Chiappa LA322 - work with shorts?
- Thread starter The Baron
- Start date
Because I like shorts. And I have lots.
Yes, I'm definitely interested in something with a tubular magazine and like the idea of a lever gun. I looked at an LA322 today and it seemed like pretty decent fit/finish for the price tag, but the barrel is marked 22LR and, from that and info garnered in a recent web crawl, it doesn't sound like they'll feed shorts reliably.
Which is weird... I thought all tubular magazine .22's would feed S, L, LR.
Yes, I'm definitely interested in something with a tubular magazine and like the idea of a lever gun. I looked at an LA322 today and it seemed like pretty decent fit/finish for the price tag, but the barrel is marked 22LR and, from that and info garnered in a recent web crawl, it doesn't sound like they'll feed shorts reliably.
I think the issue lies in the chambering. 22lr has different chamberings that would allow different rounds in. Some modern 22lr wouldnt fit in the same chambers of firearms that would shoot short or L. My guess is they are going for economics of ammo availability in the world over total round cap with potentially reducing markets selectively. It has 15 rounds already which is comparable to similar models in the market
I have one. Decent enough build quality for the price (<$400). I dont believe it works with 22 Shorts, although I’ve not tried.
I’ve only fired around 100 rounds so far. All with iron sights. All 22LR. I’ve tried CCI SV, Mini Mags, Aquila SV, Eley Contact, RWK and SK HV. No problems with any of above.
Mainly just testing for consistent cycling so far. Had just a couple failures which were my fault for tilting the gun too far to the left when cycling so the casing didn’t eject properly and got hung up on the next incoming round. Easily identified and avoided.
First time offhand at 25m with the fairly nasty irons, I was grouping around 4”. Not great but also hard to see what the hell I was doing and without having a cheek weld, hard to have a repeatable hold. After working on my hold, I was able to group around 2” at 15m.
The rear sight has no indications of elevation so im not really sure what ranges the different positions are supposed to correlate to. I have a red dot ready to mount that should allow me to improve the accuracy significantly and will be better for quick target acquisition.
Lever mechanism has really smoothed out after those 100 rounds and maybe another 100 or so dry cycles.
I got it as a fun gun, but also as a “sidearm” for birds or rabbits when I’m out with the bigger bores. Currently working on a leather ‘holster’ to keep it accessible but out of the way.
One last word - it is definitely a FUN gun to shoot and I’m sure anyone that tries one will agree with that
There’s a thread on the go here for more info…
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...nge-reports-and-modifications-thread.2551085/
Poorly made jam-omatic garbage summed up, avoid it like the plague.
https://www.gun-tests.com/rifles/special-report-chiappa-la322-follow-up/
Buy a Browning or Henry instead, even the latest model of the small 22LR Bootleg Bandit's are being reported to have problems on R/CanadaGuns
You shot one?
No problems with mine so far.
I had a Henry mare’s leg. Wouldn’t shoot straight, had a crooked barrel and twice the price. Not as compact or versatile. Sent it back to supplier and very happy with that decision.
Edit: the link you posted provides very little actual information. 10 comments and only one with bad experience..?
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Full size LA322's yes I've shot and it had endless extraction problems due to headspace being no good from the factory.
I've dealt with faulty LA322's while working in a gun store for years and even had friends around the world have the same problems.
Have a look at that link before the YT videos you seem to be ignoring.
https://www.gun-tests.com/rifles/special-report-chiappa-la322-follow-up/
Here is their initial report as well.
https://www.gun-tests.com/rifles/chiappa-la322-standard-carbine-920-383-22-lr/
I won't purchase these because of my first hand experiences with them and the information is perfectly valid as it is the same receiver and internal parts with just a shorter barrel and different furniture on them.
You can google Chiappa LA322 "Failure to extract", "Bulged casings" or just "problems" with lots of results.
