chiappa little badger xtreme. $280

Though I've always felt the Chiappa Little Badgers were a brilliant, simple and potentially necessary addition to any bugout bag, their construction quality is inconsistent. Some people got flawless tack-drivers and others (like myself) got lemons. Because I didn't have time, it was a full six months before I got it out into the woods to shoot it. Despite attaching a suppressor, the report from the breach instantly deafened my right ear and with visible expansion of the brass shells, it didn't take me long to figure out they'd over-drilled the breach chamber. Resultantly, accuracy was horrible. I promptly called the customer service number on their website only to be told the six month warranty had expired: they would fix it but only at full cost to me. Considering I'd only paid $125 for the rifle I figured it wasn't worth fixing as they obviously weren't confident enough to stand behind their workmanship for the lifetime of the product. It has definitely made me worry about the longevity of the materials used (i.e die-cast zinc alloy, plastic etc) and the inherent safety (or lack thereof) for other Badger customers. That aside, this new iteration definitely covers a couple of the improvements I'd have opted for, but they should do away with the crap plastic M1 style sights and the plastic pic rails as neither of these features make the rifle more accurate nor user friendly. If they simply extend and groove the receiver, owners could add a sight of their choice and providing Chiappa make their barrels/breaches true, it'll shoot straight and serve as the truly useful survival weapon it's intended to be. The new Xtreme has greater foldability than the original Badger and comes with a plastic carry tube which is hopefully also waterproof and floats?! Visit their WEBSITE here.