Dominion Arms Backpacker Single Barrel Shotgun - 12 Gauge???

K-Roc

K-Roc

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Any opinions about the Dominion arms backpacker as a wildlife defense / small game hunting shotgun?

I ve been looking for a small, simple, shotgun to take with me on hikes, camping, fishing ect... it would be nice if it was capable of hunting small game and in a worst case situation keep a black bear away. The backpacker looks small and light but I imagine the range would be very short, possibly weak and inaccurate too? I'm fairly new to firearms, this would be my third rifle after my SKS and .22. I don't want to hunt ducks at long range with it or lay out 800 lbs Grizzly bears, but could I hunt grouse and partridge with it and scare away black bears? Would this shotgun make sense for that? Anyone have this gun and use it for those purposes? Thanks in advance.
 
I wanted to like the Backpacker, but mine is such incredibly poor quality that it is honestly not a useful firearm.... just a novelty. I would not trust my Backpacker to stay in one piece when firing high brass self defence loads (i.e.: slugs and 00 buck). I chose to take a 12 Ga NEF shotgun and cut the barrel to 18.5" instead. The difference in quality is night and day.
IMG_6086_zps140e8f15.jpg
 
That one is only 8.5 inches eh? The single shot is 13 inches, to be honest that seems small enough... True the smaller the better but its $250 more. The Backpacker is $149, seems like a steal at that price if it can hunt grouse, defend against a black bear, and be carried legally as a non restricted.
 
I admit the backpacker looks like low quality, I was actually wondering about that too, now that you have posted the pics its pretty clear... is the stock plastic?
 
The latest batch of backpackers seem to very greatly in quality as Tom E Gun has pointed out. They are also fairly heavy for their size.
I have an older one and it's pretty good quality but it feels heavier then a Cooey single shot with an 18 1/2" barrel. Long guns are pretty heavy in general the lightest option for hiking around in Canada(due to a paranoid govt) would be the Rossi Ranchhand. A shortened down Ithaca 37 would be a pretty good lightweight shotgun as well.
For the weight of a single shot you might as well step up a little bit and get a repeater.
 
You really can't get a good idea of the quality issues of the Backpacker from any photos. On mine, the fit of the barrel, fore stock and action is so loose that after you fire a round, the action jambs in the closed position (I assume the base of the shell is expanding into the gap between receiver and barrel, to cause this). The barrel is extremely thin, the bead sight projects into the bore. The trigger has a strange grinding feel to it at about 1/2 way thru the pull...... This is actually my second one, I returned the first one because it would fly apart when being fired (literally), but it was not so loose. I think some of the Backpackers may be better than others, but mine is junk.
 
Well, the backpacker does look cheap and that was also one of my worries about it... frankly what do you expect for $149 I guess. The Rossi Ranch hand looks very interesting.
 
K-Roc said:
That one is only 8.5 inches eh? The single shot is 13 inches, to be honest that seems small enough... True the smaller the better but its $250 more. The Backpacker is $149, seems like a steal at that price if it can hunt grouse, defend against a black bear, and be carried legally as a non restricted.
Click to expand...

Simply put do not rely on the backpacker against a possible bear you would be further ahead just buying a $120 coey single off the ee
 
I bought one to leave it to rust with 25 shell of S&B 00 buck @ at my Latuque cabin when i go there in snowmobile in the winter, like an emergency blanket, not good for much more in my book.... JP.
 
I recently got one in a trade and mine seems to be pretty sturdy, especially after firing lots of slugs and buck 00 both 2 3/4" and 3". No issues so far aside from a loose front end that was easily fixed with some shimming.

Here is a photo from this past weekend:

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Mine's OK.
About the quality I'd expect for $150,but as a trunk/backpack gun it seems adequate.
What can you lose for $150? (apart from $150,that is)
 
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