There has been some controversy over this division. Some said it would affect IPSC in those countries that has strong rules about gun ownership i.e. it would be deemed “why do you need a rifle in .223 when you could get one in .22lr - see less dangerous” - it would be the doom of the major rifle divisions.
Then again, Mini Rifle is popular in countries in Asia where in many countries getting a .22lr license is a piece of cake. Also, .22lr is dirt cheap, .223 is not unless you either can find som iffy cheapstuff that hardly is good for practice, or you have reloading equipment.
I see it as a gateway into the major divisions, and I would gess, most people here, has either a cmmg bolt or a dedicated .22lr so that you can get cheap training time on the same platform.
When it was time for me to delve into Mini-Rifle, I had 3 choices. 1) Ruger 10/22 , 2) an “AR” clone in .22lr, like a S&W M&P 15-22, or a ‘real’ AR with a dedicated .22 upper.
no.1 - the ruger has tons of parts - I would guess thousands of aftermarket parts to customize it into a competition rifle.
no.2 - I really liked the M&P 15-22 for a number of reasons, but it was impossible to find someone who wanted to import it.
no.3 - Same as the ruger - Thousands of parts, you are bound to find something that works for you & and I could get the option to get a .223 upper if I wanted to move into the big rifle divisions.
I choose the third option.
After some lurking around I found a Swedish retailer that sold the German made Hera Arms - the15th rilfe. I contacted the shop MP-Vapen and first ordered a complete lower (Mind you, in my country, the lower does not require a licence, just the upper). I finished my rifle course, and after I had fulfilled the other obligations required for a license here, I placed the order for a Hera upper with a CMMG bolt and a CMMG WASP barrel with the correct barrel twist for .22lr. After some waiting for my licence it finally arrived a few months ago.
The machining is great, and the finnish superb. I went for Heras IRS handguard, and while it is quite nice, it is also quite heavy. The trigger I would say is ok, not bad, but at the same time not a match trigger. I went the full monty and I also ordered a JM compensator, since my goal is to eliminate all recoil, even from a small caliber as .22lr.
The biggest issue was finding something it liked to feed. CCI Standard or something that has the same bullet length is fine. Something like CCI minimag hp which is shorter - not so much. The accuracy was surprisingly good and there is no problems getting it hole-in-hole from 25 meters with a red dot sight.
Besides looking for a new handguard - carbon fiber most likely - there are some small things I have on my shopping list like the pressure plug TACCOM, a charging handle that makes it less likely to get a casing stuck between the handle and the bolt (it has happened a few times)
And that is about it! I am really happy with it, I think it will be fun to practice and compete with, and most likely it will send me to the money sink that is rifle open division.
Edit: I will do a write up of the Hera shortly, with some pictures to follow!
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