The Return of M6 Survival Rifle

The M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon was USAF issue from the 1950s until the early 1970s. It was a simple over/under, with a .22 Hornet rifle barrel over a .410 smoothbore barrel and was intended, as the name implies, as a way for aircrews to harvest wildlife in a survival situation. They're rarely seen in the private marketplace, in part because the 14" barrel means they're regulated as an AOW (Any Other Weapon) by the BATF, and that means not only is BATF permission and paperwork is needed to transfer ownership, but until recent a $200 transfer tax had to be paid as well.

A number of companies produced civilian versions o the M6 between the 70s and 2008, with Springfield Arms being the last that I'm aware of. Springfield also produced a pistol version, which I wrote about not long ago. I've long wanted one, but never got around to buying when they were available. Now Chiappa Arms, makers of a wide range of curious arms (like their Rhino revolver)  has produced two versions of the M6 design as well as an interesting multi-caliber package. Compared to the Springfield design, the Chiappa M6 adds a more sophisticated trigger guard and three separate Picatinny rails.

The basic M6 is available in .22/20 gauge or .22/12 gauge. (I'd prefer the original .410 version made by Springfield arms, but at 6lbs the Chiappa is probably heavy enough to damp the recoil from reasonable 20 and 12 gauge loads.)  The multi-caliber version, called the "X-Caliber," consists of the .22/12 version along with a series of steel inserts for the shotgun tube that allow you to use eight pistol calibers (.380 , 9 mm , .357Mag/.38SP , .40 S & W, .44 Mag, .45 ACP , .410/.45colt ) and two shotgun shell sizes (410 ga, 20ga). I'm not sure how practical the pistol cartridges are, as the point of aim would be different for every cartridge.

So how much does this all cost? Slickguns.com has the standard M6 models at $438.99, and the X-Caliber for $614.19. To that, add shipping, sales tax,  and FFL fees, and you're probably at around $500 and $700, respectively. I still want one... but not enough to spend $500.