Chiappa Little Badger TDX: New Takedown Option

Zac Kurylyk in Guns on January 30, 2023

Chiappa's Little Badger has been on the market for quite a while now, offering a stripped-down survival rifle for users just looking for the basics. There have been a few variations over the years: Choice of .22LR, .22 magnum and .17 HMR options, even a 9mm Flobert shotgun option. There is a Deluxe version, with a wood stock instead of the wire chassis. For a while Chiappa, offered the Double Badger, an over/under version, combining rifle and shotgun barrels. And now, just unveiled at SHOW Show, we have the Little Badger TDX.

What's different? A quick look tells you: Not much. It's still a stripped-down survival firearm, folding in half for easy carry. But the TDX takes it one step further: Along with the capability to fold down into a smaller shape, it can also be completely broken into two pieces.

This makes it even easier to store the rifle, at least in theory. In its standard folding format, the Little Badger was already very easy to stow away in a small space. In the TDX takedown format, it can also be stored in a floating tube, which will certainly make it more attractive to those looking for a floating survival rifle for boat or floatplane trips. The tube is included with the rifle's sale.

You can see the rifle has a slightly different profile from the usual Little Badger, but it's the same basic idea.

To take down the rifle, there's a simple button on the side of the action; when the white dots are lined up, you can take it apart. When the white dot on the button lines up with the red button, the action is locked together. The buttstock also folds down to make it even easier to store.

The whole rifle is a tidy package when taken down, fitting into the included waterproof tube.

Barrel length is 16.5 inches, with 1/2″x28 TPI threaded muzzle, which seems of little use for a rifle intended for survival purposes. Like the original Little Badger line, this version comes with M1-style adjustable sights and built-in Picatinny rails for mounting optics and accessories. Users can store 12 rounds of ammunition in the buttstock. Overall length, when not folded or taken down, is 31 inches, weighing 2.9 pounds.

No doubt we'll see this rifle in Canada in coming months, probably at a price slightly north of $300 for the .22LR version, perhaps a bit more for .22 magnum.