Rossi 92 in 454 Casull?

I don't remember the specific dates any longer, but when Rossi first introduced the 454 they had problems. Afterward, the problems were corrected.
 
All I gotta tell`ya is that the only gun I ever had that actually began to
hurt me on recoil* was a Rossi`92 carbine in 44 Mag (factory loads).

Be prepared to get a limbsaver slip-on type recoil pad for that 454's buttplate.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1945564546/limbsaver-recoil-pad-slip-on-thick-rubber-black






*I have a more than a few rifles that can really rock me -- like my 458Win which can give me a headache after a bench session -- but none other that actually hurt.
 
I had one several years ago, and really liked it.

I never fired a .454 round through it, but did put some monster .45 Colt rounds down range, and it never missed a beat.

Only had three issues...
It was very stiff out of the box. I followed Steve Young's instructions for slicking it up and it made a world of difference.

I never did like the tubular magazine reloading. .45 colts would load from the side gate, and loading like a .22 was really fast, but the purist in me hated the look. Ditto the bolt safety, which I removed and replaced with a modified skinner sight.

The sights came regulated for factory .454 rounds. I had to weld up the front sight to get enough adjustment to shoot lighter, slower .45 rounds. This even with the factory sights, before I mounted the peep. This won't be a problem if you're only running full house .454 loads. Replacement sights are virtually unavailable due to the metric dovetails used by Rossi.

All in all, a great little gun. If I ever find a 16" in .45 for a reasonable price, I'm going to snap it up.
 
Mehavey did you have the one with the factory recoil pad or the one without? Also, how was it on accuracy? The other option i am looking at is a 45-70 from marlin, buts quite a bit more money.
 
I think I'm up for the recoil since I was raised shooting a WWI Enfield in .308 with a steel butt plate. First time I shot it when a teenager I thought it broke my collar bone.
But I wanted to make sure the 92 is up for the pressure that a 454 casull has. Haven't heard anyone share any stories about shooting one loose or other pressure issues and everything I've heard suggests that it can deliver great accuracy for an open sight lever action (i.e. 150-200 yards) so I think I'll take the plunge. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.
Thanks for all the input.
(Great suggestions on peep sights by the way. That is definitely happening.)
 
Well it's all ordered. Should have it in about a week! I'll post a range report when I get it and I'll bring a spare recoil pad just in case. :)
 
I kind of have my eye on a Henry 45-70 but I am more than intrigued by the Rossi .454. Looking forward to your report on it.
 
Range Report

Well it came in and I picked it up at my FFL. Just to be clear, it is a Rossi 92 in .454 Casull, blued finish and 20" barrel. Fit and finish are great and the action is really smooth. I had to order it because no gun shop in my area had one in stock. I was disappointed with the packaging that it was shipped in. Rossi just sent it in its regular box which is really poor cardboard. One of the silicone packets in the box broke and there was some minor effects to the stock. However this cleaned up nicely. I think I was lucky however. I could see this type of thing really scratching up the stock in shipping.
I was surprised at how smooth the action is. It almost needed no break in at all. And I shot both .454 Casull and 45 colt through it. .454 cycled with zero issues. The .45 colt cartridges tended to get a little hung up because they are shorter and I had to single feed the first few. So after after cycling it a few times it did cycle the 45 colt cartridges with little bit of work. I expect that this will smooth up a lot as I use it more.
The version I got that came with a butt stock pad. This is a welcome add on. I have a Rossi 92 in 357 magnum and when this new gun is loaded with 45 colt it kicks about the same as a 357 in the lever gun. However it packs a pretty good wallop with 454 Casull. It is comparable to a 270 Winchester which I also have or perhaps shooting a high brass 3 inch shotgun shell (not your standard target load). So does it kick? Yes. But not much more than your average high-powered deer rifle.
Accuracy will need to be tested a little bit more because I could only shoot at 25 yards on the rifle lane of my local range. On a future weekend I will run out and shoot it more long range. But from the shorter distance I was very happy with accuracy. After I became familiarized with the gun and adjusted elevation a bit I was shooting 1 inch groups off hand at 25 yards using the buckhorn sights. I plan on eventually getting a peep sight.
Overall I am super happy. This will be a fun shorter range gun for dangerous game, perhaps deer, and probably some hog hunting in Texas in the future. Thanks!
 
I bought one of these years ago after husband had Ruger hand gun in one. Marlin backed out of producing it so went with this one. I sent it back because it would chamber 45 long colt fine but wouldn't chamber 454 for nothing. 12 weeks later I get it back and walked into gun room. Loaded up a few rounds and opened lever and it went right in. Also fired the round through my wall and out into the woods. Never had a finger near the trigger. Fixed wall and went outside to see if a fluke and levered next round in to go off as soon as lever closed. Traded to a gunsmith who said he could fix for a Thomson Encore in 460. Shot my 454s like candy. Also 460 and 45 long colt but never used the 460s but one box. Wanted it for the 454.
 
Well I've had a chance to take my Rossi in 454 Casull out to a more long range shooting session. It shot well and I am very happy with it. One surprise however is how different the point of impact was with different loads. I shot two different 454 Casull loads and two different 45 colt loads. The 454 Casull loads were the Hornady 240 gn xtp load and the HSM 360 gn bear load. The 45 colt loads were Winchester silver tip 255 gn and freedom munitions 255 gn loads. I shot all loads at 30 yards and at 100 yards. I'm still learning the gun so I'm sure my groupings will improve (1 inch at 30 yards, six inch at 100 yards) but I was surprised at how much the point of impact changed with the HSM loads. The colts and the hornadys were all hitting in roughly the same area (maybe slightly lower for the 45 colts but only a couple inchesAt 100 yards) below the hornadys but I literally had to hold about two feet higher on the HSM loads at 100 yards to get the same point of impact. They were accurate but i almost did not have enough adjustment room on they buckhorn sights to make it work. Had to hold about six inches higher at 30 yards! Don't know for sure if this is a problem with the gun or the anmo but I think it's the ammo. Won't be buying HSM again. I bought a box of HSM reloads for my revolver a couple years back and had such a bad experience I swore I would never go back. Well I caved and bought these and it has only reinforced my opinion. Needless to say with that amount of drop I won't be hunting with HSM. Gun itself performed great and looks like it should be great for years to come.
One thing I noticed that should be of interest to anyone thinking of getting this gun. As I had to adjust the buckhorn sight ramp to its highest notch for the HSM loads I noticed that underneath the sight the barrel has been drilled and tapped to accept a rail. I had read on a blog somewhere that Rossi started doing this, but now I can confirm that it's true. So I will be able to mount a scope if I want to (still not sure).
Anyway, as a 100-150 yard pistol caliber hunting gun it will be great.
 
Don't know for sure if this is a problem with the gun or the anmo but I think it's the ammo.
Click to expand...


As long as the group is decent, it is not a "problem" with either. That a bullet nearly twice as heavy has a different point of impact that really shows up at a distance is common and normal. You have to decide what ammo you are going to hunt with, and sight in for that ammo. You may occasionally find a certain load that is beyond the limits of your sight adjustment, and have to bypass it for hunting.
 
It's a good point. The HSM did group fine, the drop was just such that it's not very practical for this gun. In a 454 Alaskan for bear defense I'm sure it would be great. I'm happy that the Hornady 240gn is so close to a 45 colt at 100 yards because it makes practice for the hunt so much cheaper.
 
I don't think what you are experiencing is "drop" at 30 yards, but like the other feller said, you might have to rule this load out.
 
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