Ruger American G2 or Howa Mini for 223?

xsn10s said:

I believe the Mini's have a standard .223 rem length so I'd try some 73gr ELDM's or 77gr TMK's. If you want to shoot the heavies.

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I might give them a try but I have a 22-250 AI that's shooting the 77 grainers real well. I like the punch and velocity of the 60 vmax's for varmints. Enough to kill coyotes, badgers and raccoons but enough explosiveness for gophers and ground squirrels. Fun little rifles for sure. Would like to get a suppressor for it.

Prairie Sasquatch said:

I might give them a try but I have a 22-250 AI that's shooting the 77 grainers real well. I like the punch and velocity of the 60 vmax's for varmints. Enough to kill coyotes, badgers and raccoons but enough explosiveness for gophers and ground squirrels. Fun little rifles for sure. Would like to get a suppressor for it.

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Another option would be the 53gr VMAX's. It has a better bc than the 60gr VMAX's. I've dumped rats, chucks, badgers and coyotes with that bullet.

Mike D Texas said:

I'd like to see this 5# scope Howa Mini Grendel. I have one as well and it's about 7#.

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What stock do you have on yours?

Ive had a ruger american gen 1 own a howa mini in 6arc. Depending on how you hunt the action of the mini may be a disapointment when it comes to quick follow up.
Its quick to bind and even once slicked up and ypur muscle memory trained the bolt handle is still awefully short and thats a thing when it comes to fast reloads. With a 30mm tube in Talley rings ive hit my thumb or finger tips too often. Im going to get it threaded for a carbon fiber round knob which will help bit still, the RA is much better in this regard.

The Tikka mentioned is even better but i dont care for the tall slender stock. A carbon fiber Stockys fixed that tho.
Oh i ran a Bell n Carlson on my Ruger. Helped with cheek slap.

Mark carter said:

What stock do you have on yours?

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Stockys Carbon VG.

I have two Gen I Ruger American Ranch Rifles in 5.56, both with the AR-15 style magazine option.

Bought slightly used, I paid $400 for one, $375 for the other. Both were selected for their 16" pre-threaded barrels to host a suppressor, the ability to take standard and plentiful Stanag (M16/AR15) magazines, standard Picatinny rail and the almost irresistible price.

I bought the first one and put a low-powered scope on it for hunting a salt marsh where I'd never take a pretty gun. It gets banged around in the canoe and exposed to both spray and salty mud. We sit in the duckblind and watch our shotguns rust. I need something I don't care much about ruining.

I got the second one 'because it was there' and for $375, it was really hard to beat. I put a varmint-style scope on it for my walkabouts.

Likes:
Price (especially used)
Light weight
Compact
Pre-threaded (+$120-140 otherwise + thread protector)
Magazine price/availability (I already have plenty of magazines from 5 rounds on up)

Dislikes:
Tupperware stock (but that helps keep it light)
Rough bolt travel (ugh)
Heavy bolt lift (cocking a three-lug rifle has its costs)
Rough/loud safety (I AM going to see if I can do anything to quiet it down)
Questionable precision


The questionable precision, IMO, is due to the very light weight and relatively flexible plastic stock. If I am extremely careful not to pressurize the stock, I can get 10 round 1 MOA groups with FGMM 69s, but all it takes is a little random stock pressure to throw a bullet out of the group. A better stock would help immensely, but would add unwanted weight and expense.

Precision with factory Speer 64 grain bonded SPs and Sierra 77 TMK handloads has been more like 1.5 MOA, but considering these as hunting rifles helps me accept the level of precision I'm getting. Realistically, my 90% shots will be within 50 yards and 100% will be within 150.

I looked at .223 Tikkas and also used to work with BerettaUSA, who brought several .308s and .300WinMags to my range. I like them, but for the base cost, the added cost of shortening/threading the barrel and the crazy magazine gymnastics and prices, I decided I needed something more utilitarian. I priced a threaded 16" 'ultralight' rifle with a thread protector and one extra magazine for $950 before the $79 shipping to my FFL. I'd then want a Picatinny rail, and would still have a plastic stock and three-lug bolt lift...

I looked at the Howas, specifically the idea of buying a barreled action (Brownells) and stocking it myself, but even their "Mini" is not all that small and longer than needed for the .223 and they end up being a bit heavy. I'd also have to get it cut and threaded. I'm not sure I want to invest the time in fitting a stock, nor do I want the weight of a wood stock or want a chassis for hunting.

I didn't even look at the Savages or Remingtons, although most of my other bolt guns are M700s. I just don't care for Savages, even though I have seen dozens of them shoot great, and a short action Remington build is still going to be much heavier than I want. I don't think either one comes with the fast twist needed for the heavy bullets, definitely not the Remingtons.

I have several other hunting rifles; a .30-06 AI, a .308, a .243 and have had a dozen or more others. I'm currently waiting for a 16" threaded rebarrel of an older rifle to .358 Win (.35 Whelen Short), but all of these rifles are pretty heavy.

I'm getting old fast and my hearing is literally shot. Going 1/4 mile into the marsh with waders and canoe is getting almost too hard to do even without a rifle. The idea of a small, lightweight rifle with a suppressor is quite appealing. I've killed a slew of deer with a .22-250 using all sorts of varmint bullets and I understand small calibers enough to know the 5.56/.223 will be plenty deadly with the right bullets.

megastink said:

I will listen to the people who actually killed big game with it and posted the results. Thank you for your contribution.

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So you're going to listen to someone that shot 1 or 2 animals and think that it's typical results? The manufacturer tells you it's not a good idea but you would rather listen to some random 20 year old kid on the internet . Read the whole thread. You'll see several post of people liking them, then months later they post again to say they won't use them anymore because they got a different result. You obviously don't understand bullet and jacket construction and what the poly tip does. A little hint: it's not for expansion but you do you. Just make sure you post the results on here for everyone else to see and critique.
I had posted a graphic pic of a coyote I shot with them but decided to delete it. Out of 3 shot, 2 splashed and the 3rd made a tiny hole. That was out of a .223. It was enough to make me stop using them.

CoyoteConquest said:

So you're going to listen to someone that shot 1 or 2 animals and think that it's typical results? The manufacturer tells you it's not a good idea but you would rather listen to some random 20 year old kid on the internet . Read the whole thread. You'll see several post of people liking them, then months later they post again to say they won't use them anymore because they got a different result. You obviously don't understand bullet and jacket construction and what the poly tip does. A little hint: it's not for expansion but you do you. Just make sure you post the results on here for everyone else to see and critique.
I had posted a graphic pic of a coyote I shot with them but decided to delete it. Out of 3 shot, 2 splashed and the 3rd made a tiny hole. That was out of a .223. It was enough to make me stop using them.

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buddy, I'm just glad our paths crossed here and you were able to steer me in the right direction.