About eighteen months ago, I reviewed the Puma Bounty Hunter pistol. Like the Rossi Ranch Hand shown here, the Puma is basically a shortened Model ‘92 Winchester lever gun replica, but built from the beginning as a pistol, thus eliminating the need to register the weapon as a short-barreled rifle in the US. Making these arms as pistols means that if you can legally buy a handgun, you can legally buy these shortened rifle-style pistols.

Styled after the original gallery guns of the late 1890s, the Rossi Gallery is a sliding-action pump rifle chambered for.22 LR. Featuring a polished black 18-inch barrel and 15-round capacity tube magazine, the Gallery reintroduces one of the most endearing and fun target, plinking, and smallgame hunting rifles in American history. Part of Rossi’s Tuffy™ shotgun lineup, the new Tuffy Turkey stands apart for its extended barrel length. At 26 inches, it is the longest barrel among the Tuffy.410-gauge shotguns. This cylinder-bore, 3-inch chamber shotgun includes an “extra full” choke tube installed.

This style of weapon is commonly known as a Mare’s Leg, and was made popular by the old TV Western “Wanted: Dead or Alive”, starring Steve McQueen as Josh Randall. Like most things from Hollywood, there was a bit of fakery involved with that show. McQueen carried 45-70 rifle cartridges in his gun belt for effect, but there is no way that those big cartridges would work through the action of a Model ‘92 Winchester. Anyway, the Mare’s Leg was really cool, and flung a craving upon me to someday have one, as it did upon a lot of folks. The Puma Bounty Hunter from Legacy has been a hit, but is priced beyond what many are willing to pay for such a pistol, at $1250 US suggested retail. This new Ranch Hand from Rossi is a good-looking, good-shooting Mare’s Leg at less than half the retail price of the Puma. Rossi has been in the business of producing replica ‘92 Winchesters for decades now, and I own three of their 357 Magnum sixteen inch carbines, finding them to be exceedingly handy, very reliable, and accurate. I prefer the earlier Rossi lever guns that have no safety lever atop the bolt, but that safety is a sign of the times, and the Rossi rifles still have the half-cock notch in the hammer, which I prefer to use when carrying the rifles afield. My 480 Ruger Puma had the Rossi safety in it when purchased, but I have removed it, again preferring to use the traditional half-cock notch. While on the subject, Steve Young has a dandy little peep sight that replaces the safety on the bolt of a Rossi or earlier Puma lever gun (the current Pumas are now made in Italy) that is adjustable for elevation correction, and has a knurled nut to hold the sight setting. It is very handy and effective. You can order it online from www.stevesgunz.com. Anyway, back to the subject at hand.

The new Rossi Ranch Hand has a polished blued steel finish, and wears a walnut-stained hardwood stock. The wood to metal fit is very good, with the forend wood being just slightly proud at the receiver. The abbreviated buttstock wears a blued steel butt plate. The lever loop is of the large style, which has ample room for the largest gloved hand, and is just right for twirling the lever gun to work the action, if you are feeling a bit “Hollywood” yourself. Yeah, I tried it, while no one was watching. The left side of the receiver wears a traditional saddle ring, and has a short leather thong attached. The magazine holds six cartridges, plus one up the spout for a loaded capacity of seven. Currently, the Ranch Hand is available chambered for the 357 Magnum, 44 Magnum, and the 45 Colt cartridges, with the pistol shown here chambered for the latter.Saints row 3 nudeness cheats xbox 360.

The Ranch Hand weighed in at four pounds, nine ounces unloaded on my scale. It wears a twelve inch tapered round barrel that measures .640 inch at the muzzle. The overall length measures twenty-four inches. The rear sight is of buckhorn style, and is ladder adjustable for elevation and drift adjustable for windage correction. The front sight is a brass bead on a blued steel blade, and is adjustable for windage correction in its dovetail. The blued steel magazine tube is attached to the barrel by both a screw near the muzzle, and a barrel band about one-half inch aft of that.

Cartridges are loaded into the magazine tube through the loading gate on the right side of the receiver. Working the lever fully chambers a round from the magazine tube, and the magazine can be topped-off at any time that the bolt is closed. The locking bolts are of the traditional ‘92 Winchester style, and securely lock the bolt from movement during the firing of the weapon. It is a very strong and reliable system, designed by John Browning first for the larger Model 1886 Winchester. The receiver is, like all Models ‘92, slim, rounded, and easy to carry. The action is very smooth, the hammer easy to thumb-cock, and the trigger pull measures a crisp two and one-half pounds on my sample pistol.

Rossi 44 Mag Ranch Hand

Shooting the Ranch Hand was a real pleasure. The weapon is short and handy for a rifle, but large and bulky for a pistol. It is a hybrid of sorts, even though it is sold as a pistol. I still think of it as a short rifle, myself. I would love to have a full buttstock on this thing, but doing so would put me in jeopardy of spending my next five years in Federal prison, and I figure that my next five years will be my best five years, so I will let that idea pass for now.

While the Ranch Hand is a bit larger than your typical 45 Colt revolver, the twelve-inch barrel does have its rewards, and that is in more velocity when compared to a revolver. With light loads, there is not much difference, but with powerful hunting loads, the difference is substantial. For example, the Buffalo Bore 300 grain jacketed flat nose load that clocks 1104 fps ten feet in front of my four-inch Redhawk, registers 1400 at the same distance from the Rossi Ranch hard. That is a pretty hefty increase in power, and with the heavier Ranch Hand, felt recoil is minimal. The longer barrel and closed breech squeeze the maximum amount of power from a handgun cartridge, pretty much giving rifle barrel velocities from a more compact weapon.

Accuracy from the barrel of the Ranch Hand was target-grade. Holding over a solid rest using the open sights, the Ranch Hand would cluster a magazine full into one ragged hole at twenty-five yards, repeatedly. While this is not a handgun that we are likely to see on the line at Camp Perry, it is good to know that it is capable of fine accuracy, if needed. Functioning was perfect throughout all testing. Cartridges fed smoothly from the magazine, fired, and ejected easily with no stickiness at all, even with the heavy Buffalo Bore ammunition.

For packing the Ranch Hand, I used pretty much the same style of Mernickle Holster that I used for the Puma Bounty Hunter. There is a slight difference, however, in that the rear sight on the Ranch Hand is set farther forward than on the Bounty Hunter, and the holster for the Rossi is cut to allow for that difference. The Mernickle rig is a beautifully-crafted belt and holster that replicates the rig worn by Steve McQueen in the TV series. The cartridge loops are spaced about 1.4 inches apart, center-to-center, and there are twenty-four of them on my belt. The loops were very tight on the 45 Colt cartridges, but are always easier to load the second time. The holster is a drop style, and has a tie down to hold it to the leg, if desired. The belt is suede-lined, and like everything to come from Bob Mernickle’s shop, the material and workmanship are first-class. This holster rig is sold only through Legacy Sports, but when you order, be sure to specify whether you have the Puma Bounty Hunter or the Rossi Ranch Hand, as the holsters are cut differently for the sights.

The Rossi Ranch Hand is a dandy little weapon, fun to shoot, accurate, and reliable. It can be used for hunting and self defense, but I think that most who buy the Ranch Hand will want it for just a fun gun, with a bit of nostalgia, and that is reason enough to buy one. Compared to the other production and custom Mare’s Leg lever guns on the market, the Rossi Ranch Hand is a real bargain.

Check out the Ranch Hand online at www.rossiusa.com.

To find a Rossi dealer near you, click on the DEALER FINDER at www.lipseys.com.

To order the Ranch Hand online, go to www.galleryofguns.com.

Check out Bob Mernickle’s fine leatherwork online at www.mernickleholsters.com.

To order the Mernickle holster rig shown from Legacy Sports, click HERE.

by Eight Bits

Following are the steps I performed on my two Rossi's to slick them up and improve functioning. I am not a professional gunsmith, just a shooting enthusiast and hobbyist, as well as a tinkerer. If you are unsure aboutany of the following procedures, please defer to a qualified gunsmith. For polishing I use wet/dry 600 grit emery paper wetted with Hoppe's gun oil. To remove metal I use a jeweler's file, then polish as above. For stoning I use a hard Arkansas stone. To polish pivot pins I use oiled 600 grit emery paper, or oiled automotive crocus cloth. Work slowly and carefully and check functioning frequently. It's always easy to remove a little more metal, but adding metal is very difficult. As we learn, we may have to replace a part of two that we over work. That's part of the risk of the adventure.
Aways, wear safety glasses while working with springs or sanding.

Disassemble the rifle and thoroughly clean all parts

Trigger Assembly
____1. Polish sides of trigger
____2. Polish trigger spring and trigger mating surface
____3. Lighten trigger spring by bending up
____4. Stone/polish hammer mating surfaces inside the lower tang
____5. Polish trigger pivot pin

Hammer Assembly
____1. Polish hammer strut
____2. Polish hammer sides where they contact the lower tang
____3. Polish hammer face
____4. Remove 4-6 coils from mainspring and flatten end
____5. Polish hammer pivot pin

Carrier
____1. If the carrier is too tight in the receiver, remove some metal from the right side of the carrier.
____2. Polish both sides of the carrier at the pivot pin holes

Ejector Assembly
____1. Remove all burrs
____2. Polish shaft
____3. Polish all mating surfaces
____4. Replace the ejector spring Spring from Stevesguns.com or Lee Spring Kit from Brownells or Lee Spring Kit from Lee's Gunsmithing
(NOTE: When reassembling the bolt the ejector will lie flat with the bolt face.
This is alright because once the finger lever is in place the ejector spring will be under tension.)
____5. Polish collar ends

Finger Lever
____1. Polish ejector collar camming surface
____2. Polish lever retaining pin (only if necessary).
(NOTE: This is the pin in the rear of the finger lever that sits in a detent in the receiver
and holds the lever closed.)
____3. Polish front and camming surfaces of bolt locks

Loading Gate
Sometimes the loading gate is too long and the cartridge rims get stuck on the sharp end of the gate.
____1. Use a stone to remove just enough metal off the end, and maintain the same contour
The end of the loading gate sits almost flush - just a bit inside the loading gate opening.
(NOTE: This important to ensure the last round loaded into a full magazine will feed properly.)
____2. Make sure the sides of the gate move freely in the opening.
If not, I run the edges of the loading gate over my stone a couple of times and try for fit.
(If you remove too much metal the gate will pop out of the opening.) I also polish the .
____3. Polish little ramp on the underside of the gate (only if necessary)
This helps the cartridge to be positioned correctly for loading on the carrier.
The secret - make a few strokes on the stone, then try for fit.
The goal - get the gate to fit in the opening almost flush without sticking out.

Bolt Assembly
____1. Polish hammer camming surface on the rear of the firing pin
____2. Polish hammer camming surface underneath rear of bolt
____3. Remove burrs and loose metal
____4. Polish sides and rails
____5. Ensure ejector rides smoothly in ejector cutout
____6. Polish front of bolt lock camming surfaces
____7. If extractor is too stiff when the bolt closes without a case, remove metal from the REAR
of the extractor until there is still a small amount of tension on the extractor.

Receiver
____1. Programming nissan bcm. Remove burrs and polish bolt rails. Try bolt in receiver to test for free travel.
Stone and polish any high spots

When reassembling the rifle, be sure all parts are lightly lubricated. Too much oil attracts dirt, too little oil causes excessive wear and friction.

Eight Bits

Note: Resist any temptation to polish either the locking bolts or the channels they rid in. These control the headspace of the rifle and should only be altered by a qualified gunsmith.

As an alternative to modifying the original springs that came with the rifle, it is common to install an aftermarket spring kit that provides the appropriate tension for a smooth operating Rossi 92. The Lee Spring kit comes with a replacement ejector spring that is much longer than the original. See the trick for installing the bolt into the rifle with an long and weak ejector spring. Rossi Assembly/Disassembly

Rossi Ranch Hand

And J.P. Withers notes from the SASS Wire:

Rossi 92 'Puma' - Lessons learned
byJ.P. Withers, SASS 68019

Hopefully I'm not re-inventing the wheel here but I thought I'd pass along some experience gained from working on the like-new Rossi “Puma”copy of the WInchester 92 SRC I picked up a while back. This carbine is chambered for .38 special/.357 magnum.

First, Marauder's webpage is a great resource. Marauder's Rifle Page But you probably already found that since you are here.

Make sure you pin the hammer spring before attempting to remove the hammer screw. If you don't do this you can still get the screw out but you will bung-up the threads (embarrassed shrug).

As others have said, the magic word for this rifle is 'SPRINGS'! I would never have believed how great the impact of the ejector spring is to the overall functioning of this rifle. I thought the hammer spring would have a big impact but was very surprised about the ejector spring.

The original (heavy) ejector spring made the rifle pull, chamber, and eject everything I fed it (including some step nosed LSWC rounds) but made the lever action so heavy I had to put a leather wrap on the lever to keep from bruising the back of my index finger. Looking at the rifle you'd think the resistance was coming from the locking bolts.. it doesn't, it's totally the ejector spring inside the bolt.

(Safety tip, DO NOT MESS WITH THE LOCKING BOLTS they set the headspace for the rifle)

A weak (just slightly too weak for my gun, actually) aftermarket ejector spring made the rifle cycle as slickly as you can imagine, BUT it also caused my particular rifle to have trouble cycling the longer .357 rounds and also have random trouble ejecting any type of rounds.

I don't personally recommend this, but if you intend to try the 'cut and expand' method on your springs (see Bull Schmitt's instructions about 1/2 way down the page here..) Bull Schmitt's Instructions then have extra ejector springs handy -BEFORE- you start experimenting or you'll sit idle for a while - while you get new ones. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES when working with springs! (The shortened springs don't hold up for most folks.)

The original hammer spring is too damn heavy. Don't bother messing with it, just buy a replacement at Brownells. (But shortened springs can work, if you prefer.)

If you feel the need to remove the cartridge guides, inspect the left one (with the swivel on it) carefully before re-installing. If the swivel pin drops down even a tiny bit the part will NOT seat back in correctly (even though it looks like it's in place it acts like it is shimmed out) and NOTHING will feed. I spent about an hour of frustration before I figured that one out.

Rossi Ranch Hand Discontinued

Check the retaining pin for the firing pin. If somebody has been dry-firing the rifle a lot (especially with that overpowered factory spring) it's likely that this pin is BENT. Replace it before it bends too far and/or breaks and you will save yourself a lot of trouble later on.

Morgan Astorbilt made a very good suggestion about thinning the extractor just a bit to reduce the resistance it creates just before the bolt finishes closing. In my particular case I like that last solid 'click' as it slams home so I didn't modify that at all on my gun.

Guess that's about it for now.

JP

EDIT: more to the adventure. Let me tell you about the wonder of White Lithium Grease! Most of this rifle works fine with your favorite oil but if you take some white lithium grease and put a thin film all over the locking bolts (especially the front where they 'lock' the bolt forward), the sides of the bolt, and the swivel pin for the hammer, you will suddenly have the slickest 92 you ever imagined. My 92 now cycles as smoothly as it did with the 'too light' ejector spring.

Final Edit 7/3/2006 - Post shooting range testing. Took the 92 to the range and the final verdict is 5 stars and two thumbs up! I ran 20 cowboy .38 special RNFP and 20 cowboy .357 RNFP through it as fast as I could with nary a hiccup. Then I put 20 full power .357 mag JSP then followed with 20 full power .357 JHP. I had one JHP round catch slightly on the edge of the chamber but a gentle shake and it dropped right into place and we were off and running again. Cycles smooth as a baby's bottom and kicks those shells right out of the way when it's done with 'em.

One Parts Sourse:

M&M Gunsmithing
204 S Union St Alexandria, VA 22314-3326
(703) 739-2150