Coach gun has been mentioned - if a 12g shotgun might meet your needs take a look at the Crowin-Arms thread on "interest in a short Baikal shotgun" post 553 has pics of the 14" over unders Martin is bring in, reported to be landed in Canada in the next couple weeks and somewhere in the $500 ranges - apologies for not being able to link.
Ultra-compact takedowns
- Thread starter Ardent
- Start date
You're doing spectacularly well with those two tin cans a bit of string, though.
Aarrrggghhhhhh... So near and yet so far. That's just... well... CRUEL.
Surely you must have an "un-fossilized" friend (or a 9 y.o. nephew or grandson) with an iThing who could help us out here? Sigh.
^^^
^^^Will give it a shot fer ya's.
Seeing member Buzzballer this eve.
Will attempt to blackmail him into doing some electron/photo/wire hook up/posting type stuff.
Forewarned: this here rifle that I call "303 good reasons", is in the middle of a rebarreling at the moment.
(yes, I shot it out to .317" groove)
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
So much to summarize since I was last in the thread- and that wasn't long ago!
-Price is an object, but it's flexible, this is a tool for my job that gets hauled about more days of the month than not, as more than half of life is spent in the north bush. All I have to worry about in life is the wrath of the Mrs, and that's more to worry about than one might think.
-.303 is just swell, as is .308, and on up. I'd take a .30-30 over a .44 Mag, too.
-1899's suggestion of the VC 9.3x74R double is very interesting. Short, compact, quality double at a very reasonable price, and barely over my 18" goal for the respective chunks.
-I like a good Mauser (and even LE) as much as anyone, but your barrelled action section is still very long with a legal length barrel, I need a gun that fits unobtrusively in a compact flight bag, yet still offers meaningful horsepower.
-Stainless would be a big deal as aircraft up north are by no means consistently warm and dry.
-Price is an object, but it's flexible, this is a tool for my job that gets hauled about more days of the month than not, as more than half of life is spent in the north bush. All I have to worry about in life is the wrath of the Mrs, and that's more to worry about than one might think.
-.303 is just swell, as is .308, and on up. I'd take a .30-30 over a .44 Mag, too.
-1899's suggestion of the VC 9.3x74R double is very interesting. Short, compact, quality double at a very reasonable price, and barely over my 18" goal for the respective chunks.
-I like a good Mauser (and even LE) as much as anyone, but your barrelled action section is still very long with a legal length barrel, I need a gun that fits unobtrusively in a compact flight bag, yet still offers meaningful horsepower.
-Stainless would be a big deal as aircraft up north are by no means consistently warm and dry.
If you could compromise on your maximum overall length your options would open up considerably. Moving up from 18" to 22" could give you something like this:
Length from the receiver ring to the centre of the buttplate is about 22", using a standard action with a 14" pull. There's no advantage to having a barrel shorter than the action section, so you get the benefits of a longer barrel as well. Mauser action, stainless barrel, dead plain wood for the stock... not cheap, but still more affordable than a double I would wager. Biggest problem would be finding a gunsmith competent to do the work. You could even keep your favourite .375 chambering.
Length from the receiver ring to the centre of the buttplate is about 22", using a standard action with a 14" pull. There's no advantage to having a barrel shorter than the action section, so you get the benefits of a longer barrel as well. Mauser action, stainless barrel, dead plain wood for the stock... not cheap, but still more affordable than a double I would wager. Biggest problem would be finding a gunsmith competent to do the work. You could even keep your favourite .375 chambering.
Buy a Stainless T3 in 30-06, buck the barrel to 18.5, install iron sights and thread the shank to take a Savage style barrel nut. clean the threads on the barrel and receiver so it screws in/out cleanly and stops solid with no mush. Don't sweat return to exact clocking since the sights are on the barrel and a bit of headspace won't matter for a few shots.
Stick it in a MDT LSS chassis and make up an oversized castle nut you can tighten by hand, maybe with a common tool that fits the barrel nut.
Cut the forend off so the 18.5" barrel is the longest single section. get a spare magazine.
If 18.5 overall is too long, have a barrel made from a blank. I wouldn't be afraid to run a 14" 30-06 (which is what the CF SAR rugers are).
I chuckled! .. You're correct of course but it would depend how much a "bit" is
either way after a shot or two .. it probablyl wont matter
Be surprised if a factory 30/06 was a whole lot more "significant" on target as a .308 .. and the .308 offers a shorter OAL rifle in the right action
If you could compromise on your maximum overall length your options would open up considerably. Moving up from 18" to 22" could give you something like this:
...
OMG. Those are gorgeous. Working rifles for sure, but I'd only want to be "working" with them under very copacetic circumstances, ie in Africa with coolies and gins & tonic in tow.
Wow... need to know details.... tagging on angus' thread here but i recently acquired a property where i want to do population research with lots of baiting.... that would be perfect!... i feel most vulnerable when i am a moving (read hiking.... i walk the bait in) pile of goodness... that would be sweet!
Angus,
a take down can be a Savage 99. i have one in 300 Savage that i used while guiding and im pretty sure that at least three bushpilots are still dreaming to get it.
not really take down but the blaser family like 93,r8,202 or m03 ... not that bad and you can choose the barrel lenght not my favourite but a 93 with a long barrel is a least 8 cm shorter than a regular rifle .... not my cup of tea but a tool is a tool ...
a take down can be a Savage 99. i have one in 300 Savage that i used while guiding and im pretty sure that at least three bushpilots are still dreaming to get it.
not really take down but the blaser family like 93,r8,202 or m03 ... not that bad and you can choose the barrel lenght not my favourite but a 93 with a long barrel is a least 8 cm shorter than a regular rifle .... not my cup of tea but a tool is a tool ...
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Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Had a 9.3x62 Sauer 202 Forest takedown, wrote an article on it, not terribly impressed unfortunately. I think to get rid of action length doubles are close to the only way to fly on this, and 1899 suggested an excellent option in the VC. Or a custom 3 piece takedown, stock at ~14", barrel at ~14", and frame separate. We have tiny storage available and to be able to comfortably carry a rifle would be a nice treat.
And the 9.3x74R is certainly up to the task. A couple of stout 286gr bullets - or a heavier Woodleigh - should make a grumpy grizzly reconsider his intentions. And you never know when Namibia will be calling your name.
OY VEH! But the main thing is that it works and you can rely on it. Reminded me of "Ole Ugly", Phil Shoemaker's (celebrated Alaskan guide whose licence plate is "458 WIN") description of his battered Winchester Model 70 .458. It is decidedly not pretty. He's wrapped the stock with various layers of fibreglass until it fits him like a glove- very important if you're faced with a pissed off brown bear or moose.(Thanks, "buzzballer". You even got a shoe in the picture, in the best CGN tradition.)
of course you would want to select a barrel length that kept your OAL legal although I do not believe you can actually fire the rifle in a very short configuration as the stock blocks the trigger when folded. But I have often thought this was a dandy option when you wanted to "pack" a longer barrel eg 22-24".
Folded they are easy to carry and not in the way...
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
And the 9.3x74R is certainly up to the task. A couple of stout 286gr bullets - or a heavier Woodleigh - should make a grumpy grizzly reconsider his intentions. And you never know when Namibia will be calling your name.
Oddly enough, that was yesterday. Hell of a deal on a Leopard hunt, cancellation for November, and I just missed it. The wife was more let down than I was.
I talked to him about a week ago. He says he is pretty much retired and not taking on any more commercial work. He is looking pretty old.
Thinking a bit outside the box, I wondered about a bullpup bolt-action and came across this: http://www.keppeler-te.de/cms/pages/englisch/sniper/ks-v-bullpup.php. The Hunter version with a shorter barrel might be food for thought, if bullpups are legal here. If the buttstock were removable it might be pretty short...
(Thanks, "buzzballer". You even got a shoe in the picture, in the best CGN tradition.)
wrong, it is a 98 Mauser.
Ooops... that's what happens when you rely on yer memory of an article from 6+ years ago! I'll see if I can find the magazine.
Dorian Gray
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
That's gotta be the ugliest sum##### of a rifle i've ever seen posted on here. I love it! And i hope you get to use it for a great many years to come.
ETA: I don't know how you feel about combination guns Ardent but 1899's post earlier about the VC guns got me looking around. I happened upon this little guy:
http://www.tradeexcanada.com/content/verney-carron-sagittaire-combination-gun-0--
Might be worth a look anyway.
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