Thread: Kiwi made Howa mini ultralight chassis a reality?

I've been shooting mine a lot at the range and can't wait to get it out on the hill. However one problem I having is a bit of vertical in my groups, at the range this can be controlled with a bag rider, but out hunting it (the bag rider ) would be a pain in the neck and very seldom usable.

I was thinking of wrapping the butt plate with rubber tubing or something so it grips your shoulder a bit more . . . But is there a better or more elegant solution. I don't want to increase the length of pull, as mine's just right how it is.

I wrapped the butt with some of that stretchy self adhesive sports tape type stuff - cheap camo I got off Aliexpress, helped with the grip factor and doesn’t look too naff.

So would it be naff to slide a piece of conduit or alkathene pipe over bag rider that goes right up to the freestanding grip??? Sort of like the work around that was used on SLR etc.... so you still have bag rider but it's no longer getting hooked up.....

I was going to suggest some Tennis grip tape, I use to use this shit on my golf clubs for long driving hijinx with mates. should grip the shoulder Ok, heaps of colour and pattern options

Originally Posted by Springy

@Sidetrack that's an awesome set-up!

2 questions: where did you get those padded forend things from?

And the torch mount at the front, how does that fit to the torch?

@Springy. They’re the equivalent of Magpul m-lok covers that I got from AliExpress a couple of years ago but have never seen since.

Torch mount is a plastic Magpul cantilever pic rail mount and photo shows how the torch fits. I like it that way as it clears the suppressor and I can activate it with my thumb, no extra switch.

Originally Posted by Tentman

I've been shooting mine a lot at the range and can't wait to get it out on the hill. However one problem I having is a bit of vertical in my groups, at the range this can be controlled with a bag rider, but out hunting it (the bag rider ) would be a pain in the neck and very seldom usable.

I was thinking of wrapping the butt plate with rubber tubing or something so it grips your shoulder a bit more . . . But is there a better or more elegant solution. I don't want to increase the length of pull, as mine's just right how it is.

@Tentman. Went down the tape route to try and alleviate the tinging sound from the butt, but was never satisfied as it got wet a lot and was messy so had a play with some closed cell foam and it seems to be working pretty well. A slim 3d printed insert would be very nice.
As for hooking up in the bush, isn’t really a problem, it does catch sometimes in the gnarly stuff, but easily slides clear with a flick of the wrist as there is no real hook in the design. A bag rider will absolutely give you grief.

@Sidetrack Thanks for that. I've looked a bunch of times on Aliexpress and nothing like those covers has showed up. I'll keep looking.

I'll definitely check out the light mount, appreciate the info. And yes a 3D printed buttstock cover thing would be epic.

What are people's thoughts on the butt stock? There's scope to change it.
The Kimber chassis I did had a foam recoil pad. That was because they were for 308 case size cartridges.
Adding a recoil pad adds weight, not just in the pad but in connecting it.
Could also 3d print a rubber cover.
Thoughts?

Good to see the chassis in NZHunter. All looked positive.

Originally Posted by robhughes-games

What are people's thoughts on the butt stock? There's scope to change it.
The Kimber chassis I did had a foam recoil pad. That was because they were for 308 case size cartridges.
Adding a recoil pad adds weight, not just in the pad but in connecting it.
Could also 3d print a rubber cover.
Thoughts?

With light carbon fibre stocks I've done at home, I went with a jandal cut to size then glued on.
My reasoning being:
- Cheap
- Available
- Light
- Enough texture to grip on the shoulder
- If it ever wore out I can buy more from the warehouse

A printed slip on rubber cover could work quite well. Makes install easy, but would add some weight.

Hey Rob
a factory printed slip on rubber cover might look a bit more upmarket Cheers

either 3d printed rubber insert with some fancy "honecomb" structure

or just a foam insert i.e. profile cut piece of foam of similar properties than a jandal, you just need to figure out how to hold it in place.

Personally, I really appreciate not having a heavy lump of rubber on the butt stock, but that of course depends on what caliber you're shooting. When I can get my hands on an Elude for my T3, I probably will want some form of recoil pad.

Since the chassis is so light, I think it would be best if it's removable, either a clever 3d printed thing that can be pulled over the alloy, or maybe something that can be screwed on, so that when you remove it, all that remains is the screw hole, and it can be used with or without.

If the recoil pad was optional/removable, I'd possibly be tempted to use it at the range, but leave it at home if I'm taking the rifle for a longer walk. If I'm just taking one shot at a deer, I don't mind a bit of a punch in the shoulder.

Originally Posted by robhughes-games

What are people's thoughts on the butt stock? There's scope to change it.
The Kimber chassis I did had a foam recoil pad. That was because they were for 308 case size cartridges.
Adding a recoil pad adds weight, not just in the pad but in connecting it.
Could also 3d print a rubber cover.
Thoughts?

Because our Elude is primarily for my daughter and teaching other young shooters a foam pad and printed cover would be fantastic. My daughter doesn't like the hard metal on her shoulder so we have done a DIY job. Weight isn't an issue for us, even with a pad it's still an incredibly light rifle so we aren't chasing a few extra grams.

Originally Posted by Springy

Because our Elude is primarily for my daughter and teaching other young shooters a foam pad and printed cover would be fantastic. My daughter doesn't like the hard metal on her shoulder so we have done a DIY job. Weight isn't an issue for us, even with a pad it's still an incredibly light rifle so we aren't chasing a few extra grams.

I'm in the same camp. Rifle will get used for kids too so a slip on rubber or foam pad would help the kids and take a sniff of the bark outta it