The Mink was originally designed by Kevin Harrington of New York. After seeing the Squirrel series he thought a slightly longer case was needed for larger game. He created the Mink series with a few things in mind, 1) Easy forming; with the exception of the 17 Mink you can use just the FL die to form the case (minus the trimming) 2) No neck turning; The Mink case uses the same shoulder datum as the Hornet and the neck of the Mink in still the neck of Hornet. The case was designed to use Winchester brass and have a neck clearance of .002-.003" in the chamber. This allows the brass nominal movement and allows for just neck sizing. There are only a few rifles out there wearing this chamber, close to 100 or so from what I can gather. As for dies the only place I know that stocks them is Todd Kindler @ The Woodchuck Den in Baltic, Oh. (
http://www.woodchuckden.com). They are Redding Customs and run close to 175$ for a set of dies also Hornady offers a full bore custom with neck bushings and what not. I have a few sets of them and they are worth their weight in gold. The Bushing dies can be backed out and used on full length Hornet variations as well (22K, 20H, 17AH, ect.) with the proper bushing. Speaking on the topic of down under there was a man (Andy Montgomery) of AUS that made a very similar round called the Tarhana Hornet, instead of the OAL being 1.150 (mink) it's OAL is 1.250". I haven't seen one in real life but have had several conversations with Mr. Montgomery about the performance and they are identical. The other nifty thing about the 22 Mink is the 1-10" twist. The normal (read standard) twist is 1-14 or 1-16". Now the Benchrest crowd is at the top its game and their saying is this: Use the slowest twist rate to stabilize the bullet desired at the fastest speed and that equals accuracy. Since we're using 10gr of powder the twist rate doesn't impart as drastic effect on the bullet as it does at 3000+fps. The 1-10" twist stabilizes the bullet much better at longer ranges and allows for more retained energy at those distances. I have shot the 50gr Vmax and believe they have a place with the 22 Mink but not for my purposes, you’ll only reach around 2500-2600 fps with the weight gain. The 40gr VMAX is the sweet spot with the 22 Mink, it allows for high velocity and hard hitting power. I believe that the 22 is a better performer than the 20 and 17 calibers not just the ease of reloading but the field performance it has shown. Accuracy is phenomenal, with the normal group size being .25”@ 100yds and easy .5-.75” @ 200-250yds it makes it very easy to just point and shoot. The powders suitable for this little guy are: N110, H110, Ramshot Enforcer, 2400, WW296, True Blue, and Trail Boss. There are several others but those are the ones I have experience with. Trail boss is the best low speed powder I have used, gives superb accuracy and a speed of 1600-1800 fps with compressed loads, this is the best load for edible game (squirrels, rabbits, ect). It’s also as loud as a 22Lr. Anyway, the Mink is one of the better rounds I have found and probably rates in the top three all time favorite rounds in my book (20VarTarg, 22Mink, 17M2). If you have any questions regarding the building of a rifle and the gunsmith with reamers and anything else please don’t hesitate to ask me or visit
http://www.saubier.com/forum.html.
Adam Bentley
