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  4. Ultralight 5.7mm Takedown Rifle Review: Dark Mountain Stowaway

Dark Mountain Arms may be a new firearms maker, but they come with a history of innovation and their first product, the Stowaway, keeps that track record intact.

We've been following this incredibly light takedown rifle since it popped up on the radar earlier this year and actively testing one for the past couple of months. 

Table of Contents
 
Video
Overview
The Specs
Features
Trigger
Reliability
Accuracy
Pros & Cons
Conclusion
 

Video

 

Overview

 

A simple new platform from Fletcher, North Carolina's veteran-owned Dark Mountain Arms, the Stowaway system is a single-shot, bolt-action takedown firearm initially being offered in 5.7 NATO, but as it is multi-caliber via an easy swap of a bolt face and barrel, future options on the table include 9mm, 4.6x30, .22 LR, .22 WMR, .17 Mach2, and .17 HMR.

An easily packable design with a weight of less than 3 pounds (2.8 pounds for the 16-inch threaded barreled rifle and 2 pounds flat for the 5-inch barreled pistol), the gun can be stowed in two primary pieces and then easily reassembled. 

The Guns.com crew met up with the Stowaway's designer, Aaron Voigt, to talk about his newest project at the recent 2024 NRA Annual Meetings in Dallas in May. If the name sounds familiar, Voigt is the brain behind such innovative designs as the folding "fifth pocket-sized" Trailblazer Lifecard .22 pistol that debuted in 2017 and the swinging Pack 9 Pivot rifle.

 

the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
The Stowaway in profile. Note the short-throw bolt action with the bolt arranged on the left side of the rifle. We've added a Burris FastFire4 red dot and a SilencerCo Switchback suppressor. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
It is a very utilitarian design that almost doesn't look like a gun, favoring a pneumatic dart projector or the fictional UNCLE Special from the Napoleon Solo era.
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
Takedown is super simple and the basic components are easy to figure out. From left to right is a 50-round box of Fiocchi's subsonic 5.7x28, the Stowaway's lower receiver with a Burris FastFire4 red dot mounted and ersatz cheek riser, the barrel assembly, the barrel lock, bolt assembly, and a SiCo Switchback suppressor. This can all be assembled casually in under a minute-- even by a goober like me. 

 

For full disclosure, Dark Mountain provided this Stowaway rifle for review purposes. All testing was done on this one gun, which has been under evaluation since August. 

 

The Specs

 

  • Overall length: 31.78 inches, assembled
  • Barrel length: 16.65 inches, threaded (1/2-28TPI) 
  • Overall width: 1.21 inches at the widest point over the receiver
  • Overall height: 6.88 ­inches, sans optics
  • Magazine capacity: Single Shot
  • Sights: None, 3.7 inch M1913 Picatinny top rail installed
  • Trigger pull: 4.5 pounds (10-pull average).
  • Weight: 44 ounces
  • Weight, loaded, and outfitted: 53.7 ounces one round of FN SS200 DFNS, FastFire4 optic, SiCo Switchback, 8 feet of 550 Paracord for cheek riser. 

 

Features

 

Versatile, lightweight, and packable, the Stowaway's biggest trick is in its name-- the fact that it can be easily broken down and stowed in just about any bag, box, can, or compartment that has 17 inches of space. We managed to slip our T&E gun into a 14-liter 5.11 UCR sling pack that was already jam-packed with medical kit, survival gear, and emergency snacks. 

 

the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
Of note, the main compartment of the 5.11 UCR shown is just 16.5 inches at its longest point, and the Stowaway, well, stowed away without protest. 
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
The Lower is polymer, constructed of GF Nylon. The tube upper receiver, which is the gun's serialized component, is aluminum. 
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
Note the upper is marked "multi-caliber" as the Stowaway is designed to be easily swapped among a series of planned calibers via the change of the bolt face and barrel. 
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
The pistol grip is an AR-pattern B5 Systems Type 23 P-Grip with an aggressive texture and a 13-degree grip angle. Hollow, it is designed to accept B5's water and dust-resistant grip plug (not included) which, while intended to securely hold batteries or a MultiTasker NANO Tool, could surely be modded to carry 10-15 rounds of 5.7.  
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
The straight and unadorned aluminum stock rod is short, at just 9.5 inches, ending in a minimalist polymer stock that all-told provides a 13-inch length of pull. We added eight feet of coyote-colored 550 paracord that gave it a bit of texture and the allusion of a cheek riser/rest. When doing so, you have to be careful not to wrap the whole stock rods as you have to allow room for the bolt to cycle and be removed from the receiver. 
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
The bolt has a very AR vibe to it to include an extractor, and is made of steel. The bolt body/knob is short (1.5 inches) and has a short (45-ish degree) throw to accommodate scope tubes. The reason it runs off the left side of the rifle is so that a right-handed user can keep the barrel on target while feeding cartridges and working the bolt with the off (left) hand. 
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
There is no safety feature other than the manually cocked striker with a half-cock feature. For those who are used to firing bolt guns that are cock-on-open or cock-on-close, this can be a learning curve. I suffered from this during initial testing even though one of my first rifles was a single-shot Stevens bolt action that had the same feature. Since the bolt cannot be opened one cocked, decoking on a live round involves easing it forward while the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction after releasing the tension on the trigger. That is also something to keep in mind for inexperienced users. 
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
The roof of the upper receiver holds a 3.7-inch M1913 Picatinny top rail. Note the bolt lock button. 
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
The steel 16.65-inch barrel inserts into the receiver and quickly aligns with a notch and pin arrangement and we found that we could do it by feel under low/no light conditions-- a nifty feature in a survival situation. 
the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
The barrel is factory threaded (1/2-28TPI) with a screw-on protector. We had no problem mounting standard cans and tried the Stowaway with an old TAC65 and a SiCo Switchback. 

 

Trigger

 

the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
The flat-faced trigger is a bit creepy to a short wall and breaks at 4.5 pounds across a 10-pull average. The trigger guard is aluminum. 

 

Reliability

 

The Stowaway is a joy to shoot and is dependable in operation. We ran no less than 300 rounds through it across eight different FN, Federal, and Fiocchi loads, all hand-fed due to the nature of the single-shot design, and only had two failures, both light primer strikes (or hard ammo primers?) on rounds that fired when reloaded. The only fumbles we had on the range were user-related, primarily in remembering to cock the striker after loading and before firing.

 

Accuracy

 

We found the Stowaway to be accurate in use, even with just running it with a 3 MOA red dot. Shooting offhand while standing we could typically keep everything in half of a five-inch circle at 25 yards. Pushing back, we were able to hit five-inch plates at 50 yards when properly supported. That puts small and even medium game in the pot in a survival situation. Putting a small scope on this little guy would surely yield better results, making it a 100-yard gun for sure, albeit with adding some bulk and weight. 

 

When shooting off a barricade at 25 with a death grip, we were able to stack these two rounds next to each other, which isn't bad considering the size of the dot on the FastFire4. The three rounds to the right are standing unsupported. 

 

Dark Storm maintains the Stowaway platform can easily swap barrels and maintain accuracy. See this video of their testing of that concept. 

 

 

Pros & Cons

 

Pros

  • Ultra lightweight
  • Easy to use
  • Compact/stowable with fast assembly
  • Factory threaded barrel
  • Inexpensive
  • Capable of future caliber swaps

Cons

  • Short length of pull, no cheek riser/support
  • Difficult to add a sling

 

Conclusion

 

The Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway has a lot going for it. It is easy to use (just remember to cock the striker), has zero recoil, accurate, and dependable. You can figure out how to assemble and disassemble the rifle for stowage in seconds and successfully pull it off in the dark if needed after a few trial runs. We through an optic and suppressor on it and even then it only hit the scales at 3.3 pounds. Keep in mind that 500 rounds of 5.7 only weighs 7 pounds including the packaging, meaning that 10 pounds in weight allowance on a trek gives you a quiet and optic-equipped Stowaway and more rounds than you would need in just about any situation. 

Plus, it is just outrageously fun to shoot. 

We can't wait to see what Aaron Voigt and Dark Mountain come up with next. 

 

the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway
The MSRP of the Dark Mountain Arms Stowaway is $399. Suppressor and optic are sold separately. 

 

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