there is ever a problem, I agree that adding a block and a shorter follower to either AI mag is the way to go.

[cwlongshot]

Looks great!

Any targets?

CW

[drewsbow]

very nice work

[roor]

Looks nice! I need to get a new bolt handle as well. Does fluting make any difference?

One thing I really want to do is DLC coat the bolt and receiver. Has anyone used these guys? http://www.jabuie.com/clubhome.html