Firearm review: Wedgetail Mini

Compact, tough and accurate 

By Neil Schultz 

Being a dedicated advocate of ‘buy Australian made’, I was keenly interested in the announcement that Wedgetail Industries was releasing a new variant of its popular MPR rifle. Naturally, I quickly put my hand up when The Report was supplied the MPR Mini rifle fitted with 40cm .223 barrel along with the new MRP Mini Micro 33cm upper chambered in .300 AAC (aka .300 Blackout) for review. 

At first glance 

The fabrication of the MPR Mini follows its larger predecessor, the MPR in its AR styling. This is intelligent design, seeing the rifle compatible with the myriad of AR accessories on the market. As supplied, the .223 upper was fitted with a bipod and a ZeroTech 1-6 LPVO scope. The .300AAC MPR Micro upper was tricked up, wearing a Magpul VFG vertical grip, a ‘74works’ hand-stop and a ZeroTech 1x Micro Prism scope. Both barrels were fitted with a Wedgetail Ninox QD blast diverter. 

Close-up examination of the MPR Mini reveals flawless machining. It is immediately obvious that Wedgetail Industries builds its rifles up to a standard, not down to a price point. Wedgetail machines the chassis of the MPR from 1775 alloy. The MPR Mini is fitted with an A2 pistol grip and a Magpul CTR buffer tube stock. The foregrip/pump handle has picatinny rails on all three faces to facilitate easy fitment of vertical grips, etc. Controls are placed for ergonomic accessibility with an AR style safety selector easily manipulated with a thumb without changing one’s grip. Seven lugs on the rotating bolt give a secure lock into battery. The action itself is spring assisted, driving firmly into the locked position. Barrels are cold forged and threaded, made right here in Australia. 

Wearing the .223 Mini upper allowed the Wedgetail to demonstrate its accuracy. That’s three shots at 100m with 55gr ammunition. 

In the field 

As the MPR Mini was fitted with the .300 Blackout upper when supplied, it was that platform which I chose to use for the bulk of my field trial. Hunting companions had used the little .300AAC cartridge beside me over the course of several years, so I was familiar with the round’s performance. However, this was the first opportunity to personally shoot with the cartridge. A search for ammunition proved difficult, with only Hornady Black in 110gr available in South East Queensland. I purchased the entire stock on hand at Queensland Shooters Supplies, leaving the shelf bare. This was a good choice in supersonic rounds for the Blackout, exiting the muzzle of the short, 13” barrel at an average of 2,290fps. I zeroed the rifle with this ammunition at 50m (a little high at 75 and zeroed again at 100), giving a trajectory that was flat enough to be comfortable shooting at pigs out to 150m without worrying about holdover. 

For readers unfamiliar with the .300AAC, it generates noticeably more recoil than its parent .223 cartridge: about twice the recoil energy. Don’t misunderstand, it is still a very mild round to shoot with around the same felt recoil as a 6.5 Grendel (7ftlbs) from an equivalent weight rifle. Those figures are for supersonic ammunition. If running subsonic rounds, the recoil is approximately the same as a .223. Fitted with the ZeroTech THDMPI20, which has no magnification, the MPR Mini shot .300AAC into 60mm groups at 100m in a strong, variable crosswind. That’s as tight as my old eyes are capable of with a 1X optic.  

Once the rifle was zeroed and ammo chronographed, it was time for a hunt. Feral pigs had been giving a local property owner grief, ploughing up grazing paddocks and even digging wallows in vehicle tracks. Sodden paddocks meant that hunting on foot was the only option, so with shooting sticks in hand, two loaded magazines and a head torch, just in case, I left the vehicle at the shed and wandered along a track. About a kilometre of track was behind me before I spied the first pig. A lone boar was travelling just inside the timber line on the other side of a grassy gully. Making a beeline diagonally across the gully to head him off and get him within range meant that he was out of my line of site while I was crossing the low ground. I never saw him again! Waiting atop a contour bank gave visibility of most of the gully and another dark shape materialised from the grass, just before I ran out of daylight. This was a little brown sow, heading directly towards me. Front on, the target area was small but the accuracy of the MPR Mini put the 110gr Vmax projectile on the mark and the sow dropped in her tracks. Surprised by the shot, a larger pig ran into view from the long grass and conveniently paused broadside on at close range. A rapid pump chambered a round to send him to pig heaven, too.  

The slick, spring-assisted pump action of the MPR Mini shines in this type of scenario where quick reloading is required. Walking back to the vehicle, I appreciated the compactness of the Mini; carrying it by the pistol grip in one hand, the muzzle was well clear of the ground. Those same short dimensions also allow the rifle to be swung onto targets quickly, be it an animal jumped from cover or multiple pigs in a mob. Slight flaring of the magazine well makes quick mag changes on the fly when on mobs of pigs an easy task. 

Multi calibre 

Perhaps the most impressive and unique feature of the MPR Mini is the ability to swap ‘uppers’ to convert the rifle to a different calibre/cartridge. This is easily done in the field without tools. I used a .223 cartridge to push out the take-down pin, located slightly above and rearwards of the safety selector. This allows the upper receiver to be hinged away from the lower receiver. Then the same cartridge was used to push out the hinge pin, located at the upper leading end of the lower receiver. Note that both of those pins are captive so cannot drop out of the lower to be lost. The upper receiver, complete with bolt carrier group, is then simply swapped and locked into place by pushing those pins back into position with one’s fingers. The entire upper swap over takes less than a minute in practised hands. 

Being able to switch the entire upper receiver, complete with its optic attached, means there’s no need to re-zero after changing calibres. Just make the switch, load a magazine and shoot. I was able to make the switch in the field in less than 60 seconds and found no change in point of impact after each change over. 

An obvious benefit to this setup is that a complete upper receiver is significantly less expensive than purchasing an entire second rifle. Another advantage is there’s no change in the feel, fit or function of the MPR if you’ve fitted a different pistol grip or an after-market trigger. 

Step two in removing the upper is to push through the hinge pin. The entire upper receiver complete with bolt assembly is lifted off. 

Shooting groups from a bench with the .223 upper was a pleasant surprise, with ‘minute of fox’ accuracy. The rifle functioned flawlessly in both guises, .300AAC and .223. Hornady .300AAC in 110gr V-Max and ADI .223 with 55gr Game King both gave excellent hunting accuracy. 

If you are in the market for a top-quality, weatherproof, utility rifle, built for our harsh conditions, give the Wedgetail Mini serious consideration. You won’t be disappointed. 

The Wedgetail and pigs go together like alcohol and bad decisions. The MPR Micro provides an elegant solution to our feral pig problem.