And we are back again to bring you some more take down type .22 rifles. If you haven’t read the first part, feel free to view it here.
Kicking things off today is an inexpensive and nice piece of kit. It is the Rossi Matched Pair .22rifle and .410 shotgun. It is a single shot, break open design of H&R fame and comes with a .22lr barrel and a .410 modified choke shotgun barrel.
Some people won’t call this a take down rifle, but I definitely think it fits due to size, weight, and the ability for it to easily break down. She only weighs 3.75 lb, is 32.25″ long with the rifle barrel and 36″ with the shotgun barrel installed. Breaking her down is super easy. Simply unscrew the fwd sling swivel(it is captive, you’re not going to lose it), pull off the forearm, depress the action release lever and either remove or replace with the shotgun barrel. Slide the forearm back on, tighten the fwd swivel and you are back in business. The kit comes with a decent carrying case that does not float like the Marlin Papoose, but it does provide a handy and compact way to stow your rifle in your pack. Newer models of this gun come with fiber optic inserts in both front and rear sights and a simple bead for the shotgun. One nice easter egg, is the fact that the stock is hollow and simply removing the two screws from the butt cap will allow you to store ammunition, small fishing kit, fire starting kit, or any type of small survival kit. It won’t be water proof, so whatever you put in there could benefit from ziploc bags or similar. BTW, this is a fantastic idea for your child’s first gun, and you can borrow it for backpacking.
Now we are getting into the weird and unusual territory. If you want the ultimate featherweight backpacking gun, look no further than the 16 ounce Pack-Rifle from Mountain View Machine and Welding.
A word of warning, you better be prepared to spend a little money for this mythical dragon. Money aside, this nifty little rifle really speaks to me. It’s unusual, not well known, and it is a back packer’s wet dream. It is a single shot .22LR, that features an interesting swiveling action that also serves to break the rifle down into two pieces. Once the rifle is loaded, you need to manually cock the striker, but don’t leave it in Condition 1 like this as there is no safety and no trigger guard. Here is a cool video of it in action. The other nifty thing this has going for it, is the ability for the rear of the gun to turn into a telescoping fishing pole. I’ll let the video do most of the talking, but I can’t tell you how much I really want one of these.
The last weird one is a little 3.5lb single shot made by FIE in the late 1960s. Called the Garcia Bronco, it is definitely a “no frills” type of gun. As I understand, several models were made that came in .22LR, .22WMR, .410, and a .22LR/.410 O/U.
This was to compete with the M6 scout for the US Air Force, but it didn’t quite do it for the USAF apparently. I think it’s a cool little gun, kind of harkening back to the bicycle gun of times gone by. Here are some sites with info on it: Bob-Owens, guns illustrated. The action is similar to the Pack-Rifle, in that the barrel pivots to the side for loading and unloading. The fwd “trigger” is actually the cocking lever. Pretty nifty, not much information out there on it, and another want on my list. If I was to happen upon one of these in a pawn shop someday, I would not hesitate to have it follow me home.
There are some youth rifles out there that kinda fit into the role of a pack rifle. Here are some that I would be interested in: The Savage Rascal, the Henry Mini-Bolt, and the Crickett rifle. They are small, lightweight, and can be broken down to some degree with a screwdriver. Not a problem if you carry a multi-tool with you like me, but some people like their take down rifles to not have to need tools. My vote would be for the Savage due to the cocking mechanism and trigger being superior overall.
The last one on the list that inspired this post, is the new Ruger 10/22 Take Down. The guys over on Rimfire Central have already started thinking of ways to modify this clever adaptation of the ever classic 10/22. For me, all it needs is a set of Tech-Sights and a home trigger job to make it perfect. There are many reviews out there already on this gun and I have nothing to add. It’s a 10/22, the Glock of the rimfire world. I love it, and if I didn’t have so many others crowding my buy list, it would be on it. Well, maybe I can just make the list a little longer.
I hope you enjoyed this rather long-winded post, maybe it gave you some new ideas if you are looking for this type of gun.
Dive! Dive!
bubbleheadgunnut 
Muhdik!