Lever action rifle for cowboy action shooting?

wcmd

wcmd

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
135   0   0
Hello all,
I have been slowly collecting my equipment for cowboy action shooting. I do have a marlin 1894 that I plan to use it has a 24 inch barrel so holding 10 rounds of 357 is not a problem.
I have never shot a cowboy match before but my understanding is that you shoot nine or 10 rounds from the rifle?
This leads me to my question I quite like Rossi 92's!!! I own a couple of ranch hands and I have done extensive work on them and they shoot very well, now of course I can't use the ranchhand for cowboy action shooting but I would like to have a Rossi 92 rifle in my cowboy arsenal.
Which barrel length should I get ?
I like the idea of a 16 inch barrel but that would limit me to 8 rounds of 357 magnum in the tube. I would probably get a 20 inch barrel that will hold 10 rounds in the tube or maybe even a 24 inch barrel. What do you think? I know according to the cowboy action rules you're allowed a 16 inch barrel,do many guys go with a 16 inch barrel? And shoot 38 special?
What is the going rate these days for a Rossi 92 in 357 magnum 38 special with a 20 inch barrel? I know prices have gone up lately I wish I bought this rifle a couple of years ago but they can be somewhat hard to find.
Last question, I will install a marbles tang site where is the best place to buy one? Is Brownells our best option?
Thanks for looking please let me know what you think,
wcmd
 
You already have much better Cowboy rifle in the Marlin. (92's are a fun gun in their place but for a cowboy gun they are almost bottom of the barrel). It's not a question of "If it will stove pipe or eject a live round at a critical point in a stage" but "when it will happen and how many times". That might not seem important when you start out in the sport but believe me, at some point they will frustrate you to no end.

The Marlin is second only to the 73 Win's in the cowboy world ( a very close second if slicked and tuned properly) I might add.
 
I had a 24" octagon barreled Rossi 92 in 357 but I sold it to my Uncle to get him into the sport. As much as I liked that rifle, I have to admit, that 24" piece of octagonal metal with a .357 hole in it was pretty front heavy and the extra mass out front theoretically could cause overswing while sweeping a series of targets.

It's up to you, if you want to shoot a 24" rifle and don't care if it might cost you a second or two on a stage then get the 24". If you want to compete and push yourself and aim for the top then I'd say stack the odds and get a 20" round barrel and slick it up. Of course most people will argue that the 73 is a far slicker action but we all know they're around twice the price.

Lots to think about.
 
I had a Rossi 92 that I slicked up with a Steves Gunz kit I bought while in Texas.
It was definitely a smooth operating 44 Mag.

I then purchased a Remlin 1894 in 44 Mag up here in Canada from a guy who was less than inpressed with the gun because of rough cycling.
The w/m fit was fine as was the checkering and wood finish and there were no gross defects like missing rifling or canted sights.

Upon stripping the gun I found the internals were as rough with burrs as a porcupines back.
I spent a full afternoon stoning and polishing each part making sure not to become overzealous with metal removal.
I just removed the obvious burrs and polished the parts smooth.

The gun was unbelievably slick after the tune up.
More so than the Rossi and the feeding was much more reliable and consistent.
If you're looking for smooth and reliable the Marlin 1894 is a good choice.

Checked out one of the new Miroku Winchester 1873s.
I could see the gun had real potential in the slick and smooth department.
But I almost fainted when I saw the price tag - OUCH, NO THANKS.
 
Most SASS/CAS stages call for 10 rounds rifle.
I prefer the 1860, 1866 and 1873 model rifles, which use a toggle action. Much smoother right from the box and all your ejected brass stays in the same area, while the '92's and 94's throw it around quite a bit.
Some rifles in the .357/38 spl. calibres have feeding issues when they are pushed too faster speeds. If you decide on one of this calibre, I suggest you load .357 cases in .38 cowboy loads.
Have a look at the SASS classes and the firearm requirements before you spend too much on your stuff. Classic cowboy/cowgirl for example requires firearms .40 cal and above, with non-adjustable sights on the revolvers and an open hammer sXs, in addition to certain costume requirements.
 
The smartest advice I can give you is, BEFORE YOU SPEND ANY MONEY, go to the SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) website and download the shooters manual and READ it. It lists all the categories that are available to shoot in and list clothing and specific firearm requirements for specific categories. Not all clubs as SASS affiliated but, the vast majority pay lip service to their shooter handbook. Spend your money once, not 3 or 4 times!
 
I like 20'' barrels on my cowboy guns. It makes getting around obstacles easier: rile is staged beside door in stock, retrieve rifle and shoot through window, return rifle to stock.
 
When I started Cowboy shooting, most people told me that if I thought I was going to be in for the long haul, buy a '73 and just get it over with. I was going to end up there anyway. Well, I didn't listen mainly because of the price tag on the '73. I found a used b92 and got Rusty Wood to slick it up for me. And it worked great! I was very happy with it. Smooth and fun to shoot! Then I started to get better. And by better, I mean not last. After a couple years of shooting once per month I got to the point where I was indeed outshooting the gun. I was jacking live rounds and stove piping regularly. I had gotten to the point where my '92 was holding me back. Bit the bullet (no pun intended) and bought the '73 and once again had Rusty Wood slick it up. Have not looked back since. No more stove piping, no more live rounds. Just a steady improvement in speed. That being said, there are still lots of guys that kick my butt with their '92s so my '73 is not magic in that regard! This is just my personal experience. Bottom line.... I ended up doing what most people said I should have done in the first place.
 
^^^very good advise^^^
No matter how smooth or how much spring work is done to a 92 you simply cannot remove the stovepipe and live round ejection characteristic of the rifles. They do not control the round through the feeding cycle like a Marlin or 73. I consider Rusty Wood the best 92 mechanic there is, his guns are fast ,smooth, easy to operate but I've stood beside lots of them while holding a timer that's clicking away seconds while the shooter searches for and feeds an extra round or two or three ( in one case) into his 92 to complete a stage.

As for the cost thing, of course that enters into a hobby all the time but in this case you will spend $12 to $1600 on pistols, $500 or so on a shotgun, $500 on ammo, a bunch on gun club/shoot fee's/fuel , the extra 4 or $500 dollars for a 73 (that won't depreciate much in value over time) is a smart thing to do.
 
As an afterthought...if you spend $800 on a 92 and add a bunch for gunsmithing to bring it up to a reasonable degree of ease of operation, quite likely you will be close to a 73 cost anyways. Every Japchester/Miroku I've handled (5 of them in the past year) have come right out of the box ready for competition. They were priced at $1169 for blued and $1289 for Color Cased (will be more now because of increased exchange rate but so will new stock 92's).
They are a better deal than the Uberi's (they all require a certain amount of gunsmithing as well to smooth them up) at the moment.
 
First of all...."Howdy"!!! And welcome to the cowboy action family. Sounds like you already have the basics of a good setup, with your Marlin '94. I know any number of very skilled competitive shooters who run these rifles, and really like them. Since you are already knowledgable about the Rossi '92 rifle action, then you are aware of their limitations. So I won't add to the comments already on this thread. If the Rossi is what you want to shoot, the 20-inch barrel version is the way to go. Slick handling, very fast between the hands, and nicely balanced. Best of all, these will hold all 10 rounds of either .357, or .38 Special, with ease. Going price varies a bit, depending on locale, but should run somewhere between $600 and $700, depending on whether you want a carbine, rifle, blued, or case hardened action version. As far as tang sights go, Brownell's is always a good place to search. You might also try: Buffalo Arms. Hope this helps.
 
If you chose to go with a 92 of any brand then you'll want the 20" barrel. It'll hold 10 .357 length rounds just fine. The 16" is pretty much a "no go" as it won't hold the correct number.

Slicking up the 92 is a big issue. I've been stubborn and stuck to mine and I've now got it to where the sights and my old guy eyes are the thing holding me back. I've rapid cycled and fired 10 rounds at a time into the berm with no jams or ejected live rounds at rates that match what I've seen being done by some folks with 73's. But it took me a while to get to that point and an extra step with the ammo loading to make it happen. But tinkering with the gunsmithing side is something I enjoy almost as much (or maybe more) than the shooting.

So while I would say that it CAN be done it can be a problem filled road to travel. And if you're getting a gunsmith to do the work it could become expensive.

The one hint I'll offer to those with 92 is the ammo trick. Much of the problem is how the cartridge has to hinge up and into a straight line as it passes off the carrier and up into line with the chamber. A fairly generous bell mouthing of the lower chamber lip is a start. Just don't let the metal removal extend forward of the depth of the solid head of the case. The other trick is to remove any edges that can catch as the round slips into the chamber mouth. And for me that was to use a 9mm factory taper crimp die to rather generously crimp the cases on the loads to where a finger run along the bullet ogive almost can't feel where the case lip is. The taper crimp when done like this ends up being around .045 to .050 wide. This was the last piece of the puzzle for me and the rounds now slip into place slick as a fresh caught fish slithering around on a wet cutting board.

.38's will load but it requires a fairly slow cycling of the lever. I quickly got to that point and went with .357 casings. The bullets I'm using are the 130gn LRNFP from Bullet Barn.
 
Thanks for all the advise guys!!!!!
I have decided to go with two Marlins.
1894 Cowboy with a 24" barrel in .357 magnum and another 1894 in .44 magnum with a 20" barrel.
Now to find some Marbles tang sights...........
wcmd
 
fingers284 said:
You already have much better Cowboy rifle in the Marlin. (92's are a fun gun in their place but for a cowboy gun they are almost bottom of the barrel). It's not a question of "If it will stove pipe or eject a live round at a critical point in a stage" but "when it will happen and how many times". That might not seem important when you start out in the sport but believe me, at some point they will frustrate you to no end.

The Marlin is second only to the 73 Win's in the cowboy world ( a very close second if slicked and tuned properly) I might add.
Click to expand...

I keep hearing this said about the Rossi, but it's never happened to me in the 5 or 6 years I've been shooting CAS. Not saying you're wrong, but do I have the Miracle Rossi or something?
Anyway, I did the Steve's action job on mine a couple years after I got it and it does smooth things out, so if you get a Rossi I'd recommend getting the kit mail ordered.
 
Sniper_485 said:
I like 20'' barrels on my cowboy guns. It makes getting around obstacles easier: rile is staged beside door in stock, retrieve rifle and shoot through window, return rifle to stock.
Click to expand...

+1!
I started with a Rossi 92 in .357mag, loved it!
Then went to a Uberti 66 in 38sp, loved it more!
I now shoot a Winchester /Miroku 73 in .45LC, love it even more!

Frenchy
 
Last edited:
Mine works well too, never had a problem with stove pipes or ejecting live rounds. Mine also prefers 38 specials over the 357 mag cartridges which like to hang up occasionally.

I would stick with the marlin for now. There's no point in buying a model 92 when you have a perfectly good rifle as is. After a few years consider going for a 73 or earlier winchester.


lister said:
I keep hearing this said about the Rossi, but it's never happened to me in the 5 or 6 years I've been shooting CAS. Not saying you're wrong, but do I have the Miracle Rossi or something?
Anyway, I did the Steve's action job on mine a couple years after I got it and it does smooth things out, so if you get a Rossi I'd recommend getting the kit mail ordered.
Click to expand...
 
i just started this game in 2015 and went all out buying my gear in 38/357
vaqueros and uberti 73
i was thinking volume shooting just like ipsc.....i was wrong

then i realized that this game is not like ipsc , people get your empty brass, after all the stages
45lc may be the right choice
so i shot a couple of wild bunch match and really liked it .....guess what in WB match the rifle is .40 or larger

so if you buy , get something you can do both and you will like it

Filthy Phil
 
philproulx said:
i just started this game in 2015 and went all out buying my gear in 38/357
vaqueros and uberti 73
i was thinking volume shooting just like ipsc.....i was wrong

then i realized that this game is not like ipsc , people get your empty brass, after all the stages
45lc may be the right choice
so i shot a couple of wild bunch match and really liked it .....guess what in WB match the rifle is .40 or larger

so if you buy , get something you can do both and you will like it

Filthy Phil
Click to expand...

Yes you get your brass back but for me that wasn't why I went with .38's.......I fire thousands of rounds in practice and in my neck of the woods the cost of reloading .38 is much cheaper than .45's.

Kind of depends how deep your pockets are I guess.

John
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom