Those must be handy little guns I've been seeing lots about them lately, they are ugly IMO but I bet they work well for there purpose
I really do like mine, and I'll elaborate a bit on why I like it...
I have a Little Badger, and a 10/22 carbine (basic stock model/configuration - added swivel studs, a sling, and a Vortex Sparc red dot), and a Papoose with a 3.5 scope on it.
Little Badger
The LB got a lot of use. Easy to just throw in the trunk and forget about until I needed/wanted it. Shot a fair number of gophers with it. With the peep sights, fairly trivial to be "minute of gopher" out to 25-30 yards or so, never really accuracy tested it much. Light, fun, easy to shoot and use.
BUT... Peep sights. I can shoot post-and notch (tangent) sights really accurately (practice out to 400 yards with my K31), but peeps and my eyes just don't get along. Putting a scope, or even a red dot on it, just seemed kind of... Wrong. Also, getting a second shot off quickly is sometimes warranted. I got quick at reloading, but just not that quick. It's a break action rifle, you can only go so fast with it (mind you, it isn't designed for speed shooting, so somewhat hard to fault it for not being good at speed reloading). The other problem is that the metal in the chamber is... Softer than it should be. I wonder how long it's really going to hold out. Dry fire it
once and you'll see what I mean - it will leave a definite mark on the head of the chamber, and a burr into the chamber large enough that you'll need to file it back to even be able to chamber the next round (found this out the hard way).
I know, I know, "never dry fire a rimfire" - but mistakes happen, and that's a level of soft metal in a critical area that's not acceptable. I mean, dry firing repeatedly, sure, I can see that causing a problem. But
once?? And it damages the chamber enough that you can't even load another round? Ermm... Not a great sign.
Still have it, still use it. Fun little plinker, but no longer my designated trunk .22
10/22
Don't have the take down version, just the standard carbine. To say that the one I got was a "lemon" would be an understatement. Out of the box, it was a steaming pile of turd in a rifle-like shape. Without getting into the details, after several months, off an on, of fixing all the QC issues it came with to get it a) reliable and b) minute of pop can accurate at 25 yards, I was sick of it. It sat in the safe as a place-holder for my Vortex Red Dot (so I don't lose it), and the occasional trip to the range when I feel the need to burn off a couple of the 110 GSG drum mags with "minute of safety berm" accuracy. Which isn't that often.
The red dot has since migrated to other projects. Haven't fired the 10/22 in over a year, don't feel the need to bring it out of the safe. Hanging onto it with the vague notion of doing something interesting with it someday. Or maybe just put a chop saw through the receiver - I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Over-priced compared to the competition (the Remington 597 and the Marlin 795) and for no good reason.
Ruger is not the company they once were.
No pic. It isn't worthy of the bandwidth.
Papoose:
Bought it on a whim this February when they were on sale at WSS. For the rifle, a set of rings, and a 3.5x scope, I'm into it for less than a stock 10/22. And waddya know, it's more accurate and reliable than my 10/22 ever was, even after wasting a ton of time fixing the QC issues.
If you use the barrel wrench that comes with it, it holds zero between assembly/takedown. With CCI ammo, easily pop-tin accurate out to 50 yards off-hand.
The ergonomics, with the short fore end, are a little wonky, but easy to get used to. With the supplied case, packs into a nice tidy package, with extra mags and a couple of "Toxic Waste" candy tubs with 100 loose rounds apiece.
It, along with my 795 (which I bought because I was so happy with the Papoose - the 10/22 had made me swear off semi-auto .22 rifles in favour of my CZ, CIL/Anschutz, and Cooey - which unlike my 10/22, actually hit what you point at) - have become my go-to gopher guns this year, and they've been rolling death on the little turds.
You can get 7 and 10 round factory mags, which is good for most purposes, and the ProMag 25 round mags have proven to be highly reliable (although they don't engage the bolt hold open). Sturdy, reliable, maintenance and worry free little guns all year so far. Haven't cleaned either of them yet, and have put over a thousand rounds through each of them so far. And really, you should only have to clean a .22 at the end of the season before putting it up for the year. Anyone who says different, hasn't had a decent rifle. You
should be able to put thousands of rounds through them (especially copper plated rounds, which is all I use anyway) without taking a significant accuracy or reliability hit.
(at the end of the video I show the targets - keep in mind I was firing quickly and off hand, just mostly wanted to test the mags, and it was fairly cold that day, so I wasn't exactly super steady - and yet at 25 yards it was trivial to get hits).
AR-7
Don't own one, so can't comment.
Browning SA-22 (honourable mention)
Got one used a few months ago. Fun little gun, and beautiful to look at and hold. Surprisingly well balanced. Very good accuracy (haven't shot paper with it, just going by "field" results) and reliability. The one I bought is over 40 years old and has had some obvious miles put on it - but was well taken care of and is in great shape. If you keep your eyes open, you can find a used one for less than you'd pay for a 10/22 take-down (which I managed), and you'll be happier with it, and better off. Such a neat, classic little gun, and broken down, quite pack-able.
Main problem - it's just too purdy to use as a knockabout.
Got a "prairie double" with it checking fences for my uncle earlier this year... Shot a gopher on the way out, and a magpie that was chewing on the gopher I shot when I was on my way back to the house a couple hours later.
