Good folding/backpacking guns?

[u/Uncle_Ted_1942]

I like spending time in the forest and I work (well, I would work, if there wasn’t a recent huge budget cut) in the forestry industry. With that in mind, I always considered getting a nice compact gun to stow away in my pack for peace of mind, ease of carrying, and maybe some spontaneous hunting.

I know of the Chippa Little/Double Badger, as well as the Mossberg Shockwave, Savage 24 and 42, and various other Turkish sloppers, but I was curious if there were any other options any of you would recommend?

New, used, antique, doesn’t matter much, just something nice that folds up compactly, but ideally stays in one piece. I have an old takedown Remington Model 10, but it breaks down into two pieces and takes a few minutes to put together which I find less convenient.

[u/Madman_Matthews]

Lotta good suggestions. Im pretty hard to please when it comes to guns. Here are some that stand out to me:

Expensive:

-Sauer 200/202 (bolt action)

-Howa mini or superlite w/ jtac elf owl (collapsible)*

-Browning Blr Lever action (lever takedown)

-Winchester 1886/1894/1892 (lever takedown)

-German drilling (SXS w/ a rifle underbarrel)

-Thomson centre encore or contender (single shot)

Budget:

-Old SxS shotgun ( get one with takedown lever)

-Win 1897 or model 12 takedown (bang for buck)

-Cva scout takedown (single shot)

*Ive only shot the mini elf owl and factory superlite. The superlite elf owl seems to fix the only problems i had with the elf owl chasis.

I really like the cz 600 trail action, but i hate the chasis/stock. It feels cheap and flimsy. Ugly too imo.

I personally dont understand the appeal of the takedown 10/22. The base version breaks down to a very reasonable size with one action screw.

I trade a lot of guns, the only two I genuinely regret selling are an old sauer 12x12/9.3 drilling and 270 sauer 200. Those two were functional class and would have covered everything i need today.

[u/Uncle_Ted_1942 → u/Madman_Matthews]

Excellent suggestions, thank you kindly. I do have a Norinco 1897 Riot model, I’ve been wanting to buy a secondhand rear buttock for it to practise some woodworking and make a birdshead grip for it that I can swap out with the full stock whenever the mood for one another strikes.

Already have it measured out to make sure it’s legal length too, I just want the option of being able to put a full stock back on when I don’t need it in shorty mode. Despite only having a 20 inch barrel and cylinder bore, it’s a surprisingly good grouse and rabbit gun in the thick brush.

[u/Madman_Matthews → u/Uncle_Ted_1942]

Hell yeah thats awesome, Sounds like the gun in no country for old men. I think PG and Birdsheads short shotguns are amongst the most fun guns you can have in Canada. An ithica stakeout build is something ive wanted to get for a long time.

If you are comfortable with a short grip, a mares leg 1892 can be good fun and very packable. A single screw can swap the stock to a full size for more accurate shots.

Idk what car you drive, but the model 12 TD fits in the back of my sedans jack/spare tire storage compartment. Your birdshead 1897 may as well. If you have a truck, many shotguns with barrels around 18 inches will fit behind the rear seat in the jack storage area.

Model 1897 takedowns are quite a bit more rare than model 12 takedowns. My local shop has a model 12 TD for $500 in really good condition. I like the pump action cycle slightly more than the 97, but the external hammer is definitely cool af. If you can find a model 12 locally for a good price, its worth checking out