UPDATE: Rossi Ranch Hand Mares Leg

Hi. I'm new here. I just made the mistake of walking in to the gun shop with money in my pocket and ended up with a Chiappa Mare's Leg in .45 colt. I wanted a .44 magnum but this one was sitting there whining at me to bring it home, so....
I don't know much about this cal. and I am planning to use it to pack when I am out gold panning or mushroom picking and such. Is a .45 colt powerful enough to take care of a bear or cougar at close range if the need arose? Ore should I have held out for the .44 mag?
 
45colt is a great round! Very versatile you should be good to go. Question though if you gold pan why not get an atc on your claim? That way you could carry a handgun instead of lugging a mare leg around
 
lil_juiced_coupe said:
45colt is a great round! Very versatile you should be good to go. Question though if you gold pan why not get an atc on your claim? That way you could carry a handgun instead of lugging a mare leg around
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It sounds like they have made it a big hassle to get the permit now, otherwise that would be my first choice. Having said that I have not actually tried to get one, so I could be wrong.
 
yea the 44 mag blows apart tree stumps pretty good foxer! or anything else I have come across for that matter :p

has anyone tried out different sights yet? I am just eager hear what works :D
 
I don't know much about this cal. and I am planning to use it to pack when I am out gold panning or mushroom picking and such. Is a .45 colt powerful enough to take care of a bear or cougar at close range if the need arose? Ore should I have held out for the .44 mag
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If you learn to handload (which is quite easy with the 45) then you can handload rounds that equal the 44 in hitting power. You won't be giving anything up to the 44 in that case. You can probably buy some hot loaded ammo as well if you don't want to get into an inexpensive loading kit.

Nothing wrong with the 45. I just preferred the 44 because if you don't feel like handloading much it's handier. But a 45 can be devastating.
 
Finally got my holster to go with my .44 - pretty net rig. Can't wait to take it into the bush...

I got to think taking a Blacktail at close range with a Mares Leg would be a cool as hell...
 
lil_juiced_coupe said:
45colt is a great round! Very versatile you should be good to go. Question though if you gold pan why not get an atc on your claim? That way you could carry a handgun instead of lugging a mare leg around
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You can beef up those .45 LC cartridges to just shy of .454 Casull velocities if you're a hand loader.

The .45 LC +P ammo has more potential than a .44 Mag in a hand loaders hands.

The Rossi M92 action is very strong.

Cochese Leather makes custom holsters for the Mare's Leg pistols.
 
Just thinking about it - the 454 casull is a beefed up and slightly lengthened 45LC case. If I remember correctly the base and walls are thicker around the base on the 454 casull, which makes me wonder about how well 45LC brass is capable of handling +++ loads that're nearing 454 pressures...
 
Just thinking about it - the 454 casull is a beefed up and slightly lengthened 45LC case. If I remember correctly the base and walls are thicker around the base on the 454 casull, which makes me wonder about how well 45LC brass is capable of handling +++ loads that're nearing 454 pressures...
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Not much point in going that hot anyway. And really, i think you'd seriously feel that with a ranch hand - they're not 'pistol grips'. But you can definitely get the 45lc to very respectable performances with plenty of horsepower quite safely and still have it shootable.
 
ONE registration certificate to keep and carry ...

... would obviously be for my Rossi Ranch Hand ... to prove to dubious LEO's and CO's that yes, it really is unrestricted and totally legal :)
 
Foxer said:
Not much point in going that hot anyway. And really, i think you'd seriously feel that with a ranch hand - they're not 'pistol grips'. But you can definitely get the 45lc to very respectable performances with plenty of horsepower quite safely and still have it shootable.
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True enough - I was just following a train of thought that started with the idea that 45LC could get close to casull pressures.

Personally I would think that it would be nice to have a butt stock on the gun - it's certainly nice to have the option of the short stock, but in the situations where length wasn't an issue (insert witticism here) I wouldn't mind having a butt stock too. Higher pressure loads would be more comfortable, it would be easier to hold your aim etc etc.
 
H Wally said:
True enough - I was just following a train of thought that started with the idea that 45LC could get close to casull pressures.

Personally I would think that it would be nice to have a butt stock on the gun - it's certainly nice to have the option of the short stock, but in the situations where length wasn't an issue (insert witticism here) I wouldn't mind having a butt stock too. Higher pressure loads would be more comfortable, it would be easier to hold your aim etc etc.
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I believe (but I'm not positive) that putting on a longer stock would make the gun illegal. According to the letter of the law ... which forbids "altering" a firearm to make it less than a specified length. Others will know.
 
Damn I do not know what I want 44 mag or 357mag to go along with my gp100. It would only be used for animal defense.
 
boomer49 said:
I believe (but I'm not positive) that putting on a longer stock would make the gun illegal. According to the letter of the law ... which forbids "altering" a firearm to make it less than a specified length. Others will know.
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Depends on which part of the law you're reading - it's conflicting in places. Certainly if it says "less" than you're a-ok since a butt stock makes it longer.

Without reading the portion of the law you're considering, since the modification makes the gun longer than OAL of 26 it should be ok, while leaving or returning it to factory specs is not considered a modification, and at factory specs was considered non-res, you should be ok.

Of course that's the interpretation of a firearms owner, not an uneducated PO who will charge you with unsafe storage when a non-res rifle is double locked in a safe...
 
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