Sighting the Rossi Ranch Hand

Status
Not open for further replies.
At the range with the Ranch Hand

I took the Ranch Hand, cal. .45 Colt, to the range for the second time. It now has over 250 rounds through it. I had two boxes of factory rounds (50/box), and a hundred rounds of reloads with me. The factory loads were Ultramax, and Precision. I was lucky to have the range to myself for over an hour, so I was able to stand twenty feet from the target. The recoil is mild (no noticeable muzzle rise). There is some rearward recoil, which I felt when holding the butt near the lower rib cage, so I held the gun out a few inches from the body, which made the lever cocking more challenging. I thought the point shooting would be easier than it was. I consider myself to be a pretty good shot in general, but normally use sights. With the Ranch Hand it is fun to shoot, no doubt about it! However, the point shooting is a new experience for me, and it is going to take considerable practice for me to become proficient with the Ranch Hand even at 20 feet. The Ultramax factory ammo gave me 3 misfires. The foregoing being said, I will have fun on my goal to become proficient in point shooting the Ranch Hand. While cleaning this handgun, I noticed about 20 tiny cresant shaped dings in the top of the wood stock where ejected cases bounced off. They add character to the looks of the gun. Empty cases were easy to find, as most landed not more that two feet away. I could not find one case, and later located it in my jacket pocket. Watching some of the old Steve McQueen TV episoces, I noticed he hits his adversaries with the Mare's Leg more often than he shoots them. I can see why, since it is suitable for as a good club. The Ranch Hand is fun, and I love it. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had to have a gunsmith work mine over to put the finishing touches to it that Rossi neglected to do to get it to function. At the price of the gun, it was worth it to me to pay a little extra for the gunsmith. Besides, I had this on order for 15 months.
 
Something interesting.

Just recently I started to teach a lady to shoot.
It turns out she is a retired movie stunt woman. She worked with Steve McQueen on Wanted Dead or Alive and knew him well.

Like the lady says, "For years I shot guns in the movies but never shot a gun with real bullets".
So I'm teaching her to shoot "real guns" and she loves it.

When she saw and shot the Mare's Leg she immediately bought one.:)
 
Wait until some new movie has some actor blasting away with one of these contraptions. That will instantly launch it into comedy status. I figure that after about four end up in the property room, somebody will make coffee table legs out of them.
I suppose that if I used a few for my saddle racks, then my friends could all laugh when I show them a "Mare's Leg".
 
I always thought it was a shoot from the hip gun and didn't even need sights.
COM from the hip out to about 10 yards is OK, but past that on out to about 50 yards I need sights or a Red Dot.

The first time the neighbor lady shot mine she kept backing up until she was shooting (and hitting) at 52 yards.
She bought her own as soon as she could find one.:)
 
Wait until some new movie has some actor blasting away with one of these contraptions. That will instantly launch it into comedy status. I figure that after about four end up in the property room, somebody will make coffee table legs out of them.
I suppose that if I used a few for my saddle racks, then my friends could all laugh when I show them a "Mare's Leg".
One of the main characters in the movie Serenity (from the Firefly series) used a mares leg.

Not really a mainstream movie, but it's a recent movie.
 
neilin, that is one awesome article! thank you very much for sharing that. I'd really like to get my hands one one of these sooner than later, just to see what it's like and how it feels to shoot.
 
Just remember, I had to have a gunsmith work mine over. It was worth to me, though.
 
Since before the RHs started hitting shelves I have considered getting one. My local gun shop has a 45LC for $429.00. I held and saw one for the first time in person last weekend.

Likes:
I like the way it looks.
It isn't super expensive.
Its something different.

Dislikes/Questions:
How would I fire it and be halfway accurate?
How is quality (yes I read about having the gunsmith smooth out the action - something I don't like to have to pay for on a brand new gun)?

So basically I don't know what to do. I have a number of fun guns just because I like the way they look, or that they appeared in a videogame or movie I liked. I have a strange feeling that the RH would get very little range time once I bought it. Still, I do enjoy the look of this piece.... Not sure what to do....
 
I put one on order a few months ago with my LGS, and got the call that my .44 Magnum Ranch Hand is waiting for me to run out there and get it. Saturday!
 
Got it! I have 200 rounds of .44 Mag reloads to play with, hoping tomorrow.

RanchHand02.png


RanchHand01.png
 
I don't see how the ATF didn't rule it a SBR ...

Sawed-off rifles SBRs were restricted to prevent circumvention of handgun laws. Since the commercial Mare's Legs are made and sold as handguns subject to handgun laws, they are not a circumvention of handgun laws.
 
Ranch hand with flat top rear sight

Has anyone put the Flat Top Rear Sight fro steve's gunz on there rossi ranch hand?....if so, how does it improve accuracy?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top