Ranch Hand .44 Mag

C

Chesster

New member
Just got one of these off GB. Plan to shoot Keith and Skelton Specials, maybe some factory Specials in it. Any experience with this novelty out there???????

ranchhand1.jpg
 
Yes.
Hang on, do not try to fire it anywhere near your face.
.44 Specials should cycle, but no guarantee.
Denis
 
They are fun guns!! Wanted Dead or Alive with Steve McQueen. A Civil War veteran with a sawed-off rifle as a holstered weapon makes a living as a bounty hunter in the Wild West of the 1870s.
 
Many people call them a novelty like you did, but I swear, I think they would be great for a lot of purposes on and off the ranch. Of course, I've never fired one.
 
Take a pistol cartridge. Make a rifle chambered for it, so that it gains power and velocity from the longer barrel, and accuracy from the longer sight radius.

Then cut the stock off that rifle, so that you lose some of the accuracy due to bracing against your shoulder. Then cut the barrel down, so you lose most of the power you gained, and most of the accuracy from the longer sight radius.

And yet, you still need two hands to operate this contraption, unlike a pistol.

Never understood the whole concept of the Mare's Leg. Might make some sense if it was chambered in a rifle round, but if chambered for a pistol cartridge, why not just use a pistol?

Fun gun? I'm sure it might be. But kind of a silly concept for a bounty hunter, and doesn't seem practical for anything
 
......and doesn't seem practical for anything
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A novelty gun but still, as one gets older and hand dexterity dwindles with arthritis, handling a service or compact handgun get difficult especially at night. Fine motor skills are more impared upon awaking. With a good trigger, this might be more managable at room ranges than Smith 24 or Beretta 96. Not the best option and I would probably reach for my pistol gripped pump shotgun first, but the Ranch Hand could be an option. JMHO.

If not, it still looks super cool and a great conversation piece for baby boomers.
 
Markedly slower than either gun, requires two hands to operate, and it's less efficient overall in that role.

I'm pretty fond of both of mine, but not for any type of serious use.
Denis
 
requires two hands to operate
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Yes, I know its a movie, but would it be possible to operate mare's leg 1-handed as Schwarzenegger does with the 1887 Winchester in T2?

Don't own either, yet, and haven't tried - but curious if anyone's tried it or is possible?
 
Depends largely, but not entirely, on the type of lever.
The Rossi can be spun, but may or may not feed.
The Chiappa with its "wedge" lever can't be spun.
The Henry would be problematical.

Spincocking has its own set of built-in hazards & isn't recommended.

Denis
 
Well, yes, I figured it was one of those "You go first, I'll watch from a distance" type tricks.
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It's more like, "You go first, and if you're still alive after 100 shots, we'll go from there" type tricks.
 
I don't relish the thought of taking my arm off at the shoulder with a 240gr slug so I doubt if I will try to play John Wayne with it.
 
I've been thinking about buying one and then SBR'ing it. It would make a good starting point for something like that as all you would need to do after getting the Form 1 and engraving done is just add a stock.

I would probably get a .357 if i was going to do one.
 
Novelty weapon? Perhaps. Useless? Hardly. It's a close range combat weapon and fits the same niche as a pistol-grip, pump-action shotgun with the advantages of being more compact and better able to put it's bullets in a restricted target area with more penetration. With a 12" barrel, you are looking at Contender ballistics (an added 250+ fps) with factory ammo. It takes an entirely different technique to fire effectively than any other handgun but, unlike the "riot" shotgun, it can be used with one hand. Chuck Conners, Steve McQueen, John Wayne, Gina Torres and Woody Harrelson didn't possess any supernatural abilities, they just had experience and training.
 
Nope,
They had prop guns, blanks, and a director & gun coach to carefully set up each choreographed use.
Connor's 92 was specially modified to feed blanks.
I've spuncock a Rossi 92 carbine with .45 Colts, dropped 'em all neatly on the floor at my feet.

Testing with dummy rounds is one thing, playing games with live ammo is entirely different.
It is NOT a close combat weapon.
Denis
 
While the TV show Winchesters (one was actually a Spanish clone) used blanks, Chuck Conner's personal "Rifleman" M1892's are actual working .44-40's. One is currently owned by Rick Hacker and was highlighted in Guns & Ammo 2008 Annual.
 
Connors had more than one "personal" 92. :)
The ones used in the show were modified, and fired blanks.
I'm not aware of Connors ever putting on a public appearance doing the TV tricks with live ammo in his own guns.


MB2,
I had a toy one as a kid, and watched the show as a kid, which is why I own a Rossi & a Chiappa now.
But, to me they're just toys for older (much) boys. :)

Denis
 
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