Hello everyone,
I ordered a Howa Mini action in 6.5 Grendel on 10/29 from Buds Gun Co. Its is the 20 heavy barreled model with the HTI stock. I may regret not getting the MDT stock but I thought I can always add it later if I cant stand the cheaper HTI. I also ordered a Vortex Diamondback tactical scope, Warne one piece base, and vortex rings so it should be a nice little package. I called and did the verification on 11/2 and Now the rifle is in the processing stage and Im hoping to see a tracking number to my FFL any day now. I originally set out to buy a Savage Axis 2 precision or Howa 1500 in .308 Win as a kind of budget precision rifle. But after weighing the options and seeing the ridiculous increase in the cost of reloading supplies I decided the mini action was the way to go. I have a bunch of once fired Alex-A brass (Lapua) and lots bullets, powder, etc for my Grendel AR so I dont have to worry about ammo and can get right to load development. So I am planning to use this forum as a unboxing, building, load development, etc post so more to come!
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
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."
Old Bob Wrote: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."
Ya Im hoping the stock is halfway decent but I have no illusions about the quality level. If its that bad Ill likely go the chassis route so I dont have to buy the trigger guard as well. Time will tell.
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'.
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
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.
I refuse to be victimized by notions of virtuous behavior.
Thanks everyone for the input. Unfortunately Im still waiting on a shipping # from Buds. I was hoping to have it for the whitetail gun season opener this weekend. Looks like the Grendel AR is heading to the hunting camp with me in the morning.
Picked up the mini today from my local dealer. Excited to get this put together and see how it shoots. First impressions, the bad first. Packaging is minimal, gun, bolt, manual, and magazine and thats it. Im sure thats one way Howa keeps the price point low. The stock sucks, but I think we all knew that. The barrel does contact the stock on the left side. Im looking at the Bell and Carlson M40 as the replacement so if anyone has one please post a picture. Now the good. The finish looks good, nice and even. The action is silky smooth, like all other Howa rifles Ive handle. The size is perfect for this caliber in my opinion although a little heavier barrel would have been ok with me.. I handled my cousins 20 .308 Howa over the weekend and its significantly heavier. A bull barrel like the one found on the .308 is nice depending on use. Threading on the barrel and the barrel crown look as good as any I have seen. The magazine setup is plastic, but functional and honestly doesnt bother me at all. Next step, mount the one piece base and scope. Then barrel break in. I need to look up what Howa recommends for barrel break in as I read its different for cold hammer forged barrels? Also the site keeps telling me my photos are to big and cant be uploaded, sooo how do I fix that?
achristian8 Wrote:Picked up the mini today from my local dealer. Excited to get this put together and see how it shoots. First impressions, the bad first. Packaging is minimal, gun, bolt, manual, and magazine and thats it. Im sure thats one way Howa keeps the price point low. The stock sucks, but I think we all knew that. The barrel does contact the stock on the left side. Im looking at the Bell and Carlson M40 as the replacement so if anyone has one please post a picture. Now the good. The finish looks good, nice and even. The action is silky smooth, like all other Howa rifles Ive handle. The size is perfect for this caliber in my opinion although a little heavier barrel would have been ok with me.. I handled my cousins 20 .308 Howa over the weekend and its significantly heavier. A bull barrel like the one found on the .308 is nice depending on use. Threading on the barrel and the barrel crown look as good as any I have seen. The magazine setup is plastic, but functional and honestly doesnt bother me at all. Next step, mount the one piece base and scope. Then barrel break in. I need to look up what Howa recommends for barrel break in as I read its different for cold hammer forged barrels? Also the site keeps telling me my photos are to big and cant be uploaded, sooo how do I fix that?
AChristian
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.
I refuse to be victimized by notions of virtuous behavior.
Pictures look fine on my iPad, just small in size. I use Flickr for posting pictures but other free web hosting sites seem fine. You cant get a direct BBC hot link with google photos but you can with Flickr (cant get BBC code off the app have to use internet sign in).
Awrightie boyz n girlz,
This reminded me...
I have a B&C stock sitting on the shelf, since I put my howa into an mdt instead.
It is the M40 style, the 1/4" foam is just a stick-on for my cheek weld -- would come off easily if you don't want it.
If someone is interested we could do a deal for it...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18387[/ATTACH]
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
wannabustbunnies Wrote:B&C M40 with 20" mini action and DIP bottom metal
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18389[/ATTACH]
That's kinda the color pattern I'd want if I got that B & C M40 stock. The LOP looks real long. Maybe it's just the camera angle. What scope bases do you have on your rifle? I have a 20 degree rail with low scope rings on mine. With my fat fingers, it sure is a tight squeeze when single round loading.
I refuse to be victimized by notions of virtuous behavior.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. On that rifle the bases are Burris Xtreme Tactical 2 piece from memory. Remington 700 2 piece bases fit the Howas.
LOP is 13.5" according to Be&C website so probably the angle. Here is a side on shot (MDT rail on it here)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18405[/ATTACH]
