Posted on 09/21/2015 7:54:49 AM PDT by w1n1
I first encountered the Chiappa Little Badger single-shot, I pegged it as a survival rifle. It comes in basic black, either in 22LR or 22WMR, both of which are fine for small game. With an overall length of 31 inches, it is already small, but it also folds over and onto itself, creating an extremely compact triangle about 16.5 inches tall and 8 inches across the base. It weighs less than 3 pounds, making it only slightly heavier than large center-fire pistols.
The Little Badger’s overall design principal is minimalistic. The Chiappa engineers gave the little gun everything it needs but resisted the temptation to load it down with things it didn’t.
For example, it has no foregrip other than four 4-inch pieces of Picatinny tactical rail attached to the flats of the barrel shroud. They form a good gripping surface and give the shooter a place to mount a 4X scope and perhaps a tactical light for hunting nocturnal creatures, like raccoons and opossums. If you mount a scope, the factory offers a horizontal bar you can attach to the grooved thumb portion of the hammer that lets you cock it from either side of the scope. Also, there is no safety other than a half-cock notch on the hammer. A survival rifle should be rugged, and mechanically simple. The Little Badger fits the bill.
The factory sights are M1 Carbine-style fixed front with an adjustable rear. The large knob allows for precise click adjustments for windage, and elevation is adjusted using a sliding rear aperture that has six different positions, four of which are numbered, but this slide can easily be pushed out of place if you aren’t careful. The sights, like the rail, ammunition holder and buttplate, are made of plastic, which didn’t appeal to me, but this is not an expensive rifle with an MSRP of $225, and they worked fine. My only concern is that they might not prove durable enough for long-term field use. Then again, my testing was not destructive and these parts might prove fully adequate.
The rifle’s receiver, barrel shroud and trigger guard are made of hard zinc alloy. The hammer, trigger, action-release lever, extractor, all the screws and pins, barrel and wire buttstock are made of steel. Read the rest of the story here.
AR-7 beats it hands down.
Cute but I’ll stick with a 10/22.
This thing is fun and minute of squirrel accurate. Pic is for perspective. Top gun is a 17HMR bolt action.
Agreed. How much use is a single shot? Give me a 10/22 Takedown any day.
....hmmm. Where's that "What can a pistol do against an army?" article again?
I agree. I own an AR-7 and it is a much better survival rifle.
It looks like the Sten of the .22 world.
If part of my “survival” is dependent upon a rifle, I certainly wouldn’t want to start out with a skeletonized, collapsible, plastic and zinc gimmic when I could spend a bit more for a proven *real* rifle. Perhaps that thing would be good to air drop to allies stuck in enemy territory.
“Looks like something manufactured in someone’s garage ...........”
LOL! That was my first thought as well! Some sort of zip gun.
Outstanding backpack/survival rifle design by Eugene Stoner!
AR-7’s are nice, but for survival I’ll take an AR-10. There are quite a few things a .308 can do that a .22 LR can’t. Reliably kill a deer, incapacitate someone at 100 yard reliably, shoot through a car door and hit the soft targets inside, etc.
A .22 LR would be better than nothing, and you can carry a lot of ammo. If you really are sold on the .22 caliber the .223 in a military weapon would be the way to go. And, it is our official military round.
A Stevens or Sears single-shot bolt .22 is the perfect gun for kids.
I’ll keep my Remington Nylon 66. Too bad they don’t still make them. Most accurate .22 I’ve ever had!
Has your plastic stock disintegrated like my original Armalite AR-7 stock has?
They make sum ugly assed guns.
Not so sure about that. In a SHTF situation I think it will be pretty easy to find motor oil and cleaning solvents - and that's all one needs to keep a gun in good shooting condition.
The receiver almost reminds me of that old IMI pump rifle they made years ago.
Really liked that gun but they stopped making them. Believe it was available in 357 Mag. “Timber Wolf” I think it was.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.