This video/write-up has actually been a long time in the making. The video is included at the bottom, and contains basically the same info as in the text below.
I got the adapter this spring, tried it out with the bead sight and was getting "minute of gopher" - ish at 25 yards. I wanted to get a better idea of what it could do, accuracy wise, so I ordered a vent rib to weaver rail adapter off the interwebs so I could mount some kind of optic to it.
I'm not going to mention where I got the weaver rail adapter or its brand name. In short, it was a piece of crap that required a fair bit of modification in order to be even slightly useful. I did some of the work myself, but had to enlist the help of a friend (thanks Innercity ) for some tap and die work to the adapter to add extra set screws to stabilize it.
In the end, I have my Warrior 13" BBL, with a hacked on weaver rail and Vortex Sparc red dot for testing purposes. 150% Bubba, I know, but hey, I was on a mission.
It took a while and a few trips to the range to get it how I wanted it, with the Red Dot stable enough to hold zero, even after putting everything from bird shot to 3" slugs through it. Side note: 3" magnum slugs in a shotgun this short and light is... Non-fun.
Anyway, after putzing with it off an on all summer, I finally got it to the range today to actually do the testing I'd been meaning to do all summer. It wasn't a 100% scientific test, because even though I was shooting off a bench, I was only using the front sandbags for support, and the lighting conditions were horrible today. The sun was in my face the whole time, which made it hard to get a good sight picture. With the glare, I had the brightness dialed all the way up, so the "2 MOA" dot looked a lot more like 4 or 5 MOA. But heck with it, I'll be able to get an idea.
On the Bench:
The Range:
I did 5 shot groups with 5 different types of ammo. Winchester Super X bulk, Remington Golden Bullets bulk, CCI Mini-Mag round nose, CCI Mini-Mag Hollow Point, and CCI SHP (Quick Shots) rated at 1640 FPS (about the hottest/fasted .22LR you can get).
The results were a little surprising, and better than I expected.
The only one of the 5 that performed noticeably different than the rest were the CCI Mini-Mag Round Nose, which brought in a respectable group of just under an inch. All 4 of the other cartridges came in around a 2" group size - or close enough. What surprised me is that, discounting the flyer (which I knew was a flyer as soon as I pulled the trigger), even the smokin' fast SHP rounds performed about the same, in terms of accuracy. That goes against what happens in almost every other .22 I own, where their accuracy is noticeably poorer compared to other cartridges (except my CZ 452 Lux, which shoots everything like a laser).
(Click on the target images below to enlarge - and yes, I know the targets look pixelated, that's because they're cheap home made printoff targets):
So, I know what you might be thinking: "A two inch group? At 25 yards?? THAT SUCKS!"
Well, yes and no.
First, I'm fairly confident I could actually get better than that out of this with a more stable bench rig than just a lazy front rest.
Second, shooting conditions (the giant glowing sun in my face) were horrible today.
Third, no, actually, it doesn't suck, when you take it for what it is.
This is a hacked together rig, from top to bottom. And it isn't designed for bench shooting. It's designed to meet a goal. The goal is:
"Is this thing accurate enough to bag a squirrel, rabbit, or grouse, in a survival situation?"
And the answer to that, I would say, is yes. It is accurate enough to bag a bit of protein at reasonable ranges. If I was popping a squirrel, rabbit, or grouse in the bush with a desperate need to feed myself, odds are I wouldn't be making a long shot. That kind of shooting is usually much less than 25 yards. 10 yards, would probably be more likely, from my hiking and hunting experience. 5 yards is even reasonable for bagging squirrels - they can be pretty cocky.
So, yes. I would say that for what it is, the adapter is more than accurate enough for a survival type of shooting, if you get stranded out in the bush or the mountains.
But is it a viable option? Why not just carry a .22 backpacker, or extra shells for your 12 gauge?
Well, a few reasons.
I like the simplicity and versatility of a break action 12 gauge as a survival gun. 3 or 4 rounds of bird shot, a couple each of buck and slug, and there's a world of options of what you can do to feed yourself.
Also, if i unscrew the choke out of this gun, I can use it to fire off 12 gauge flares. And realistically, a flare is the single most likely thing to save your bacon if you get into trouble in the bush.
BUT: You're really limited on the amount of ammo you can take with you. 12 gauge shells are bulky and weigh a fair bit when you're considering any kind of quantity. Sacrificing 3 or 4 shells worth of weight and space, in exchange for the adapter and 100 rounds of .22 in a tin? Yah, that seems like a pretty fair trade to me.
Overall, I would say it's a decent bit of kit to include in your behind the seat survival bag, if you spend much time driving (or flying) in remote areas. It can give you a lot of options.
The one thing I would change from the current rig is the Red Dot. I just don't consider something battery powered to be a good idea for this kind of a use case. Batteries fail. Batteries left sitting behind the seat of your car, potentially for years at a time, even more so. I would prefer some kind of sight (adjustable for windage and elevation to get some kind of a basic zero) that doesn't require a battery to be a better option. And yes, I'm currently poking around in that regard.
Anyway, just thought I'd share at this stage of my ongoing experiment. Feel free to critique/criticize, offer suggestions.
Here's the video:
I got the adapter this spring, tried it out with the bead sight and was getting "minute of gopher" - ish at 25 yards. I wanted to get a better idea of what it could do, accuracy wise, so I ordered a vent rib to weaver rail adapter off the interwebs so I could mount some kind of optic to it.
I'm not going to mention where I got the weaver rail adapter or its brand name. In short, it was a piece of crap that required a fair bit of modification in order to be even slightly useful. I did some of the work myself, but had to enlist the help of a friend (thanks Innercity ) for some tap and die work to the adapter to add extra set screws to stabilize it.
In the end, I have my Warrior 13" BBL, with a hacked on weaver rail and Vortex Sparc red dot for testing purposes. 150% Bubba, I know, but hey, I was on a mission.
It took a while and a few trips to the range to get it how I wanted it, with the Red Dot stable enough to hold zero, even after putting everything from bird shot to 3" slugs through it. Side note: 3" magnum slugs in a shotgun this short and light is... Non-fun.
Anyway, after putzing with it off an on all summer, I finally got it to the range today to actually do the testing I'd been meaning to do all summer. It wasn't a 100% scientific test, because even though I was shooting off a bench, I was only using the front sandbags for support, and the lighting conditions were horrible today. The sun was in my face the whole time, which made it hard to get a good sight picture. With the glare, I had the brightness dialed all the way up, so the "2 MOA" dot looked a lot more like 4 or 5 MOA. But heck with it, I'll be able to get an idea.
On the Bench:
The Range:
I did 5 shot groups with 5 different types of ammo. Winchester Super X bulk, Remington Golden Bullets bulk, CCI Mini-Mag round nose, CCI Mini-Mag Hollow Point, and CCI SHP (Quick Shots) rated at 1640 FPS (about the hottest/fasted .22LR you can get).
The results were a little surprising, and better than I expected.
The only one of the 5 that performed noticeably different than the rest were the CCI Mini-Mag Round Nose, which brought in a respectable group of just under an inch. All 4 of the other cartridges came in around a 2" group size - or close enough. What surprised me is that, discounting the flyer (which I knew was a flyer as soon as I pulled the trigger), even the smokin' fast SHP rounds performed about the same, in terms of accuracy. That goes against what happens in almost every other .22 I own, where their accuracy is noticeably poorer compared to other cartridges (except my CZ 452 Lux, which shoots everything like a laser).
(Click on the target images below to enlarge - and yes, I know the targets look pixelated, that's because they're cheap home made printoff targets):
So, I know what you might be thinking: "A two inch group? At 25 yards?? THAT SUCKS!"
Well, yes and no.
First, I'm fairly confident I could actually get better than that out of this with a more stable bench rig than just a lazy front rest.
Second, shooting conditions (the giant glowing sun in my face) were horrible today.
Third, no, actually, it doesn't suck, when you take it for what it is.
This is a hacked together rig, from top to bottom. And it isn't designed for bench shooting. It's designed to meet a goal. The goal is:
"Is this thing accurate enough to bag a squirrel, rabbit, or grouse, in a survival situation?"
And the answer to that, I would say, is yes. It is accurate enough to bag a bit of protein at reasonable ranges. If I was popping a squirrel, rabbit, or grouse in the bush with a desperate need to feed myself, odds are I wouldn't be making a long shot. That kind of shooting is usually much less than 25 yards. 10 yards, would probably be more likely, from my hiking and hunting experience. 5 yards is even reasonable for bagging squirrels - they can be pretty cocky.
So, yes. I would say that for what it is, the adapter is more than accurate enough for a survival type of shooting, if you get stranded out in the bush or the mountains.
But is it a viable option? Why not just carry a .22 backpacker, or extra shells for your 12 gauge?
Well, a few reasons.
I like the simplicity and versatility of a break action 12 gauge as a survival gun. 3 or 4 rounds of bird shot, a couple each of buck and slug, and there's a world of options of what you can do to feed yourself.
Also, if i unscrew the choke out of this gun, I can use it to fire off 12 gauge flares. And realistically, a flare is the single most likely thing to save your bacon if you get into trouble in the bush.
BUT: You're really limited on the amount of ammo you can take with you. 12 gauge shells are bulky and weigh a fair bit when you're considering any kind of quantity. Sacrificing 3 or 4 shells worth of weight and space, in exchange for the adapter and 100 rounds of .22 in a tin? Yah, that seems like a pretty fair trade to me.
Overall, I would say it's a decent bit of kit to include in your behind the seat survival bag, if you spend much time driving (or flying) in remote areas. It can give you a lot of options.
The one thing I would change from the current rig is the Red Dot. I just don't consider something battery powered to be a good idea for this kind of a use case. Batteries fail. Batteries left sitting behind the seat of your car, potentially for years at a time, even more so. I would prefer some kind of sight (adjustable for windage and elevation to get some kind of a basic zero) that doesn't require a battery to be a better option. And yes, I'm currently poking around in that regard.
Anyway, just thought I'd share at this stage of my ongoing experiment. Feel free to critique/criticize, offer suggestions.
Here's the video:
