Here's a pic of my newest toy...a Taurus / Rossi Ranch Hand. It is a lever action repeating pistol holding 6 in the tubular mag...+1 in the chamber and will shoot both the .44 Magnum and .44 Special cartridge from it's 12" barrel. Overall length is 23 1/2" and it weighs in at 4 lbs. The metal is a matte blue and the furniture is made from Brazilian hard woods.
Background... If this firearm looks familiar to some of you, it's because of the 60's TV series called Wanted: Dead or Alive starring a very young Steve McQueen as Josh Randall, a Civil War veteran who carried a sawed-off rifle as a holstered weapon and made a living as a bounty hunter in the Wild West of the 1870s. The show ran from 1958 to 1961. McQueen faked a car accident to put the series into hiatus while he went on to film The Magnificent Seven.
It's alot of fun and it shoots real good...!! I put 100 rounds of .44 Special through it yesterday... And yes, in the TV series and in the marketplace, it is also called the Mare's Leg.
Man...check out the price on this "early copy" of the Mares Laig... http://www.bountyhunterspecial.com/
Man I would love to make you a rig for that gun! Unfortunately it would take a gun to do it right. But I do make some nice leather. This is my cowboy action rig. The SAA is in a cross draw, and the Blackhawk will have to have the stock grips put back on for competition. That's soft buffalo hide on the Blackhawk, and there are garnets on either end of the cartridge loops.
Shooter, congrats on the new rifle! looks good. i had a chance late last year to handle one in person, was really cool. i have it on my long list of, right time, right place, right amount of money, to buy list. i would like one in either 44-40 or 45 Colt though. they are cool. when i first saw it last year, the Steve McQueen show was exactly what i thought of! i watched the show when i was much younger and have some of the episodes on DVD. Duster, nice looking leather work. very nice looking.
Yea... .45 Colt would have been my first choice too, already having a Colt SAA chambered for that round. Choice wasn't mine...long story. But, .44magnum/special is also cool...!!
I do and I don't. We got government legal last week, and have been working on a site for a few months. We are trying to be cheap and do it ourselves, AND IT IS HARD! I was going through it last night and decided it sucks. I wont launch it till I'm satisfied it works and presents my business in a fair light. Over at Austins Hi Point site in the trading zone I have a thread. It shows my work from the beginning to the latest stuff. http://www.hipointfirearmsforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=287151 My product line is limited because I only make leather I can fit to a gun. I'm limited to what I own or can barrow from friends. I will and have taken orders the old fashion mail order way.
i know what you mean Four! after seeing Shooter's little Mare's Leg, i am sure wanting one more now. i know it really doesn't have a practical purpose other than being fun, but dang it, i want one.
Rossi must have had 6 of them in their booth at the NRA show yesterday. Handled one of them. It would take a little practice for me to cycle it at Steve McQueen speed but it was pretty cool. Still can't figure out what McQueen did with those 45-70 cartridges in his holster belt though. They're a little too long to fit into a 44-40 or 45LC chamber!
Forgot to mention: Great leather Duster. I really like that crossdraw. Nice touch putting those little metal bells on the end of the leg tie downs. They look like drilled out cast lead bullets.