Gun Manufacturers Rifle Making Suggestion

me | May 18 2012 | Yosemitest

[Yosemitest]

Gun and Rifle manufacturers, I want your attention.
I've been looking for a rifle/shotgun to take on a long hike, and there's not many choices.
Take a look at Henry's U.S. Survival AR-7.



It's a good product for backpacking, but too small on caliber.
The fact that when it's packed inside its waterproof stock, it can float if dropped into water,
and can be retrieved and will still work, is a great deciding factor.
But being a .22LR is a detractor.

Now take a look at the Rossi Circuit Judge and their many different variations.



I like the 3-inch Magnum .410 gauge and .45 Colt varity that can also shoot 2.5-inch shotgun shells in .410 ga.
At 85 and 1/2 ounces, that's pretty good and a lot of choices, from shooting birds, to defending against bears.
A stainless steel model is a must on the trail, due to 100 percent chance of getting rained on, and on a long hike, probably getting dropped.
But, we need the capability of breaking the rifle down and putting it in the backpack, similar to Henry's AR-7.
Rossi's Circuit Judge doesn't offer this. Here's where someone can make some money, building a rifle that would fit this need.

The main goal is to keep the total pack weight down, to preferably under 30 pounds.

Rossi offers a model with a Black Tactical "Blued" barrel and a Black Synthetic Stock that only weighs 75 ounces,
but a hiker needs a stainless steel or weatherproof finish and prefers
"the pieces when disassembled, fit inside a impact-resistant, waterproof stock, which will float."


Okay builders, any thoughts?

[Yosemitest]

Also any other suggestions would be appreciated.
But keep in mind, the goal is a usable rifle that is light weight, breaks down easily, and offer a variety of choices of ammo for anything from quail to bear, for anything a solitary hiker might want to eat on the trail, or defend himself from, in case of danger.

[central_va]

This should get the job done.

[EGPWS]

[Yosemitest]

You destroyed the “light weight” requirement.

[Yosemitest]

I like the M-14, but it’s heavy.

[USNBandit]

I have one of those and it shoots like poop. I even sent it back and had the barrel recrowned. It still patterns instead of grouping. If I was going to look for an assault rifle in .308 for a long hike I would get a FN SCAR.

[Chode]

love my Springfield M-6 scout... .22 over a .410, hinged in the middle to fit into a pack and break apart too!!!

[USNBandit]

One the east coast you could get away with a large handgun. No real four legged predator threat.

Out west, go with one of the short barreled Marlin lever actions in 45-70.

[tacticalogic]

How about one of these:

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=003B&cid=034&tid=015&bg=x

[HiJinx]

What you want to do with that gun is replace the wood stock with a folding stock. It’s gonna be lighter that way, and will collapse to just about the right length for stuffing in a backpack.

The trick now will be to find someone who can do that.

[umgud]

The old Savage 24 combo models had many shotgun/rifle caliber choices, but they were pretty heavy and didn’t breakdown. There were many other combo guns, some light, most heavy available.

You might want to consider a big bore handgun. A Super Redhawk .454 Casull will take anything you want. You could launch .45 wadcutters and take small game with little damage. You could scope it or not. You just wouldn’t have a shotgun abaility. And it weighs about 52 oz and will fit in your pack.

[Yosemitest]

I looked at that, and found that it's hard to find one for sale for less that $700.00.
Also it's a single shot, compared to 8 shot in the AR-7, and 5 shots in the Rossi Circuit Judge.
But I do like it.
It remind me of an old Steven combination single shot.
Some had .22 over .20ga, and some had .22 over 30-30.

[EGPWS]

This is lighter...

[saganite]

One thing you could do to improve. .22 performance a bit is shoot stinger ammo. It’s not going to do anythng about a bear though, except maybe scare him. Bear spray would be more effective. Maybe a combination of the two?

[Chode]

damn... i paid $285 for mine in stainless about ten years ago

[Cyber Liberty]

Didn’t know Rossi makes Judges....I have a Taurus handgun version, they make Circuit Judges too.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Above is an interesting Rossi with a .243 rifle and 20-guage shotgun barrel for $265.

Click on the image to go to Bud's Gun Shop.

[Yosemitest]

I though about a hand gun, and I have several.
But on the Appalachian Trail, you go through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut; Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Most of those states aren't "hand gun friendly"
and I just don't want to deal with the hassle of getting my pack checked and explaining Mississippi's gun permits.
Also, there's the danger of a mother bear defending her cubs.
The extra barrel length of a 16" to 18" rifle might be worth the extra weight.

[Tijeras_Slim]

My first thought too.

[Errant]

Slugs for bear country, 00 buckshot for deer country, and #4 for everything else.