01-30-2021, 02:46 AM
Jasper,
You're headed in the right direction for improving accuracy, barrel and trigger. Any quality gunsmith should be able to chamber and mount a barrel. The first step is determining what profile of barrel will fit your chassis. All things being equal a heavier profile barrel is going to remain more accurate... it can handle a more shots over a shorter period of time before it heats up (as barrels get hot the groups tend to open wider). That said, the Howa Mini isn't a large rear shank so a "heavy barrel" is relative.
As Grey Fox stated, "What do you want to do with this gun?" If you are going to do a lot of field hunting, walking and stalking then weight becomes critical so want a lighter weight barrel. Otherwise, lean toward heavier barrel for more stability and ability to handle higher round counts while shooting. If you plan to use a suppressor then you may want to go shorter than 22" to make the gun easier to handle in a blind... If you want to push max distance (1000 yards) then you need +24" to get every ounce of FPS that you can squeeze out of cartridge.
Its a decision matrix. What do you want to do with this gun??? I can tell you that my "heavy" barrel is at best comparable to a medium weight sporter contour. My Rem 700 wearing a Sendero/Varmint contour barrel looks like a bull barrel compared to Howa Mini's "Heavy" Barrel. Unless you are climbing or packing mountains, I would at least go as heavy as the factory "Heavy".
You're headed in the right direction for improving accuracy, barrel and trigger. Any quality gunsmith should be able to chamber and mount a barrel. The first step is determining what profile of barrel will fit your chassis. All things being equal a heavier profile barrel is going to remain more accurate... it can handle a more shots over a shorter period of time before it heats up (as barrels get hot the groups tend to open wider). That said, the Howa Mini isn't a large rear shank so a "heavy barrel" is relative.
As Grey Fox stated, "What do you want to do with this gun?" If you are going to do a lot of field hunting, walking and stalking then weight becomes critical so want a lighter weight barrel. Otherwise, lean toward heavier barrel for more stability and ability to handle higher round counts while shooting. If you plan to use a suppressor then you may want to go shorter than 22" to make the gun easier to handle in a blind... If you want to push max distance (1000 yards) then you need +24" to get every ounce of FPS that you can squeeze out of cartridge.
Its a decision matrix. What do you want to do with this gun??? I can tell you that my "heavy" barrel is at best comparable to a medium weight sporter contour. My Rem 700 wearing a Sendero/Varmint contour barrel looks like a bull barrel compared to Howa Mini's "Heavy" Barrel. Unless you are climbing or packing mountains, I would at least go as heavy as the factory "Heavy".