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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.

Very interesting. Defintely digging it. Appreciate the preview

Sounds like a play from my own book. Great idea and even better laugh.

I just suck it up and use my girl's Steven's Cadet. I find that I can accurately use the short stock. I just wish it ejected 100% of the time.

Springfield M6 is how I'd roll..

I hear ya, I have one of these I bought new years ago, BUT they are a discontinued weapon now, and getting very hard to come by, and EXPENSIVE if you can find one, as Dave Canterbury confirms. Cool option original poster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKI3E-8TLW0

The M6 is indeed cool and with the shotgun option more versatile, just a bit more weight than what I'm after. This will never be the only firearm I carry. Picture this AND a S&W 60 .357 or -- eventually -- a Glock 20. That's where I'm coming from and it may certainly not be the right place. Remember, I hurt myself putting the stupid thing together.

AB2506, bet you could do this with the Cadet and seem some weight savings as well. I can shoot my kids' Chipmunks with the factory stocks too.

Old school, Savage/Stevens .22/.410, in either LR or Magnum, covers a LOT of bases. Especially if you have the .410 barrel modified with a .45LC chamber reamer, restamped, and everything shortened a tad.

VA, is the 410 barrel on the Savage rifled? If not how would the heavy cast bullets fly for short ranges, nothing more than 50 yards?

The .410 barrel is not rifled.

I've seen one done that way, and need to find out how they got around the Class III restriction.

Looks good! And only an ounce heavier than the the tigoat stock. I've got 2 salvaged trecking pole sections. One CF, one aluminum. They sleeve inside eachother, and I was gonna give the home brew a try as well. Looks like it will do the trick. I just need to find a store that carrys the cricketts around here.

Nice Job!

I'll bet you do better with the salvaged pole from a stiffness standpoint. Looking forward to seeing it.

CCH, thanks for posting your project here. Its a gem of an idea. Does anyone know if the inletting for the Crickett .22 Mag is the same as the .22 LR? The stock I'm making is a bit involved and I'd be happy to only make one of them if I decide to also get a .22 Mag.


Never mind the question, I think I got it from their website- one stock fits both.

David

Here is what I came up with. Lost foam technique, carved from home depot blue insulation. 3 wraps of carbon fiber, probably only needed two. Action was bedded with epoxy and microspheres. My son unfortunately wanted a naked carbon finish which added about 3 oz. All up, 8 oz for the stock, with plenty of storage inside. God help me if I make another. Much respect to those who really do composites. NOT as light as CCH's, but much stiffer. $17 for the CF, already had the foam and epoxy.

Very nice David!

That is slick!

Very nice. I tinkered a bit with stuff I had around the house... Then I cheated;)


In the case/scabbard.


And with the factory stock and cf barrel.

I'm really interested in that carbon fiber barrel. I may ask Josh if he'll sell me one w/o the stock. I know he's worked as a pro in gun mfg. so he knows his stuff. Lots of range reports on the stock Crickett, but I've yet to see one surface on the pack rifle. There is a youtube on it, but no meaningful information on accuracy, just hitting a plate at unknown distance. I haven't had time to see if mine is a shooter.

David

Wouldn't hurt to ask him. I've only shot it a few times. Not enough with a few kinds of ammo. With the one that I tried, it shot under an inch at 25yards. Plenty for body shots on grouse, maybe even head shots at close range. I'll post range results next time I go up.

I'm always wondering why no one makes a truly light stock for a center fire using a similar technique with aluminum.

Maybe the masses will reject the idea, but hey, they rejected plastic stocks at first, as well.