Rossi Ranch Hand

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gvaldeg1

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Anyone else have a Rossi Ranch hand. It's a lever action handgun based on Rossi's Model 92. Mine is a 357 magnum. It has a 12-inch barrel and the ATF has accepted it as a handgun not a short barreled rifle. Rossi equipped the Ranch Hand with the same sights as the Model 92. As a result, it shot about 4 1/2 inches high at 10 yards. I equipped mine with a TruGlo .530 front sight and that fixed it. Just thought that I'd share this info.
 
I have one in 44 Magnum. Neat little gun, but kind of awkward as a pistol and not legal to put a full rifle stock on it since than it would be a short barrel rifle.

I'm not sure what Rossi was thinking with the front sights. You would think a major firearm manufacturer could install a sight that works. Mine was at least 5" high also. I installed a new front sight from skinner, but it hasn't made it back to the range since then.
 
Have one in .45, chopped front & rear to duplicate the Randall gun more closely.
Sights removed.
High hoot factor. :)
Denis
 
I had the 38_357, it cycled. 38s like butter, with 357 it would kinda work if you worked the lever very briskly.

Had to change the sights also, it shot very low.... it was pretty accurate though.
 
I can hit a 10-inch steel plate at 35 yards with no sights at all.
Some people are just too picky. :)
Denis
 
I bought one . Went home fire it on my home range . :( Decided not for me and returned to dealer and traded for another pistol. Same day .
 
If the barrel would have been extended another 1/2" beyond the mag tube, so that I could thread and suppress it, I would have gotten one in .45 Colt to SBR it too (by adding a "normal" buttstock)... As it stands, meh... too bad, that.

Thanks for the sight info.
 
Shorten the mag tube and thread barrel after you get the appropriate tax stamps, problem solved. Oops, then get rid of the stupid safety and do an action job so it will function properly and GTG.
 
I don't see the point of having something with a sole raison d'etre of differentiating a Western TV series from all of the others at the time. Actor Steve McQueen was a "gun guy", and interviews in the gun magazines of the time indicate that he did not like to shoot it.

Legal restrictions kept him from taking it home to practice with it.

By the way, the one they used was chambered in .44 WCF, but the gunbelt was stuffed with .45-70 cartridges.

I do like to watch the old re-runs.
 
I'm not so sure he didn't take one out to play with now & then. Some accounts say he didn't mind shooting with live ammo. McQueen actually took one on a plane ride once & created a bit of a fuss. :)
Denis
 
OldMarkksman I will agree that is one of the reasons I bought it, I was a big fan of wanted dead or alive, but it is a fun gun to shoot.
I took a friend out several months ago. He didn’t know I had it and when I pulled it out of a full sized hard case his reaction was not surprising. “What in the (&^ did you buy that stupid gun for.
I loaded it up with 44 mags and let him shoot it. His reaction “That is the stupidest gun I have ever fired but a lot of fun. I see why you bought it.”
My biggest gripe on the gun is the sharp edges on the end of the stock. Very sharp so don’t let it rest against your arm when you fire it. I will be buying a leather stock cover for it in the future. Like the one in the following web page but I don’t like the ring covers. They look stupid.
http://gunstockcover.com/product.sc...256E.m1plqscsfapp02?productId=60&categoryId=1
Not so bad but still troublesome is the loading port. The edges are so sharp on the receiver I always push a round half way in then use a second to shove it the rest of the way.
The gun has never had a problem. It shoots 44 mags and specials easily as long as you don’t use Wad cutters. Then it hangs up from time to time but will feed them with a little pressure. Round nose or truncated cone lead feed like the gun is empty.
 
It's the official firearm of twinkie hunter Woody Harrelson "time to nut up or shut up." Worth having for that reason alone.
 
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SBR

Yeah, my first thought too was to go the SBR route and fit a butt stock.....otherwise it's a novelty. ......but, whatever floats your boat.

I'm for anything that burns powder-Elmer Keith, lightly paraphrased.
 
Ozzie, In the olden days many Rossi carbines were brought to me with similar complaints as well as feed issues. I strip the rifle and stone all of the offensive areas including the loading port, once some of the sharp and rumpled parts are stoned smooth they tend to work much better. The Braztech issue seem to feed better but finish work is still abominable.
 
Ibmikey good idea and I have given it some thought on the loading port. But the bluing on mine is as good as any Winchester I have ever seen, yes it’s that nice. Having never taken a stone to a gun like this I would be hesitant on my own.
 
Shorten the mag tube
Click to expand...

Well, the thing is, I thought of that - but that's not a solved problem; that's a new /created problem :D - the marginal utility of doing it (SBR & suppress) dissolves when you get into smithing that. Could have been a win; but it's a fail. For me at least. So close.
 
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