Chiappa Alaskan

CorvusForge

CorvusForge

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New here in southwestern Ontario...

Been looking at the Chiappa 357 Alaskan, but seems very hard to come by. I've seen the 44 is available, but not sure if this one would be right for me. I'm new to all of this, but wanted something in a take down, that isn't too hard on the wallet - especially for just plinking at the range, I already have a Henry's 22. Might want to try my hand at hunting at some point, but thinking 30.06 for that.

I've seen awesome reviews of the Chiappa and I really dig the lever action rifles. Any input would be appreciated. Do I wait for a 357, or pull-the-trigger (pun intended) on a 44???

Thanks!
 
I have the 44 with a 12" barrel. Honestly one of the biggest smiles per gallon gun. So much fun to go plinking with. I reload for it, which makes it easier to put volume through. I have let a lot of people try it at the range, and no one can hide the smile. Alternatively, I bring it along as a bear gun when camping. Would recommend.
 
CorvusForge said:
New here in southwestern Ontario...

Been looking at the Chiappa 357 Alaskan, but seems very hard to come by. I've seen the 44 is available, but not sure if this one would be right for me. I'm new to all of this, but wanted something in a take down, that isn't too hard on the wallet - especially for just plinking at the range, I already have a Henry's 22. Might want to try my hand at hunting at some point, but thinking 30.06 for that.

I've seen awesome reviews of the Chiappa and I really dig the lever action rifles. Any input would be appreciated. Do I wait for a 357, or pull-the-trigger (pun intended) on a 44???

Thanks!
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Stay away from Chiappa firearms of any kind, or caliber.

I was a Chiappa dealer for 4 years. Had nothing but trouble with the Chiappa brand.

Sent back more Chiappa Brand guns than any other make. Warranty is a night-mare, John Gretch Outdoors does the warranty for Chiappa, he is now in New Brunswick.

John from JGO, states this brand is nothing but hassles and he thinks Chiappa is junk. I conquer. :)

Do yourself a favor and get a Marlin, Henry, Rossi or any other manufacturer. You will be sadly disappointed if you buy a Chiappa Brand rifle.
 
Thunderhog said:
Stay away from Chippa firearms of any kind, or caliber.

I was a Chiappa dealer for 4 years. Had nothing buy trouble with the Chiappa brand.

Sent back more Chiappa Brand guns than any other make. Warranty is a night-mare, John Gretch Outdoors does the warranty for Chiappa, he is now in New Brunswick.

John from JGO, states this brand is nothing but hassles and he thinks Chiappa is junk. I conquer. :)

Do yourself a favor and get a Marlin, Henry, Rossi or any other manufacturer. You will be sadly disappointed if you buy a Chiappa Brand rifle.
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Thanks! Appreciate the advice. I do like my Henry!
 
CorvusForge said:
Thanks! Appreciate the advice. I do like my Henry!
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No problem!

There are some Chiappa guns that are okay, but they are few and far between.

It's a very sad state of affairs actually. For an Italian made firearm, which one would think would be awesome, are absolute junk.

Chiappa and Italy should be ashamed of themselves.......... :(
 
I was literally about to post something similar couple of days ago. Been looking for the Alaskan in 357 for a while now but no luck.
Have few other 357s and I like that size, would prefer keeping it same than changing the calibers.
Have the Henry and Marlin in same. Really want the Alaskan too.
Hopefully they start coming in soon again. Been a while since I started looking.
 
eco said:
I was literally about to post something similar couple of days ago. Been looking for the Alaskan in 357 for a while now but no luck.
Have few other 357s and I like that size, would prefer keeping it same than changing the calibers.
Have the Henry and Marlin in same. Really want the Alaskan too.
Hopefully they start coming in soon again. Been a while since I started looking.
Click to expand...
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/threads/chiappa-1892-alaskan-takedown-12ā€-in-44-mag.2531888/

Here ya go, good luck, you will need it!........:(
 
CorvusForge said:
New here in southwestern Ontario...

Been looking at the Chiappa 357 Alaskan, but seems very hard to come by. I've seen the 44 is available, but not sure if this one would be right for me. I'm new to all of this, but wanted something in a take down, that isn't too hard on the wallet - especially for just plinking at the range, I already have a Henry's 22. Might want to try my hand at hunting at some point, but thinking 30.06 for that.

I've seen awesome reviews of the Chiappa and I really dig the lever action rifles. Any input would be appreciated. Do I wait for a 357, or pull-the-trigger (pun intended) on a 44???

Thanks!
Click to expand...
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/threads/chiappa-1892-alaskan-takedown-12ā€-in-44-mag.2531888/
 
Thunderhog said:
No problem!

There are some Chiappa guns that are okay, but they are few and far between.

It's a very sad state of affairs actually. For an Italian made firearm, which one would think would be awesome, are absolute junk.

Chiappa and Italy should be ashamed of themselves.......... :(
Click to expand...
Are they really that bad? They look nice. The lever action is kind of hard to screw up.

What's wrong with them? Fit and finish? Internal parts?
Can one deal with the issues by self or is it a major gunsmith overhaul type of deal?

You made me browse some more into it.
Lots of negative comments. Even from a decade ago..
 
eco said:
Are they really that bad? They look nice. The lever action is kind of hard to screw up.

What's wrong with them? Fit and finish? Internal parts?
Can one deal with the issues by self or is it a major gunsmith overhaul type of deal?

You made me browse some more into it.
Lots of negative comments. Even from a decade ago..
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Well I happened to find the one you are looking for here on Gunnutz, so I posted it. lol!

There also are several on Gun-Post as wellā€¦:)

In answer to your questions, yes they are really that badā€¦:(

Fit & finish can be extremely poor. Constant jamming, misfires, head-space issues, they just are not built very wellā€¦.:(

The gunsmith John Gretch was fed up with Chiappas poor quality control and the inability to obtain parts or replacement rifles.

As a dealer, I had nothing but trouble with most of them. Sure there were a few that were okay, and even the odd good one. But the crap shoot was too high, I quit selling the Chiappa brand in the last year I ran my Pro Shop.

Iā€™m glad you have researched them yourself, they just are not made well. Unless you get lucky and end up with a good one.
In my opinion, itā€™s not worth the gamble.
 
chainmailleman said:
I have the 44 with a 12" barrel. Honestly one of the biggest smiles per gallon gun. So much fun to go plinking with. I reload for it, which makes it easier to put volume through. I have let a lot of people try it at the range, and no one can hide the smile. Alternatively, I bring it along as a bear gun when camping. Would recommend.
Click to expand...
Thanks!!
 
chainmailleman said:
I have the 44 with a 12" barrel. Honestly one of the biggest smiles per gallon gun. So much fun to go plinking with. I reload for it, which makes it easier to put volume through. I have let a lot of people try it at the range, and no one can hide the smile. Alternatively, I bring it along as a bear gun when camping. Would recommend.
Click to expand...
Thanks!!
 
I have a Chiappa 12" Alaskan in .44 mag and love it. I have been an avid Cowboy Action shooter for 27 years now and put in an average year anywhere from 2,500-3,000 rds through both centerfire pistol and rifle lever actions. I at one time competed with the Browning B92, Rossi M92, both in .357 mag. a 1906 Winchester M92 re-barrelled to .44mag, and my wife's Winchester/ Miroku M92 in .45 Colt. One thing I have learned with the Winchester designed M92 & clones is that the faster you run the action in competition shooting the better the chances for a stovepipe happening. This is a fact of life. The gun was not designed for competition use, but for hunting but for competition it is a great starter gun.

I bought my Chiappa 5 years ago as a fun gun. During the first year I tried over 30 different reloads, and developed a nice reload for 25 yd indoor shooting, a great load that gives me a 3rd 2" group at 50 yds and rings an 8" gong at 100 yds and a nice 300 grain hard cast Bear defence load that moves down range at 1,320fps. This is the only M92 clone that I have run that will flawlessly cycle lead semi wad cutter bullets.

I understand that some early Chiappa firearms were problem children, like their copy of the M1 Carbine. The apparently they responded to the bad reviews. The fit and finish on my Alaskan is extremely good, it has never jammed, especially with lead semi wad cutter bullets that still leaves me gobsmacked, I have never had a jam as I do NOT try to run it as a race gun for competition. The Alaskan is a good solid, well built lever action carbine and well worth the $1,600 that I paid for it in February 2020.
 
One thing that I forgot to mention, when I ran the Rossi M92 in .357 it was wearing one of those large "John Wayne" style loop levers, I did notice a difference in my times on the clock. With a large loop lever, my timings on the average stage increased by 9-12 seconds longer than when I used a carbine with the standard stock lever. During a match slower is not better, but in this case I never had a "stovepipe" with the Rossi because of the large loop lever. But the gun did look Kewl!

If you do buy the Chiappa, I recommend going to the Skinner Sights web site and buying one of their takedown gun bags that fit the Alaskan. Skinner Sights did export to Canada last year, not sure about this year though.
 
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Garand said:
One thing that I forgot to mention, when I ran the Rossi M92 in .357 it was wearing one of those large "John Wayne" style loop levers, I did notice a difference in my times on the clock. With a large loop lever, my timings on the average stage increased by 9-12 seconds longer than when I used a carbine with the standard stock lever. During a match slower is not better, but in this case I never had a "stovepipe" with the Rossi because of the large loop lever. But the gun did look Kewl!

If you do buy the Chiappa, I recommend going to the Skinner Sights web site and buying one of their takedown gun bags that fit the Alaskan. Skinner Sights did export to Canada last year, not sure about this year though.
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Appreciate this immensely. Gets confusing after a while with polar opposite opinions šŸ˜³. I guess itā€™ll come down to just trying them out. As you mentioned, sounds like Chiappa has made some improvements. I really am just looking for a ā€œfun gunā€ I guess.
 
A fun gun, should not be disappointing. As a reloader my priorities are generate the maximum accuracy that the firearm can produce and secondly make sure that it's functioning is flawless. No firearm is perfect so work is needed to get the performance that you desire.
 
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