willgo
02-12-2004, 10:09 AM
Hello To everyone.
There is a lot of interest in the Rossi 1892. The newer models imported by EMF and called the Hartford Model do not have the safety and are built extremely close to the originals. Exterior finish is very good although the bores are a bit rough. This latter flaw can easily be taken care of and is not a major problem. Most of the Hartford Rossi's shoot well right out of the box and can be found for around $450 so they don't put too big a dent in the wallet.
Navy Arms also imports the Rossi and is selling them for around $575. However, Dixie Gun Works (which also sells the Navy Arms import) carries one they call the Dixie 1892 that sells for $575. This gun is made by Armi San Marco of Italy and for those of you not familiar with the name, Armi San Marco makes some of the finest reproduction guns on the market even surpassing those produced by Uberti, and that can be hard to do.
These Armi San Marco clones are only offered in the rifle version with 24" barrels in calibers. 44-40 and 45 LC. The 44-40 has .003 Deep Rifling with a 1:12 Twist, 6 lands measuring .423 and 6 grooves measuring .429. The 45 LC has .003 Deep Rifling, a 1:32 Twist, 6 lands measuring .448 and 6 grooves measuring .454. Either of the caliber's offered are ideal for cast bullets.
The .44-40 Winchester
The .44-40 is a wonderful cartridge but requires hand loading to get the best out of it and to cut costs as factory ammo is
spendy. Over the years I've had a lot of rifles in the caliber. A Iron frame Henry, 1866 Yellow Boy, and a 1873 to name a few. They all shot one inch groups with Beartooth's 200 grain FNB2 over 8.5 gr. of Unique and have chronographed out of the 24" barrels at around 1230 fps with this load. A Lee Factory Crimp Die will make reloading this cartridge a simple affair.
I have found the .44-40 to be superior to the .44 S&W special in S/A revolvers and from a rifle the 44-40 using the 200 gr. FNB2 or the 200 gr. Heidrichs cast SWC has amazing penetration. I've even cast my own bullets for it using a 50/50 mix of pure lead and Linotype. These home brewed bullets would punch through a dry seasoned log averaging 8 to 10 inches.
The .45 LC
For those interested in .45 LC there is a lot more that a hand loader can do with this cartridge and because the action of the
1892, with it's two locking lugs, is a good strong action it will allow some pretty impressive loads. While no where close to the .454 Casull, the .45 LC can still be a very potent round. It's only fault and weakest link is the case itself, (the reason the Casull uses a much thicker case), but with proper hand loading can still be put it in a class of it's own, and that for a cartridge that's over 150 years old. I have been working on some loads for the 45LC in my Rossi Hartford that show great potential and will publish that data here on the forum after I have had the chance to chronograph the loads later this spring.
I hope this information will be of some help
To all of you, stay well and be safe.
Bill
There is a lot of interest in the Rossi 1892. The newer models imported by EMF and called the Hartford Model do not have the safety and are built extremely close to the originals. Exterior finish is very good although the bores are a bit rough. This latter flaw can easily be taken care of and is not a major problem. Most of the Hartford Rossi's shoot well right out of the box and can be found for around $450 so they don't put too big a dent in the wallet.
Navy Arms also imports the Rossi and is selling them for around $575. However, Dixie Gun Works (which also sells the Navy Arms import) carries one they call the Dixie 1892 that sells for $575. This gun is made by Armi San Marco of Italy and for those of you not familiar with the name, Armi San Marco makes some of the finest reproduction guns on the market even surpassing those produced by Uberti, and that can be hard to do.
These Armi San Marco clones are only offered in the rifle version with 24" barrels in calibers. 44-40 and 45 LC. The 44-40 has .003 Deep Rifling with a 1:12 Twist, 6 lands measuring .423 and 6 grooves measuring .429. The 45 LC has .003 Deep Rifling, a 1:32 Twist, 6 lands measuring .448 and 6 grooves measuring .454. Either of the caliber's offered are ideal for cast bullets.
The .44-40 Winchester
The .44-40 is a wonderful cartridge but requires hand loading to get the best out of it and to cut costs as factory ammo is
spendy. Over the years I've had a lot of rifles in the caliber. A Iron frame Henry, 1866 Yellow Boy, and a 1873 to name a few. They all shot one inch groups with Beartooth's 200 grain FNB2 over 8.5 gr. of Unique and have chronographed out of the 24" barrels at around 1230 fps with this load. A Lee Factory Crimp Die will make reloading this cartridge a simple affair.
I have found the .44-40 to be superior to the .44 S&W special in S/A revolvers and from a rifle the 44-40 using the 200 gr. FNB2 or the 200 gr. Heidrichs cast SWC has amazing penetration. I've even cast my own bullets for it using a 50/50 mix of pure lead and Linotype. These home brewed bullets would punch through a dry seasoned log averaging 8 to 10 inches.
The .45 LC
For those interested in .45 LC there is a lot more that a hand loader can do with this cartridge and because the action of the
1892, with it's two locking lugs, is a good strong action it will allow some pretty impressive loads. While no where close to the .454 Casull, the .45 LC can still be a very potent round. It's only fault and weakest link is the case itself, (the reason the Casull uses a much thicker case), but with proper hand loading can still be put it in a class of it's own, and that for a cartridge that's over 150 years old. I have been working on some loads for the 45LC in my Rossi Hartford that show great potential and will publish that data here on the forum after I have had the chance to chronograph the loads later this spring.
I hope this information will be of some help
To all of you, stay well and be safe.
Bill