Little Badger 22 survival rifle...



I noticed that there is not a lot of detailed photos or information on this little rifle yet...  I haven't had mine long enough to do a true review but I figured I would share my initial impressions of the little guy.

A few bullet points/ thoughts...
Decent fit and finish...  Not Colt or Kimber but perfectly serviceable for what it is.  On par with say a Rossi matched pair.
Solid simple construction...  About as basic/ utilitarian as you can get, which IMO is perfect for this type of rifle.
Sights seem solid, but are plastic construction.
Very simple total dis-assembly and re-assembly if you are competent with firearm mechanics.
Seems to be very accurate with the "iron" sights.
Very compact.
Believe it or not very good ergonomics...  It handles very well for what it is and is pretty comfortable to shoot!
Spec weight seems pretty heavy but it does not handle as such.
Primary extraction, shell does not eject on its own.
Spare round holder does not hold rounds very well without a little modifications, fortunately a ranger band or chunk of bicycle inner tube fixes that.

Now for the pictures...

Four rifles total... for comparison purposes.  All of them in condition "carry."



Out of their nylon cases...



Ready to go...



Lets throw all the parts in a pile and put them back away...





Putting them all back to condition "carry."



Nice little case that badger comes with...



Another for size comparisons purposes...



Several close up pictures...



















Now for the fun stuff...  Lets take it apart.  (note all can be done with a Leatherman and bit set.)



You might be able to use a removable style pin, but I wouldn't...  The bolt that holds the folding part of the action also assists in sandwiching the receiver together...  I would say that's something important to note if you planned on storing it/ toting it in two different parts.















Just took a couple of the rails off so people could see whats under it, in case one would want to remove them, then wrap it in say paracord?



All cleaned up, time to put it back together.





All back together...



All specs can be found at  the manufactures website:
http://www.chiappafirearms.com/products/136

Any questions or specific picture requests?  Post up and let me know!

Hope this info helps other prospective Little Badger buyers.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but now I know, and I really like it.  I also recommend this 22LR if you like niche type survival rifles.
If my LGS ever gets any in stock I will probably get a couple more... Buy em cheap and stack em deep?  Two is one, one is none.

'73

Very interesting, but, I'll be the first to say it.  It's the ugliest thing i have ever saw

If you don't mind sharing what did it cost?

Wonder if the sights could be changed to a better set?

Great review, thanks.

It looks like a neat little gun but I can't see what it does that the Henry can't do as well or better.

What's the shortest length of pull that stock can be adjusted to?

I saw a youtube video showing it with a suppressor

I plan on getting one its like 150 bucks

See, I know others that have said that, but I think it looks neat!

154.99 each...  Plus my FFL cost.

I can't really say it does, other then the fact it is significantly more robust, simpler, and only a single shot...  It would also sink pretty quick

Notice I have both

I will have to measure it when I get home, but by saying length of pull is adjustable is a little bit of a stretch... I would adjust it no more then an inch out, if that.

Well now, for that, I'd buy one if i seen one for sale.  Not hunting one down though

@3.5lbs though I still don't think i want one to take backpacking though.

Excellent review, thanks!

I like it and if I run across one for $150, I would pick it up and add to my "niche" gun collection.  I'm surprised the sights are plastic, do they seem rugged enough?  I've bitched about my Kel-Tech Sub 2000 sights being plastic (I did change the front out with steel), but they've held up.

Having a threaded barrel is icing on the cake.

Could you elaborate on the extractor?  I'm assuming it's manual and just pushed the shell out enough to pluck with your fingers?  It's not a show-stopper, but slightly disappointing.  

Great addition of the ranger band over the cartridge holder!!

ROCK6

The sights look like AR type sights. Is that right? How does the elevation and horizontal adjustment work?

I like the concept of a ultralight rifle, but I like the idea of one with great "tech sights" style sights. I have lots of time behind tech sights so I know I can take game with them out to 70-80 yards.

If this rifle turns out to be accurate I'll have to own one. I want a takedown 10/22 as well.

I would not call it an ultralight backpacking rifle, I would use a pistol for that... It does seem to be pretty solid though.

I just want a rifle with sights that I can get dead nuts on at 50 yards and accurate enough to drill chipmunks in the head at that distance.

The sights seem to be pretty rugged, mind you I haven't actually done much more with this gun, other then taken the pictures above, and shoot it 10~20 times.
If I were to drop it on the ground, on its top, I think the sights would stay intact, If I were to drop it on a pointy rock, rear sight first, It probably would smash.  Other then a direct full weight hit they seem good to go.
The extractor pushes  the 22LR shell about half way out, when you fold it.  It is a very basic system that would not freeze/ rust/ or jam up.  I think utilitarian sums it up
Yea the cartridge holder didn't hold the cartridges very well on its own, I tried to use paracord but the ranger band works much better.

Yes they are very similar to the AR15 stock style sights.  Elevation can be changed by sliding the sight forward or back, it clicks in at each different level.  Side to side just rotate the adjustment knob.

Out of all the 22LR rifles I have these are the best stock sights I have seen, with the Rossi matched pair fiber optic a close second.

So far this rifle seems very accurate, though I have yet to really put it through its paces.

Fiber optic sights are a horrible distraction when shooting from light to dark. Everyone at my Woods Walk shoot hates them in short order.

AR type sights work very well. Especially when I can get fairly close to the rear sight in crappy light. I've shot thousands of rounds in and into the woods in competition. Our shoot is more like hunting than any I've ever seen.

Great review, thanks. The rear sight looks very similar to the adjustable M1 Carbine rear sight.

Excellent review and congrats on your addition!

I have that papoose collecting dust somewhere. Perhaps it's time for me to snag another .22 to keep it company.

I have both...  I have a Rossi matched pair 22LR + 20GA.  I also have a Rossi single shot 20GA with a 26" barrel.

I highly recommend both, decent fit and finish but not something so nice or expensive that you wouldn't actually carry it and use it.  

My single shot Rossi 26" 20GA is my current woods EDC/ bushcraft gun if you will... Along with a gun adapters rifled 22LR adapter.

My Rossi matched pair with the 22LR barrel is very accurate.
The 20GA barrel kicks just about as hard as anything I own!
I have shot the matched pair quite a bit.  Cant beet em for $100~125...  I probably would not spend much more on one though.

Hey!  Hope all-s well.  I don't shoot many of mine all that often ether, not with the price of 22LR equal to that of silver 'n gold.

Great review!

I've been looking for a single shot 22 like that.

Great review.  I think I might have to start looking for one.  That open style stock seems to just be begging to be wrapped in paracord.  Maybe got with a figure eight pattern that could allow for a sheath for a decent, but light weight fixed blade knife to be attached.

   


     Like a zip gun with a wire thing that goes up.  

 

I also have a rossi 22lr/20ga combo. And yes the 20 ga kicks like a mule, I added a limb saver butt pad helps a lot. I got mine at Dicks sporting goods on black friday for $79 it is a great starter gun for my kids. And would do well as a back pack gun besides the weight.

is it really? I can't tell from the pics and haven't seen anything to indicate it is.

It is.  Really...  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI7iA0L9zCs

Can you attach a foreward pistol grip to the wrist rail?

The rail by the trigger seems to be a little different/ smaller then a standard rail,  I don't have any attachments to try it with though.

I have a matched pair too, but .22/.410. The .410 kicks pretty hard for me.

Wow! I think that sells it for me. I have the Rossi too and have been contemplating getting it threaded

Cool

Nice review.

Seems to be pretty heavy for what it is. Chiappa site says 3.5lbs. Marlin has the 70pss at 3.25lbs and its a mag fed semi. Single shot Chipmunk and Cricket youth models are listed at 2.5lbs.

I guess I don't get it. A packable survival rifle would/should be lighter, if its not a packable survival rifle what is the point of it folding?

Nice little review. Thanks for putting the information and pics out.

Yea I agree on the weight,  I think of it more as a utility, bush-crafting survival type rifle, not something I am taking on a week hiking trip.  (but then again I probably would only consider taking a pistol when the goal is light weight.)
It is a very solid rifle, more comparable to a M6 scout I would think (though I don't have one.)
I have a couple AR7/ Henry survival rifles, and when assembled I could easily break them apart over my knee, I could not do that with this rifle, well maybe bend the bicycle style stock but that would be about it without significant effort.



Thanks!  That's why I took several pics.  I couldn't find any pictures of it taken apart.  On a side note it is time for a new digital camera.

I would dump 3 of the 4 rails for sure. Probably the cartridge holder too. With those sights, even the top rail is unnecessary. That would make it light enough for me. I would bet this rifle will out shoot the cricket and chipmunk rifles with it's much better sights so a little extra weight would mean more effective hunting.

The receiver is larger than it had to be.

No one is mentioning the much more capable 22 mag cartridge it can come in.

i wanna see a chiappa mini sharps in 17WSM

Nice review

I will pick on up. Would like one in .22WRM though. Hope that they have acceptable accuracy too.

I shot my 22lr today and with "iron" sights and it is as accurate as I am...  I shot apple seed rifleman with a cheapo 4x power bushman scope on a stock 10/22 if that helps?

thanks for the review.  I ordered mine today from kygunco.com.

I really want to get my hands on one, but it will be awhile before I can afford one.

My wife wants to buy me one of these for my up coming 40th birthday. I don't think we can afford it right now, but she is determined. I've never ordered a gun online before. I'll get with my local gun shop to figure out the feed and how it works.

Where is the best place to order from?


Can the blade on the front be modified to make it more narrow? Maybe milled or filed to a finer aiming point?

I will have to check on the front sight...  It is all plastic or polymer.

When I got mine I ordered from kygunco.com (only place I could find them in stock.)

The only reason I ended up ordering one from them is because my LGS was not able to get me one, however now they have been able to get them in stock so I would think that most any LGS can order them?

It is a neat niche gun for what it is... I really like it and plan on taking it on many bushcraft type outings...  I need to get some more rounds through mine...

I am thinking about picking another one up from my LGS and leaving it in the box, and bank that Chiappa stops making them, then several years from now they tripple in price like the M6 scout did... Or like those bronco rifles did.

ETA for a link...

154.99 w/free shipping to your FFL...+whatever your FFL charges for a transfer...
http://www.kygunco.com/chiappa-little-badger-folding-rifle-22lr-68986

I looked at these a while back and decided they were too much.

 

I bought one!!!!!

I paid $175 plus tax. I put some Wolf MT through it today and have some observations.

The sights are pretty crude to a guy used to Tech Sights. The front sight is very thick and the top corner facing the shooter was not a crisp clean corner, but an unevenly rounded point. The sight was also slightly tilted to the right. I loosened the set screw and tilted it back to as straight as I could, but the tiny set screw holding the sight stripped under very light torque. I drilled it out and tapped it for 6-32. I cut a sharp point on the set screw so it would partially fit back into the hole provided in the barrel. Problem solved much better than new.

I didn't notice the rear sight was loose until I had fired a few dozen rounds. I had to disassemble the rear sight to tighten the single screw that holds it.  Careful. The detent for the windage knob is super tiny. There is a spring under the sight that is pretty small too. Once tightened it did not come loose again.

The wide sight had to go. I used a file to make the sight almost half the width it was and I want to make it a little thinner yet. I will post pictures once I have it finished. I cleaned it up so the corner is nice and sharp too.


The rifle is showing very high accuracy potential. I put several shots touching over and over. I did have several issues that made really tight 5 shot groups problematic.

One: the rear sight is not a terribly solid unit. The small spring under the sight holds the sight up against the slop in the screw that holds the sight. I am going to have to come up with a way to make the sight a little more solid. I might try wedging something under the sight to make it a little less wiggly. I'll work it out soon.

Second: the glare off the rear sight was pretty intense this evening. Pretty hard to make sure you are really lined up with so much shiny. I might try to file it a bit to make it less shiny.

Third: Zero for Wolf MT is between the last two notches. I am going to drill a new hole so it will have a click right at my 50 yard setting once I finalize my sight in at 50.


All this typing and I haven't gotten to the good part. I was consistently putting shots on top of shots and the wild swings in the groups got better as I worked through the bugs. The rifle looks to be stone dead accurate. When the sights were working it pretty much stacked shots at 25 yards. I just had issues keeping the groups in the same spot. The sights are too toyish, but I am working it out.

This rifle needs a red dot to be more affective in low light levels or darkness. It think it will really shine once it's got a better sight.

I really like this little rifle. A few improvements and it will be a awesome accurate reliable little game getter.

I am thinking about the bushnell TRS 25 for this rifle. Thoughts?

I was playing with the rear sight and realized that the screw allowed about 0.015" of side to side play in the sight. I made an ugly ass brass shim to remove all the play to go under the E-clip . That should tighten things up a bit.

If I did my math right, that was 3.4 MOA in side to side play in the rear sight. That is figuring for the 15" sight radius.  I can believe they would not care about that much slop.