Chiappa Firearms surprised me with the release of the new Big Badger folding rifles on social media this past week. Following up on the success of their folding rimfire Little Badgers, they have a trio of new rifles chambered in centerfire rounds.
The .410 Big Badger
Okay, I guess the first one is actually a shotgun, not a rifle, being that it’s chambered in .410, 3-inch shells. The .410 Badger has a 20-inch barrel with a fiber optic front sight. It uses a Beretta/Benelli-style choke.
There’s no rear sight per se, but it looks like there’s a groove down the Picatinny rail that you line up with it. You can always mount a red dot or scope on the rail as well, obviously. In addition, the Picatinny rail extends down the forend of the rifle and there are M-LOK slots available as well.
The Big Badgers are single-shot, break-open designs with an exposed hammer and cross-bolt safety. The stock is made from steel rod and comes with an adjustable comb and rubber recoil pad. Overall length is 35 inches, and weight is just 5.3 pounds. The whole design folds in half to the length of the 20-inch barrel.
MSRP is a very reasonable $225.19.
| Caliber | .410/76MM |
| Action | Break Open (Folding) |
| Barrel Length | 20” |
| Capacity | 1 Round |
| Feed In | Manual |
| Trigger System | Single Action |
| Stock | Steel Rod w/ Adj. Comb |
| Forend | Picatinny w/ M-LOK |
| Rear Sight | Picatinny Rail |
| Safety | Hammer Half Cock + Manual |
| Chokes | Beretta/Benelli Mobil Choke Threads, MC-1 (Modified) |
| Total Length | 35” (889 mm) |
| Material | Steel |
| Net Weight | 5.30 lb |
| Finishing | Black |
| Extraction | Extractor |
| MSRP | $225.19 |
The .350 Legend Big Badger
Next in line is the Big Badger chambered in the straight wall .350 Legend cartridge. I’m a fan of the .350 Legend, personally. It offers a nice mix of large bullet, heavy bullet weight, and reasonable recoil. Subsonic loads work great with a suppressor on it, too.
Specs on the .350 Legend Big Badger are largely the same as the .410 version, except that it substitutes a threaded barrel and thread protector in lieu of the front sight post. So, this is an optics-only proposition. The .350 still rocks a 20-inch barrel, and comes in slightly heavier at 5.5 pounds.
MSRP on this rifle is $362.96.
| Caliber | 350 Legend |
| Action | Break Open (Folding) |
| Barrel Length | 20” |
| Capacity | 1 Round |
| Feed In | Manual |
| Trigger System | Single Action |
| Stock | Steel Rod w/ Adj. Comb |
| Forend | Picatinny w/ M-LOK |
| Rear Sight | Picatinny Rail |
| Safety | Hammer Half Cock + Manual |
| Twist Rate | 1:16 Twist Rate |
| Total Length | 35” (889 mm) |
| Material | Steel |
| Net Weight | 5.30 lb |
| Finishing | Black |
| Extraction | Extractor |
| MSRP | $362.96 |
.30-30 Big Badger
Last up is the big Badger in the venerable, yet still popular, .30-30 Winchester cartridge. Specs on the .30-30 are identical to the .350 Legend model. It uses the same 20-inch threaded barrel with Picatinny rail and has the same 5.5-pound weight. Like the rest of the Badgers, it folds in half for transport and storage.
MSRP is the same as the .350 Legend model, $362.96.
| Caliber | 30-30 |
| Action | Break Open (Folding) |
| Barrel Length | 20” |
| Capacity | 1 Round |
| Feed In | Manual |
| Trigger System | Single Action |
| Stock | Steel Rod w/ Adj. Comb |
| Forend | Picatinny w/ M-LOK |
| Rear Sight | Picatinny Rail |
| Safety | Hammer Half Cock + Manual |
| Twist Rate | 1:12 Twist Rate |
| Total Length | 35” (889 mm) |
| Material | Steel |
| Net Weight | 5.50 lb |
| Finishing | Black |
| Extraction | Extractor |
| MSRP | $362.96 |
Big Burly Badgers
The rimfire Little Badgers are neat rifles and fill a niche for survival and hunting. Having the option of a .410, .350 Legend, or .30-30 is a great option as well, though. The centerfire rounds give you a lot more options when it comes to taking game. They’d also be nice lightweight options for regular hunting, too.
The fact that they fold in half for easy storage in your pack, on an ATV or snowmobile, or in the back of a Jeep is a great feature, as well. Add in the solid construction and simple operation, along with the reasonable price tag, and I suspect these will be great sellers for Chiappa.
For more information, check out the Chiappa website at Chiappafirearms.com.
