Specifically, the Rossi YOUTH Matched Pair in .22/.410 I wanted the smallest size for easy packability. I have no problems shooting a short length-of-pull rifle. If you want a longer LOP, just add a small sized slip-on recoil pad. Or buy the adult sized version. Some people who use these for bug-out guns actually remove the plastic buttplate, leaving the hollow stock exposed. They stuff the stock full of whatever, and then use a slip-on recoil pad to "seal things up" (use the recoil pad as a removeable buttplate).

The rifle is normally $149 or $159 around here I think. Dick's Sporting Goods had it on sale for $109 on last years (2010) Black Friday. And Rossi had a $20 rebate. And then Dick's gave me an extra $20 for coming in on Black Friday! So the total price came down to only $69 dollars. Can't complain about that! Dick's also had the same gun for the same price in a .22/20ga configuration. I waffled between which to choose, and ended up with the .410 for no particular reason.

Just curious - does anyone here have experience with the various models of the Kel-Tec SU-16 or SU-22? This is the weapon that was reviewed on ETS a few years ago. It allows you to move up to the 223 cartridge which is a significant boost in power and also cost....

I have a Kel-Tec SU-16B. It is in many respects an outstanding rifle. It's super reliable and with excellent accuracy using the iron sights. A couple of important things I've learned about it:

• You really need the sling kit from Kel-Tec. Without it you wont have sling swivel mounts.
• The charging handle is easy to install incorrectly, which I learned to my chagrin prevents the rifle from firing. Don't do that. The replacement "deflector" charging handle is well worthwhile -- it deflects spent cartridge cases away from you, and gives you an obvious visual clue to prevent it from being installed incorrectly.
• The optional rubber butt extender adds a little overall length and a lot of shootability.
• The front post sight on mine could not be adjusted downwards far enough. I fixed it by filing it down (Leatherman Wave saves the day again!) and shimming up the rear sight.
• The picatinny-style rail on mine isn't lined up quite right with the bore. Forget about getting a red dot sight or a scope working with it. I've read that this is a common issue.

sorry, please disregard

No, as a matter of fact, I am not referring to using an adapter. Kel-Tec has a model SU-22 which is chambered fro the 22 LR. I just noticed it on their web page.

For what you spend on a high end Airgun, you can have a decent survival gun. Heck you could by a marlin 22 and an H&R 12 Gauge for the price of one high end Air rifle. I have never seen the attraction.

Fair enough. One attraction is the low sound-level of airguns. That and the many other attractions have been thoroughly dead-horsed elsewhere.

That being said, I have decided that a very excellent option that sort of combines what I see as the advantages of airguns and regular firearms is the CB long cartridge in a .22 rimfire carbine or even long-barreled semi-auto pistol (more portable and packable). There's a high-quality short-barreled CZ bolt-action scout type or youth .22 RF rifle with an adjustable trigger (a very excellent feature of the older Beeman R1,R7, R9 etc airguns) that I think would be close to ideal with the CB longs for many purposes. Until then, I have an old Winchester 69A and a newer Marlin 60 that will do.

I don't believe I have ever used CB Longs. Do they have an effect on the 22LR chamber if used frequently? They certainly sound like a good solution to the noise issue.

I bought the SU-16A when it first came out. At the time that was pretty much the only decent option for .223 in CA (other than the Mini-14). It's a fun gun, but to be honest with the price and availability of AR-15 platform nowadays, I can't really say there's a whole lot of reason to go with Kel-tec, other than it's different. If the Su-16C were legal in CA, then maybe it would be a different story. An AR can be broaken down almost as quickly and easily into a small package, and the aftermarket is much bigger.

Nope, but then again I've never had a problem with shooting CB shorts out of .22lr chambered firearms either.

Supposedly, the point of CB longs was that some rifles have difficultly feeding CB shorts from their magazine due to the overall shorter length vs. a long-rifle cartridge. Now, it's worth noting that it doesn't really matter in semi-automatic firearms, as they won't typically cycle with cb shorts or longs anyway. However, there are a bunch of magazine fed bolt-action rifles on the market that would likely benefit from the easier feeding of CB longs.

Now, personally, I've got a Henry youth rifle chambered in .22lr/.22l/.22s that is fed from a tubular magazine. I love shooting CB shorts out of it, because I can fit 19 of them in the tube plus 1 in the chamber for a total of 20 rounds. With long rifle or CB long cartridges, that number is severely reduced. As an added benefit, being a lever action, it doesn't matter if I'm shooting .22lr or .22 cb short, both cycle just the same. All in all, it's one of my favorite rifles.