Thinking of getting either a Rossi .45 or .454

[jstanfield103]

I will keep factory or med to low pressure reloads in my 73. I have my Winchester 1892 for the hot stuff if wanted. My 1873 is also sporting the Marbles Bullseye sight now. After these pictures though.





1892 Winchester

[Gunny268]

TMIB, what say you? 45 Colt or 454? Now that we've gone down several rabbit holes (45-70 / win-henry 73s and such). Ha Ha.

[Archer]

jstanfield103's knife looks to have changed from darned nearly a short sword with a hunk of antler for a grip in the first two pictures to a medium sized skinner with a leather stacked handle in the last pic...

[Arroyoshark]

Shoot ... all I saw were a couple nice looking lever guns. One a razzle-dazzle nice 1873, with a really good sling ...

I even went back for another view and ... same thing. Ha

I have that or a similar looking sling for a take-down Win. lever. The clamp on the mag tube had to remain loose enough to rotate the magazine for barrel removal. Seems like this sling is marketed by a vendor in south, perhaps Florida.

[The Man In Black]

TMIB, what say you? 45 Colt or 454? Now that we've gone down several rabbit holes (45-70 / win-henry 73s and such). Ha Ha.

I'm actually leaning back towards the .357 mag. That way if I do feel I need something with more kick to it, I have an excuse to buy the 45-70 I always wanted.

Still thinking it over.

[alaskamike]

Reading this discussion, I'm kind of surprised. I was in the same boat not too long ago and ended up going with the Rossi .454 Casull and have been extremely happy with it. It feeds .45 Colt with all bullet styles just fine.

Something folks always seem to forget about the .454 and .480 Rossis is that they have a much beefier mag tube that's threaded into the receiver. The recoil of stout, heavy bullet loads can pull the mag tube out on the other carbines. I've actually had this happen on my .44 Mag Rossi 92. So this would definitely be something to keep in mind when shooting heavy bullet, "Ruger only" type loads in a .45 Colt carbine.

I also looked at a Marlin 1895 Guide Gun in .45-70 as a heavy thumper carbine, but that would mean new bullet molds, dies and new powders I didn't have (4198, Rx7, 3031, etc). In addition, the Marlin isn't nearly as light and handy as the Rossi 92, which was important to me.

In the end you need to get what works best for you. For me it was the Rossi .454, hands down.

[jstanfield103]

good point

[GSB4243]

I've got a .454 and it was like alaskamike wrote my comment. I also own a Raging Judge Magnum .454 pistol, which I had to hunt deer in Ohio before they OK'd straight walled cartridge rifles. I wanted the rifle so that I didn't have to keep a bunch of different ammo around.

Now I'm in the opposite position. Since I have a .454, I can't justify a .45-70. I put on a Marbles bullseye rear and fiber front and it is a blast to shoot. I shoot mostly .454, but have about 100 rounds of .45 Colt through it and never had a problem with any of it loading. Twice I've had issues with Hornady 240 grain ammo splitting and leaving a brass ring in my barrel that is a pain to get out (case head separation?), but I have never had that issue with any other brand or Hornady 300 grain for that matter.

I think the ability to shoot both calibers gets you a two for one that's hard to beat. They are all fun, but a little gun with a big bang is funner....

[OldGringo]

I have both the Rossi 454 and the Marlin Guide Gun 45-70. Shooting 300 grain loads the Rossi is equal to the Marlin. The Marlin weighs about 7.5 ounces, the Rossi about 5.5. It kicks hard, about like my 300 Weatherby. I do download it and shoot 45 Colt in it. The 454 is rated to 55,000 cup or 65,000 psi. Paco Kelly wrote extensively about the design.

My take is you will never shoot enough of those hot loads to harm the gun. The recoil is sharp, I let anyone shoot it that wants, 90% refuse and no one shoots it twice. If you are shooting deer at 100 yards, go with the 44 mag or 45 Colt loaded to Ruger only levels. Keep in mind that the 454 is twice the power of the 44 mag.

If you can find a 454 at a decent price buy it, there are a 1,000 guys who would buy it. It serves multiple roles because with all the extra power every body that goes into grizzly areas would want one.

I also own the 357 lever. Probably the most handy gun other than a 22 that a person can own. I have both the Rossi and the Marlin. The Marlin I scope, the Rossi or course not. The 357/38 can be used for anything from rabbits to deer at the shorter ranges, and Excellent for defense.

My 2 cents

[Dirty Harry]

First post, after lurking for a while.

I'm currently attempting to acquire compact lever rifles in corresponding calibers to match my revolvers. Bought an R92 large loop carbine in .357mag a while back and just picked up a Henry Big Boy steel sidegate carbine in 44mag last week. Am now on the hunt for a 92 in 454, in the stainless 16"bbl variant, to complete this quest.

Being new to Rossi, am I correct in assuming that they 1) don't make many in 454 and/or only produce one batch per year? And 2) that the shorter carbine length is no longer being made at all?

If anyone has one of these in decent shape and isn't asking crazy prices then please let me know.

Thanks!!