Howa Mini Rifles, Builds, and Upgrades

Could someone with a Jefferson 223 bottom metal please load the mag and record quickly cycling the mag through then do it running the bolt slow? Mine was pretty shit but the longer coal would be nice.
 
Are these Howa known to have a long freebore? I’ve got a 22 arc, with a supposed sammi max coal of 2.260, and I’m not hitting lands in the 80 eldm until 2.350, and 2.405 oal with the McGuire 71. I have a mag to let me load long so I know what answer is, but the coals I’m coming up with to start at .020-.050 off lands aren’t lengths I can find any reference on. Seems like I’m in no mans land for comparing load data for a cartridge with not a lot of info out there…especially for copper bullets. Gun shot lights out with factory stuff loaded to the 2.250 Col.
 
Cut the 6arc down to 16.5". Total weight with suppressor is just over 7.5lbs, looking at an Airlock can that will bring the length down and weight to just over 7lbs. Haven't rechecked my velocities yet but hoping I'll still be good at 4-500yds.
 

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Checked notes.

First load was 77tmk 24gr xbr 2.375” formed LC brass at 100, second load was formed lapua same recipe at 200 (below picture)

.125” off the lands shoots .5moa for 5. I think I can stretch em to 2.45” and stuff some more XBR in there. Stuck a 1” dot next to group so I could measure

Didn’t have time to shoot the lever loads.


IMG_0521.jpeg
 
finally pick mine up today, gonna change stocks. pick up my suppressor sunday the play

well, its rough. about one shell per mag catches on the lip of the rim an doesnt eject, barrel isnt free floated (im changing stock anyway but), bolt is rough an heavy lift, trigger is a bit heavy. looks like i got some work to do. i dont much care for working on stuff so prob shoulda just went with a tikka. but, will see how it turns out.
 
ok, I know the answer is in here but i dont have time to read thru 56 pages. I took my howa 6 arc out today, son in law put it in a stockys stock for me. it shoots absolute holes with factory 108 match loads. shoots the handloaded 95 tmk moa to about 2800 fps then falls apart slightly tho still working on it. gun is light weight. i hate the 90 degree throw but is what it is.
heres the rub that might get it sold no matter how well it shoots unless you guys can help me. the bolt lift after firing is absolutely insane. i mean crazy super hard, like my 7 yr old grandson probably couldnt do it. it was like that regardless of handloads or the factory hornady match an zero signs of pressure in the 2800 an less stuff (we had it at 2887 but had some signs so backed off a bit). Is there any thing I can do to get this down to acceptable levels. Ive shot alot of bolts an never seen anything close to this hard.
 
bnsafe said:
ok, I know the answer is in here but i dont have time to read thru 56 pages. I took my howa 6 arc out today, son in law put it in a stockys stock for me. it shoots absolute holes with factory 108 match loads. shoots the handloaded 95 tmk moa to about 2800 fps then falls apart slightly tho still working on it. gun is light weight. i hate the 90 degree throw but is what it is.
heres the rub that might get it sold no matter how well it shoots unless you guys can help me. the bolt lift after firing is absolutely insane. i mean crazy super hard, like my 7 yr old grandson probably couldnt do it. it was like that regardless of handloads or the factory hornady match an zero signs of pressure in the 2800 an less stuff (we had it at 2887 but had some signs so backed off a bit). Is there any thing I can do to get this down to acceptable levels. Ive shot alot of bolts a never seen anything close to this hard.
Click to expand...
I am going to have my bolt threaded and add a knob. The bolt lift is very stiff on my 6 ARC my kids have a hard time with it as well. I am hoping a bolt handle helps.
 
bnsafe said:
ok, I know the answer is in here but i dont have time to read thru 56 pages. I took my howa 6 arc out today, son in law put it in a stockys stock for me. it shoots absolute holes with factory 108 match loads. shoots the handloaded 95 tmk moa to about 2800 fps then falls apart slightly tho still working on it. gun is light weight. i hate the 90 degree throw but is what it is.
heres the rub that might get it sold no matter how well it shoots unless you guys can help me. the bolt lift after firing is absolutely insane. i mean crazy super hard, like my 7 yr old grandson probably couldnt do it. it was like that regardless of handloads or the factory hornady match an zero signs of pressure in the 2800 an less stuff (we had it at 2887 but had some signs so backed off a bit). Is there any thing I can do to get this down to acceptable levels. Ive shot alot of bolts a never seen anything close to this hard.
Click to expand...
I had the same issue but was getting some pressure signs and was really regretting going with the mini. I did a few things to it and it progressively got better. took it out yesterday and it fed and extracted super smooth and easy bolt lift. I think the biggest change was number 4
1. Polished the cocking ramp
2. Removed the extractor and nicked all the sharp edges off the bolt face and extractor
3. Lapped the lugs and smoothed up the bolt with some polish lightly
4. Cleaned the chamber out really well using a 410 cotton cleaning rod end with some acetone on it (I think this made the biggest difference. After doing research on it, if the chamber has oil or grease in it the case won’t grab when it expands and can cause high pressure signs. What I heard was a lubed chamber can double the force against the bolt)
5. I got a clamp on bolt handle from legacy sports and I like it a lot. It is aluminum
 
I’m doing a new design on Howa Mini bolt knobs (mostly because I need a couple for my guns :) )

If you guys have any specific wants or needs on a bolt knob, let me know. There’ll be some free samples for you guys if you want to do some testing/ feedback.

So far, I’m pretty open for wants/needs:

Two piece, bolt on (I’d prefer not to require welding up the hole in the new bolt handle/ adding threads)

Machined Aluminum (weight & cost)

Aggressive knurling seems popular, but I’d prefer to keep it reasonable so it doesn’t tear up hands over a long day.

Must clear objective lens housing, even with low rings.

I have a new mounting system that substantially improves rigidity and strength, so I’ve gotta work around that.

I’d like to hit a $49 retail price point,


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Working on our 2nd Howa mini. This one is for my wife as she liked the daughter’s gun so much.
Picked up a stockys blem during Black Friday. Hard to beat that price. Only complaint she had, was she needed the cheek area higher for comfort with the scope. After looking around for a bit, I saw these cheek risers on another post here on RS. They are for a tikka, but I figured I could make it work for the Stockys. Ordered the medium height and it seems perfect with the low Talley rings.
The riser was a little too tight. After heating it up with a heat gun, I set it in place and wrapped with tape until it cooled. It fits perfect now.
Once the stock is painted, I’ll mount the cheek riser permanently.

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IMG_9272.jpeg
IMG_9275.jpeg
 
OneShot said:
Working on our 2nd Howa mini. This one is for my wife as she liked the daughter’s gun so much.
Picked up a stockys blem during Black Friday. Hard to beat that price. Only complaint she had, was she needed the cheek area higher for comfort with the scope. After looking around for a bit, I saw these cheek risers on another post here on RS. They are for a tikka, but I figured I could make it work for the Stockys. Ordered the medium height and it seems perfect with the low Talley rings.
The riser was a little too tight. After heating it up with a heat gun, I set it in place and wrapped with tape until it cooled. It fits perfect now.
Once the stock is painted, I’ll mount the cheek riser permanently.

View attachment 1010966
View attachment 1010967
Click to expand...

Which cheek riser is that?
 
Also wondering what cheek riser that is. Wanting to make my factory Tikka stock a bit better before I bite the bullet on an aftermarket stock.
 
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