TommyGunn

Around Christmas I noticed that Academy Sports had a Rossi "Ranch Hand" in their showcase. You know, the Winchester 1892 with a cut down stock and snubbed barrel that is roughly what Steve McQueen carried when he played Josh Randall in that old western. It was in .45 Colt.
Sorta sparked my interest. Decided, last week, to pick it up, so I drove down to the store.

It was gone.
Oh well.....
Today I popped into Academy and decided to see if, by any chance, they'd gotten any replacements.

They HAD! Miracuosly, they now had it BACK in stock. Well, not in .45 but in .357Mag/.38SP.
But so what, both are good calibers. So I bit the bullet ( pun maybe intended) and picked one up.
Now I have no idea what I will do with this. Should I mount it on the wall?
Keep it as a safequeen? Shoot it?
I'm sorta glad it chambers .38. I have a .44 Magnum Browning B-92 and the recoil is fairly stout ....and that has a real stock.
He he he .... wonder what this'll be like..............
Amusingly, printed on the box it states: "this is a handgun."
Yea because of the BATF and the NFA it, if assembled as a RIFLE (with a real stock) it would be a SBR. But the stubby excuse for a stock this Ranch Hand has (though technically I suppose it is STILL a STOCK) it is not considered one by the BATpeople, so it's a handgun -- or pistol.
I guess they want the store clerks to understand what it is so there's no confusion.

The only thing confusin' to me is what practical purpose this gun serves.

But sometimes, you know .... I just don't feel any need to be "practical."

BTW this is a "Rossii" and it says it's made by Taurus. The workmanship of this gun is much better than Rossis I recall from the past. It isn't as nice as the Miroku made Browning B-92 I have, but hey, the price was JUST RIGHT.

WaltGraham

Shoot it !

And then report.

I've been eyeballing one myself, but I'm being seduced by a near mint Marlin Camp Carbine in .45 my neighbor wants to move...

stand watie

to both,

what i'm looking for is a 20guage double barrel receiver to build a shot-pistol (with 8-10" barrels) out of. - think a variant of the 1920s Ithaca Auto-Burglar Gun in 20guage 3" mag.
(my understanding is that the BATF will require that such a weapon be registered as an "any other weapon" for $ 5.oo, IF the receiver has NEVER been assembled into a functioning shotgun.)

i've wanted a shot-pistol (with a suitable shoulder holster rig) ever since i was briefly issued one, years ago, by a LE organization in GA. =====> it was AN INTIMIDATER, that STOPPED many a "beer-joint fight" before "it got out of hand" , more than once.
(i count any incident where the AH goes to jail & the LEO goes home, uninjured, at the end of shift as a positive SUCCESS!)

yours, sw

DavidE

sw - Have you tried Gun Parts Corporation? They might have such an item.

Also these guys - TriStar Sporting Arms, Ltd., "The Value Experts" - The Brittany is a nice 20 ga. side by side and they might have recievers they could sell you.

tg - Please let me know how that shoots, a local dealer has one in .45 Colt revolver. (I know a man named Dean may still lurk these boards and I'm not gonna call it "L*ng C*lt" as a result!)

stand watie

DavidE,

THANKS for the suggestion. - btw, a guy i know, who is a maker of leathergoods for re-enactors tells me that he will make "to order" a shoulder holster rig for the shot-pistol IF i get it made, out of quality harness leather = he made my rebel officer's holster, belt, dispatch case, etc & does a GREAT job too. - NOT cheap but nice QUALITY!

yours, sw

IrishCop

Good score, Tommy!

The hell with "practical". Sometimes you just want to have fun!

Oh, and I've got a box set of the first two seasons of "Wanted -Dead or Alive"
if you need a Josh Randall fix.