Rossi Survival Rifle in .45 colt....... and of course .410

[Oninotaki]

Here's a fun one folks. Looks to be a perfectly fine break action single shot .45 colt that just so happens to fire .410. I am not surprised to see it since the Taurus Brawler and Home Defender were so well received. Without the counter spin choke of the circuit judge I just can't see myself ever firing .410 out of it. I honestly think I prefer the Tuffy in .410 as a survival gun concept. Stock it with some 3" Brenneke slugs, 3" 000 Winchester Buckshot, and what ever #6 bird shot patterns best from it, clamp on a flashlight and laser and you should be good to go.

Poly Tuffy Survival - 410 BORE - 45 COLT

Lightweight, accurate, & tough as nails, the Rossi Survival Rifle comes with a polymer stock making it rugged & reliable in all conditions.

rossiusa.com

Looks like it uses the Rossi Tuffy stock, which has a short length of pull, but you can order the stock from the Tuffy Turkey model and swap them out. If it gets good reviews I may pick one up to pair with my Tuffy and Governor just for ****s and giggles.

The real question is can it shoot the really hot Buffalo Bore .45 colts.

 

[Cornhusker77]

I like it, I'd like to handle one.
Looks like the price won't be too bad.

 

[someguy2800]

Unless they put some sort of choke in it to make it pattern decently or solved the 45 colt accuracy issue, my opinion of this is the same as all the 45/410 guns I've shot. In an effort to make it capable of doing everything, they made it useless at everything. Because of the rifled bore, 410 shot loads spin out the end of the barrel and make a huge donut shaped pattern that is pretty much only useful for like 15 feet with birdshot. When shooting 45 colt the bullet has to jump a huge unsupported distance before entering the rifling so accuracy in all the examples I've fired has been terrible, and very low velocity. If it was either a 45 colt or a 410 it would be interesting, but trying to do both ruins both.

 

[Oninotaki]

Unless they put some sort of choke in it to make it pattern decently or solved the 45 colt accuracy issue, my opinion of this is the same as all the 45/410 guns I've shot. In an effort to make it capable of doing everything, they made it useless at everything. Because of the rifled bore, 410 shot loads spin out the end of the barrel and make a huge donut shaped pattern that is pretty much only useful for like 15 feet with birdshot. When shooting 45 colt the bullet has to jump a huge unsupported distance before entering the rifling so accuracy in all the examples I've fired has been terrible, and very low velocity. If it was either a 45 colt or a 410 it would be interesting, but trying to do both ruins both.

That's basically how I feel about it.

They make a Tuffy with swappable .410 and .22 lr barrels. I would be much more interested in this if what it actually was was a repackage of that Tuffy that also had a dedicated .45 colt barrel, and used the stock extender from the Turkey Tuffy. That would make it a great camp/BUG bag/cabin/truck all in one unit then, that would easily pair with a revolver of choice.

 

[someguy2800]

That's basically how I feel about it.

They make a Tuffy with swappable .410 and .22 lr barrels. I would be much more interested in this if what it actually was was a repackage of that Tuffy that also had a dedicated .45 colt barrel, and used the stock extender from the Turkey Tuffy. That would make it a great camp/BUG bag/cabin/truck all in one unit then, that would easily pair with a revolver of choice.

At 3.2 lbs it would be a really neat gun in pretty much any chambering other than 45/410. I would be head over heals for a 38 special. I guess I should wait for an accuracy review before I write it off but I had a couple different 45/410 contender barrels and they shot worse at 20 yards than any other contender barrel I've had did at 100.

 

[Oninotaki]

At 3.2 lbs it would be a really neat gun in pretty much any chambering other than 45/410. I would be head over heals for a 38 special. I guess I should wait for an accuracy review before I write it off but I had a couple different 45/410 contender barrels and they shot worse at 20 yards than any other contender barrel I've had did at 100.

A firarms journalist put a .32 h&r magnum barrel on the platform and it looks like it turned out pretty nice.

I could see this platform working as a very fun contender style single shot pistol caliber rifle. .32 s&w/.32 acp/.32 long/.32 h&r/.327 fed mag, .38 special/.357 mag/.38 Super, .40s&w/10mm, .44 special/.44 magnum .45 auto rim/45 colt, all could be very fun chamberings for such a light platform.

Single-Shot 32 H&R Magnum: Part 2

youtube.com

 

[Speedo66]

Interesting that it it has a 16” barrel.

Normally a shotgun requires an 18” barrel, but if it’s rifled I guess they can say it’s not a shotgun.

Sounds like a “jack of all trades, master of none.”

 

[someguy2800]

A firarms journalist put a .32 h&r magnum barrel on the platform and it looks like it turned out pretty nice.

I could see this platform working as a very fun contender style single shot pistol caliber rifle. .32 s&w/.32 acp/.32 long/.32 h&r/.327 fed mag, .38 special/.357 mag/.38 Super, .40s&w/10mm, .44 special/.44 magnum .45 auto rim/45 colt, all could be very fun chamberings for such a light platform.

Single-Shot 32 H&R Magnum: Part 2

youtube.com

That is super cool, I need to do that! I just sent an H&R 223 barrel off to get rebored to 38 special.

 

[NorthBorder]

Retail will probably be around $300 so that makes it a cheap, effective (to some degree) piece of survival equipment to throw into the truck.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Can it shoot .45 Colt accurately?
Not a fan of thumb hole stocks and exposed hammers, very slow and awkward cocking.
I would love to have an accurate single shot .45 Colt carbine, but I don’t think this is going to be it.

 

[mcb]

I think in this case I would rather have a dedicated 45 Colt rifle OR 410 shotgun not a hybrid. I love the 410 shotgun and have hunted everything from dove to deer with it. I am not sure being able too shoot 45 Colt bring enough extra capability to justify the compromise in performance of the 410 shot patterns.

 

[TTv2]

It's nice Rossi is doing single shots for both pistol and rifle, but if they don't offer more than just .45/.410 in them it's an absolute waste.

I don't need this gun in my life, but I'm not going to trash its purpose. The .45 Colt, with the right ammo, from these rifles can be accurate enough out to 50 or 75 yards, the trajectory on .45 is so steep you're not going to be effective past 125y, so having a 2 MOA gun don't make sense and the .410 is very much a 10-15 yard gauge anyway.

I'd rather have the Circuit Judge tho as it has the shot de-spinner choke and I like how fast it can be shot in double action, but cocked for a single action shot.

 

[someguy2800]

It's nice Rossi is doing single shots for both pistol and rifle, but if they don't offer more than just .45/.410 in them it's an absolute waste.

I don't need this gun in my life, but I'm not going to trash its purpose. The .45 Colt, with the right ammo, from these rifles can be accurate enough out to 50 or 75 yards, the trajectory on .45 is so steep you're not going to be effective past 125y, so having a 2 MOA gun don't make sense and the .410 is very much a 10-15 yard gauge anyway.

I'd rather have the Circuit Judge tho as it has the shot de-spinner choke and I like how fast it can be shot in double action, but cocked for a single action shot.

If it shot 2 moa or even 6 moa I would buy one right now. My experience with the contenders I had was more like 12 moa and bird shot was a useful pattern at about 10 feet rather than 10 yards. I’m interested to see how others fare with one, or maybe I’ll buy one to rebarrel and test it out first.

 

[TTv2]

If it shot 2 moa or even 6 moa I would buy one right now. My experience with the contenders I had was more like 12 moa and bird shot was a useful pattern at about 10 feet rather than 10 yards. I’m interested to see how others fare with one, or maybe I’ll buy one to rebarrel and test it out first.

Shoot jacketed or plated bullets in the .45, lead will lead the bore bad due to the gasses blowing by in the chamber.

What would solve all this would be a cartridge that has the length of the .410 shell, but is packed with black powder. It'd basically be a .45-70, but uses a .452 dia bullet and is made to be fired in a .410/.45 chamber.

Call it .45 Judge or something.

 

[someguy2800]

Shoot jacketed or plated bullets in the .45, lead will lead the bore bad due to the gasses blowing by in the chamber.

What would solve all this would be a cartridge that has the length of the .410 shell, but is packed with black powder. It'd basically be a .45-70, but uses a .452 dia bullet and is made to be fired in a .410/.45 chamber.

Call it .45 Judge or something.

I was shooting jacketed.

Actually I met a guy once at the range that was doing something similar to what you are describing. He had a rifle length contender and was shooting what I assume were 41 magnum bullets out of cut down 410 plastic hulls. He was repriming and reloading them at the shooting bench. The shells were cut down to about 2” long and he would pour smokeless powder in them with a dipper and push the bullet in with his thumb and shoot it. I asked him how he made that work and he said it was a custom chamber he designed. I watched him for a bit but didn’t question him any further.

 

[TTv2]

I was shooting jacketed.

Actually I met a guy once at the range that was doing something similar to what you are describing. He had a rifle length contender and was shooting what I assume were 41 magnum bullets out of cut down 410 plastic hulls. He was repriming and reloading them at the shooting bench. The shells were cut down to about 2” long and he would pour smokeless powder in them with a dipper and push the bullet in with his thumb and shoot it. I asked him how he made that work and he said it was a custom chamber he designed. I watched him for a bit but didn’t question him any further.

I can't imagine throwing a .41 bullet down a .45 bore does much for accuracy.

Over the years I've seen comments about using .45 BPM out of .410/.45 revolvers as the chamber is long enough to accommodate it, but all .45 BPM is is .460 S&W Magnum brass loaded with black powder. I'd rather have a case specifically built for shooting .452 bullets from those .45/.410 chambers.

That woulf be best for the single shots like the Contender or the Rossi Brawler, for the revolvers, all that need be done to improve .45 Colt performance is to have a spare cylinder with the proper chamber length and throat diameter. It's a long jump, but the gas leak in the chamber would be eliminated, the leading issue in the bore would be eliminated, and I can only imagine velocity and accuracy would improve.

 

[bfoosh006]

https://www.americanhunter.org/content/review-rossi-ss-poly-tuffy-410-bore-shotgun/

 

[Oninotaki]

https://www.americanhunter.org/content/review-rossi-ss-poly-tuffy-410-bore-shotgun/

It's a great little shotgun, I added a light and laser in case of night time critter issues on my property.

I would like to add this nice review and video on lengthing the stock.

Rossi Tuffy .410 Shotgun on Rider's Range

Rider's Range takes a look at the Rossi Tuffy .410 single shot shotgun and shoots a variety of ammunition. Website: www.riders-range.comContact: info@riders-...

youtu.be

Rossi Tuffy .410 - Now Adult Size

The Rossi Tuffy .410 Shotgun is a great "garden gun", "truck gun", or youth training shotgun. However, the 11.25" length of pull makes it more difficult for ...

youtu.be

I was able to transfer the stock extender from the turkey stock to the regular stock by taking out the screws in the butt pad of both models. So there are two ways you can do the modification he is describing, his method and mine.

 

[someguy2800]

I can't imagine throwing a .41 bullet down a .45 bore does much for accuracy.

Over the years I've seen comments about using .45 BPM out of .410/.45 revolvers as the chamber is long enough to accommodate it, but all .45 BPM is is .460 S&W Magnum brass loaded with black powder. I'd rather have a case specifically built for shooting .452 bullets from those .45/.410 chambers.

That woulf be best for the single shots like the Contender or the Rossi Brawler, for the revolvers, all that need be done to improve .45 Colt performance is to have a spare cylinder with the proper chamber length and throat diameter. It's a long jump, but the gas leak in the chamber would be eliminated, the leading issue in the bore would be eliminated, and I can only imagine velocity and accuracy would improve.

It wasn’t a 45 bore. I believe it was a 41 magnum barrel with the chamber reamed out to fit a .410 shot shell hull. It was very accurate.

 

[NeroM]

So, I've had the Rossi 45/410 Tuffy Survival gun for about a week now. Have shot some 45 Colt and 410 slug loads.
Fun to shoot and has worked well, I did put a dab of white [then yellow] nail polish on the front sight to improve the contrast. If I had a complaint - it would be the sights; however given the rail - the intent was probably to add a red dot or similar sight. However, have to admit once I got the sight picture worked out, easy to bust on edge clay birds at 30 steps with it in 45 Colt. Have not shot many 410 slugs yet.
45 Colt load of a 255 gr SWC over about 19 grs of XMP5744 yields approx 1050 fps - pleasant to shoot and so far seem accurate. Have not had a chance, yet, to shoot any Tier II or III Colt loads - will get to that when the weather moderates a little. The Winchester 2 1/2" 410 slug yielded just over 1900 fps for approx 705 fp/KE - will do some accuracy testing when I get a bigger supply of slugs.
This is going to be my "truck" gun, I really like it. My partner wants one for her car. too [birthday is on the horizon].

 

[Old Hobo]

I'd not buy one of these things.

 

[NeroM]

I'd not buy one of these things.

Your comment seems a little pejorative, why ?
It is a pretty simple, plain, knockabout firearm.

 

[NeroM]

That is super cool, I need to do that! I just sent an H&R 223 barrel off to get rebored to 38 special

Agree- a Tuffy carbine in 38 Special would be great. Weight, under 3 pounds, some sort of peep sight, extractor instead of ejector. The Hodgdon manual lists a +p 38 Spl load for 140 gr bullet and 6.4 gr Longshot, this is my default 38 Spl load - yields 1350 fps from a Marlin 357 - that is nearly 357 level load it is more quiet than a HS 22 LR. Rossi - sigh me up for one!!

 

[shafter]

In a wilderness survival situation I'd rather just have a shotgun and have a few slugs on hand or a rifle in 357 Magnum and have a mix of hot 357s and moderate 38s.

But, I'm of the opinion that in most cases a firearm isn't the best tool for survival unless you're somewhere where protection is a real concern because one can carry a lot of high calorie survival rations for the same weight as a rifle and ammo and unwrapping them doesn't waste any energy.

 

[someguy2800]

Agree- a Tuffy carbine in 38 Special would be great. Weight, under 3 pounds, some sort of peep sight, extractor instead of ejector. The Hodgdon manual lists a +p 38 Spl load for 140 gr bullet and 6.4 gr Longshot, this is my default 38 Spl load - yields 1350 fps from a Marlin 357 - that is nearly 357 level load it is more quiet than a HS 22 LR. Rossi - sigh me up for one!!

Yeah I am really liking the idea of a 3 lb 38 special. I have an H&R handy rifle barrel I recently sent off to get rebored to 38 special but now I am thinking about copying that tuffy build above and doing a different caliber with the h&R.