A takedown gun is a long gun

Long gun

The term long gun is used to describe classes of firearm and cannon with longer barrels than other classes. In small arms, a long gun is designed to be fired braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, while in artillery a long gun would be contrasted with a howitzer or carronade.-Small...

 designed to be taken apart significantly reducing its length, making it easier to store, pack, transport and conceal. A variety of barrel

Gun barrel

A gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at a high velocity....

, stock

Stock (firearm)

A stock, also known as a buttstock or shoulder stock, is a part of a rifle or other firearm, to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached, that is held against one's shoulder when firing the gun. Stocks are also found on crossbows though a crossbow stock is more properly referred to as a...

, and receiver

Receiver (firearms)

In firearms terminology, the receiver is the part of a firearm that houses the operating parts. The receiver usually contains the bolt carrier group, trigger group, and magazine port. In most handguns, the receiver, or frame, holds the magazine well or rotary magazine as well as the trigger mechanism...

 designs have been invented to facilitate takedown. For example, the hinged design of many break-action firearms allows takedown. Some regular firearms can be modified to allow takedown after custom gunsmith

Gunsmith

A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...

ing.

Rifles

American gun manufacturers Marlin

Marlin Firearms

Marlin Firearms Co., formerly of North Haven, Connecticut, is a manufacturer of high power, center fire, lever action, and .22 caliber rimfire rifles. In the past, the company made shotguns, derringers and revolvers...

, Savage

Savage Arms

The Savage Arms Company is a firearms manufacturing company based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with a division located in Canada. The company makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as marketing the Stevens single-shot rifles and shotguns...

, and Winchester

Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...

 have made takedown rifles since the late 1800s. The Browning

John Browning

John Moses Browning , born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world...

 semiautomatic .22 rifle

Remington Model 24

Based on a John Browning design and manufactured from 1922-1935, the Remington model 24 is a semi-automatic rifle chambered in either .22 Short or .22 long rifle. It is nearly identical to the Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle which is still in production. It is a takedown design, meaning that the...

 and centerfire rifle

Remington Model 8

The Remington Model 8 is a centerfire, recoil-operated, semi-automatic rifle designed by John Browning and produced by Remington Arms beginning in 1906.John Browning was granted on October 16, 1900 for the rifle, which he then sold to Remington...

 made by FN and Remington Arms

Remington Arms

Remington Arms Company, Inc. was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New York, as E. Remington and Sons. It is the oldest company in the United States which still makes its original product, and is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in North America. It is the only U.S....

 were takedown guns. Both centerfire and rimfire rifles are available in takedown configuration.

Shotguns

Most single barrel and double barrel shotguns readily breakdown into separate buttstock, barrel and forestock and are often transported cased as takedown guns. Among repeating shotguns, the Winchester Model 97

Winchester Model 1897

The Winchester Model 1897, also known as the Model 97, M97, or Trench Gun, was a pump-action shotgunwith an external hammer and tube magazine manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Model 1897 was an evolution of the Winchester Model 1893 designed by John Browning. From 1897...

 and Model 12 shotguns were factory made as takedown guns. Savage also makes a series of takedown over/under rifle/shotgun combination guns.

Usage

Takedown guns were especially popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when hunters often took public transportation; takedown guns of that era were often sold with compact luggage style carrying cases. Today, takedown guns like the Marlin Model 70P

Marlin Model 70P

The Marlin Model 70P, also known as the Marlin Papoose, is a .22 Long Rifle semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Marlin Firearms. The rifle is notable for its portability; it is less than in length when disassembled and weighs 3.25 pounds. Disassembly requires loosening a barrel retention nut by...

 and Henry U.S. Survival

AR-7

The ArmaLite AR-7 Explorer, designed by M-16 inventor Eugene Stoner, is a semi-automatic .22 Long Rifle rifle developed from the AR-5 adopted by the U.S. Air Force as a pilot and aircrew survival weapon. Its intended markets today are backpackers and other recreational users as a take-down utility...

are frequently stowed in vehicles used in wilderness areas for emergency forage or defense use, or packed by hunters as a secondary hunting weapon.