barnbwt
member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2011
- Messages
- 7,340
I am feeling a strange 'want' for an ultralight, skeletal little rimfire carbine. I've seen a lot of the options out there from factories, and don't particularly care for them, so now I'm looking for potential platforms to build something from. Whatever the decision, it will have a foldable/removable stock made from lightweight wire or tubing attached, and the foregrip cut down to nothing. Small iron sights, only. May or may not have a trigger guard or folding trigger (it's not like I'd be carrying this thing around loaded, after all)
I had planned on doing the project as a 22LR or 22WMR, but apparently Bud's Gunshop has an 'exclusive' 17HMR variant of the Chiappa Little Badger for sale. Now, the 22 caliber options seem like they are probably more practical as a 'pack gun' since they won't fragment into rat-shot spread throughout your small-game meal or perforate its pelt, but 17HMR looks like a very interesting cartridge in its own right from a target-shooting angle. This project is really more of a utility rifle than a survival rifle; I make no plans on hunting opossum for dinner , but would rather just like a rifle for woods plinking that won't be noticed much while hiking. I like that 17HMR weighs less than 22WMR, but not that a .17 barrel will probably weigh more (being made for a 22WMR platform but with a narrower bore)
1) Chiappa Little Badger
Say what you will about Chiappa, it's pretty hard to think they'd be capable of screwing up something as simple as a single shot rimfire. I've heard nothing but good about the gun's performance (ergos, not so much). As I said before, the 17HMR model raises some of my interest, but I'm not convinced it'd be worth the extra 60$ Bud's wants over a typical 22WMR model
2) NAA Mini Revolver
This would be a slightly more expensive proposition, but a lot more capable. Convert the little mini-revolver into a full length pack rifle with a ~40$ Green Mountain barrel blank and a lot of careful lathe turning. I think NAA has also made revolvers in 17HMR.
3) Sow's Ear
Scrape around looking for a beat up old break action 22LR. Could probably be cheaper than a factory new variant, but would require more work to both find, and get into an equal working order (and that's assuming the barrel isn't jacked up). I remain unconvinced that this would be a better option than #1
4) Silk Purse
Make it myself. Either try to do a Jaco laminate-construction design with a full length barrel/stock, or something much nicer like a miniature Martini, Peabody, or falling block action. Incalculably more work involved, as well as a much longer time frame to completion (I have no deadline, though). But, there is the possibility for a much nicer end product than I would be able to find on the market, possibly at any price. I saw a guy on another forum do an heirloom-grade youth rifle in the form of a pump-action falling block in 32ACP --I'm not so ambitious (or skilled; that gun was a work of art), but you can see the kind of freedom you get when making the thing yourself.
Goal is to keep materials under 300$. I think one of the cheaper non-magnum NAA's could do this, the magnum would probably put me a little over 300$ with the longer barrel. Having 5 shots vs 1 does have a certain quality all its own, though . I would expect #3 would be the cheapest by far; just a barrel blank and a sheet of 1/4" & 1/8" steel plate; but I would also have to realistically consider the enormous effort required over any of the other options.
Thoughts? (Specifically thoughts relating to lightweight pack rifles?)
TCB
I had planned on doing the project as a 22LR or 22WMR, but apparently Bud's Gunshop has an 'exclusive' 17HMR variant of the Chiappa Little Badger for sale. Now, the 22 caliber options seem like they are probably more practical as a 'pack gun' since they won't fragment into rat-shot spread throughout your small-game meal or perforate its pelt, but 17HMR looks like a very interesting cartridge in its own right from a target-shooting angle. This project is really more of a utility rifle than a survival rifle; I make no plans on hunting opossum for dinner , but would rather just like a rifle for woods plinking that won't be noticed much while hiking. I like that 17HMR weighs less than 22WMR, but not that a .17 barrel will probably weigh more (being made for a 22WMR platform but with a narrower bore)
1) Chiappa Little Badger
Say what you will about Chiappa, it's pretty hard to think they'd be capable of screwing up something as simple as a single shot rimfire. I've heard nothing but good about the gun's performance (ergos, not so much). As I said before, the 17HMR model raises some of my interest, but I'm not convinced it'd be worth the extra 60$ Bud's wants over a typical 22WMR model
2) NAA Mini Revolver
This would be a slightly more expensive proposition, but a lot more capable. Convert the little mini-revolver into a full length pack rifle with a ~40$ Green Mountain barrel blank and a lot of careful lathe turning. I think NAA has also made revolvers in 17HMR.
3) Sow's Ear
Scrape around looking for a beat up old break action 22LR. Could probably be cheaper than a factory new variant, but would require more work to both find, and get into an equal working order (and that's assuming the barrel isn't jacked up). I remain unconvinced that this would be a better option than #1
4) Silk Purse
Make it myself. Either try to do a Jaco laminate-construction design with a full length barrel/stock, or something much nicer like a miniature Martini, Peabody, or falling block action. Incalculably more work involved, as well as a much longer time frame to completion (I have no deadline, though). But, there is the possibility for a much nicer end product than I would be able to find on the market, possibly at any price. I saw a guy on another forum do an heirloom-grade youth rifle in the form of a pump-action falling block in 32ACP --I'm not so ambitious (or skilled; that gun was a work of art), but you can see the kind of freedom you get when making the thing yourself.
Goal is to keep materials under 300$. I think one of the cheaper non-magnum NAA's could do this, the magnum would probably put me a little over 300$ with the longer barrel. Having 5 shots vs 1 does have a certain quality all its own, though . I would expect #3 would be the cheapest by far; just a barrel blank and a sheet of 1/4" & 1/8" steel plate; but I would also have to realistically consider the enormous effort required over any of the other options.
Thoughts? (Specifically thoughts relating to lightweight pack rifles?)
TCB