a takedown pack rifle that weighs a pound

[ironglow]

  Any of the older guys remember the old "Bronco" from FIE ? Should be some available out there somewhere..maybe Gunbroker or some such website...

  http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=400575

[Keith L]

$425?
I think I can get close to the weight with a 10/22 and a large drill bit and drill holes in a standard stock for a whole lot less $.
OK it will be aboput 2.5 Pounds.

You are missing the point.  The backpacking crowd likes light expensive things.  This gun will match well with a titanium belt buckle!!

[mcwoodduck]

OH.  Sorry.
Hey I will drill holes in the Ruger and chock up the barrel in the laith and carve grooves in it to take off the other pound and charge $650.
Oh nad replace the steel pins with Titanium.

[Keith L]

Now you got it!  Sounds like a good business plan to me!!!

[Ladobe]

$425.00     When I was a kid I made zip guns that would do what it does, and they cost me nothing more than picking up scavanged parts lying around and putting them together.    

Over the years I went with S&W 22/32 and 63 kit guns, and Ruger Bearcats and Super Bearcats for my treking arms.   Plenty light enough for hiking/back packing, and plenty accurate enough for filling the cook pot.     Current one is a Super Bearcat I bought new about 40 years ago.


edit to add...

BTW, when I wanted a rifle along I took one of my Winchester 1890 or 1906 gallery rifles taken down. 

[gunnut69]

The carbon fiber wrapped barrels like this are available for the 10/22 snd include tensioned varietys. By replacing the barrel and changing the stock of the 10/22 with a folder sans the forearm component one could get down the weight pretty low.. If one would fabricate a receiver bottom cover from aluminum(titanium??) and use it as a recepticle for a detactable or folding butt the 10/22 would make a very compact light weight package indeed.. The carbon fiber barrels that are tensioned shoot very well indeed in my experience and with a nice action job it would make a very handy package. BTW the barrels for the 10/22 are 16 inch models.. I would mount the small red dot sight on the barrel and use thumb screws for the barrel clamp screws.. This almost sounds like a project..which certainly DON'T need././/

[Drilling Man]

$425?
I think I can get close to the weight with a 10/22 and a large drill bit and drill holes in a standard stock for a whole lot less $.
OK it will be aboput 2.5 Pounds.

  It also won't be a "take down".

  DM

[mcwoodduck]

$425?
I think I can get close to the weight with a 10/22 and a large drill bit and drill holes in a standard stock for a whole lot less $.
OK it will be aboput 2.5 Pounds.

  It also won't be a "take down".

  DM

Well yes and no.  I will remove the stock screw with a hand turn knurled model and replace the barrel retainer allen screws with tab screws (the ones with a piece of metal on a 180 degree hinge that will allow you to remove the stock as well as the barrel.  But I never understood the idea of a take down for hiking.  The idea is to have the gun when needed and not have excess weight.  If you have to drop your pack, remove the rifle, gather the parts and assemble them, does not make sense to me.   

[351 power]

anybody that can't carry a rifle that weighs around 3 lb, like a crickett probably won't hike very far anyway. take down feature is only really useful to pack a rifle away when you go to town and you don't want it seen

[Drilling Man]

take down feature is only really useful to pack a rifle away when you go to town and you don't want it seen

  Maybe for you, but i use the takedown feature every time i take my rifle on a hunting trip.  It goes into a small case, that i can put right inside a dufflebad.

  DM

[ironglow]

As 351 power said, the basic Cricket  weighs about 2.5 lbs, and it already has a reputation for accuracy & dependability. Hard combo to beat.

[Curt Dawson]

Reminds me of the rifle in the original "Day of the Jackel" movie. Now the same rifle in 22 K-Hornet or 300 whisper would be a different thing all together.

[jlwilliams]

Reminds me of the rifle in the original "Day of the Jackel" movie. Now the same rifle in 22 K-Hornet or 300 whisper would be a different thing all together.

 

  Now we're gettin' somewhere

[SteveHawaii]

Humm.  I have a Rossi with a youth stock, in 20 gauge.  It weighs 5 pounds and breaks down into three small pieces.  Would fit quite nicely into a back pack.  Sure it's 5 pounds, but then you have both shot and slug capability.  Just thinking.

[Cornbelt]

Did anyone notice it fired from an open bolt? Has to be simple. Sure beats the Mac stinger I used to have. That critter made terms like "overpriced" and "novelty" obsolete. Be interesting to see how much more they design into it.

[LAREDOBOB]

Does anyone remember Garcia (of fishing fame) made a little backpack O/U .22 .410ga. Was really neat seems I remember you rotated the barrel to load it. Had one , wish I hadn't let it go. Good shooter as I remember.

[Drilling Man]

Does anyone remember Garcia (of fishing fame) made a little backpack O/U .22 .410ga. Was really neat seems I remember you rotated the barrel to load it. Had one , wish I hadn't let it go. Good shooter as I remember.

  I had 3 of those little terds, they wouldn't shoot both bbls to the sights at the same time...  So, down the road they went!

  DM

[teamnelson]

Humm.  I have a Rossi with a youth stock, in 20 gauge.  It weighs 5 pounds and breaks down into three small pieces.  Would fit quite nicely into a back pack.  Sure it's 5 pounds, but then you have both shot and slug capability.  Just thinking.

Steve, good thoughts! I've got chamber adapters for my single shotgun in .38/357 and .44. All about the options.

[LAREDOBOB]

Does anyone remember Garcia (of fishing fame) made a little backpack O/U .22 .410ga. Was really neat seems I remember you rotated the barrel to load it. Had one , wish I hadn't let it go. Good shooter as I remember.

  I had 3 of those little terds, they wouldn't shoot both bbls to the sights at the same time...  So, down the road they went!

  DM

I think they wer the same as Ironman is talking about, also made by FIE called a Bronco.

[ironglow]

Does anyone remember Garcia (of fishing fame) made a little backpack O/U .22 .410ga. Was really neat seems I remember you rotated the barrel to load it. Had one , wish I hadn't let it go. Good shooter as I remember.

  I had 3 of those little terds, they wouldn't shoot both bbls to the sights at the same time...  So, down the road they went!

  DM

I think they wer the same as Ironman is talking about, also made by FIE called a Bronco.

   Never owned a Bronco so I don't know, but it seems if the rifle was good to sights and the shotgun reasonably close..that would be good.
  Still, if I were backpacking withsomebody and my little cricket could shoots rings around the "high priced spread" rifle..I'd get a chuckle.
  If the nice Cricket folks in central Pennsylvania found enough people to pay over $400 for a decent, light rifle..I bet they could get the Cricket under 2.5 pounds.

   BTW: I think I found a photo of a Bronco..ya gotta be old to remember them, I guess.

[jlwilliams]

  Just thinking:  How much would a cricket weigh with a carbon fiber barrel with a steel liner?  Maybe an aluminum folding or telescoping stock to make it packable and maybe even lighter than the factory stock?

[ironglow]

  With those changes and a bit of foam wrapped around the barrel for a forestock, I'm thinking one could chop about a pound off that 2.5 pound weight..and have a proven, and likely more accurate rifle. With the basic, synthetic stocked model running about $115 or $130 for the same in stainless...a fellow could do a lot of "adapting" with the leftover difference of $300..

[cobrad]

this post is getting stale, but I just found it. That looks like a great rifle for it's intended purpose. By the sounds of responses you guys are not backpackers. I have been for nearly 40 years. A few years ago I replaced most of my backpacking gear with ultralight stuff. My 3 day weight is usually 20-23 pounds which includes everything, food, pack, even the clothes and watch I wear. Here in western CO I do a lot of packing at elevations of 9-12000 ft, and every ounce counts. This could be a good replacement for my 3 lb 1911.

[ironglow]

 Have at it then..but it causes me to wonder just what a "backpacker" uses a rifle for. If it is for foraging, it would seem that accuracy would be important..perhaps a Cricket with no stock at all would be as goood or better. If it is for defense from bears, mountain lions etc, why do you just want to anger them more ? Stick with the pepper spray.
   Of course some new-fangled thing such as that..and after paying $425 for a few ounces of stainless steel..may make interesting conversation when kibitzing with other packers.., but then, I don't pretend to know the sophisticated points of backpacking as a culture.

[sachel.45]

i am a backpacker but since i backpack during the summer hunting season isnt open so a takedown .22 rifle that designed for backpacking doesnt really do anything for me. i carry a pistol if i happen to run into something unfriendly. ive thought about backpacking during our september grouse season but then id probably carry my 6 pound 20 gauge

[jlwilliams]

Interesting to see all the responses.  I started this thread when I came across this gun in a thread on another forum.  The other forum is an SKS forum and the users there really trashed this gun.  None of them could see any point in a single shot especially for more that $50.  The general opinion was that an AK pistol was a better backpack gun .  I brough it up here because this is more of an outdoorsman's form and not as 'tactical' oriented.  I figured (rightly) that this would make a diecent topic here on GB with different reasons to like or dislike the gun based on a different set of experiences that was on the SKS board.  Nothing wrong with the SKS board, it's just a different conversation there than here.

  I deliberately didn't really post my impression when I started it because I wanted to hear opinions and not steer the discussion with an opening position.  Now it's time for my two cents.  I like the idea of a lightweight takedown for a lot of reasons.  Mainly that the easier it is to bring something along the more likely one is to do so.  If it fits in a tackle box, it may go into the canoe.  I also like takedown guns and I like innovation.  All that adds up to me likeing the idea of this gun.  The price is a little steep, and it is just a 22 with all the limitations of the little round and no follow up shot.  I can't say if this gun is better for anybodies particular use, but it is worth consideration.  I'm not a true backpacker.  I take a few hikes, that doesn't make me a backpacker.  Most of the areas available for my recreational trekking don't allow a gun at all.  If I carry for personal protection it has to be a concealed pistol because that's the state law.  As for forraging with a 22, the law really limits my ability to carry a gun in the woods of Connecticut unless I'm hunting.  If I'm hunting I'm carrying a hunting gun and allowing for the weight.  I guess that the short story is I think this is a neat gun but it's not really something I need.  If I had $450 to blow and I came across it, I might get it because I like it, not because I need it. 

  I hope that someone who needs or can use this gun saw this thread or one like it.  I wish well to the small outfit making it and hope they sell guns.  I also hope that maybe seeing this has got someone interested in doing something like some of the ideas discussed here (ie, customising a Chipmunk rifle for minimum weight)  I have a back burner project of converting a Mossberg 22 bolt action to a takedown myself.  Again, not that I really have need for one, I just like them.  Maybe next winter......

[teamnelson]

I've backpacked a bit, and besides weight, there is also the space limitation. The Taurus/Winchester, Marlin, Browning take down .22s all take up space, and broken down they are still longer than the longest dimension of lightweight packs. And the ultralight packs usually are not constructed of strong enough material to support large metal objects with sharp or hard edges. Just bought my son a chinese pack for $25, 3500 with 600d material. Had looked at an MHW pack for $80, 2200 with 100d material. The 600d material can handle rubbing and poking with hard metal edges, and weighs 4x more. We have an older rogue chipmunk with a rear peep that can break down with a pocket knife, but the edges on the rear sight would need to be wrapped before placed in the pack.

It would seem to me that anyone who would want a 1# gun would benefit most from a handgun. The only benefit of the longer barrel is sight picture, but again, if you're ultralight backpacking, you're probably already used to doing more with less.

[sachel.45]

you can always strap the gun to the side of the pack. my pack is designed to have a rifle strapped to the side it has a pocket that holds the buttstock and it has 2 straps that go around the gun works pretty good

[Dand]

I'd go with my kid's chipmunk (now crickett). Its a solid little gun and so light its hard to hold still. One other thing, if that pack rifle was to be used in cold weather, I'd sure not be eager to touch all that cold metal. Friend of mine here frost bit his face on the stock of his AR at -20. Yep and some sort of trigger guard could be worked out.

[ironglow]

If the rifle fires from a "bolt-open" start,(like the old .45 cal "grease gun")..that can't do a lot for the accuracy..

   And packing light weight ?..Keltec .32 cal weighs 6.6 oz, while the .380 weighs 8.3 oz.

   Just a thought