Howa 7.62x39 project

CoalTrain49 said:

I have a Mini with a #1 barrel also but I don't shoot it anymore since I built my BR rifle. The stock that comes with most Howa rifles is garbage. They build this really nice 1 moa barreled action and put it in a $50 stock to beat the competition. My advice to anyone buying a Howa rifle is to buy the barreled action and stock it yourself, you'll be miles ahead. Mine dropped right into a B&C stock.

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You're talking short or long action Howa and not the mini, right? I haven't seen mini action stocks available by B&C

Newtosavage said:

You're talking short or long action Howa and not the mini, right? I haven't seen mini action stocks available by B&C

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Yes, short action 1500 HB. Not too many people make a stock for a Mini. I think MDT does but the cost is twice what I paid for the rifle.

CoalTrain49 said:

Yes, short action 1500 HB. Not too many people make a stock for a Mini. I think MDT does but the cost is twice what I paid for the rifle.

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Brownells is now selling walnut stocks for minis that aren't outrageously priced. Will probably need pillars and bedding, but that's not expensive if a person can do it themselves. That's probably the route I'd go if I were going to buy another Mini, but I'm pretty content with my 6.5 Grendel in my modified plastic stock. It's a real shooter, and very effective on game.

Newtosavage said:

Brownells is now selling walnut stocks for minis that aren't outrageously priced. Will probably need pillars and bedding, but that's not expensive if a person can do it themselves. That's probably the route I'd go if I were going to buy another Mini, but I'm pretty content with my 6.5 Grendel in my modified plastic stock. It's a real shooter, and very effective on game.

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I wonder if that isn't a Boyds stock. I'll check it out, thanks.

Looks like a nice stock. Boyds has laminate now for $150. That one is really tempting.

Unfortunately my MDT was 3.5-4 times what I paid for the barreled action. Ugh.

ford8nr said:

Getting real close. I'll test fire it as is for accuracy. Then need to do some final stock reshaping.
View attachment 824290

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This rifle + the thought of an integral suppressor barrel = tingly feelings

CoalTrain49 said:

I wonder if that isn't a Boyds stock. I'll check it out, thanks.

Looks like a nice stock. Boyds has laminate now for $150. That one is really tempting.

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I bought a Boyd's for my Howa Mini 7.62x39. It was okay but just real heavy. Just too large for the rifle IMO. I cut 2" off the forend, but then a friend talked me out of that rifle after I got my 6.5 Grendel, and he's going to continue to whittle down that Boyd's stock to get it under control for that little gun. I sure wish Boyd had scaled down their stocks for the Howa Mini's. Wish they didn't put cheek swell on every stock either. Not all of us want that.

The Howa came out looking nice Ford8n. I shortened the forend on the Boyds classic I have on my mini 7.62x39, but stopped short of the inletted area. I like the way it looks even shorter, I might have to think about cutting it shorter and making a cap at some point.

Mine was loose in the Bodys initially too, but tightened up nicely with some light bedding. I never shot it before the bedding, so I don't know what impact that had on the accuracy. Mine seemed to like the Red Army HP ammo the best of a few steel cased options I tried. I have read that the fiochi brass case stuff has accuracy issues, but the side benefit of getting loadable brass is big. I picked up several boxes of Sellier ammo for the same reason, but haven't gotten out to try it. The Red Army shot 1moa. I am thinking that I could tighten that up even more with handloads, but 1 moa is just fine for me for a nice light general purpose rifle that I don't have much $ in.

Newtosavage said:

Wish they didn't put cheek swell on every stock either. Not all of us want that.

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Agreed, they should scale the whole stock down, and maybe even remove some material from inside the butt and eliminate the cheek swell. That was one of the first things I shaved off when I was re-sculpting the Boyds that I have mine in. Getting rid of that, and adding some 1" drilled holes into the butt improved the balance of the rifle significantly my making it a little more neutral.

ford8nr said:

Way back I posted about the Howa closeout barreled actions and picked up a 7.62x39 as project. This thread will document my progress of turning it into a shooter.

View attachment 823367

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What length is the barrel?
What profile?

Cool project

What ammo are you shooting? I will be shocked if that isn't a 1MOA or better rifle with a little work on the stock and the right ammo. My 20" lightweight barrel 7.62x39 was boringly accurate, even with cheap ammo. One of the most consistently accurate guns I've ever owned in fact.

Hmm, I've never tried that. The Hornady steel case 123 SST's shot lights-out in my Howa mini, and were pretty affordable. Academy's house brand Monarch steel case hollow points (not the FMJ) were unbelievably accurate for just $5.99/box. I've shot those a lot over the years.

If and when you reload, try CFE BLK powder and 123 SST's. That combination in my Howa was good for 0.5-0.8" all day.

I've done well with CFE BLK and Barnes 120g TacTx (.308). Still working on a finished recipe, but it shot very, very nicely.

ford8nr said:

Better / longer bedding under the chamber area.
View attachment 825095 First attempt.
View attachment 825096 Final job

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Are you making a forend tip?