For you Henry, Crickett, Chipmunk guys out there looking to get extended utility from that rifle your child has outgrown or just looking to get rifle accuracy at handgun weight, I think this just might work. I started thinking about this when I saw that Pak-It Rifle years ago. Superlight and super pricey for a single shot .22. This costs whatever you have into one of the above .22s (probably under $150), maybe $10 in materials at Home Depot or the like and a bit of time at the bench.

This is a "rough" draft. I got motivated by that other thread and some offline discussion to finally crank it out but I'm in the midst of re-doing my garage and don't have access to all my tools. Any smart man would just wait, but I'm not just any smart man. I figured I could just do a rough version using a drill and a file. I could, only at the expense of two stitches due to some gross negligence. I plan to find a wing nuttish bolt so that it can be taken down easily and that's about it.

Be careful on the width of the slot for the trigger so that you reduce side to side play. I have LOTS of spare space due to my very rough machining work. The "forearm" is just about perfect for me. I have just about an inch of extra from where I hold it. The "buttplate" doesn't need to be quite so long. I was just trying to make it about 12" length of pull so that little tykes could still use it. I may add the factory trigger guard, but I'm not convinced it will offer a real benefit. Once snugged against the shoulder, the piece feels remarkably steady given its weight and the flex of the aluminum stock.

No in the field tests yet, but I know how the Chipmunk shoots and don't think it will give up a lot. If anything it has a more muzzle heavy feel now.

So, what did we get to weight wise? 26.5 ounces on my scale. As light as a carbon fiber set up? Nope. $250 less? Yup.

Now if you're toting a titanium Smith .22 revolver or something along those lines, this will seem ridiculously heavy. However, for tiny targets like squirrels, I can shoot a rifle MUCH better than a pistol. Furthermore, I generally carry a more defensive oriented handgun in the first place. So I think it has a niche at least for me. At the very least, it is extending the useful life of these rifles for my sons who have outgrown them.

Pardon the photos, but I have a pretty long honey do list -- especially the garage -- and this wasn't on it so everything has been a bit rushed.

Open to suggestions on improvements. I'll be posting this over at Kifaru where the discussion first started for me, but given the recent post thought it worth showing here.

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