What good is this rifle?

[Pivot Dr]

If the TV has not lied to me all these years a 45 LC is a perfect round for rustlers, marauders of all strips, shooting your horse if he breaks a leg, bank robbers heck the list goes on..

In the real world those were 44-40s, not 45 Colts. The 45 is a bit more gun, but 44-40s they were.

 

[lemaymiami]

Way back when.... early eighties... My Department still wouldn't allow us to carry anything but a revolver on the street in uniform. A few of our better shooters bought N frame S&W's (the same frame 44 mag revolvers came in...) in 45 long colt - and since we had to have factory ammo, went with the heaviest soft lead hollow points.... They were real fight enders if you did your part... The thought of that same round in a carbine sounds like a great deal for home or auto defensive purposes to me...

When we were finally allowed to carry auto pistols those big heavy revolvers got replaced but for that era when a uniform cop might be entirely too close to someone intending to kill them - they were just the ticket.

 

[mcb]

The 454 Casull is not the same gun, different alloy in the receiver, capable of much more abuse than either the 44 mag or 45 Colt chambered ones.

Probably the same alloy but the 454 Casull version is longer and thicker. The 454 Casull loaded ammo is longer and thus required the longer receiver than the standard 357/44/45 version. They thickened up several key locking components to deal with the higher pressures and forces produced by 454 Casull.

As for the OP, the 45 Cowboy Special cartridge would give you 10rd capacity for SASS assuming you can get it to feed reliably.

45 Colt from a carbine is more than enough gun for deer at moderate to close range.

I have the 16-inch 44 Mag version and it's a very handy little rifle, but I only payed $400 for it six years ago.

 

[P89DCSS]

Levers are fun to shoot. The later Rossi R92 with the laser etch serial number on the underside of the receiver are much better than the earlier versions. The factory shut down for a couple years and moved. The latest are said to be very good. I have a 16" 357 and a 24" octagon 44mag made right before the factory shut down and they both are very nice.

In Australia semiauto rifles are banned but not levers.....food for thought.

 

[CraigC]

I've seen no indication that anything changed with the .454 1892's.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I like buckhorn sights. !!!

Even with lower pressure, factory loads, the rifle/carbine barrel will add quite a few fps over a revolver barrel. Even in that flavor, it is more than enough for deer. loaded up, even better. I used a Ruger Carbine in .44mag for many years, for deer hunting. A hot loaded .45 Colt would certainly be as effective.

I have a Rossi in .357mag. It was used, (pre-safety..yeah!!) and has never had functioning or feeding problems. But "sometimes" they do. Luck of the draw. If they do, there's a ton of info on how to fix them.

 

[whughett]

The Rossi is also chambered in .454 Casull. So, strength of the action is unquestioned.
Loaded with a Lee 310gr RFN-GC @ .460” with Ruger “only” loads of #2400 or H110, It approaches a factory.45/70 (@ trapdoor pressures).
It is over powered for anything in the lower 48 save moose or black bear.

My favorite load for both my S&W 625 and Win. M94 is the Lee 255gr RFN over 8.2gr of Universal or 9.8gr of LongShot. My buddy using a Taurus Thunderbolt shot a 100lb doe lengthwise with an exit. You could eat up to the bullet hole...
We shot a bunch of armadillos on that hunt. Impact of bullet is louder than gun shot! Think a bass .22lr with a sonic “crack”. (1,200fps from 24”bbl).

A lot of folks in Maine would disagree, blackie doesn’t take any more killing than a whitetail.

 

[StrawHat]

I have use blackpowder 45 long Colt from a 5 1/2” barrel to put a lot of meat in the freezer. No reason to think it won’t do the same from a short rifle. Also, no reason to run it flat out. The original ballistics are more than enough for North America.

Kevin