Handled a Rossi Puma .454 Casull yesterday...

[Desert Dog]

Looks like a hell of a gun, but the .22 style tube setup for the magazine is kind of strange...

I do like the way the gun looks. The dark colored stock wood makes it almost (I said almost) looks like a "black rifle". Since this was the first Rossi slabside I have ever seen, I was disappointed in the finish of the internals compared to the Winchesters (USRAC's) I have been handling since looking for a .45 caliber lever-action rifle.

I do like the 1892 action and the double lockup. (why did that excellent design go away with the '94?) and the gun is a bargain compared to the Winchester '92 Trapper I found ($1000!!!)

What do others here think of this gun?

Oh yeah, I finally got on the board after some technical difficulties...

Mike

 

[Politically Incorrect]

I looked at one. It appears that you can load .45 LC in the side gate, but you have to load .454 Casull through the tube as you would a .22 lever.

Someone mentioned on TFL some time ago that they would like to see a .454 lever and Rossi has answered the call. I would love to try one out sometime.

 

[Deadman]

I can't remember the specifics, but there might have been reports of the guns operation on the Marlin.com forum FWIW.

 

[Wil Terry]

Have been shooting a PUMA 454 for two months now.

You load everything through the King's side gate like all centerfire leverguns.
It shoots vey well indeed and is quite accurate. With full power 454CASULL loads it is a pushin' sonofagun, I'll tell you!
The WINCHESTER '92 was developed for pistol length cartridges and as such handles extremely well. When WINCHESTER began work on a more powerful rifle they told J.M. Browning the action had to be the same length and thickness as the '92 but had to handle longer more powerful cartridges ie:38/55, 32/40 etc.
The success of the 30/40 KRAG, far too long to fit the proposed action, made WINCHESTER take a long look at a simular 30 caliber cartridge, the 30WCF. To fit such cartridges in an action no longer than the '92 the lockup was switched to the rear of the action where it remains today and all the rest is history.

 

[buford1]

Why wont MARLIN,WINCHESTER or RUGER build one? I read some where that marlin was concerned about the pressure of the casull in thier lever gun. SAMMI max=70,000 psi.

 

[Cosmoline]

Anyone know the ballistics on .454 from these beasts? I know .45 COlt and .44 Magnum get a serious boost in power when fired from a carbine. The .454, with all that pressure, must be able to really shine out of a long gun.

 

[telewinz]

Would the 454 get close to equalling the 45/70 in power?

 

[WonderNine]

Would the 454 get close to equalling the 45/70 in power?

I would think it would be pretty close depending on the load! Maybe more?