Howa Mini 223 and 556

[AlaskaRed]

Has anyone shot 556 out of their 223 Remington chambered howa mini? I know usually it is ill advised but a lot of this has to do with chamber and throat dimensions that do vary from factory chamberings. Wondering if the howa mini 223 chamber gives enough room to accommodate plus being a bolt action can handle any potential pressure spikes.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I wouldn’t think twice about it in a bolt action in good condition.

 

[waspocrew]

I shoot 5.56 out of my 223 Tikka all the time. No problem.

 

[Te Hopo]

Yeah not generally an issue in a bolt action, but the Howa Mini is a good strong action.
Never had an issue with mine firing 556

 

[AlaskaRed]

Yeah not generally an issue in a bolt action, but the Howa Mini is a good strong action.
Never had an issue with mine firing 556

Yeah, got about 100 rounds through mine between yesterday and today. How has accuracy been for you in your rifle? What ammo has been shoot g best for you?

 

[Te Hopo]

Yeah, got about 100 rounds through mine between yesterday and today. How has accuracy been for you in your rifle? What ammo has been shoot g best for you?

Mines an aftermarket barrel now which has really improved accuracy with all ammo.

With the original barrel I used PMC Xtac it was 2-3" groups, fine for cheap plinking

 

[Austin Kaufman]

I’ve got between 1800 and 1900 rounds through my howa mini 223 since September. All the factory rounds have been 5.56 and all my reloads are 5.56 pressures. No issues for me!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AlaskaRed]

I’ve got between 1800 and 1900 rounds through my howa mini 223 since September. All the factory rounds have been 5.56 and all my reloads are 5.56 pressures. No issues for me!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What 556 factory ammo have you been using? Doing some testing with mine before I buy some bulk. So far tried some m193 and m855. Probably going to try some 223 fmjbt out too.

 

[Austin Kaufman]

@AlaskaRed I was using some Winchester m193 not great but good enough shooting targets 1-300 yards. I shot quite a bit of hornady frontier in 55, 62, and 68s that weren’t too bad. Bone frog 77 TMKs shot a hair over 1”. Now I just load all my own for practice. Mostly 73 ELDMs over Varget and for hunting 77 TMK over Varget. They shoot well out further for PRS practice type stuff. Getting 0.7-1 MOA 10 shot groups out of that stuff. So pretty decently accurate. I’ll probably rebarrel eventually with a 223 wylde barrel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Thegman]

A 223 bolt rilfe is so over-built for the chambering, the rifle is going to digest any 223/5.56 ammo without hurting itself. I imagine there's a small possibility of a primer issue, but even that is very unlikely as 5.56 ammo already comes with pretty stout primers.