Caliber Advice?

Of those three choices, the 44 MAG would be the best choice IMHO. The 45 colt would be underpowered although a larger caliber. Then why bother with the 357 if ya got a 44 MAG.

What are you going to do with the thing? Answering that should give you the best sense of what cartridge you want to use.
It's a niche kind of gun.....it ain't a rifle and it ain't a pistol. What do ya do with it? It'll go bang for sure and maybe it'll make an OK plinker but then .44 wouldn't be the best choice.
Pete

Also depends on what you already have in the inventory. I like the .45 long Colt, goes bang, pretty good power, and not as expensive as .44 Mag cartridges. You can go with .44 special and save a few bucks, but they are sometimes hard to find, at least in my locality. I have a couple of .45LC weapons hanging on the wall so that's the way I would go, ( the .44 Mag Ruger Blackhawk is the stranger hanging on the wall) but that's just me..

KKKKFL

True Grit said:

Hey guys! I've always wanted a mare's leg pistol and I'm considering the Rossi Ranch Hand. They offer it in 45 colt, 357 mag, and 44 mag. If I were to find mysel in bear country what would be my best bet? Hahaha well first of all I could think of a few other guns I would rather have but lol this is what I've got. Not that it will happen anytime soon, I'm just curious... What do you guys think?

Click to expand...

The Rossi Ranch Hand . . . isn't that a cut down Winchester 92 rifle? If we're thinking about the same gun, either the .45 Colt (if you like handloading, or don't mind paying extra for a heavy COR-BON or Buffalo Bore load) or the .44 Magnum (if you don't) would be a good choice. The Winchester 92 action is fine with Ruger-only .45 Colt loads, and there are some fine heavy .45 Colt loads that'll put down anything you're liable to encounter in the woods that'd be easier to shoot, given the Ranch Hand's ergonomics, than a full-pressure .44 Magnum.

.45 Colt for me, but that's cause I already own a couple and reload for it. As noted, a 92 should handle the Ruger loads. Once you get to that level, .44 mag and .45 Colt is a toss up. I'd consider the factors EnsignJimmy mentioned.

Don't buy some almost rifle to carry around. It's not a good rifle and not a pistol.Get something with a real stock that you can shoot with control or buy a pistol. Now on caliber. You can buy heavy +p loads for the 45lc that are every bit as hot as the baddest 44mags. You can also buy the 454 casul in some lever rifles and that would allow you to shoot 45lc heavy loads down to soft a lite cowboy loads. The 44mag is easier to find good hunting quility loads for and will shoot 44 special. The 454 and 45lc heavies might have to be ordered to get or atleast to have much choice in. Look to double tap, grizzly and buffalo bore for ammo.

In a Rossi I'd go with the .44 Mag. Now if you were talking about a Ruger, I'd say the .45 Colt which I could make as hot, or more, than the .44 Mag.

It looked good in the Steve McQueen show but really let's face it. The mare's leg is pretty much impossible to hold and aim at all decently. It's more of a fun plinker for shooting from the hip. As such it can only hit what you point it at with accuracy and consistency in Hollywood. If you want a gun that'll put a round where you need it to go stick with a proper rifle or a proper handgun.

Now one option would be to equip it with a regular '92 shoulder stock which you then cut down a little so that it still allows for adequite support when shouldered. That would make it into a 3 or 4 shot very compact rifle that would be light and easy to carry.

If you reload your own ammo then it's been shown time and again that it's a wash between 45Colt and .44Magnum. But if you have to rely on factory loaded ammo then .44Mag will likely be a bit cheaper, if you stick with the common loads, than ordering from specialty ammo suppliers such as Cor-Bon and the like.

44 mag is just plain fun to shoot.

Now one option would be to equip it with a regular '92 shoulder stock which you then cut down a little so that it still allows for adequite support when shouldered. That would make it into a 3 or 4 shot very compact rifle that would be light and easy to carry.

Click to expand...

I think if you did that, you'd have a Short Barrel Rifle on your hand which is a federal crime without the proper paper work and taxes. Might also be illegal at the local level, even if you jump through the hoops.

Yep, .44 Mag or .45 Colt would be my choice.

I have both calibers and like both calibers. If you reload or, can buy the Buffalo Bore type ammo, the .45 Colt is a very versatile round that can do about anything you need done.

The 45 colt would be underpowered although a larger caliber.

Click to expand...

I have to disagree. The .45 Colt was designed to push a 250gr lead bullet @900 fps and take a horse right out from under a rider. The original .45 Colt did just that. If the .45 Colt can kill a heavy muscular animal like a horse it can also kill a bear, even a big bear like a Grizzly. BUT, like mentioned above, it depends upon what you already own. If you own guns in .44 Magnum already and none in .45 Colt there's no reason not to buy it in .44 Magnum. The same holds true if you own .45 Colt guns.

If I were to do a revolver, I would get a .357 or a .44 in Magnum because of the ammo and switchablitiy. I would say the same for a matched lever gun.

http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=8

Heavy 45 Colt +P Ammo - 325 gr. L.B.T.-L.F.N. (1,325 fps/M.E. 1,267 ft. lbs.)

And that's out of a handgun, not a longer barrel lever gun.

The heavy Buffalo Bore loads are quite impressive. I also use their special loads designed for short bbl snubbies in my CCW guns. They perform and shoot as advertised. Dave