This one's long winded so settle in!
Since I wasn't able to find a thing about this rifle/caliber combination online I thought I'd post about my initial impressions. I will post an update at a later date with a range report once I've hurled some lead torpedoes down range with it. While I won't be shooting this boom stick for accuracy, I'm curious to see how it holds up under the punishing .454 Casull recoil. I'll be putting some full power loads through it, oh yes.
I've wanted a stainless Rossi 92 16" barrel in .454 Casull for a long time. About 12 years ago I got my hands on one but it separated case heads and had really bad machining on the bottom of the receiver. It wasn't safe to fire so I sent it back. That was the last one I ever saw, new or used.
After Rossi stopped making the 16" barreled version in .454 I pretty much gave up on ever finding one. I currently have a Ranch Hand in .45 colt that's been a good camp gun. 315 grain hard casts at 1,500fps are nothing to sneeze at, yet the blued finish is not ideal for field/camp conditions. I also have a 16" stainless 92 in .44 magnum and that is my "never-sell" rifle.
A couple years ago the Citadel Levtac-92 was announced and a .454 version was supposed to come out. I was on a wait list for a long time but they never came, and I basically gave up on a .454 model 92 entirely.
Imagine my surprise 2 weeks ago when I saw a .454 casull Levtac-92, on sale no less. I ordered it, but had my doubts as to its durability as it doesn't have the double/threaded mag tube to resist shearing the front mag cap screw under recoil. And it had this goofy looking tacticool forend. I waited with cautious optimism.
I just took delivery of the gun and so far I like what I see. My main concern was the absence of the double threaded, thick magazine tube that Rossi used to put on the .454 M92. Of course I had to remove the forend to examine the mag tube and surprise! It's threaded into the receiver, but it's a regular size/weight mag tube. This means there won't be any stress on the front mag cap screw under recoil as all the stress will be taken by the magazine tube threads. This also means the rifle is lighter than the .454 casull M92 of a few years ago, and that one was 6 pounds. Oooh boy, here comes trouble!
The fit and finish as well as operation are good. The action has a bit of roughness that feels like it's due to the matte coating, but there is very little resistance in any of the clicks cycling the action. The hollow plastic stock does give the gun a... well hollow and somewhat echo-y feel when the action is cycled. A diffrent feel to the wood stocked Rossis. The cartridge lifter moves freely with almost no resistance, something none of my Rossis do. They all require some effort and have more positive clicks when they finally decide to move.
I'm not a fan of the large loop lever. If I keep the rifle I will cut, re-shape and weld it up into a small loop. When closed it does sit a bit far from the stock grip for my liking. There is about a 1/4" gap and it makes it feel like the grip is larger than it actually is. I may try to adjust this if I re-fabricate the lever. On the plus side, this will likely eliminate finger pinching when firing stout loads so maybe it's a good thing.
The barrel is stamped ".454 Casull" and "Made in Brazil by CBC", just like the newer Rossi rifles. And below, "Legacy Sports International, Reno NV". That solves the mystery of who makes the rifle, and for who. The barrel and mag tube are on straight and correctly indexed. The locking lug recesses in the bolt have a nice long flat machined surface to contact the locking lugs so it should resist deformation and peening under the heavy .454 pressures well, and it looks like the front surfaces of the 2 locking lugs are also machined to mate correctly with the bolt recesses. The gun has a matte cerakote-ish looking finish, which at this price is more likely to be Chinakote. I'm not sure how it will wear in the field.
The muzzle is threaded for attachments but unlike the .357/.44/.45 version of the rifle, the barrel is thicker at the muzzle. I imagine this is from a combination of higher pressures in .454 casull and an already-thin barrel that requires extra meat where the threads further reduce its thickness. Unfortunately the barrel thickening means that the standard 1892 front barrel band can't slide on - it is absent in the .454. Hopefully this doesn't weaken the rifle's structure too much. I already worry about the absence of a bedded wood forend to keep the barrel and mag tube aligned and sandwiched together. In its (and the rear barrel band's) place is a machined block that clamps the mag tube and barrel together. It's held in by a single small Allen head screw that locks into a machined slot in the barrel like on the normal M92 - this prevents the block from sliding forward under recoil. Two screws thread Into this block to attach the forend. At the rear of the latter, on the bottom, is a small set screw that locks in the rear of the forend to prevent it from wobbling up and down. Time will tell if this modern construction holds up.
The stock and forend are LIGHT. The whole rifle weighs - are you ready for this? 2,406 grams or 5.3 pounds. Good thing there's a recoil pad, right? Oh wait, it's hard rubber. I can almost see and feel the bruises on my shoulder already - I think this will need a limbsaver pad. The stock is hollow plastic but the weather resistance and super light weight are worth the cheap feeling IMO. I prefer the svelte, narrow wood forend on the Rossi M92 but again, this M-lok forend is so light I can live with the somewhat goofy look and feel.
The muzzle is threaded for attachments, but unlike the .357/.44/.45 version of the rifle the barrel is thicker at the muzzle. I imagine this is from a combination of high pressures in .454 casull and an already thin barrel that requires extra meat where the threads reduce its thickness. Unfortunately the barrel thickening means that the standard 1892 front barrel band can't slide on. Hopefully this doesn't weaken the rifle's structure too much. I already worry about the absence of a bedded forend to keep the barrel and mag tube aligned and sandwiched together. In its (and the rear barrel band's) place is a machined aluminium block that clamps the mag tube and barrel together. It's held in by a single small Allen head screw that locks into a machined slot in the barrel - this prevents the block (and the forend) from sliding forward under recoil. Two more screws thread into this block to fasten the forend. At the rear of the latter, on the bottom, is a small set screw that locks in the rear of the forend to prevent it from wobbling. Time will tell if this modern construction holds up.
One major difference I can't explain is the absence of the combo pic rail/aperture sight from the other Levtac-92 models. It's a bit disappointing and worth noting.
As far as feel, overall I would prefer a standard forend as I like the narrow feel in the hand, but this rifle is so light and reasonably weather resistant that I think I can live with a few quirks. I have some Casull brass on order and am looking forward to sending some lead torpedoes down range at ungodly speeds. I also have aspirations of mounting the wood furniture from my .45 colt ranch hand and making this a .454 casull 16" Mare's leg just for kicks, although the plastic stock is so light that this might not make the gun any lighter!
To be continued.
Since I wasn't able to find a thing about this rifle/caliber combination online I thought I'd post about my initial impressions. I will post an update at a later date with a range report once I've hurled some lead torpedoes down range with it. While I won't be shooting this boom stick for accuracy, I'm curious to see how it holds up under the punishing .454 Casull recoil. I'll be putting some full power loads through it, oh yes.
I've wanted a stainless Rossi 92 16" barrel in .454 Casull for a long time. About 12 years ago I got my hands on one but it separated case heads and had really bad machining on the bottom of the receiver. It wasn't safe to fire so I sent it back. That was the last one I ever saw, new or used.
After Rossi stopped making the 16" barreled version in .454 I pretty much gave up on ever finding one. I currently have a Ranch Hand in .45 colt that's been a good camp gun. 315 grain hard casts at 1,500fps are nothing to sneeze at, yet the blued finish is not ideal for field/camp conditions. I also have a 16" stainless 92 in .44 magnum and that is my "never-sell" rifle.
A couple years ago the Citadel Levtac-92 was announced and a .454 version was supposed to come out. I was on a wait list for a long time but they never came, and I basically gave up on a .454 model 92 entirely.
Imagine my surprise 2 weeks ago when I saw a .454 casull Levtac-92, on sale no less. I ordered it, but had my doubts as to its durability as it doesn't have the double/threaded mag tube to resist shearing the front mag cap screw under recoil. And it had this goofy looking tacticool forend. I waited with cautious optimism.
I just took delivery of the gun and so far I like what I see. My main concern was the absence of the double threaded, thick magazine tube that Rossi used to put on the .454 M92. Of course I had to remove the forend to examine the mag tube and surprise! It's threaded into the receiver, but it's a regular size/weight mag tube. This means there won't be any stress on the front mag cap screw under recoil as all the stress will be taken by the magazine tube threads. This also means the rifle is lighter than the .454 casull M92 of a few years ago, and that one was 6 pounds. Oooh boy, here comes trouble!
The fit and finish as well as operation are good. The action has a bit of roughness that feels like it's due to the matte coating, but there is very little resistance in any of the clicks cycling the action. The hollow plastic stock does give the gun a... well hollow and somewhat echo-y feel when the action is cycled. A diffrent feel to the wood stocked Rossis. The cartridge lifter moves freely with almost no resistance, something none of my Rossis do. They all require some effort and have more positive clicks when they finally decide to move.
I'm not a fan of the large loop lever. If I keep the rifle I will cut, re-shape and weld it up into a small loop. When closed it does sit a bit far from the stock grip for my liking. There is about a 1/4" gap and it makes it feel like the grip is larger than it actually is. I may try to adjust this if I re-fabricate the lever. On the plus side, this will likely eliminate finger pinching when firing stout loads so maybe it's a good thing.
The barrel is stamped ".454 Casull" and "Made in Brazil by CBC", just like the newer Rossi rifles. And below, "Legacy Sports International, Reno NV". That solves the mystery of who makes the rifle, and for who. The barrel and mag tube are on straight and correctly indexed. The locking lug recesses in the bolt have a nice long flat machined surface to contact the locking lugs so it should resist deformation and peening under the heavy .454 pressures well, and it looks like the front surfaces of the 2 locking lugs are also machined to mate correctly with the bolt recesses. The gun has a matte cerakote-ish looking finish, which at this price is more likely to be Chinakote. I'm not sure how it will wear in the field.
The muzzle is threaded for attachments but unlike the .357/.44/.45 version of the rifle, the barrel is thicker at the muzzle. I imagine this is from a combination of higher pressures in .454 casull and an already-thin barrel that requires extra meat where the threads further reduce its thickness. Unfortunately the barrel thickening means that the standard 1892 front barrel band can't slide on - it is absent in the .454. Hopefully this doesn't weaken the rifle's structure too much. I already worry about the absence of a bedded wood forend to keep the barrel and mag tube aligned and sandwiched together. In its (and the rear barrel band's) place is a machined block that clamps the mag tube and barrel together. It's held in by a single small Allen head screw that locks into a machined slot in the barrel like on the normal M92 - this prevents the block from sliding forward under recoil. Two screws thread Into this block to attach the forend. At the rear of the latter, on the bottom, is a small set screw that locks in the rear of the forend to prevent it from wobbling up and down. Time will tell if this modern construction holds up.
The stock and forend are LIGHT. The whole rifle weighs - are you ready for this? 2,406 grams or 5.3 pounds. Good thing there's a recoil pad, right? Oh wait, it's hard rubber. I can almost see and feel the bruises on my shoulder already - I think this will need a limbsaver pad. The stock is hollow plastic but the weather resistance and super light weight are worth the cheap feeling IMO. I prefer the svelte, narrow wood forend on the Rossi M92 but again, this M-lok forend is so light I can live with the somewhat goofy look and feel.
The muzzle is threaded for attachments, but unlike the .357/.44/.45 version of the rifle the barrel is thicker at the muzzle. I imagine this is from a combination of high pressures in .454 casull and an already thin barrel that requires extra meat where the threads reduce its thickness. Unfortunately the barrel thickening means that the standard 1892 front barrel band can't slide on. Hopefully this doesn't weaken the rifle's structure too much. I already worry about the absence of a bedded forend to keep the barrel and mag tube aligned and sandwiched together. In its (and the rear barrel band's) place is a machined aluminium block that clamps the mag tube and barrel together. It's held in by a single small Allen head screw that locks into a machined slot in the barrel - this prevents the block (and the forend) from sliding forward under recoil. Two more screws thread into this block to fasten the forend. At the rear of the latter, on the bottom, is a small set screw that locks in the rear of the forend to prevent it from wobbling. Time will tell if this modern construction holds up.
One major difference I can't explain is the absence of the combo pic rail/aperture sight from the other Levtac-92 models. It's a bit disappointing and worth noting.
As far as feel, overall I would prefer a standard forend as I like the narrow feel in the hand, but this rifle is so light and reasonably weather resistant that I think I can live with a few quirks. I have some Casull brass on order and am looking forward to sending some lead torpedoes down range at ungodly speeds. I also have aspirations of mounting the wood furniture from my .45 colt ranch hand and making this a .454 casull 16" Mare's leg just for kicks, although the plastic stock is so light that this might not make the gun any lighter!
To be continued.
