New Howa Mini Action on the way!

[achristian8]

[tdbru]

AC8,
good choice, though i'm obviously biased. the 6.5 Gr, depending upon bullet & load, has similar ballistics to the 308 Win with a lot less recoil. all reloading components are quite spendy these days, so i don't think you'll have significant savings in bullet prices or primer costs. You should save some $ on powder costs simply due to the ~15gr. less usage per round. and with reloading dies setup correctly, i would think the Gr brass would last a lot longer than 308 Win brass just due to the lower chamber pressures that the Gr. runs at, as compared to the 308 Win. That lower chamber pressure will also prolong barrel life. that may be a good thing... or not, depending upon how well your production barrel groups and your accuracy ambitions. have fun regardless
-tdbru

[Old Bob]

I hope your Howa is a better fit in the HTI stock than mine was. The barreled action in mine leaned to the left. The barrel was touching the stock at the end of the barrel channel. I loosened the stock screws, placed a 1/16" thick cardboard shim between the barrel & stock & re-tightened the stock screws. It was still leaning to the left but I was now able to slip a dollar bill between the barrel & stock. After doubling the shim thickness, the barrel was closer to being centered but still had a slight lean to the left.

I figured I could do one of two things, bed the HTI stock or buy a MDT or Oryx chassis type stock. I didn't wanna spend a whole lotta bucks on this rifle so I elected to bed the stock with some Brownells steel-bed compound. I also replaced the crappy plastic trigger guard with a DIP aluminum trigger guard. I had to replace the trigger guard 'cause the instruction manual said the stock screw torque was 55 inch lbs. The rear screw hole broke! After a call to Legacy Sports, I found out the manual should have said "No more than 35 inch lbs."

https://www.diproductsinc.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=1371404&CAT=12462

[achristian8]

I hope your Howa is a better fit in the HTI stock than mine was. The barreled action in mine leaned to the left. The barrel was touching the stock at the end of the barrel channel. I loosened the stock screws, placed a 1/16" thick cardboard shim between the barrel & stock & re-tightened the stock screws. It was still leaning to the left but I was now able to slip a dollar bill between the barrel & stock. After doubling the shim thickness, the barrel was closer to being centered but still had a slight lean to the left.

I figured I could do one of two things, bed the HTI stock or buy a MDT or Oryx chassis type stock. I didn't wanna spend a whole lotta bucks on this rifle so I elected to bed the stock with some Brownells steel-bed compound. I also replaced the crappy plastic trigger guard with a DIP aluminum trigger guard. I had to replace the trigger guard 'cause the instruction manual said the stock screw torque was 55 inch lbs. The rear screw hole broke! After a call to Legacy Sports, I found out the manual should have said "No more than 35 inch lbs."

https://www.diproductsinc.com/Detail...1404&CAT=12462

[grayfox]

The plastic stock is gonna be an is-what-it-is, but the 20" HB is a god rifle.
I had one, sold, then bought another so am back into it.

I've pretty much budgeted an after mkt stock for each howa (exc for a 300BO that is working ok in plastic), and I definitely favor the mdt, just the plain one, LSS I think. I have other pieces so putting it together wasn't hard.
And Vortex scope, good choice. If you want to play around with the trigger a little you can smooth it out and cut down on pull wt a bit, mine breaks now just over 2.5# which is great. I put a clamshell clamp on oversize bolt handle over the little one it has (epoxy/o ring) which makes the opening stroke a lot easier. Getting older I guess..

Since it is a bolt action you can sometimes get to that "next node" up on the MV scale.
Good shootin'.

[Old Bob]

The trigger pull on mine is a very consistent & crisp 3lbs. It's Howa's HACT trigger & I'm very happy with it as is. I also installed a clamshell clamp-on bolt handle. If I were to replace the stock I'd probably get a Bell & Carlson fiberglass stock with an aluminum bedding block. I might replace the bottom metal with the one from Oregon gunsmithing. I need to call Wayne again to see if he's making them again. The last time I talked to him he said he was waiting for magazine springs. That was a month ago.

[grayfox]

There are 3 options for better bottom "real-metal" vice plastic... Wayne, DIP Inc, and hokey pokey kid, all of them are worth considering...

'Course the mdt's don't require any of them...

[HokeyPokeyKid]

I would recommend a chassis if you can live without a traditional stock, it really saves time and possibly money as well...

[Old Bob]

I would recommend a chassis if you can live without a traditional stock, it really saves time and possibly money as well...

HokeyPokey... Are you still waiting for the magazine springs that go in your hinged floor plate bottom metal?

[HokeyPokeyKid]

HokeyPokey... Are you still waiting for the magazine springs that go in your hinged floor plate bottom metal?

yeah it's been a real pain in the a$$

[garyrapp55]

There are 3 options for better bottom "real-metal" vice plastic... Wayne, DIP Inc, and hokey pokey kid

The one Hokey Pokey has that takes CZ mags, I like best of the 2 I've tried.

[achristian8]

[achristian8]

[achristian8]

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I think I figured it out but now the image quality is not good

[Old Bob]

What does your manual say about stock screw torque? I hope it's right on yours (35 inch lbs). Even if you don't crack a trigger guard screw hole (like I did), you might wanna get the DIP aluminum bottom metal anyway. I'm also looking at the B & C M40 stock for my mini.