In January 2024, Chiappa very quietly posted on their website a new version of their LA322 lever action 22 LR rifle. I only found out about it because I happened along and noticed it. This was a takedown carbine that was advertised as having a 1/2x28 threaded 18.5 inch barrel. The only thing it was missing was open sighs. I suppose it was intended to have a scope or red dot. Minus the missing sights, the rifle looks exactly the way I've been wanting. Wood stocks, blued steel and a threaded barrel for a silencer. I go over this concept a bit in my article called My Dream Plinker. My tastes have definitely changed as I thought my CZ 457 Scout was the Perfect Plinker but my love of lever action rifles has reigned king. I kept an eye out to see when the new version of the LA322 would be available. As it turns out, they started shipping fairly quickly and many options for under $350. I jumped on one.
The LA322 threaded from the factory is not the fully realized Dream Plinker or Perfect Plinker. There are a few missing things such as the 12 inch barrel and open sights. Those are things that can be fixed as needed. Chiappa does have part numbers for replacement parts on their website but after further digging and looking over parts diagrams, adding a front sight will be tricky.
Problems
This project ran into several problems that I attempted to work through. Some of them are such a problem that I've had to rethink the total project and is sort of stuck in limbo.
The first issue I wanted to address was the lack of open sights. It does have the usual dovetail rail on the receiver for a scope. On rifles such as the Henry 22, the front barrel band also has the front sight integrated. The LA322 is similar, however, there is also a cap that covers the muzzle that is molded into the component. If you look at the muzzle of the Kodiak Cub model, you'll have an easier time seeing what I am talking about. The front sight, barrel band and muzzle cap are all cast as one metal piece. I was originally hoping that I could modify the regular barrel band and add a Skinner rear sight.
The parts diagram of the rifle shows that the barrel is stepped down in diameter and that the front sight cap slides over the muzzle. The barrel on the threaded model doesn't appear to have that step-down and a different band is used. The replacement front sight will need to be modified to work correctly by cutting off the cap at the point where the cap meets the band and remove material from under the sight base to let the barrel slide into the ring. I needed to order parts number 39 and 40 from Chiappa then make the needed changes. It's not as simple as I was hoping this would be. Thankfully, I was able to get both the front sight and the tunnel. Part number 39 was modified but an expected issue came up that I will explain later on.
The rear sight on the regular LA322 is a traditional buckhorn sight dovetailed into the barrel. This version of the rifle doesn't have that dovetail cut in the barrel. It does have the usual 11mm or 3/8 inch rail on the receiver. That's perfect as I had planned on using a Skinner rear aperture sight like I have on the Henry. The first major snag I ran into, however, is that the receiver is rounded on the top. The Skinner Rimfire sight uses a flat base. It won't fit. After doing additional research, I later found that the William WGRS-54 sight should work for what I have in mind but I would have to order more parts.
On to the second issue. For the most part, there is a very logical reason that having a threaded barrel on a lever action .22 LR rifle with a full length magazine isn't usually a thing. Most .22 silencers measure approximately 1 inch in diameter. That means that the lower rear portion of the silencer body is obstructing the magazine tube. To load one of these rifles, you remove the tube by rotating the knob to unlock the inner part. Then you pull the tube toward the muzzle and load cartridges, nose-forward into the cartridge shaped slot on the magazine tube body.
If a silencer is threaded on, the tube will not likely clear the silencer. You have to remove the silencer from the barrel, remove the tube, load the magazine, reinsert the tube and screw on the silencer. That's a cumbersome way to plink. I attempted to confirm that the tube would not clear the silencer the day I took home the rifle. I did find something very interesting though. My rifle's thread pitch was not 1/2x28 as advertised. I suspected the pitch was 1/2x20, the usual European pattern and these are Italian made guns. I reached out to Chiappa to confirm. They confirmed that a number of these rifles were shipped with European spec barrels. They offered to RMA the rifle and provided a shipping label to replace the barrel. It took a few months to get the rifle back.
Once in hand, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had corrected this issue but I did run into a new problem. The threaded section is very long. In fact, it's so long that the silencer doesn't screw down far enough to seat on the shoulder. Thankfully, Q includes a spacer they said would be needed for this sort of issue. I also found Chiappa had used a barrel band that was extended enough to push the magazine tube below the silencer body. I can remove the tube without removing the silencer. For me to continue to pursue the build with open sights, I would have to use the shorter, modified barrel band. This now means that the magazine tube and silencer body would interfere with each other as stated above.
There are a few ways to bypass this issue but the best solution is to use a narrow diameter silencer. The smallest diameter rimfire silencer I know of is AB Suppressor's Little Bird. I know of at least one person who did a similar build with a Henry Silver Boy (See pnw_pew on Instagram) and the Little Bird. Since I don't own a Little Bird, I need another solution.
Enter Griffin Armament. Griffin Armament makes a nifty quick detach system called CAM-LOK. It's almost like an interrupted thread system that allows for a fast on and off removal of a silencer. Normally, the system is for recoil operated pistols to use a suppressor and have a quick attach and detach system.
For example, I have a CAM-LOK piston in my Dead Air booster assembly. I can put that booster into my Primal or Wolfman. I have a few semi-auto pistols in different calibers that have the CAM-LOK muzzle adapters. I can take the Primal with the piston and quick attach it to a 9mm pistol with an adapter and fire, then move the silencer to my .45 ACP pistol with adapter. This occurs without issue and no changes to the piston are needed. They also have a universal direct thread adapter in 1/2x28. That adapter was the key to making this whole build easier to work with given the shorter barrel band.
By using that adapter on my Q El Camino, I would have been able to attach and remove the silencer for loading quickly and easily. Together, the system is about $140 which is a little more expensive than the Gemtech 4 lug system but I already had an extra CAM-LOK adapter in 1/2x28 from another gun I no longer have. I just needed the universal adapter for the silencer side of the system which is $79 on their website. With the Griffin Armament CAM-LOK system, I can remove and attach the silencer for easy loading. That's one problem solved.
At least that's what I thought.
Because the Skinner sight doesn't fit the receiver and I don't have the Williams sight and the front barrel band doesn't slide on just yet and needs additional milling to clean up, I'm not able to pursue the open sights part of this build at the moment.
Additionally. if I do use the sighted front band, I will absolutely loose the convivence of keeping the silencer attached for reloading. I'm becoming less interested in this idea the more I use the rifle. At this point, the CAM-LOK idea is pretty much out of the running.
After running into these issues during the assembly phase of the project, I just wanted to run the gun and see how it would be. I just wanted to enjoy my new rifle. I screwed the silencer onto the rifle with the spacer, installed the beautiful Mason Leather stock cuff on the rifle and clipped on the Uncle Mike's magazine tube sling stud. I will need to install the other sling stud later on. I still needed a sighting system.
How Is It?
I borrowed an ADE Spike 4 MOA red dot from my CZ457 Scout and modified the picatinny to dovetail adapter to fit the round receiver. It was a very sloppy job but it works for the time being. I zeroed the rifle for 36 yards.
My initial impressions shooting this rifle is that there is nothing like a lever action .22 LR with a tube full of CCI Standard Velocity and a good silencer attached. Even in just the stock configuration without my fully realized Dream Plinker, the LA322 with a red dot and silencer is fantastically fun to shoot. Honestly, from just the short time I've been able to enjoy the rifle, I recommend it but with caveats.
I like that it looks like a Marlin 39A in passing but internally it is anything but a Marlin.
What I don't like is how cheap the finish feels. It's nice looking but it's not a steel receiver that's finely finished and blued, like a Marlin 39A. Then again, you aren't paying for that and the street price is sure nice. It's very accessible.
The action isn't gritty or rough, it's smooth but it's not light like my Henry is as if there is friction slowing it down. I suppose that will take time to loosen up with use. The manual does recommend a 100 to 150 round break in period.
Future
I'm not sure that I will able to realize this project to it's fullest for a while but I will continue to think it over. The Perfect Plinker concept would need for me to trim down the barrel to 12 inches or so. That will take a lot of work as the magazine needs shortened as well. It also requires the $200 NFA tax and registration. I'm torn on doing the paperwork, the Form 1, to make that happen. I don't like registrations and I don't like paying taxes on Constitutional rights. Many .22 LR loads don't actually need a barrel length in excess of 12 inches, something I go over in another article you can read about shorter barrels. I would also need to engrave the receiver per certain rules. Incidentally, the modified barrel band couldn't be used anyway as a 12 inch barrel would shorter than there is room for. That brings me to the next part of this.
The open sights problem has presented me with something to think over given that my initial idea didn't work. Should I actually choose to pursue the open sights again, the Williams WGRS-54 sight will need to be tested. I had hoped that the barrel band modification would work but after additional consideration, milling a dovetail into the front of the barrel and installing a more traditional gold bead sight seems to be the better idea. This would allow me to keep the stock barrel band and allow the tube to clear the silencer. I do just happen to have an extra Marbles front sight from the Winchester restoration project. I will inquire with my trusted locals to see if we can mill a dovetail into the barrel. That said, I think that I will wait until I decide to commit to shortening the barrel. It doesn't make much sense to run out and modify the barrel then have to make the same dovetail cut again.
Summary
I never expected that a company would actually make a carbine length lever action .22 LR rifle with a threaded barrel but I am sure glad that Chiappa did it. The bonus with the LA322 is two fold. First, it looks like a Marlin 39A which is a bucket list or "Someday Gun" for me. The second bonus is that this LA322 is a takedown model. That means I can undo the side screw to disassemble the rifle for easy transport and cleaning.
The downsides of the LA322 are the limitations on rimfire accessories due to the rounded receiver. If you are trying to use a scope, make sure that your rings will work. Note that the rifle was intended for that particular setup. You will also need to be selective about what mounts you are using if you plan on using anything picatinny-based. The cheap internal adapters from Amazon will require heavy modification and I don't recommend this method at all as it will scratch up your new receiver's finish. Something that I didn't know about until after the fact is the UTG RDM-20 dovetail mount. These are a Docter footprint, low profile dovetail mount (part number is RDM-20XSD) that are designed for this sort of application though it does sit higher than what I would like. I absolutely wish I had known about this part before I started modifying the adapter. Lesson learned.
Additionally, the takedown system is currently tight but the tab that slots into the receiver has a little vertical play in it when you apply pressure to the two halves of the rifle. It isn't an issue now but I will be keeping an eye on it.
If you want something similar to this but are on a tight budget, Rossi makes a version of their Rio Bravo called the Tactical. It has a 16 inch threaded barrel and comes with a picatinny rail section for a red dot or scope. It also has sling studs. I wouldn't say that the Chiappa is expensive by any means but the Rossi is just a bit cheaper. The Rio Bravo also doesn't look as nice with the plastic furniture. The Henry Frontier Threaded is still the best turnkey solution for this sort of thing as it has everything needed out of the box. It'll probably the quietest as well with that long barrel. I just don't want that long of a barrel and is about $125+ more in street price. I really do like the carbine length barrels.
So is the LA322 the Perfect Plinker? I think it's pretty darn close. It's inexpensive, looks nice and can be configured with the best of accessories with a little bit of research and effort. Maybe you like a bolt-action or a semi-auto but I like a lever action and so far, the LA322 is pushing all the right buttons. Stay tuned for more Chippa LA322 content.
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