...JOHN TAFFIN

Ringo had one. Rooster had one. Lucas had one. Josh Randall had part of one. Yes, all of these screen heroes had a Winchester Model 92. Who can ever forget the scene in Stagecoach (I first saw it on TV when I was nine) as John Wayne as Ringo twirls his '92 Winchester to stop the stage. Or perhaps the greatest scene ever in any Western as Rooster Cogburn with a Colt Single Action Army .45 in his left hand and a freshly twirled .44-40 Winchester in his right hand yells "Fill your hand you sonnavabitch!" and prepares to meet the Ned Pepper gang single- handedly. Most of us grew up watching Chuck Connors as The Rifleman twirl his large loop lever Model '92 to cock it and then operate it like a semi- automatic on the streets of North Fork. Steve McQueen, as the bounty hunter Josh Randall in Wanted: Dead or Alive also carried a bastardized Model 92 with a short barrel and shorter stock. The eye-catching loop lever was there along with someone's idea of what the little '92 should carry as ammunition as Randall's belt was filled with .45-70 cartridges that would not even come close to fitting the Model 92. The Winchester Model 92 was made from 1892 to 1931 with some special models lasting right up to World War II with slightly over 1,000,000 units being produced. It was one of the slickest, no call it the slickest, smoothest, easiest handling levergun ever to come out of Winchester. Winchester's 1873 was mainly chambered for the .44-40, .38-40, and .32-20, easy shooting cartridges that could also be had in the Colt Single Action Army. In 1886, Winchester brought forth the big bore levergun that among others was chambered for the .45-70 and .45-90. The Model 1892 was simply a miniaturized '86 chambered for the cartridges of the '73. Over its long life, the Model '92 would be made in barrel lengths from fourteen to thirty-one inches, however the twenty-inch carbine model, holding eleven cartridges in its tubular magazine was pretty much the standard fare. None were ever made with the large loop lever. This was dreamed up by someone in Hollywood in 1939 for the Duke. It would show up in most of his movies over the next thirty years as well as in the above mentioned TV shows. It has no practical value whatsoever, makes the Model 1892 harder to cock at shoulder level, and when twirled Hollywood- style is a good way to shoot oneself. The Model 1892, which also appeared in .25-20, and .218 Bee, has been out of production for more than sixty years and trying to find a good one is pretty tough at least in my area. Many '92's were converted to modern cartridges in the 1950's, first to .357 Magnum, starting with a .25-20 or .32-20, and later to .44 Magnum using a .38-40 or .44-40 as the base. Browning offered replica 1892's with the B92 in both .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum beginning in 1979. These were beautiful little leverguns with exceptional wood, but they are also long out of production and as hard to find, perhaps even harder, than an original Winchester. The Model 1892 is the perfect levergun for the new sport of Cowboy Action Shooting which requires sixgun, levergun, and shotgun, all of a design available prior to 1898. Either original or replica guns are allowed. Thanks to first to Interarms, who formerly imported them, and now to Navy Arms, cowboy shooters and levergun lovers have a source of replica Winchester Model 1892's in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .44-40, and .45 Colt. All are made by Rossi of Brazil and have twenty-inch barrels and ten shot tubular magazines, with the .357 Magnum also available as an eight-shot sixteen-inch Trapper style carbine. These are all now readily available as our local gunshop, Shapel's, has all models in stock. I've had one of the early .44 Magnum Rossi's for a number of years and recently acquired companion M92's in .357 Magnum, .44-40, and .45 Colt for testing. All four calibers have applications in Cowboy Action Shooting as well as hunting and just plain woods bummin' and plinking. The .357 Magnum Rossi especially is a good alternative for those who live in areas where leverguns are still acceptable but handguns and "ugly" assault rifles are not. Loaded with hollow points in either .357 Magnum or .38 Special persuasion, it makes a very practical home defense gun. The Rossi is a less expensive alternative to the original Model 1892 Winchester with a retail price right at $350. And in .45 Colt or .44-40, costs about half as much as the imported replica 1866 or 1873 leverguns. Sights are the standard ladder adjusting style on the rear mated up with a front post fitted into the barrel band. The rear sight can be adjusted laterally by tapping the sight to the right or left in its dovetail slot. A loading gate at the right side of the receiver accepts the cartridges and such stubby rounds as the pistol cartridges the Rossi is chambered for load easiest when each round is shoved into place by the next round. The last round can then be inserted by pushing on the base with the little finger. On current Rossi's the caliber stamping is directly behind the rear sight. Three improvements are readily apparent as I compare the current .44-40 to my early .44 Magnum. Boxes are still marked PUMA, however the tacky looking cat head that was on the left side of the receiver is gone. Secondly, these are no longer saddle ring carbines as the ring is gone from the left side of the receiver. And finally, and most importantly, the action on the .44-40 is much smoother than that on the early .44 Magnum. The wood on forearm and butt are also much darker on these test guns and all other Rossi carbines I have seen than on my old .44 Magnum. All four Rossi carbines were tested mainly with Cowboy Action style loads, including black powder loads for the .45 Colt and .44-40. S.A.S.S. (Single Action Shooting Society) rules, as well as most local clubs, require a levergun that shoots a sixgun cartridge with the muzzle velocity not to exceed 1,400 feet per second. In keeping with the western flavor, bullets for sixgun and levergun must also be plain lead or alloy with no gas check. To give my not-so-young eyes the benefit of the doubt, all groups were fired with four shots and the best three of four were measured. Cowboy Action Shooting is divided into two main classes, Modern and Traditional. The latter requires the use of original or replica sixguns that carry fixed sights. Most competitors go with Colt Single Actions, Ruger Vaqueros, or replicas in .45 Colt or .44-40 for this class. Traditional shooters also have two choices as to powder and may opt for smokeless powder loads or compete with black powder. In Modern Class, the adjustable sighted Ruger Blackhawk or Super Blackhawk is king in calibers .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt . Magnums must use light loads. The .45 Colt was the most popular cartridge on the frontier with both the Army and civilians. Roughly one-half of all of the more than 350,000 First Generation (1873-1941) Colt Single Action Armies were produced in .45 Colt, one-fourth in .44-40, one-eighth in .38-40 and the rest spread out among nearly thirty other chamberings. Strangely enough, no leverguns were ever produced in .45 Colt until very recently. However for today's cowboy action shooter, leverguns in .45 Colt abound with examples being the 1866 Yellow Boy and 1873 Winchester Uberti replicas, the Winchester Trapper, the Marlin 1894, and the Rossi M92. Since the .45 Colt sixgun is the most popular for Cowboy Action Shooting, the Rossi M92 .45 Colt makes an excellent companion levergun that utilizes the same load. The frontier sixgunner that espoused the .45 Colt did not have this two gun option. Black Hills is the first ammunition company to offer loads specifically for Cowboy Action Shooting. In the .45 Rossi, Black Hills' load with a 250 grain flat point bullet clocks out at 933 feet per second and drops its three shots at fifty yards in a most satisfying three-fourth's of an inch.

.45 COLT COWBOY ACTION CARBINE LOADS/THREE SHOTS AT 50 YDS

BULL-X 250 RNFP BULL-X 230 RN

LOAD	MV	GROUP	MV	GROUP
5.0/N100	893	1.00"
6.0/N100	980	1.625"	996	1.00"
7.0/WW231	1044	1.125"	1078	2.825"
8.0/Uniq 1064	1064	2.25"	1145	2.25"
8.0/Unvsl	1011	0.75"	1023	1.375"
6.0/Bull	1014	2.75"	1049	1.25"
34.0/Goex FFFg	1088	1.00"

While the .45 Colt was the most popular chambering for the Colt Single Action Army, the .44-40 or .44 Winchester Centerfire was number one in the Winchester Models 1873 and 1892. The savvy cowboy on the frontier could have his sixgun and carbine both chambered for the same cartridge. The same holds true today. Rules do not state that both sixgun and levergun must chamber the same cartridge, but it is certainly less confusing if they do. Uberti's 1866 Yellow Boy and 1873 Winchester both chamber the .44-40 and now are joined, and very ably so, by the Rossi .44-40. Black Hills now has a Cowboy Action Shooting load available for the .44-40. In the Rossi carbine this load clocks out at 1173 feet per second and places three shots in a most satisfying one-inch at fifty yards. Black Hills utilizes a 200 grain round nosed flat point bullet for their load. This same style bullet is available for reloaders from Bull-X and was used for testing reloads with the .44-40 Rossi carbine.

.44-40 COWBOY ACTION CARBINE LOADS/THREE SHOTS AT FIFTY YARDS

BULL-X 200 RNFP

LOAD	MV	GROUP
7.0 gr. WW231	1076	0.875"
5.3 gr. N100	1017	1.25"
4.8 gr. Clays	927	1.00"
9.0 gr. Herco	1244	2.50"
7.0 gr. Universal	876	1.375"
5.0 gr. Bullseye	1020	0.875"
8.0 gr. Unique	1195	1.00"
8.5 gr. Universal	1145	1.375"
10.0 gr. Unique	1377	2.00"
35.0 gr. Goex FFg	1220	1.25"
36.5 gr. Goex FFFg	1311	2.00"

36.5 gr. Goex FFFg 1311 2.00"For those who choose to compete with .44 Special sixguns, be they Colt Single Actions or replicas from Cimarron or EMF, Rossi's M92 Carbine chambered for .44 Magnum works fine with .44 Special loads. It also is the perfect levergun choice for those who use the Ruger Super Blackhawk in Modern Class and doubles as a fine close range hunting carbine for deer or black bear. For use in the .44 Special and .44 Magnum, Black Hills Cowboy Action Shooting load is a flat point bullet weighing 210 grains. In the Rossi, this load clocks out at 918 feet per second and shoots into seven-eighth's of an inch for three shots.

.44 SPECIAL COWBOY ACTION CARBINE LOADS/THREE SHOTS AT FIFTY YARDS

BULL-X 240 RNFP

LOAD	MV	GROUP
4.7 gr. N100	871	1.375"
5.5 gr. WW231	888	1.50"
5.0 gr. Bullseye	986	1.75"

Carbine used: Rossi M92 .44 Magnum x 20"

BULL-X 240 RNFP

LOAD	MV	GROUP
5.5 gr. N100	971	3.00"
6.5 GR. WW231	1063	2.00"
7.5 gr. Unique	1152	2.50"
7.5 gr. Universal	1179	1.75"
5.5 gr. Bullseye	1013	1.125"

Just about everyone owns a Ruger Blackhawk .357 Magnum and it is a good choice for use in the Modern Class in Cowboy Action Shooting when used with .38 Special loads or light .357 Magnum loads. Those who compete in Traditional Class and find recoil a problem can look to Colt Single Actions in .38 Special or .357 Magnum as well as replica sixguns from EMF, Navy Arms, and Cimarron in .357 Magnum. Rossi's .357 Magnum carbine is advertised as being for ".38 Special/.357 Magnum" and it works well with either. My particular test gun could not be sighted in to shoot point of aim at fifty yards with lightweight bullets as they shot low with the rear sight raised to its highest level. It would be a simple matter to file the front sight down to bring the 125 grain bullets to point of aim. Heavier 158 grain and 180 grain bullets performed perfectly with the rear sight in a normal position.

.38 SPECIAL COWBOY ACTION CARBINE LOADS/THREE SHOTS AT FIFTY YARDS

LOAD	MV	GROUP
Bull-X 158 RNFP/4.5 gr. Universal	840	1.00"
Bull-X 180 RNFP/4.5 gr. Universal	893	0.875"
Federal 158 RN	1032	1.25"
Federal 158 +P LSWC-HP	1076	1.75"

.357 MAGNUM COWBOY ACTION CARBINE LOADS/THREE SHOTS AT FIFTY YARDS

LOAD	MV	GROUP
Bull-X 158 RNFP/4.5 gr. WW231	1055	1.375"
Bull-X 158 RNFP/5.0 gr. Universal	1057	1.00"
Bull-X 180 FP/5.0 gr. Universal	1064	2.00"
Black Hills 158 FP	974	1.00"

For those who would purchase the .357 Magnum Rossi for double duty as a Cowboy Action Shooting levergun as well as a home defense gun I include the following data on selected jacketed factory loads.

.357 MAGNUM JACKETED BULLET LOADS:

LOAD	MV	GROUP
CCI Blazer 158 JHP	1610	1.75"
Federal 125 Hi-Shok HP	2194	1.75"
Speer Gold Dot 125 HP	2186	2.00"
Speer Gold Dot 158 HP	1749	1.875"
Winchester 125 JHP	2181	1.25"

The Rossi Model 92 Carbine is a sound investment in an easy handlin', excellent shootin' Cowboy Action Carbine. My only criticism is that I would like to see it offered with an easier to see bead front sight in all calibers. While I am dreaming, why not make the Rossi Model 92 offering complete and bring it out in all of the frontier calibers by chambering it in .32-20 and .38-40 also?