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Howa Mini questions

P

Potsy

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 14, 2019
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A few threads going on these, but I had a couple different questions and didn’t want to hijack them.

I’ve noticed that Sportsman’s and Brownells have 20” Howa Mini 6 Arcs back in stock, I don’t need one, buuut….., it’d be a range toy/deer/ varmint rig. I’d like to keep it around 8-9 lbs before attaching the suppressor. Something I could (within reason) beat the crap out of up on the lease (lots of 4 wheeler and tree stand use) and not feel bad about. Also, I don’t really have a hunting rifle that I can put my can on with a ffp scope.

If I’m understanding correctly, the 20” model has 5/8” threads, whereas the 22” has 1/2” threads (5/8” being my preference), correct?

Also, how bad (or good) is the Hogue stock? I get that it’s subjective, but are we talking Tikka or Ruger American in terms of stiffness? Comb height okay? Try it? Or just buy a barreled action and a B&C or Boyd’s? I know Stocky’s has a carbon version, but I’d suspect it’d be terribly bow heavy with a can on the end of the barrel.

Jefferson Outdoor BDL bottom metal would happen. Would also throw on a brake for my SAS can. Likely just snatch the 6x SWFA off my AR for the moment, if I like the rig, it’d get a 2-12 Athlon.

Opinions?

Thanks!
 
I actually bought a 6arc action from Brownells yesterday. I haven't gotten it yet, but my plan is to put it in a B&C M40 stock with MDT bottom metal & 10rd MDT mags. I will probably keep the original trigger- I saw on a Howa forum where you can shorten a spring to get a <2lb trigger pull that is still safe. I'm undecided on optics, but probably a 3-15 PST2 or XTR2. This will be my wife's match rifle most of the time, but I may use it for matches where magnum calibers aren't allowed if I decide to go to a 300 PRC for my main rifle. I do want to get a suppressor for it, but for now I'm putting an Area 419 brake on it.

I have that same style Hogue stock on another rifle. I hate it, but it's probably fine as a really basic hunting stock. It has more flex than I would like. For me it's just a place holder until I get around to rebuilding that rifle entirely.
 
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I have two. Both are in mdt lss chassis and I cut the trigger springs. Factory stocks were flimsy for me.
 
I did figure out that the OEM stock I was referring to was an HTI, not a Hogue.

Just about decided (if I do it, I get stingy with myself sometimes) I’ll do the B&C M40 with a Brownell’s barreled action.
Folks seem to like them and they’re not too heavy.

If I love it, I may get it chopped back to 17”.

Gotta be quick though, Brownell’s had some barreled actions and Sportsman’s had some complete rifles last week. They didn’t last long! Oh well, next go-round…😂
 
The factory plastic stock is as bad as everything else. It flexes and rubs the barrel no matter what you do. I added a salmon river hunter rail and it might have helped a little. Plan is to add a stockys VG carbon stock soon and ordered a sps adjustment LOP system for the kids and wife to share.
 
Finally got mine together- going to shoot it Sunday and see how it does. I need to cut about 1" off the stock for my wife and it needs some spray paint. It's pretty nice though.
20231124_114617.jpg
 
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I’ve done two and would rather get the barreled action and put a stock of choice on rather than adding another OEM stock to the collection. Both of mine have Pendleton Custom Stocks, Jefferson State Outdoors and Oregunsmithing bottom metal and Leupold two piece bases. With optic, the6.5 Grendel weighed in at 6 lbs -2.9 oz. Granted, the both have sporter barrels, but that works for what they were built for.

IMG_4981.jpeg
 
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Every time I go on Brownell's to see if they have the 6mm ARC actions, they are always out of stock. I would like to build one on an Oryx chassis like I did with my 6.5 Grendel.

HowaG-01.JPG


I wonder if MDT is going to mod the Oryx to take there 10 Round magazine?
 
biometrician said:
Finally got mine together- going to shoot it Sunday and see how it does. I need to cut about 1" off the stock for my wife and it needs some spray paint. It's pretty nice though.View attachment 8280239
Click to expand...
What stock is that if you don't mind me asking ? I am still using the factory stock although I did add a D.I.P. bottom metal and relocated the mag release . Mine is a 223 20 inch .
 
jbuck88 said:
I thought the 10rd mags were backwards compatible with the original bottom metal in the oryx chassis.
Click to expand...
You are correct. I never looked at the 10-round magazine, just the Oryx chassis, so I missed it.
 
I bought a oryx chassis for the kids howa mini last year on black Friday. Easy purchase for $250 or so.
 
stello1001 said:
What bottom metal and mags are you running here?
Click to expand...

Jefferson Outdoors
6.5 Grendel mags

CZ 527 magazines with steel followers. Probably one of the nicest mags I've ever used, and still available for a reasonable price. I bought four of them myself just in case though.

Also the smoothest feeding system I've tried to date. It is almost an inline feed angle. Better than a BDL setup and better than OEM. I'm sold. It fixes the Achilles heel of this rifle IMO, which is why I went a bit overboard with the overhaul.
 
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jbuck88 said:
Gotta share the details please.
Click to expand...
18" Proof Sendero Light
Kampfeld Customs Campfire bolt knob (installed by SAC)
Pro Precision Rifles Vortex fluting
6.5 Grendel SAAMI chamber
Jefferson Outdoors bottom metal (CZ 527 mags)
Action and bolt in black nitride
Boyd's Prairie Hunter stock (bedded)
Talley Low Lightweight scope mounts (standard, not extended)
Leupold VX-6HD 2-12x42mm

I'd weigh it, but I don't have a convenient method.

The inspiration was essentially my take on a "do it all" field rifle in a sort of steampunk theme. Whitetail deer and 500m steel silhouettes all year long is the plan. Plus a friendly training rifle for the niece and nephew.

If I had to do over, I'd get a 20" barrel and use Boyd's Agility stock. This setup likes to hop a bit too much when using a bipod. And although it probably doesn't need it, I would have liked to have found a 'smith who could true the action. The Mini's bolt diameter is uniquely small, so most smiths don't have the tooling and are unwilling to obtain it.
 
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jbuck88 said:
Is the barrel just a standard 1.20" breech? Rifle looks great BTW.
Click to expand...
Yes sir. And thank you.

And good catch. The barrel OD is literally the same as the action diameter. Some guys thought I should have gone with the smaller shank variant, but I like the look of the matching diameters. Plus that smaller shank OD variant seems hard to get these days.
 
glock24 said:
18" Proof Sendero Light
Kampfeld Customs Campfire bolt knob (installed by SAC)
Pro Precision Rifles Vortex fluting
6.5 Grendel SAAMI chamber
Jefferson Outdoors bottom metal (CZ 527 mags)
Action and bolt in black nitride
Boyd's Prairie Hunter stock (bedded)
Talley Low Lightweight scope mounts (standard, not extended)
Leupold VX-6HD 2-12x42mm

I'd weigh it, but I don't have a convenient method.

The inspiration was essentially my take on a "do it all" field rifle in a sort of steampunk theme. Whitetail deer and 500m steel silhouettes all year long is the plan. Plus a friendly training rifle for the niece and nephew.

If I had to do over, I'd get a 20" barrel and use Boyd's Agility stock. This setup likes to hop a bit too much when using a bipod. And although it probably doesn't need it, I would have liked to have found a 'smith who could true the action. The Mini's bolt diameter is uniquely small, so most smiths don't have the tooling and are unwilling to obtain it.
Click to expand...

Do you care to share how much you're into the rifle itself without the rings and glass?
 
I'm very impressed with how mine shot. I got a hasty zero at 100 with 105gr Hornady black and shot a 5rd and 4rd group- both were < 1". I then shot to 600 and made plenty of hits. Rifle recoils like a .22lr while still being relatively light and short. I don't have a chrono, but based off a 4mil drop to 600 I should be at about 2750fps. I wanted to shoot further but the weather was awful and I couldn't spot shots reliably.

I'm so impressed with it that I want to build an AR15 in 6mm ARC for positional matches, and then sell my 6.5 creed for a 300 for ELR shooting.
 
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Did we ever figure out the 20” vs 22” barrel threads? From what I can tell the 20” is the “heavy barrel (HB)” with the larger 5/8 thread diameter. The 22” is the smaller 1/2 threads? Can anyone confirm?
 
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