that "trigger" and those sights make it less accurate than a good pistol, The unchoked 410 barrels means it wont reliably take a bird at 20 yds.and they want 3x what the thing is worth. It's unbelievable how dumb some people are.

I had one, and agree with your assessment. I sold it cheap to a buddy who used it on his winter trapline to kill animals in traps. As odd as it sounds, it actually was about perfect for that job! Indestructable, handy & packable on the snowmobile. A .410 slug at spitting distance will efficiently kill a wolf without too much penetration. The trigger lever can be used at -40° with mittens on. He shot a lot of animals in traps with the .22 barrel, and some ruffed & spruce grouse with small birdshot from the .410 or using .22 solids and body shots. Trappers can't easily get a permit to carry a handgun on a trapline in Canada, so it was a reasonable alternative for him. I was glad be rid of it, he was glad to have it.

That weapon was originally designed as a survival weapon to be stowed in the Arctic survival kit carried in Air Force aircraft. My instructors at the AF Survival School were still teaching its use and capabilities in the 70's, as it was still being used as a survival weapon.

I sold mine for more than I thought it was worth but mine made by CZ shot 1.5'' groups at 50 yards with the hornet barrel. Full choke 410 though was good only to 15 yards or so for grouse. Big holes in that long shot column, but a pretty good firearm for survival, and lot's better than nothing.

Thanks for that info. I always thought it was interesting just from it's design and use but never had one. Or had a need for one.

Many years back I picked up a 22 Hornet/410 version at a show for $150. It was great to carry in my pack when I was moose hunting and ran across a bunch of ptarmigan or grouse. Much better than using the 338 for those. I still have it, but haven't had it out for a while.

M-6 Zip gun -nothing great.
sold mine (hornet/410) used for 3x what I paid for it new.


AR-7 was a "survival gun" that couldn't survive a mag of ammo without a malfunction.

Dissappointing to hear this. I handled a Chiappa Double Badger at one point in 22LR/410ga and what I liked was the wood stock, independant triggers you can fire rapidly and the fact it can fold and unfold completely in a second(unlike some other combo guns which require some assembly and also trigger selection). What I didnt like about the chiappa was all the warranty returns for bad firing pins and my friends gun shooting no better then 5" at 50 yards. So I was looking at the M-6 as an option. Guess not then.

Better than nothing? A sad commentary on something you had to depend on for your life! We must not have thought much of our pilots. Send them up in a plane made by the lowest bidder, left with a badly designed and built "survival" weapon. Now I sound like one of those guys I just put on Ignore. Be Well, RZ.

I have had one for many years. I like it. Yes, it does take some getting used to (it’s called practice.)
When my grandkids show up, we shoot at spinners and cans with the .22 barrel.....the kids do pretty well with the iron sights at 25 yards. The .410 barrel shoots a slug dead on at 50 feet.
Shot loads.....don’t ask the little gun to do what a full sized .410 will do and it will work just fine.
Pattern It at 15 yards.
There is a scope base available. Putting a small reflex sight on will make a world of difference.

The biggest handicap to accurate shooting with the M6 is the design of the trigger. But if used as intended, for arctic survival, there is no better trigger on the market for that application. It can be fired with mittens on, in extreme cold, without freezing your fingers. Quite ingenious. And useful, but it is certainly not an elegant design for warmer weather use. Comparing the M6 to most other combination guns is like comparing a snowmobile to a motorcycle. You wouldn't expect much use from a snowmobile during warm weather, same for the M6. A motorcycle is useless in a snowbank. I suspect many members on this forum have not experienced very extreme cold. Trying to fire a conventional gun with bare fingers or even with thin gloves on at -40° or colder will give the shooter frostbite in less than a minute. The little M6 is quite specialized, but useful for what it was designed to do.

I had one. I took it apart to work on the abysmal trigger pull. The receiver is made from two stamped halves riveted together. I figure they must assemble all the lockwork in one half, then rivet them together, because the thing is darn near impossible to reassemble. It required making custom slave pins and a reassembly sequence of Byzantine complexity. Put this part back in, but only half way, then put that part in just a little bit, move the first part farther in, then grab the third part......I finally got it back together, but it was a real struggle.

Never take one apart. You have been warned.

When the prices went through the roof for them, I found someone who wanted it a bunch more than I did. Don't miss it.

If you look at it in its niche, it is quite remarkable. As stated, you could shoot it with heavy arctic mittens on. Moving parts were minimal, and, it certainly was much better than a survival knife tied on the end of a stick. It may not have been a Savage 24, but it certainly served its purpose well. I am not absolutely certain that it has been taken out of the survival kits totally, although I did read an article about a compact M4 for the kits. Been a while since I was on active duty, so things have changed.