Lightest 22lr for a pack gun?

I've read, and re-read this thread and as interesting as the true "pack" guns might seem, the idea of having something so skeletal (in the interest of keeping it super light weight) REALLY is a decision to buy a tool. I shoot for pleasure 99.9% of the time, and if the "experience" itself isn't fun because a gun is so minimal/uncomfortable...it likely won't be on my radar. At least, not for long. I think things like the Badger (even though I feel the way I do about them) or tiny Savage Rascal are about as far down that path as I think I'd ever care to go. I'd be more inclined to find something like a CZ452 Scout, leave it bone-stock, and be done with it. You know you have a proven rifle with superior accuracy...but you'll be digging in your wallet to the tune of about $500+ for a like-new, used one.

Every fall, I spend about a week up north fishing and more than once, I've come across a grouse just begging to be harvested. :) Since long hikes can be the name of the game, weight is an issue...since I carry enough as it is. :) This past fall, I wondered if I should have revisited the idea of a Badger again. I can see the appeal, just can't bring myself to buy one. That could change.
 
MiG25 said:
Where did you get that stock and does it come in pink?
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I made a couple of the ultralight Scout carbon fibre stocks last spring. Initially I was interested in building a lightweight stock so my kids can practice offhand shooting. It turned out to be an ideal lightweight and durable set up for grouse and squirrel hunting. There is a thread describing the building process, the weight savings, etc, unfortunately most of the pictures are gone thanks to photobucket...

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...y-Winter-Project-Carbon-Fibre-Stock-for-Scout

Kody
 
Wendell said:
When you buy one that won't feed, or won't hit what you're aiming at, it's historical lineage - by itself - just doesn't cut it.

Great in theory, but not so great in practice; that is why people call it a 'novelty'.
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My experience the same with a 1980s Charter Arms and an original Armalite Ar-7 pack rifle from about 1973, IIRC.
Both are gone from me, it is a wonderful concept that really did not pan out in the end.
And I have zero desire to possibly relive the exact same situation with the Henry variant.

sad but true....

Maybe a Papoose??
 
Brutus said:
My experience the same with a 1980s Charter Arms and an original Armalite Ar-7 pack rifle from about 1973, IIRC.
Both are gone from me, it is a wonderful concept that really did not pan out in the end.
And I have zero desire to possibly relive the exact same situation with the Henry variant.

sad but true....

Maybe a Papoose??
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Ditto, with a Charter Arms AR7. First gun I ever bought, one of the very few that I ever got rid of and was happy to see go.

Barrel was crap, accuracy likewise, the mag would drop out if you looked at the release lever sideways, and it was bulky and awkward to use.

I have described the handling characteristics as pretty much like going out dancing in your best set of Clown Shoes.

Yeah, it floats. Whee.... It will be somewhere way down the river by the time you sort yourself out after wrecking your canoe, instead of being on the bottom. No big difference, if you still don't have it.
IMO, they missed really big when they didn't design in room for a couple boxes of ammo in the bigass stock on it. If you get one that shoots reasonable well, then it is at best, a decent gun to leave behind the seat of the truck. Not much else. Bulky and clumsy to carry assembled, and takes up a lot of room when stowed in it's stock. better than having nothing, but if you are choosing, choose something better. Aircrew don't get to choose what gets put in their kits. IIRC the Israeli's did away with the plastic stock and put a simple wire one on to save a bunch of bulk.

Y'know, I still think the basic old Cooey style single shot is a pretty good pick as a pack rifle. The smaller models with the thumbscrew to take them down, can be packed in very little space, the stocks can be further modified (skeletonized, thinned) to take up even less space and weight, if you wished, and they still feel like a rifle in hand.

The Browning Semi Auto .22 is a pretty nice rig, easy to assemble, can leave the mag tube loaded while it is stowed and be ready pretty quick. The older ones with the splinter fore end are lighter still.

Ultimately, the weight is a moot point when you start talking about carrying a second rifle. Carry downloaded ammo. I use a Hammond Game Getter cartridge in my hunting rifle, and it has got me several grouse I would have passed on otherwise, and a handful of Remington Power Loads and an equal number of buckshot balls to load it, take up no space to speak of.
 
MiG25 said:
If you're worried about spooking game, best to skip the 22 entirely, 3lbs is 4 cans of corned beef/spam.

That said, I'm doubtful that gunshots on their own disturb game (but I don't know what I don't know). I've shot deer and had other deer not even flinch at the shoot. I've had bucks wander by while I'm sitting having a tea beside the buck I just shot (prior to field dressing). I've blasted targets in the bush 20 or 30 times, packed up and left and seen deer feeding just around the bend in the road. I could go on and on. What deer and elk seem to react to is others in the herd being hit, not the actual shots. I shot and missed (bullets were hitting a rise in the ground between us) 4 times and the deer never reacted, the 5th shot dropped the buck on the spot, the other deer then cleared out immediately. I've watched bedded bull elk not even react to gunshots. I could go on and on.
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I've shot 3 deer, 2 with a 308 and one with an sks and all three times there was another deer nearby who did nothing more than look at me.
 
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