New Super-Short Mini Action Rifles from Howa
Howa now offers “Mini Action” rifles with actions that are nearly an inch shorter than typical “short actions”. With the Mini Action, the chamber and bolt are 12% shorter than regular short actions with shorter bolt throw for faster reloads. Weight is also reduced with a shorter bolt. The Howa Mini Action rifles come with ten-round, synthetic detachable box magazine and a reasonably light HACT 2-stage trigger. This makes for a nice, compact (and very shootable) varmint package. Nice enough, in fact, that we are looking seriously at the Mini-Action Howa as a donor for a .221 Fireball varmint gun project. We like the idea of a shorter action with a compact 10-round mag.
Howa Mini Action rifles chambered in .223 Rem are available now with 20″ lightweight, 22″ standard and 20″ heavy barrel options. Other chamberings, including the .204 Ruger, will be available soon. Synthetic stocks designed to fit this new Mini Action configuration are offered in black, OD green, and Kryptek Highlander camo colors.
300 Blackout would be the only caliber I’d buy.
The rifle is a perfect walking varminter best suited to VARMINT rounds.
.300 Blackout…what a waste of time and components that round is.
You Saud it Jimmy, the black out is one of the dumbest things to come along in a while with people eating it up.
Never knock another mans cartridge LOL
That ‘cartridge’ is a joke, especially if someone considers building a bolt gun for it.
I hope they’ll consider offering it with a hinged floorplate in the future. Howa’s quality is fantastic. it is just that older hunters like myself would prefer to avoid a DBM if the floorplate option were available.
Its no joke in a suppressed bolt action. Nor is it a joke in use as the model 7 I build for my elderly grandfather as a very light weight low recoil deer rifle. Don’t like it, don’t buy it, but statements like those show a profound amount of ignorance. I definitely plan to keep this rifle in mind for Blackout projects and varmint rifles. It would be great if they would make this available as a action only.
Will it be available in stainless?
People hating on .300AAC must not have suppressed SBRs like it was designed for. I will agree that it makes no sense at all in a bolt gun – unless shooting suppressed *and* subsonic.
At the 0;41 mark he says chamberings available in .203..HAHA .203? .204? what’s 0.001″ LOL
I have a Howa, mini-action. With full elevation adjustment on the scope (Bushnell Elite) rounds land 1-2 feet low at 100 yards. Sent it back and Legacy Sports determined the receivers are not milled to the same specs as their other 1500 rifles. You need a 30mm scope at or near max elevation adjustment or a 30 MOA base for these rifles.
Editor: Sorry to hear of your experience. We have not heard of this issue before and the Mini Action rifle we tested was completely fine. Here’s a Safari Club Int’l video review of a 6.5 Grendel Mini-action. As you can see from the target (1:20 time mark), there is no issue with elevation whatsoever: https://youtu.be/fZWFHl8Zf-A
I bought one in 222. the thing is very accurate, I couldn,t be happier with this gun. The quality is typical Howa.
I also say, if you don’t like the 300 blackout, don’t buy one. However I also say, we as shooter’s must stick together and not criticize each other. That is just what the anti-gun/hunters want. Divide and conquer remember. We each have our choice’s and each should let the other enjoy his.