When it comes to weapon selection and prepping one of the best things you can do is find weapons that fulfill your roles without becoming burdensome. The market for firearms is massive, and there are a number of folding guns out there they have a very small footprint but are still very capable guns. Four guns, in particular, come to mind, and I’ll toss a very niche bonus gun in at the end.
The Kel-Tec Sub 2K
The Kel-Tec Sub 2K is probably the most popular gun on this list. As a folding rifle, it’s quite cool and unique. The Kel-Tec Sub 2k is a pistol caliber carbine available in 9mm and 40 S&W and best of all comes in many different magazine types. Different models allow you to use different magazines which correspond with some of the most popular handguns on the market. This selection includes Glock, S&W, SIG Sauer, CZ, and a few more. Common magazine platforms make it easy to find magazines as well as match the magazine your handgun uses with your rifle.
Best off this compact and lightweight rifle folds in half. It becomes half the approximate size, and the barrel folds up and over the receiver and stock of the weapon. This reduces the overall profile of the gun and allows you to quickly stash and carry it in a backpack or strapped to a pack. The Kel-Tec Sub 2K is a semi-automatic rifle and can be a very effective close-range defensive weapon. The use of a pistol caliber limits its effective range and firepower. However, this little compact weapon is quite useful and very lightweight, easy to handle, and even fun to shoot.
The Sub 2K is also a very affordable weapon and an excellent choice for someone not strong enough to handle standard rifles. As a spare rifle, or cache weapon its an excellent choice due to its small size and common ammo type. In a pinch, it’s ultimately much better than just a pistol.
A Folding Survival Shotgun
The shotgun is by far the most affordable and versatile weapon on the market. Your standard 12 gauge shotgun can take game as small as squirrels and as large as bear all depending on the load chosen. It’s perfect as a hunting weapon for all types of game. My particular model is a Tri-Star folding survival shotgun, but it was never a mainstream production item. However, several different companies produce these guns with American Tactical’s new Nomad being quite close is design.
These guns are single shot weapons, and when gathering food, you are unlikely to get more than one shot anyway. The single shot nature makes them simple, lightweight, and shorter overall. The polymer furniture of many of these guns is hollow, and this allows you to stash goods in them and allows these guns to float.
Admittedly a lightweight 12 gauge is a shoulder rocker so you may want to consider using mostly managed recoil loads over standard buckshot. Save full powered slugs for special occasions. Because they are single shots, they can reliably use the Aguila Mini Shells. Outside of lowered recoil these shells are lighter and smaller and who needs a full blast of 12 gauge birdshot for a squirrel?
A single shot shotgun isn’t the most adept fighting weapon, but in a pinch, it’s better than a pointy stick and bad intentions. These are a bit large for most packs but will fit easily strapped to the side of a pack. The compact design makes them very lightweight, and the simple design means they have less chance of failing.
The Chiappa Little Badger
The Chiappa Little Badger is like an ugly puppy, yeah its ugly, but its still a puppy. The Little Badger is a single shot rimfire rifle available in 17 HMR, 22 Magnum, and 22LR. It’s a folding rifle that almost looks like it stepped out of the video game Fallout. It’s a barrel, a small receiver, and a pipe stock. Not much to it. It folds in half, is hammer fired, and is a light 2.9 pounds.
This little single shot rimfire gun is perfect for picking off small game and taking care of pests. The Little Badger is quite accurate and very quiet for an unsuppressed rifle. It can take a squirrel, landed birds, raccoon, rabbits and more at longer ranges than a shotgun and with less signature overall.
The Little Badger has a robust set of peep sights, but the Picatinny rails allow for the attachment of long eye relief scopes and red dots. This is the least recoiling, smallest gun on the list and is perfect for younger or less experienced shooters. It’s an incredibly affordable weapon as well that even comes with a carrying bag.
The Fold AR
The Fold AR is one gun I don’t own but respect the design. The Double Fold AR, in particular, is an excellent design overall. It features a rear folding adapter that allows you to fold the stock or brace, and then Fold AR’s front mechanism folds the barrel to the opposite side of the stock or brace.
I’ve only had the pleasure of handling this system, and it was one of the most unique systems I’ve ever seen. It makes an AR collapse into nearly nothing, and in AR pistol form it can easily fit inside a pack and disappear. This is likely the best fighting weapon of all of these folding guns. The Fold AR is a rifle and fires a rifle round, so it has range, accuracy, and power going for it.
It’s also by far the most expensive option on the list, and to me, a AR 15 already breaks down into small enough pieces for pack carry.
The TrailBlazer LifeCard
The LifeCard is a 22 LR single shot handgun that folds into what looks like a credit card that overate pizza. As a prepper, it serves a very limited role. Like the old Mossberg Brownie, it could be used to kill trapped and snared game. It’s also a good deep concealment gun. It’s only one shot, but it’s small size, and odd shape makes it very easy to hide from prying eyes. It has a very limited function and a high price tag for what it is.
It is, however, a folding gun, so it makes the list.
The World of Folding Guns
Folding guns are unique, cool looking, and interesting pieces of engineering. For preppers, they are also quite practical and useful. They are easy to pack, often serve a dedicated role in the prepper’s arsenal. What are your thoughts on the guns listed above? Or on folding weapons in general?
