one last hoorah.... rossi circuit judge problems....

[hipoint]

Figured I'd pose this to you guys before I just get rid of this dang thing... I've got the rossi circuit judge, the rifle/shotgun version. It fires .45 long colt and .410 shotgun shells for those of you who aren't familiar.

it has an 18.5 inch barrel with a 1 in 18 twist to it.

I have tried 185 grain 1150fps ammo, as well as 225 grain 900fps ammo, plus a few "cowboy" loads that I don't know exactly what they are... the gun is pretty decent at 25 yards (so is a slingshot though) at 50 yards I'm getting about 10 inch grouping. At 75 yards I can't reliably hit the paper on a 100 yard rifle target. Never even tried it at 100 yards since 75 is so bad.

all of this was shot with a scope from a rest, so it's not me and I have since put the scope on a gun that I know shoots good to test it out, scope is fine.

any suggestions for improving this thing's accuracy? I can group better with a good handgun than this thing... which doesn't stand to reason since the barrel is longer...

 

[EVIL]

This is part of the reason why revolver carbines were an evolutionary dead-end in firearms development. (The other reason being that a chain-fire would take off the shooter's hand on the the fore-end!) Also probably because lever-actions did the repeating carbine job a lot better & more accurately w/ pistol chamberings. Personally, for a 25 yrd gun, I would prefer a regular revolver handgu, YMMV.

 

[bikemutt]

Well, according to their marketing pitch they took "the most overwhelmingly successful revolver in recent history and has extended its range for incredible hunting and shooting".

I can't find any mention of accuracy so my guess is you should consider selling the thing if that's what you were hoping for.

The Judge has already been beat up beyond recognition in these pages and others, I can't imagine a further iteration of the idea meeting with much enthusiasm here.

 

[hipoint]

well, I was hopeful about it being a good hunting gun, 75 yard rifle with shotgun shells as well for other critters... it's a fabulous idea, but it doesn't seem to pan out well for this thing...

I was really looking for some technical reasoning here though, am I in the wrong place?

 

[bikemutt]

I can't say if this is the wrong place as only time will tell if others knowledgeable about why guns are accurate weigh in, or don't. Novel ideas though, appear to be viewed with a great deal of skepticism, especially when executed by second tier gun makers, perhaps rightfully so.

 

[David E]

My guess is the rifling is shallow to preserve the shot pattern as much as possible while still being legal.

Try some jacketed .45 Colt ammo in the 250 grain weight if you haven't already.

 

[MikeJackmin]

There's no reason why a revolving carbine can't be at least as accurate as a revolving handgun. Don't give up on it just yet.

I'm sure the long trip from the cartridge to the barrel is not helping any, but it shouldn't be that bad. Have you slugged the barrel and cylinders? Have you tried shooting a group using just one chamber? Might offer a clue as to what's wrong.

 

[splithoof]

Give it to a movie prop house. Along with all the useless "Ranch Hand" variants out there, it will be good for a gun burning scene.

 

[willypete]

Give it to a movie prop house. Along with all the useless "Ranch Hand" variants out there, it will be good for a gun burning scene.

ouch lol

 

[oldfool]

Personally, I think both OP and Jeff Quinn deserve a special "Mikey" award and a hearty round of applause, for being brave enough to test something most would not. But Mr. Quinn gets bonus points for being bold enough to feature a pumpkin shot in his review, right there in front of the whole world, on a web site intended to appeal to shooters, of all people. Maybe he ran out of watermelons, after so many reviews of da' Judge variants... but more likely just an excellent "judge" of the marketing demographic.

Advice to OP, stick with veggie and fruit targets, preferably very large fruits and veggies.
At real close range.
Preferably 10 feet or less, as so frequently advocated for da' Judge.

Believe it or not, there really are reasons why they manufacture and sell
A) shotguns
B) revolvers
C) carbines and rifles
D) separately

Still, I say we are indebted to your determination and audacious spirit, OP.
Not many are willing to pony up ~$500 of their own hard earned cash to help Taurus/Rossi/Braztech advance the state-of-the-art in firearms.

PS
Rossi Braztech does make, last time I looked, break open single shot rifle/carbines with interchangeable barrels, both rifled and smooth bore barrels, and cheaper than 'da Judge thingy. Leastways NEF always did. No innovative blast shields required.

Be well. Enjoy.
(we would love to see a picture of that thing with a scope on it though, before you do away with it)

 

[Kendal Black]

I suspect the very long freebore when shooting the .45 Colt in the much longer .410 chambers. Has anyone tried the .44 magnum Circuit Judge? It has a much shorter cylinder. If it shoots better than the .45/.410, that would bear out my suspicions in this matter. http://www.rossiusa.com/product-list.cfm?category=15

I once heard or read about--I've forgotten where--a handload that used a long case to put the .45 bullet farther forward, nearer where the barrel is, in .45/.410 chambers. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? For I don't.

 

[oldfool]

"a long case to put the .45 bullet farther forward"
heckifiknow... 454 Casull mebbe ?? S&W 460 mag ??
but where would we find some one brave (?) enough to give it a try

will 45-70 fit in da' Judge, it's straight walled brass ain't it ?

 

[robinkevin]

Rossi thought they could make a revolver rifle work when Colt couldn't so many years ago. They will get sells and will make them for a few years cause they are cool and people will buy them for that reason. Other than that I wouldn't expect much out of it. Its a proven fact that a 2" barrel revolver can be just as accurate as a 4" barrel revolver from a bench, the difference is the shooter and sight radius... Its simple, a revolver as great as they are, are a open action design in which fire comes out of the action, for long range you want a close action which is why bolt, level or pump is usually a little more accurate then a semi auto rifle.