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+--- Thread: Modified 4 round flush mag (/showthread.php?tid=14331)
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Modified 4 round flush mag - RockWarrior - 10-18-2017
I was inspired by smcdurmon's thread on making a flush mag for the Howa and decided to tackle it myself. Here is a link to his thread.
http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?14214-Howa-Mini-Magazine-Modification
For my flush mag I wanted to see if I can get 4 rounds in there and did things slightly different from smcdurmon.
I edited the pictures with notes on them so I am not going to type out the whole process. I'll just give some tips here.
1. The first thing I did was cut the mag body. I purposely cut the body a little long so that I can sand it down manually to have a better fit with the base plate.
2. The next step was to make sure the mag will lock into the mag well easily. I did this by sanding down the top of the base plate until I was able to insert the mag and have it lock in with slight pressure without having to smack it in to get it to lock. I was trying to achieve a mag that had as little play in the mag well as possible. During this step you should leave the magazine guts out and assemble the mag with the base plate only.
3. Moving on to the mag internals I recommend that you sand down the lower base plate lock/spring seat first then move on to the magazine follower. you will need to sand down the bottom of the follower, assemble, and test loading four rounds. what you are looking for is to be able to fit 4 rounds and have a little wiggle room. The slight play is important and will allow you to insert the full mag with the bolt closed. To make the fitting process go faster do not install the base plate all the way on to the mag body. Just slide it on far enough so that the mag guts do not fall out while test loading the mag.
When you think you have it correct, try inserting the loaded mag into the gun and verify that it easily locks in with the bolt forward then try cycling a few mags of ammo through. Please use dummy rounds if possible, remember firearms safety is your responsibility not mine.
One last thing, if you are thinking about using this mod to fit more rounds into an uncut mag body, I tried it and you are able to fit 7 rounds into the standard 5 round mag body with the modified follower and spring seat. However the factory uncut spring is slightly too weak to push all of the rounds up properly. First round came out of the mag fine but the second round was binding up. I had to give the mag a smack for the second round to come up into position.
Edit: Ricsmall pointed out that the lower part of the spring is wider than the top so he "shorten the internal ribs in box by 1/2 to allow spring to compress enough to install bottom plate". I've gone back and did the same to my mag body. I extended the ramp on both of the cartridge guides up about half an inch and it does indeed make it easier to reinstall the base plate. I've included a picture below for reference.
Good luck and feel free to ask if you have any questions.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]9973[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9972[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9971[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9970[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9975[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9974[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9983[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]9984[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]10216[/ATTACH]
Modified 4 round flush mag - xlcc - 10-19-2017
Nice,what does it look like in the rifle ready to shoot?
Modified 4 round flush mag - RockWarrior - 10-19-2017
updated with a picture of the mag in the rifle.
Modified 4 round flush mag - stilesg57 - 10-20-2017
Oooooh I like! Well done; that's classy as hell.
Modified 4 round flush mag - DJudge - 10-24-2017
Looks great! Like it came that way from the factory...
Modified 4 round flush mag - smcdurmon - 10-25-2017
Awesome job.
Way to work it out to squeeze in an extra round and still remain flush.
Modified 4 round flush mag - RockWarrior - 10-25-2017
Thanks. I would never have attempted it if it weren't for your tutorial.
Modified 4 round flush mag - smcdurmon - 10-27-2017
Glad I was able to inspire you.
Modified 4 round flush mag - 6mmTCU - 11-11-2017
Thanks for the tutorial ! Much cleaner looking rifle now
Modified 4 round flush mag - Frontier Gear - 11-11-2017
Looks great! To be honest that was the first thing that I noticed when I first saw the Mini Howa, the mag stuck out way too far and looked ugly. Your fix is a great improvement.
Modified 4 round flush mag - Sticks - 11-11-2017
And I want to try to get 6 rounds in the Factory Mag.
Good job on the custom work!
Modified 4 round flush mag - jason miller - 11-19-2017
Thanks so much for writing this up and posting pics! I just finished mine up, and it improved the ergonomics even more than I had hoped it might.
Modified 4 round flush mag - xlcc - 11-19-2017
I like what you have done to the Howa Mini magazine.While on a recent mule deer hunt on some steep ground I removed my magazine and found my rifle much more comfortable to carry in the crook of my arm while gripping the pistol grip with one hand.With the mag.in the gun the rifle tends to cant as the magazine sticks down too far and is uncomfortable to carry sometimes while hanging onto vegetation with the other hand to keep from slipping.As soon as I get the opprotunity I will be modifying my magazine like yours.Thanks for the pictures...
Modified 4 round flush mag - ricsmall - 11-20-2017
Great write up and modification. This post finally pushed me to do it as well as the fact I dumped my magazine twice this am walking through bottom looking for a pig shot on the property. The only step I added was to shorten the internal ribs in box by 1/2” to allow spring to compress enough to install bottom plate. Spring gets wider towards bottom and bottom cut off didn’t have ribs. Thanks again.
Richard
Modified 4 round flush mag - Lone Hunter - 11-20-2017
Great Write up. I'm going to wait until after deer season to do mine. I can usually tear up an iron anvil so in case I mess it up and have to order another one I'll wait. I like the way it fits flush. Howa needs to take lessons on this.
Modified 4 round flush mag - RockWarrior - 11-21-2017
ricsmall Wrote:Great write up and modification. This post finally pushed me to do it as well as the fact I dumped my magazine twice this am walking through bottom looking for a pig shot on the property. The only step I added was to shorten the internal ribs in box by 1/2” to allow spring to compress enough to install bottom plate. Spring gets wider towards bottom and bottom cut off didn’t have ribs. Thanks again.
Richard
Thanks for pointing this out Richard, I've gone back and done the same to my mag.
Modified 4 round flush mag - ricsmall - 11-21-2017
RockWarrior Wrote:Thanks for pointing this out Richard, I've gone back and done the same to my mag.
Glad to add to the great mod. I used to really like this little gun. Now I love it. Duplex scope that I know where to hold all the way out to 300 yds for a clean hit. Easy to carry now. What’s not to love?!
Richard
Modified 4 round flush mag - ramslammer - 12-04-2017
G'Day Makes you wonder why Howa don't do this as an option. I for one would certainly of prefered this size mag and would buy one if available. It can't be that hard for them to produce you'd think.
Juddy
Modified 4 round flush mag - glocker21 - 06-05-2019
Nice mod and nice stick as well. How has performance been post mod and increased round count? Any bugs show up unexpectedly?
Modified 4 round flush mag - pacificpt - 06-05-2019
Really nice looking modification, looks like it would be much easier to carry and handle in the field.