The Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway Rifle

I’m a fan of the 5.7x28mm round. With more guns chambered for it, ammo has gotten cheap enough that I feel comfortable expanding my 5.7 holdings.

Why do I like it? Honestly, just vibes. I don’t see it as some wunder-round, but the micro rifle-sized design, low recoil, and lightweight ammo put it in an interesting space. With rifles like the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway, it’s entered into new territory.

​What’s that territory? Survival rifle. The 5.7x28mm falls into a similar category as the .22 Hornet. It’s small but fast, flat-shooting, with superior ballistics to a .22LR or .22 Magnum. The .22 Hornet was used in the M6 survival rifle issued to Air Force pilots in the 1960s.

​The 5.7x28mm round has finally found its place in a survival rifle thanks to the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway rifle and pistol series.

​Breaking Down the Stowaway

​The Stowaway comes in both 9mm and 5.7x28mm. It comes as a rifle with a 16-inch barrel or as a pistol with a 5-inch barrel. There are models with 1913 rails to attach your own stock, or this model, which comes with a simple, minimalist stock.

​The barrel is easy to remove. Simply unscrew the barrel nut and remove the barrel. You can also swap barrels and bolts to swap calibers. The rifle variant weighs a mere 2.8 pounds.

​The rifle is a single-shot bolt action with what has to be the smallest bolt action throw for a centerfire rifle. The Stowaway has no magazine, and the bolt does not cock the action. The user has to manually pull back a striker to cock the weapon. There is no manual safety, but the striker can be set to half-cock.

​The rifle uses an AR grip, and you can swap it out for any other AR grip you could ever want. The gun comes with an optics rail, and a red dot or micro prism would be the perfect way to outfit this gun. The barrel is also threaded, which is perfect for a suppressor.

​My Stowaway ‘Pocket Sniper’

​This is an absolutely ridiculous way to set up a survival rifle. A Primary Arms 1-6X LPVO and a Velos 556K suppressor are an odd combo on such a minimalist rifle. It adds 30.3 ounces to a 44-ounce rifle.

​Is this how I’d set up a survival rifle? No, not at all. This isn’t a survival configuration; it’s what I call the “pocket sniper” configuration, which is silly. However, I specialize in the silly. You can use most rimfire cans with 5.7, but those cans often suck with 5.7 rounds. A dedicated 5.56 can suppresses the cartridge quite well.

​I chose 5.7 because it goes further, stays flatter, and makes better use of a rifle-length barrel. Plus, the 5.7 has lighter recoil. I used the LPVO because I wanted magnification. The 5.7x28mm has an interesting Maximum Point Blank Range (MPBR) capability.

​If I zero my load of 5.7 at 17 yards from a 16-inch barrel, it can hit a 6-inch target out to 170 yards without having to adjust for drop or rise. This makes it easy to reach out to 200 yards with a slight high hold. After dialing in the LPVO at 17 yards, I went out to 100 yards, aimed at an 8-inch gong, and sent it. It’s quite satisfying to hit that gong at 100 and 150 yards by aiming dead center.

​The Survival Edge

​Let’s say I’m in a survival situation and need to hit a rabbit; I’m going to be well within 100 yards, and I know the gun can do that with a basic zero. If I’m truly hungry, I’m going to shoot deer, hogs, turkeys, whatever I can. The 5.7 might not be the best cartridge for those tasks, but it’s better than starving to death. To be completely clear, in a non-survival situation, I’m not going to use the 5.7 for deer or hogs. That’s not ethical, humane, or likely legal in most states.

​If I were in an area to hunt groundhogs, woodchucks, or prairie dogs, the Stowaway in 5.7 would be a fantastic option. Since the round is so small and lightweight, I can easily carry 50 to 100 rounds without it taking up a lot of space in my pack or pockets. With some of the dedicated expanding or ballistic tip cartridges, you are getting a lot more oomph than any rimfire cartridge.

​Printing Groups

​Overall accuracy is fantastic for a takedown rifle that’s so simple. I shot a five-round group at 50 yards that would have been smaller than a quarter if I didn’t throw shot three. The other four shots were nearly touching.

​The trigger is fairly large and wide. The trigger pull has a fair bit of take-up, but it’s smooth. I’m not a trigger snob, so I’m not the type to ask how fantastic it is or not; at the end of the day, it doesn’t detract from accuracy.

​The bolt action mechanism is on the left side. Since it’s a single-shot rifle that requires the round to be loaded directly into the chamber, it’s not exactly making my shots faster, but it is intuitive and easy to operate. The bolt action is smooth. It’s cold here, about 35 degrees, which is unusual for the Southeast for sure. My hands got cold enough to use the suppressor to warm them up, but I didn’t find myself fumbling with the rifle, small rounds, or action.

​A Wieldy Little Fellow

​Without the suppressor, it’s well-balanced and super lightweight. The bolt-action design makes it quiet to suppress, with no semi-automatic bolt clashing back and forth. Recoil is about that of a pellet gun. It’s utterly adorable and a ton of fun. You can hand this to any shooter, regardless of skill, and they could shoot it without a problem.

​One of the cooler parts of this gun is the ability to swap between 9mm and 5.7. I’m thinking of making this gun an SBR with a 9mm barrel and suppressor, and keeping the 5.7 in a 16-inch barrel to maximize the velocity. However, if Dark Mountain Arms makes a 10-inch 5.7 barrel, I’d probably never use the 16-inch barrel again.

​One Cool Rifle

​The Stowaway is a lot of fun. It’s accurate, reliable, and has zero recoil. I can get 5.7 cheaper than a lot of 5.56 these days, thanks to Fiocchi, so I don’t hear “ka-ching” every time I shoot. Hitting targets at 100 yards and beyond with this micro-sized, lightweight rifle puts a smile on my face.

​The Stowaway series of firearms is fairly cheap and has some fun modularity. I’d love to see Dark Mountain Arms expand into more calibers. A .32 ACP version would tickle me, but they would sell approximately ten of them. I’m sure there is a market for 10mm versions, maybe even .30 Carbine, if it will fit.

​The “pocket sniper” will probably turn into a more appropriate survival rifle. A 3x micro prism seems perfect for the Stowaway. If you don’t like 5.7, the 9mm version would be an extremely quiet suppressor host. The Stowaway isn’t for everyone, but it’s different, it’s fun, and it works.