Howa Mini First Shot. 22" Ltwt Barrel

[klr]

I cleaned the barrel and put one shot of Wolf steel case over the chrono tonight.

I had to beat the bolt with my hand to raise the handle.

Then extracted this:




I figured I'd better take a look at my chamber and found this:





Yes, I know it's cheap steel crap ammo. No, I don't know how it will shoot premium ammo, but with a crooked chamber I'm not going to find out.

I sent a warranty claim to Howa. I'll report back how it goes.

[Sticks]

Tagged for followup...

ETA - If you are the same one casting all the other chambers of various mfg - I am seeing a consistency in "Crooked" and the lands starting point. Are you sure it's not a flaw in your procedure?

[ricsmall]

Man you have bad luck. Two different companies, two different barrels, two crooked chambers. You don’t own a black cat do you?

[klr]

Tagged for followup...

ETA - If you are the same one casting all the other chambers of various mfg - I am seeing a consistency in "Crooked" and the lands starting point. Are you sure it's not a flaw in your procedure?

Yes, I knew I would get blamed for this, but it's not me. I also made an impact cast with soft lead and repeated the chamber cast with the rifle orientated 180 degrees from the first one. All show the exact same thing.

Also, how would a poor cast cause the rifling to run straight into the case mouth?

And, how would a flaw in my procedure cause a case neck to split like that? I shot the rife before doing any chamber casting.

[klr]

Lol, actually my wife does. She just spent a couple hundred on it at the vet so I figured I could spent some money on a new rifle. Guess the joke's on me.

[Sticks]

Yes, I knew I would get blamed for this, but it's not me. I also made an impact cast with soft lead and repeated the chamber cast with the rifle orientated 180 degrees from the first one. All show the exact same thing.

Also, how would a poor cast cause the rifling to run straight into the case mouth?

And, how would a flaw in my procedure cause a case neck to split like that? I shot the rife before doing any chamber casting.

No question on the split neck, just the casting showed identical to the other MFG, so I did not know if somehow your casting method would cause a bias in the cooling/forming of the cast in the throat. Surprised the cast did not pull anything out of the chamber where that negative depression was in the neck, or skid marks.

Not blaming you by any means, just a question.

[bj139]

Those pictures do not seem as bad as the previous barrel. Maybe most barrels are like this.
What is your casting procedure? I received some casting metal yesterday.
Do you only cast the forward portion of the chamber?

[usmcm16a2]

bj,


Goddamn, I am sorry to see that. A2

[klr]

Not blaming you by any means, just a question.

I understand, just part of the investigating process. I blamed myself at first, which is why I repeated the casting several times for each one and even did an impact casting too for this Howa. I also cast a half dozen other rifles I had to check them too.

[klr]

Those pictures do not seem as bad as the previous barrel. Maybe most barrels are like this.
What is your casting procedure? I received some casting metal yesterday.
Do you only cast the forward portion of the chamber?

1. Clean the chamber and bore.
2. Put a drop of oil on a patch and push it into the bore about an inch ahead of the chamber.
3. Heat the chamber/barrel with a heat gun to be very warm to the touch.
4. Put Cerrosafe in an aluminum can, pinch the sides down to form a pour spout, and then hold the heat gun under the can to melt the Cerrosafe. After Cerrosafe becomes liquid I hold the heat gun on it for another 15 seconds or so.
5. Pour into chamber. I stop before it flows out.
6. Let cool for a few minutes and then push chamber cast out from the muzzle with a cleaning rod. I tap it lightly with a hammer to get it to break loose.

You'll need to get creative and make a funnel so that Cerrosafe only goes into the chamber. For this Howa I cut the base off a piece of .358 Winchester brass and stuck the case neck into the chamber. The base of the brass was then even with the ejection port and made it easy to pour in the Cerrosafe.

The hotter the barrel and Cerrosafe, the longer it will take to cool and your casting will look frosty. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It's just easier to see detail on a smooth casting.

[cwlongshot]

YOUZA!

I dont like to see that, having just ordered a HOWA MINI!!

I would like to know outcomes as well...

Many deformities... did you warm the barrel before filling the chamber with Cerocoate? Some could maybe not really be there...

CW

[klr]

YOUZA!


Many deformities... did you warm the barrel before filling the chamber with Cerocoate? Some could maybe not really be there...

CW

Those deformities are just air bubbles. I'm only concerned about getting a good look at the rifling/throat/leade and the cast is fine there. I repeated the cast and also made an impact cast with pure lead and they were all the same.

In the past I've heated the barrel well and let the Cerrosafe cool slowly. No bubbles, but the cast is frosty like casting bullets on the hot side.


BTW, Matt contacted me and is working on an RA.

[Sticks]

YOUZA!

I dont like to see that, having just ordered a HOWA MINI!!

I would like to know outcomes as well...

Many deformities... did you warm the barrel before filling the chamber with Cerocoate? Some could maybe not really be there...

CW

Don't sweat it.

I have one, and built 3 more from actions for the GF. All 4 of them will shoot 5 round ragged holes at 100 when we do our part. Lots of other people here with Howa Minis getting the same results.

[cwlongshot]

Good to hear KLA!!

Thanks Sticks!

I read many reviews before deciding.

Still the biggest thing that pushed me HOWA over the Ruger that has worked so well for me, is the locking bolt/ three position safety.

CW

[klr]

CW,

I wouldn't worry too much at this point. Hopefully mine was just a rare mistake and it will be returned with a good new barrel. Just out of curiosity, today I made a chamber cast of my Howa Mini in .223. This rifle has been very accurate.

Sorry for the fuzzy focus on the one pic, but here are opposite sides of the chamber cast.





I heated the rifle and Cerrosafe a little more than in the last cast, but still have inclusions caused by bubbles - but it shows what I need to know. The rifling starts about the same distance from the case mouth all around the chamber.