Keystone's Mighty .22LR Miniatures!
Do Your Eyes Deceive?
“Cute” isn’t an appellation you typically apply to firearms but Roy makes an exception for these fun, collectible replicas of the Mosin-Nagant and Springfield 1903 by Keystone Sporting Arms.
There’s only one word for these guns — “cute.” I know, I know, we’re not supposed to call a gun cute. I think I read that someplace. But every single time I show these two little rifles to anyone, they always pause, look at it, look at me, then say, “Awww … how cute!” Except when they say, “Awww … how adorable!” No, really.
But they are. At about 30″ overall, depending on the model, they are munchkin-like for sure. The Mini Mosin-Nagant weighs in at a feathery 2.8 lbs. while the more studly 1903A3 tosses 3 lbs., 6 oz. of weight around. Seeing them by themselves doesn’t do them justice. It’s when you pick one up they really get your attention. And you have to suppress that “cute” word from slipping out — especially at the gun store. These guys are tiny terror versions of their full-scale real-world counterparts and unless you look really closely, it’s darn hard to tell them from their big brothers unless you’re up close.
The team at Keystone Sporting Arms thought them up and when they’re finished, they’ll be five different models in the family. And no, I don’t know what’s up next but be still my throbbing heart if it’s an SMLE! Maybe a Mauser 98? Gads!
Keystone is justly famous for their growing line-up of tidy .22s for the likes of kids, medium-sized people and yes, even we big kids. Between us, I think we big kids are the real customers here. Get ready for some gun writer heresy here just to prove it. I paid full retail, over the counter for the Mosin simply because I couldn’t help it once I had it in my hand. Trust me, it’ll happen to you too.
“Cute” isn’t an appellation you typically apply to firearms but Roy
makes an exception for these fun, collectible replicas of the Mosin-Nagant
and Springfield 1903 by Keystone Sporting Arms.
Other Cool Guns
According to Keystone’s website, it all happened in Pennsylvania in 1994, where Bill McNeal and his son Steve were holding public auctions every Friday. A gent approached them with a Chipmunk .22 single shot (a tiny rifle made just for kids) and the father/son team was smitten with it. I had one and know precisely what they’re talking about. They called the manufacturer in an attempt to buy some rifles and were pitched to buy the company instead. It didn’t work out, but it did start the duo on their journey to build their own small single shot rifles. They soon had their “Cricket” line-up on the market. The company started with four employees and shipped 4,000 rifles the first year, but things have grown since then.
Today, Keystone has a team of 55 and has grown to fill over 75,000 square foot of manufacturing facility space, producing an average of 60,000 Crickett and Chipmunk rifles yearly. And yes, Keystone ended up eventually buying the Rogue Rifle Company, the maker of that nifty Chipmunk rifle and has continued to expand that brand too.
Keystone also offers the “Keystone” branded line, a slightly larger .22 rifle made for older kids (and older big kids too!). There’s more though — if you have a Ruger 10/22 or a future project for one, keep in mind their “Revolution” product line consists of high quality laminated stocks specifically for the 10/22. I know they’re good because I used one in a custom 10-22 build I did for GUNS Magazine a short time ago!
The mini military rifles are part of their Cricket line-up. Make sure you check out their tiny “Precision” rifle too which would look right at home in the hands of a 10-year-old SWAT Operator, just to paint a mental picture. But like all the other guns, it also begs we older shooters to just give it a try. Oh please …
Their hunting “pistols” are single-shot bolt-action versions of their rifles and with a scope, make a dandy squirrel gun or advanced plinker, and with irons I think could compete in .22 silhouette matches. But it’s the wood and steel of the retro-guns that gets my attention.
Miniature Replicas by Keystone Arms — Mosin-Nagant
Mini Mosin-Nagant
The KSA9130 Mini Mosin-Nagant 91/30 was launched in 2019 and was the first of the series of five planned mini models of military surplus rifles. According to Keystone, they developed the line of iconic rifles to teach younger shooters a bit about the history of shooting — and some world history at the same time. Military collectors lost their minds of course and have embraced these cool models as must-haves for their own collections. I told you.
Some specs are enlightening. The Mosin has an honest-to-goodness American Walnut stock, hiding a classic single shot action based on their Cricket rifles. While these replicas don’t have the capacity of the originals, the look is there and the plinking promises are pretty darn high. The barrel is 20″ (blued steel, along with the action), it has a tidy 11.5″ length of pull — but feels fine in an adult’s arms too.
The model mirrors the original’s trigger guard, front sight, bolt handle, butt plate, sling slots, barrel rings and a rear V-groove sight. If it was sitting alone you’d be hard pressed to give it a quick look and not assume you were looking at a “real” rifle! Oh wait, it is a real rifle. It even has a star symbol on the receiver. You can also get a pretty original looking canvas and leather “Dog Collar” sling for it, which I added, and it really ramps the game up. MSRP is $399.
Mini 1903-A3 Springfield
I have a nice old ’03 and when put next to it, the resemblance is astounding. The rear sight on the Mini is a tad “too big” but otherwise, things look pretty tidy. My mini has a great piece of lumber on it too, and from what I’ve seen, they all seem to ship with some nice wood. The stacking swivel looks right at home (I need to buy two more so I can stack ’em), as does the bolt handle. The barrel is 16 ½” and interestingly, is threaded 3/8 x 24 for a suppressor.
This makes sense if you think about it. If you have a .22 suppressor, it means you can really enjoy plinking and teaching kids with this rifle. Or you could just play WWII jungle sniper, and I wouldn’t tell a soul.
The length of pull is 11 ⅝”, the swivel size is 1″, sight radius is 18″ and overall the tiny rifle just looks right and feels even better in the hands. I have to say, adding this one to the Mosin makes a great team and they live next to my desk most of the time. I smile whenever I look at them. MSRP on the ’03 is $449.
The Mosin-Nagant replica offers a threaded barrel with a cover, making a silencer a great option for plinking or shooter training.
Shooting Them
Both are classic single-shot .22 rifles in the sense once you open the bolt, drop a round into the ramp area and close the bolt, you need to cock the striker at the rear of the bolt. Nice and safe for kids, and a nearby adult can tell at a glance if the rifle is cocked or not.
Both rifles had what I might want to call a “military” trigger, a bit on the spongy side and around 5 lbs. or so, with the Mosin’s a tad better. But before you complain, I think that’s fine. After all, this is theoretically a kid’s rifle and I wouldn’t want a 2-lb. trigger on the rifle an 8-year old is shooting. Later, sure, but not at first. If you have the urge, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t easily hone this trigger if you have the skills as it’s a very simple mechanism.
I used good old CCI Mini-Mag HP .22 LR ammo to test at 25 yards. Sorry, but the sights are pretty standard military and I just wouldn’t be able to do justice to anything at 50 yards. I used a sort of inverted “V” target so it was fairly easy to hold the front sight at the point of the “V” and squeeze. The result from about 10 groups through each rifle showed well under 1″ overall, with many groups in the 0.75″ range.
Since I’d certainly call these plinkers, I also shot a bit of bulk .22 from Remington at the same distance. Groups did grow a tad but any aluminum can out to about 30 yards or so would have had to duck and cover. I have a 100-yard steel gong here about 12″ wide and once I got the elevation dialed in, I could hit it way more often than not with the CCI ammo. I’d call both of these very cool little rifles “Certified Plinkers” in every category. Not to mention they’d be the pride and joy of any young rifle shooter, anywhere.
Without a closer look and a frame of reference for size, the
Keystone Mosin-Nagant is a faithful replica of its namesake.
And The Winner Is?
Both. I honestly can’t decide which I like better and am anxiously waiting to see what Keystone comes out with next. In what might easily be called an “ultimate” grandpa present to a grandkid, Keystone has come up with a brilliant idea here, and both rifles deserve hard looks.
I’d like to end with a thought from Keystone’s website:
“The goal of KSA is to instill gun safety in the minds of youth shooters and encourage them to gain the knowledge and respect that hunting and shooting activities require and deserve. Thank you for considering our products. We will continue to provide great customer service, and build quality, made in the USA products.”
Maybe there is hope for the future.
