rossi ranch hand

[colossians323]

owners, tell me what you like and dislike about this handgun............worth the money?

[darmog]

It's a gun that you'll either love or hate. Kinda like Glocks. For me, I love the thing. I always thought it was a rather cool gun. Takes some experimenting as to how you, personally, would hold one. Some like to use a little cheek weld hold like a normal rifle while others will just hold it out like a pistol with a push/pull grip. It's a fun as a plinker gun or a conversation piece at the range. .38's are really soft shooting in it. Even .357 magnum rounds that I'd feel some kick in my 6" Ruger GP100 are much softer in the Ranch Hand.

That said, the action can be a little rough when you first get one. I cleaned and lubed mine when I first got it, and then worked the lever a few hundred times per night till I finally got to the range on a weekend. It's no Henry rifle in terms of lever smoothness, but it'll do. Sights though were in definitely need of replacement, IMO, as the black blade front sight and black rear sights made shooting at dark targets very hard for me. That's just me though as I almost always have night sights or fiber optics on my guns. YMMV

Here's a link to my post in the Handguns gallery with pics if the sights I installed if you wanted to check it out.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=752628&highlight=ranch+hand

[macman9]

[dfletcher]

My only two dislikes were the very soft and poorly finished wood, and the safety tab on the top of the receiver. I sold mine after the fun factor wore off.

You can attach a lanyard to the loop on the receiver. Done right it can be tensioned from your shoulder forward and give you a pretty stable hold.

Just a suggestion - hang on to the DROS "it's a pistol" paperwork as it may come in handy during an LE encounter or if you sell it at a shop that questions whether the gun is a handgun or something else. When I sold mine it didn't even make it to the gun store's inventory - 2 customers browsing the store wanted the darn thing. Doing a PPT meant no need for the SSE, I suppose that made the buy a little easier.

[jl7422]

Sights on mine (.38/.357) as new were off--shot WAY high IIRC. I read were a number of owners complained about the sight issue--a factory error perhaps? Anyway, I replaced the front sight and smoothed up the action with a Brownell's spring kit -- thing cycles like butter now and is real accurate--a real fun gun for sure.

[jakuda]

Just got mine.
Finish is a simple, and poor oil stain finish. I simply used watco danish oil in dark walnut (or natural) to apply one more coat on it, and it looks a little better. It's still an oil finish so it doesn't have the poly/film finish look. If you want that, buy a cheap polyurethane finish.

The front sight is severely undersized, so that you're actually aiming upwards.
So at 25 yards, you may be 15" high, and at 50 yards, you'll be 22" high (per my recent testing).

The recommendation is to buy an taller front sight (like marbles or truglo). I'm still waiting for mine to come, but 0.530" seems like it is sufficient.

[VictorFranko]

↑ Agreed. Sights way off, shoots WAY high.

Not a good buy for me, considering selling if anyone reading this is interested.
I have been thinking of making it a wall decoration out of it along with a poster of Josh Randall (Steve McQueen).
.44 mag, BTW.

[rugerfan66]

Not that it matters(got cut off for awhile after my last 2 purchases) but what would you want for it?

[Lead Waster]

I don't have one but I'd prefer the rifle/carbine version myself.

[jakuda]

I don't have one but I'd prefer the rifle/carbine version myself.

They're both fun to shoot, although the rifle version is probably more useful for hunting.

[Zedrek]

I have the .44 mag version. I haven't shot it yet but I just got a mount for a laser for it. Hopefully that will make the aiming a bit better.





I got the clamp on Amazon for $10 and the laser also on Amazon for $25. It came with a different mount though.

[colossians323]

Anyone shoot if from the hip accurately?

[jakuda]

Anyone shoot if from the hip accurately?

Most ranges during public hours will not allow it.

It does take some practice...