rifle carbine pistols

The purpose of shooting is hitting the target, be it paper, steel, or meat. Whereas a carbine length rifle with a butt stock is anchored solidly to the shooter, and whereas a handgun can be held in an overlapping two handed hold taking advantage of the stability produced by either the Weaver or isosceles shooting stance, the mare's leg allows neither, making the difficulty in actually hitting anything is much greater. Still, we humans tend to be adaptable, and with practice a level of competence could be developed with the mare's leg. One wonders though with the level of dedication required to master such a piece what could be accomplished in a similar time frame with either a conventional short rifle, a handgun. If you already own a bunch of guns you can shoot well, there is no harm in getting the mare's leg as a curiosity, but I'd advise against such a piece if the intent is to use it as a primary hunting or defense tool.
 
When I bought my .44 Ranch Hand, it was with the intent of adding a carbine stock to have a compact camp gun. I did shoot it with the factory stock purely as a novelty, the handhold does not lend itself to any degree of accuracy.
 
Early Tschinke pattern wheel lock rifles were designed to be fired with a persons cheek against the side of the butt rather that held to the shoulder.
Has ant one tired that hold ?
 
anmckenn said:
The stock is cut too short for that, so these things arnt accurate past 20 yrds eh!???
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The GUN ITSELF will be as accurate as any gun. It's the bad ergonomics that make it hard to hold steady and aim that produces poor accuracy.

The whole mare's leg concept came from a hollywood western TV show called "Wanted Dead or Alive" where the actor Steve McQueen shot these things with amazing Hollywood accuracy from the hip without even aiming. As far as I've read about no one in real life ever cut down their lever rifle to produce this sort of abomination.

Lots of folks seem to think that if they are good enough for Steve that they are good enough for them. A few of the more realistic ones buy them and fit on a full shoulder stock like metalbender to produce compact camp guns. The rest just put up with the bad ergonomics that make it harder to achieve good accuracy because they find the guns fun to shoot regardless of the problems.

The harder recoiling ones like the .44Mag versions will also be tough to hold well enough to avoid hurting your hands since there's precious little to prevent it sliding back in your grip and ramming your lever hand fingers into the front of the lever loop.
 
I have a Rossi Ranch Hand in 45 Colt. I use carefully built handloads that exceed the performance of factory 44 Magnum ammunition. It will never replace my shotgun, but for me, it is perfect for its intended use: Backcountry defensive firearm for when I would not otherwise carry the shotgun. There is simply nothing else as light or compact that is also legal in Canada. Not everyone would agree with my philosophy, and that's fine. But for me, there are times when the risk does not merit carrying a shotgun, or logistics prevent it (loooong distance), but I am much safer with my Rossi than with a can of bearspray. It also locks up and stows in my pack more conveniently than a shotgun for when I need to pass through "no gun zones".

anmckenn said:
The stock is cut too short for that, so these things arnt accurate past 20 yrds eh!???
Click to expand...

There is enough buttstock. For accurate, deliberate shooting, I always use a cheek weld. From a kneeling position, I can hit a 6" plate at 50yds 100% of the time. I'm sure my actual groups are better than that, but this is "sufficient" accuracy so I leave it at that. I intend to take a deer with it this fall, because I can.

It only took a couple hundred rounds to get to this level of accuracy (which I consider to be adequate for short range hunting). For some confidence in using the Rossi for defense, it took another few hundred rounds of practicing snap shooting. And yes, I do keep practicing throughout hiking (bear) season.

It does require a very different grip from anything else, but it is not all that much of a problem. Yes, it would be more accurate for me if I put the longer stock on it. But then it is just as long as a short shotgun (albeit lighter).

They are certainly not for everyone, but I love mine to bits!
 
So alpining, does the snap shooting carve up your lever knuckles. I was told that if you keep your fingers forward in the lever then its not a problem. The one im looking at is not a big loop but i hve never had any problems with any of my other levers, however that is tight on my shoulder when i shoot? What do you guys think
 
It all depends on your grip. Some people go so far as to wrap the lever in leather to protect their knuckles. I think that's a bad idea, personally.

On my Rossi (large loop) and with my grip, it does get uncomfortable after 100+ rounds of full house handloads. With off-the-shelf ammo, it's not an issue for me.
 
Fit'em out like this and you'll be happy. I sure am.:)
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No worries on the small lever as the rifle is in .357 mag. The lower one with my resized lever is in .45 Colt,
and no bonked knucks with that one either. Real fun guns & controlled accuracy to boot.
 
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