Howa 1500 mini action pistol

[cro789]

Well I built a pistol out of a Howa 1500 mini action. The barrel is a 14.5 1/7 LH twist In 6 ARC. Going to try Berger 108s in first. I know I am posting this in the bolt rifle section but it started as a 6.5 Grendel barred action. I will be using this for deer and coyotes. Hope to be running a Eotech Vudu 5-25 on a 20 moa rail. Having a hard time figuring out which mount to run. Any suggestion.

 

[B y r o n]

Ya, you might want to research legality of building pistol from a rifle before going any further.

 

[celltech]

Can I lawfully make a rifle into a pistol without registering that firearm? | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

No. A firearm that was originally a rifle would be classified as a “weapon made from a rifle” if it has either a barrel less than 16 inches in length or an overall length of less than 26 inches. If an individual wishes to make an NFA firearm, they must first submit ATF Form 1 (Application to...

www.atf.gov

 

[cro789]

Is was built by a gun smith and built as a pistol never built as a rifle.. It was just a barreled action and never put into a stock. He researched it before we started this project.

This is the same process that JTAC uses for it Elf Owl pistol.

 

[TurdFerguson]

Cool, looks cool. Why didn't you just build it as a short barreled rifle?

 

[Shrubjr]

Cool build!
If you're gonna go with a short barrel, might as well have the shortest action possible right?

I've thought about doing this with a mini, but I personally dont get along with chasis very well. I've thought about doing it as an SBR with a Manners or something

You can buy Howa Mini's as just a barreled action. That should be classified as a receiver, after that building as a pistol should be no problem. It might depend on how the FFL holder fills out the 4473. I hate that we legal-ese each other to death over this stuff, wish we could be more supportive and united as pro-gun people!

 

[cro789]

Shrubjr, that’s exactly what we did. It is coming to my dealer as a pistol . The reason I went this way is I want a short pistol but long enough to take advantage of some length for bullet speed and energy for hunting out to 400 yards. Now it may go farther than that we will just have to see. I will also run a Thunder Beast Dominus.
Also looked at the old Remington XP 100 pistol. Old school.

 

[hereinaz]

This is cool. I really like the Mini action for a little rifle. I am waiting on mine from the smith. It will eventually get a short barrel, but it's 22" for now. Still short for everything else I have.

The title of the post is misleading, its not a rifle to pistol...

 

[Nodak]

I did something similar. Used a Mini 300bo virgin barreled action and made a pistol. Pretty cool and handy. Accurate to boot. You'll enjoy it.

 

[Mike Casselton]

Is was built by a gun smith and built as a pistol never built as a rifle.. It was just a barreled action and never put into a stock. He researched it before we started this project.

This is the same process that JTAC uses for it Elf Owl pistol.

The JTAC boys took a 10" Grendel (Elf Owl setup) out to 1k and made hit after hit on the standard IPSC.

Really fun to watch and it makes me want to build one.

 

[Nodak]

In a way I kinda wish I'd of done a Grendel but 300bo seemed the easier for dedicated subsonic. As of now my F1 suppressor doesn't play well with it but it's likely how I built it. May have to get a SOT to recore it. Overall it's a cool factor of 110/100 and once it shoots straight quietly it'll be cranked up to 1000/100. Elf Owl was my idea generator. Them and Brownells built one in house a while back also

 

[Mike Casselton]

In a way I kinda wish I'd of done a Grendel but 300bo seemed the easier for dedicated subsonic. As of now my F1 suppressor doesn't play well with it but it's likely how I built it. May have to get a SOT to recore it. Overall it's a cool factor of 110/100 and once it shoots straight quietly it'll be cranked up to 1000/100. Elf Owl was my idea generator. Them and Brownells built one in house a while back also

Did you drill AND clip your baffles?
Clipping makes a huge difference.

 

[Nodak]

I cheaped out and just used pressed free plugs. Is it worth clipping those also? I may as it can't hurt really.

 

[Mike Casselton]

I cheaped out and just used pressed free plugs. Is it worth clipping those also? I may as it can't hurt really.

Probably.
The purpose in clipping is to allow the gases to be trapped/slowed down between the cups.
A straight shot through, lets the gas fly right through.
I helped a buddy clip his cups on a pair of fm-1 cans and the difference is amazing.
Here's a pic of the 22 cups after clipping.
We tried different depths/sizes but in the end, any clipping works.
Even the hole size doesn't matter much.
Note: the end cap was drilled to be 22 only.

What do you have to lose?
Freeze plugs are pretty inexpensive.

 

[Nodak]

I decided to stop testing the pistol till I do this. I'll have to order up a set of good files and tackle it next week.

 

[sam4886]

Let us know how it shoots. I've had the same idea. I'd probably just go 16 inches though to make it easier. Oryx, mini grendel, rebarrel.

Are you using the howa mags? Any better options out there for the minis yet? I know some of the rugers started using AR mags, has howa got on that train yet? They seem to be releasing new shit all the time.

 

[cro789]

Its on its way to me. I having a hard time waiting. But as soon as I get it to the range I will let everyone know

 

[Mike Casselton]

I decided to stop testing the pistol till I do this. I'll have to order up a set of good files and tackle it next week.

You can use a dremel to clip the baffles and it'll go much quicker.

 

[Nodak]

That was in my plan. I'm a rotary tool aficionado. Finish with files. Also going to make a alignment tool.