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| The Rossi Ranch Hand was born in the Wild West but at home anywhere. |
Most of us
grew up on classic westerns and a few of us are old enough remember a black-and-
white TV show that aired from 1958-1961 staring Steve McQueen called “Wanted:
Dead or Alive.” This show featured a soft hearted Confederate Civil War veteran
(Josh Randall) who made a living as a bounty hunter in the Wild West of the
1870s. Steve McQueen was an amazing
actor, but he wouldn’t have been able to do what he did without his trusty side
kick, a modified .44-40 Winchester Model 1892 called the “Mare’s Leg.” He
carried it in a modified gun slingers rig that attached to his belt and tied to
his leg; he could draw and fire as fast if not faster than the western outlaws
he was tracking.
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| With some high quality Hunter leather and a good supply of Rainier bullets the fun never ends. |
If you’re a fan
of the show, or just want a unique piece for your collection, Rossi has made it
possible to own a replica of this famous movie gun. Rossi’s version of the Mare’s
Leg is called the Rand Hand which is manufactured by Taurus International
Manufacturing Inc. in Brazil. Rossi gives you the choice of three calibers to
pick from, .38 /.357 Magnum, .44 Magnum and the .45 Long Colt. The sample I
requested had to be the .45 Long Colt as it is a well known symbol of the old
west and made famous by Samuel Colts Single Action Army known as the Peacemaker
which was carried by many heroes and villains alike. Its stopping power was
legendary for the time and still is today. Most cowboys carried a rifle and
revolver that used the same cartridge; they carried only one type of ammunition
and gave them the ability to take close and long shots.
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| Shooting the Ranch Hand off the MTM K-Zone rest was a breeze. |
There are
two models of the Rossi Ranch hand available in the .45 Long Colt, the Model
RH92-57203 which has a case hardened receiver and retails for $655.00 and the
RH92-57121 which is a normal matt blue receiver and retails for $579.00. The
features are the same; it just comes down to what you prefer and all Rossi
firearms carry their lifetime repair policy even on used models. When I received
the Ranch Hand I had mixed feelings for this little pistol, but as time passed
I found it very fun to shoot and hard to put down. The 4 lb unloaded weight of
the pistol absorbs the recoil of the .45 Colt very well and using both hands holding
it at arm’s length it’s easy to control.
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| The windage adjustable gold bead front sight was very easy to use and see. |
The Ranch Hand
can be fired with one hand, although you will need the other to work the action
effectively for successive shots. The action was smooth right out of the box
and becomes even smoother with use. When the trigger is pulled and the round
fires and you work the oversized loop lever forward, two locking bars retract
downward allowing the bolt to move rearward and extract the case and eject it
upwards with force. A fresh round is ejected from the magazine and positioned
in front of the chamber and when the loop lever is pulled back, it pushes the
round into the chamber. All this happens in the blink of an eye and with
practice you can shoot all seven rounds in less than ten seconds. This being
said you should always wear shooting glasses as the empties are ejected strait
up and can hit you in the eyes.
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| The elevation adjustable Buck Horn rear sight compliments the front sight very well. |
The stock
measures about eight inches from the receiver and merely acts as a hand hold
for your shooting hand and was never meant to be placed on your shoulder. Since
it ejects spent cases upwards, left handed shooting is no problem. You can
either shoot from the hip or hold it at arm’s length and aim using the windage
adjustable gold bead front sight and the elevation adjustable buckhorn rear
sight. Using the sights the Ranch Hand is very accurate with a steady hold, but
if you hip shoot it will take a little practice to get the bullets to go where
you want them too, and did I mention it’s a lot of fun mastering this skill as
well? The wood foregrip is a bit small and as rapid fire heats up the barrel
slipping off the foregrip can burn a finger or two. A leather smith suggested
wrapping a leather collar around the foregrip and barrel in front of the
buckhorn sight using either stitching or snaps to combat this issue.
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| The safety is located on top of the bolt for easy access and operation. |
The Trigger
pull is light and measures a little over 3.5 pounds and the hammer is large and
easy to manually cock. The first cocked position is called the half cock
position and pulling the trigger while in the position will not allow the
hammer to fall. Continue pulling the hammer all the way back places and the
Ranch Hand in the firing position. On top of the bolt in front of the hammer you
will find the manual safety with a green S and a red F. To place the Ranch Hand
in the safe position the safety lever must be rotated counterclockwise fully so
that the lever covers the red and exposes the green. The left
side of the receiver you’ll find a saddle ring which was
originally used to secure the rifle to the rider so he would not drop it while
riding his horse. On the right side of the receiver you’ll find the magazine
loading port which accepts 6 rounds and one in the chamber; you’ll have seven
rounds to take care of business.
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| The over sized cocking loop makes multiple shots easy even with gloves. |
The overall
length of the Ranch Hand is 24 inches and 12 inches of that is barrel. The
barrel is cradled by a wood forearm that uses a barrel band to hold the wood to
the barrel. In front of the forearm the magazine tube and barrel are joined by
another barrel band making the fit tight even after many round have been fired.
The wood stock and forend is unfinished Brazilian Pine and the fit and finish
of the Ranch Hand is rustic. It reflects the Wild West heritage and is ready
for many miles in a saddle scabbard. The feature that catches your eye is the
oversized cocking loop and this is the one feature that makes the Ranch Hand
really fun to shoot even with gloves.
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| The ejection port is large and cases eject straight up so watch your face. |
However you
choose to carry the Ranch Hand whether on horseback or your hip, there is some
great quality leather available through the Hunter Company. They make a
“Trapper Holster,” for your leg much like the one used by Woody Harrelson in
the movie Zombie Land and “wanted: Dead or Alive.” The other is the holster / scabbard
which can be used with a horse’s saddle or belt. Either way with the Ranch Hand
loaded with your favorite ammunition, say TEN-X Ammo’s 250 RNFP you will be toting
about 4.9 lbs.
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| Factory ammunition worked flawlessly through the Ranch Hand. |
Shooting
the Ranch Hand is like stepping back in time, but it will handle all modern and
cowboy loads. I feel with the right ammunition there is no task this pistol
can’t handle from target shooting to deer hunting. For my accuracy/chronograph tests
I used four types of manufactured ammunition:
Manufacturer Grain Bullet Type Avg. Vel (FPS) Std Dev.
Doubletap 165 Barnes
Tac-XP 1239.2 37.6
Barnes VOR TX 200 XPB Hollow Point 1208.6 30.2
TEN-X 250 Round
Nose Flat Point 838.7 13.3
TEN-X 200 Round Nose Flat Point 804.6 20.7
Winchester 250 Lead Flat Nose 815.4 14.0
Accuracy
results are five-shot groups at 25 yards off a MTM K Zone shooting rest.
Velocities are the average of 9 shots measured on a Master Shooting Chrony at
15 feet.
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| Young shooters found the Ranch Hand easy to shoot. |
All the .45
Long Colt ammunition provided functioned flawlessly through the Ranch Hand with
only one round of the Winchester not firing because of a bad primer. Another
small problem encountered was in feeding wad cutter type bullets into the
chamber, more rounded types fed reliably as expected. Accuracy was amazing for
this pistol with the best group being 1.5 inches at 25 yards coming from a
Rainier 300 grain TCJ backed by 22 grains of Winchester 296. The TEN-X 200 grain
RNFP gave me the best group with among the manufactured ammunition at 2” at 25
yards. One drawback I can see now is the cost of ammunition, basic .45 Long
Colt is selling on average for $35 and up for a box of 50 rounds. To combat this
growing problem hand loading/reloading is becoming a must and there are
companies like Rainier Ballistics who help take the bite out of shooting
firearms like the Ranch Hand. They supply lead safe copper plated bullets for
the .45 LC in 250 and 300 Grain TCJ (Total Copper Jacket) varieties.
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| TEN-X gave me the best performance at 25 yards with a 2" group. |
For my
tests I reloaded the once fired mixed cases using a variety of bullets from
different manufacturers and used Winchester large pistol primers.
Brand: Grain: Bullet Type: Powder: AV (FPS): SD:
Barnes 225 XPB
Hollow Point 24 X 2400 1796.4 17.9
Rainier 230 Total
Copper Jacket 7.2
X 231 952.7 20.6
Rainier 250 Total
Copper Jacket 10 X Unique 1178.0 25.4
Rainier 250 Total
Copper Jacket 6.2
X Tite Group 946.2 26.8
Rainier 300 Total
Copper Jacket 22 X 296 1408.8 10.0
Rainier 300 Total
Copper Jacket 18 X Lil’Gun 1316.1 14.3
Sierra 300 Jacketed Soft Point 20.5 X 296 1214.0 25.1
Accuracy results are five-shot groups at 25 yards off
a MTM K Zone shooting rest. Velocities are the average of 9 shots measured on a
Master Shooting Chrony at 15 feet.
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| Reloading the .45 LC was easy with loads from target to short range hunting. |
When using a .45 LC revolver or tubular
feed magazine, it’s important to remember that the jacketed bullets need a cannelure.
This keeps the bullet from being pushed back into the case while in a tubular
feed magazine and from shifting from the force of recoil in a revolver. In the case
of the Rainier or any other metal plated bullets, they are soft enough to be
roll crimped. If you have copper jacketed bullets without a cannelure such as
230 grain .45 ACP bullets, you can purchase a canneluring tool that mounts to
your reloading table too give them a cannelure yourself. This gives you a
cheaper and readily available source of bullets. Also remember the powder
charge for copper jacketed bullets will be higher than metal plated bullets as
these bullets are softer and easier to drive down the barrel. Use lead bullet
data for cowboy loads or use the medium charge listings from your loading
manual.
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| My Master Chrony worked overtime testing reloads. |
I can
recommend this pistol to anyone who likes or loves the allure of the old west,
the .45 Long Colt and lever action rifles. It is loads of fun and can serve in
other rolls as well including, home and personal protection and short range
hunting without optics. As of this writing there are no mounts available for
the Ranch Hand I have found. As I mentioned earlier the Hunter Company provides
quality leather products for the Ranch Hand so you can carry and/or transport
your Ranch Hand on two legs or four. .45 LC ammunition tends to be on the
expensive side, but good ammunition usually is, reloading can take the bite out
that cost and companies like Ten-X Ammunition offer reloading services using
your cases a reduced rate.
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| Rainier Ballistics was the top performer with reloads shooting a 1.5" group. |
One of the
things I love to do as a shooter is let other shooters have an opportunity to
experience the firearms I test. On average I offered about 10 or more people the
opportunity to shoot the Ranch Hand at my local range. I can only guess their
shooting abilities, but they range from novice to very experienced. When I
first offer them the chance to shoot the Ranch Hand I saw apprehension, but it
quickly changed to excitement and smiles after the first shot. I asked them
what they liked most about it and the general consensus was its different and
fun and most said it would be a great pack pistol or vehicle gun. All of them came
away with a fond memory of the Ranch Hand and my friend Rick loved it so much
he offered to buy it on the spot.
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| With over 500 rounds fired and no cleaning the Ranch Hand never stopped. |
As far as
pro’s and con’s, the saddle ring while historic tends to get in the way
sometimes and while just a minor inconvenience it can be removed. When firing
full power loads, make sure you hold on tight as the Ranch Hand will buck out
of your hand. Keep the pistol at arm’s length as the stock will not feel good
against your chin. It is easy to aim, fire and cycle and cleanings are a breeze,
ammo is plentiful and reloading components are easy to find for this historic
cartridge. The safety while unattractive on the top of the bolt does serve to
make this loaded pistol safer; of course it is up to you if you choose to use
it. I prefer the use of the half cock as my safety as it allows for fast shots
by simply pulling the hammer back fully. Whatever job you choose for the Rossi
Ranch Hand it will deliver and after about 500 rounds we were still having fun
doing it.
Model: RH92-57121
Status: Available
Caliber: .45 COLT
Capacity: 6+1
Barrel Length: 12”
Wood:
Brazilian Pine
Action: Lever Action Repeating Pistol
Finish: Matte Blue
UPC: 6-62205-98505-8
Weight: 4 LBS Unloaded
Warranty:
Lifetime Repair policy
MSRP: $579.00
Phone: (305) 474-0401 Fax:
(305) 623-7506
Mailing Address: 16175 NW 49 Avenue, Miami, FL
33014
Sources:
Sierra Bullets: www.sierrabullets.com
Barnes Bullets: www.barnesbullets.com
Rainier Ballistics: www.rainierballistics.com
Doubletap Ammunition: www.doubletapammo.com
Ten-X Ammunition: www.tenxammo.com
Winchester Ammunition: www.winchester.com
Hodgdon Powders: www.hodgdon.com
Hunter leather products: www.huntercompany.com
Shooting Chrony: www.shootingchrony.com
Photo credits go to Matt Howard for his help with pictures.
Norman Gray ©2012
(POMA Member)
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