Chiappa LA322 Bandit Boot Leg .22lr 12" Non-Restricted
- Thread starter North_Sylva
- Start date
The Bandit Bootleg is a cool looking unit, but chiappa's are so hit and miss when it comes to quality control and it's not easy to get support if there is a problem. The LA322's have been around long enough to expose problems and yet I don't see much information on Chiappa making improvements which makes me think none have likely occurred.
Chiappa is a strange company. My only Chiappa's are a pair of little badger's in .22lr and Mag, I had a Rhino years ago and it was a very interesting design but I sold it realizing that the complex nature of the design and the lack of support could be an issue.
Chiappa is a strange company. My only Chiappa's are a pair of little badger's in .22lr and Mag, I had a Rhino years ago and it was a very interesting design but I sold it realizing that the complex nature of the design and the lack of support could be an issue.
OBVIOUSLY you’ve not seen Terminator 2
You just toss all safety aside and spin it on your hand while flagging everyone on the range. Sheesh!!!
FatCat is a fuddy-duddy.
… sorry. That was uncalled for. I’m on days off - all hopped up on soda and my kids Halloween candy.
It’s just the sugar talkin’
To do it right... you have to have two of them. One in each hand!OBVIOUSLY you’ve not seen Terminator 2
You just toss all safety aside and spin it on your hand while flagging everyone on the range. Sheesh!!!
FatCat is a fuddy-duddy.
… sorry. That was uncalled for. I’m on days off - all hopped up on soda and my kids Halloween candy.
It’s just the sugar talkin’
Ironballsmahoney
CGN Regular
- Location
- B.C. Southern Interior
Similar or basically a full-on copy of a Marlin Model 39a. It's definitely not a Ruger 10/22 style Takedown XD
The Marlin leaves the lever on the back half
A preferable takedown on the Marlin for sure as the lever is up against the stock and seems better protected.
If it takes down as I assume, like a Marlin, then it certainly won't cut the overall length in half. So what? I've always considered this design to be more of a not-too-slow takedown, nowhere near as fast or convenient as a "true" take down like a take down conversion on a 1894 or 1886. You likely won't want to be taking it down and reassembling every time you take it shooting. When you have a talking dog...it's too much to ask it to have perfect grammar as well. 
I'm not sure why anyone expects this to be handled and shot any differently than the typical Mare's Leg styles like the Rossi Ranch Hand, Henry Mare's Leg or others. I've had a few guns in this style. The Americans call them handguns, but I found that the most effective way to use them was with both hands, held out away from the shoulder. The part of the stock behind the grip portion never entered into it. The same hold would work identically with this new one; if you expect it to be easy to shoot accurately, you'll be disappointed. This is a toy, plain and simple, and I think it's going to be fun to use...not efficient, not particularly comfortable, certainly not easy to shoot anywhere the gun's intrinsic accuracy...just fun.
My first Chiappa was a takedown .44mag mare's leg. It was absolutely gorgeous; lovely dark well-grained walnut, deep rich bluing, beautiful case colours, smooth crisp trigger...and it was a proper takedown which came apart in the centre very quickly and easily. Once taken down it fit...barely...into a standard single-pistol case. It was 100% reliable in function, and when fired from a solid rest was very accurate; like an idiot I sold it. But...my next Chiappa, and one more after that, were utter crap. They still looked pretty good, but were virtually unusable. Nothing worked correctly, and Chiappa spent a long time trying to correct this with minimal success.
This new little gun is a crapshoot for sure, but it's barely $400. Not a huge gamble; if it isn't great, even selling it for half of retail with full disclosure won't put an owner too far into the red, so I think it's worth the gamble. Hopefully, I'll know later this week...
I'm not sure why anyone expects this to be handled and shot any differently than the typical Mare's Leg styles like the Rossi Ranch Hand, Henry Mare's Leg or others. I've had a few guns in this style. The Americans call them handguns, but I found that the most effective way to use them was with both hands, held out away from the shoulder. The part of the stock behind the grip portion never entered into it. The same hold would work identically with this new one; if you expect it to be easy to shoot accurately, you'll be disappointed. This is a toy, plain and simple, and I think it's going to be fun to use...not efficient, not particularly comfortable, certainly not easy to shoot anywhere the gun's intrinsic accuracy...just fun.
My first Chiappa was a takedown .44mag mare's leg. It was absolutely gorgeous; lovely dark well-grained walnut, deep rich bluing, beautiful case colours, smooth crisp trigger...and it was a proper takedown which came apart in the centre very quickly and easily. Once taken down it fit...barely...into a standard single-pistol case. It was 100% reliable in function, and when fired from a solid rest was very accurate; like an idiot I sold it. But...my next Chiappa, and one more after that, were utter crap. They still looked pretty good, but were virtually unusable. Nothing worked correctly, and Chiappa spent a long time trying to correct this with minimal success.
This new little gun is a crapshoot for sure, but it's barely $400. Not a huge gamble; if it isn't great, even selling it for half of retail with full disclosure won't put an owner too far into the red, so I think it's worth the gamble. Hopefully, I'll know later this week...
If it takes down as I assume, like a Marlin, then it certainly won't cut the overall length in half. So what? I've always considered this design to be more of a not-too-slow takedown, nowhere near as fast or convenient as a "true" take down like a take down conversion on a 1894 or 1886. You likely won't want to be taking it down and reassembling every time you take it shooting. When you have a talking dog...it's too much to ask it to have perfect grammar as well.
I'm not sure why anyone expects this to be handled and shot any differently than the typical Mare's Leg styles like the Rossi Ranch Hand, Henry Mare's Leg or others. I've had a few guns in this style. The Americans call them handguns, but I found that the most effective way to use them was with both hands, held out away from the shoulder. The part of the stock behind the grip portion never entered into it. The same hold would work identically with this new one; if you expect it to be easy to shoot accurately, you'll be disappointed. This is a toy, plain and simple, and I think it's going to be fun to use...not efficient, not particularly comfortable, certainly not easy to shoot anywhere the gun's intrinsic accuracy...just fun.
My first Chiappa was a takedown .44mag mare's leg. It was absolutely gorgeous; lovely dark well-grained walnut, deep rich bluing, beautiful case colours, smooth crisp trigger...and it was a proper takedown which came apart in the centre very quickly and easily. Once taken down it fit...barely...into a standard single-pistol case. It was 100% reliable in function, and when fired from a solid rest was very accurate; like an idiot I sold it. But...my next Chiappa, and one more after that, were utter crap. They still looked pretty good, but were virtually unusable. Nothing worked correctly, and Chiappa spent a long time trying to correct this with minimal success.
This new little gun is a crapshoot for sure, but it's barely $400. Not a huge gamble; if it isn't great, even selling it for half of retail with full disclosure won't put an owner too far into the red, so I think it's worth the gamble. Hopefully, I'll know later this week...
I find using the abbreviated stock as a cheek rest on a normal Mares leg greatly adds to stability and accuracy.
This works well on my .22 Henry but I wouldn’t want to try it with a .44 Mares leg.
I’m planning on getting a .357 one and trying out the cheek pistol method and will report back if I lose any teeth.
The bootleg model offers no such provision.
When it comes in I’m going to try to use my wrist as a cheek rest and see if it can substitute for the absent stock.
Mine were all in .44mag; oddly enough, I never considered resting my cheek on that stock floating around unsupported in the air in front of my shoulder.
I became fond of holding them with the forward support hand and arm extended straight forward, and the firing hand holding the grip with the elbow at roughly a 90-degree angle. But...I have only one left, a Henry, and it's now wearing the full length stock from a Big Boy. Not as cool looking but now it's no longer a toy, rather it's a very practical short-range hunting carbine.
Maybe I'll try something different with the .22...or maybe not...
"Push-Pull" is the way to go for the mare's leg and even better with a bungy sling hooked on to the saddle ring.
I'd be tempted to try and shoot the stockless booty bandit in a similar fashion as this guy, and use the back of the rear hand as a chin rest.
I'd be tempted to try and shoot the stockless booty bandit in a similar fashion as this guy, and use the back of the rear hand as a chin rest.
