A couple of fun questions so let’s just jump right in
What’s the deal with Rossi Ranch Hands? Apparently these days people are running into them at gun shows and pawn shops. Someone asked me “what they’re good for” and the like. Here’s the deal from someone who owns one.
Back in the late 1950s Steven McQueen (considered one of the coolest guys in history) stared in a television show called Wanted: Dead or Alive where he played a bounty hunter who used a sawed off rifle as his side arm. It looked cool. People began referring to this style of firearm as mare’s legs.
Most western style guns sold in America were created thanks to the television western. Lots of the guns and holsters we “traditional” guys have actually didn’t exist in the west but did on TV. Rossi, a gun company known for inexpensive entry level firearms, very smartly made them a few years ago to appeal to this demographic. The gun also was carried by a character on the show Firefly which had reignited interest in the design.
So in essence it’s a collector item for people who are nerding out but unlike most collectables you can defend your home with it. The come in .357mag/.34, .44mag/44spl and mine is of course in .45 Colt. I don’t shoot mine I just play with it at home.
There are niche uses for it, or I should say there were. Canadians for example are allowed to carry hunting rifles and shotguns in the woods but not handguns. This can be inconvenient but in Canada (a few years ago anyway) the Ranch Hand was classified a rifle so legal for the bush – it shaves weight while in theory providing bear defense. But the utility of the Ranch Hand is no where near as high as a Mossberg Shockwave if you’re looking for compact bush guns.
Also though in theory you can push some pretty hot rounds out of it in practice it’s not as comfortable as a rifle. From a review at American Rifleman:
Shooting the Ranch Hand from the bench was comfortable when using the .44 Spl. loads, but when stoked with DoubleTap’s .44 Mag. loads, it got uncomfortable. It was like I actually had a hold of a horse’s leg—more specifically, one that did not want me holding it. This experience did demonstrate the only practical use I’ve found for the big-loop lever—it allowed a two-hand grip around the wrist of the stock similar to the way a shooter would hold any other big-bore handgun. Still, DoubleTap’s 240-grain Keith bullet at almost 1,700 fps was a handful. After firing the requisite 25 shots—five consecutive, five-shot groups—I wanted no more.
This did, however, show that the Ranch Hand could be fired with a two-hand grip like that used with a traditional handgun. I tried this from the standing, off-hand position and accuracy was fair. Again, this is something you would need to practice. Regardless, if you plan to shoot full-power .44 Mag. loads you might want to start building up your grip and forearm strength now.
But, in .45 and .357 it’s no doubt much more pleasant to shoot. It also fits in a backpack nicely so it’s nice for an outdoor gun if you don’t want to keep a full sized rifle on you.
If you can pick it up for under $300 and like it – it’s a great deal. If you’re going to spend that kind of money on one gun for home defense/survival and want a compact package get a Shockwave. I do keep mine by a “bug out” bag and would pack it with me if I was going to be homeless in an apocalypse but it wouldn’t be my only gun.
Henry firearms started making better quality versions (though much more expensive) so I think Rossi gave up on it. Henry introduced a version called The Axe which is a lever action mare’s leg chambered in .410. These will run you at least $1000 though. If I win the lottery I’ll replace my ranch hand with that.
What’s Zombie Blaster Ammo and WTF? From 2004 when the Dawn of the Dead remake directed by Zach Snyder and written by James Gunn took the world by storm until frankly The Walking Dead murdered the Zombie genre with soap opera writing Zombie themed survivalist gear and even guns were very popular. Dumb but popular.
Lightfield’s Zombie Blaster rounds were one of the dumber – and more dangerous – zombie gimmicks out there. They are basically blanks overcharged so that they’re super dangerous. From their own site:
The Zombie Blaster™ is intended for close encounter combat with a Zombie (or several when the apocalypse happens). Don’t let the non projectile mega blank fool you, the new ammo packs a huge muzzle flash along with such an intense concussion punch it will deafen, blind and then knock the brains right out of a Zombie… guaranteed!
No Zombie “bug out bag” should be with out it. Get ready for the apocalypse by purchasing some of these shells and practicing on Zombie targets at the shooting range.
The Zombie Blaster™ is available in blister packs of 5 rounds in 12 gauge, 20 gauge and .410.
NOTE: The Zombie Blaster Ammo™ is intended for Zombies only and should never be aimed or pointed at any human or animal. Lightfield wishes to also remind potential users please do not deploy this ammunition in close proximity of dogs as it will cause serious damage to their hearing.
And since this was a cash grab by companies there are other Zombie rounds that you should not get this confused with. Specifically a shotgun round called Zombie Killer which is copper plated bbs over buckshot:
Hornady made a line of ammo called Zombie Max which was just their self defense ammunition sold in kitschy horror themed boxes and with the usually red collared “ballistic tips” made a sickly green. They made them for reloaders and I think sold complete rounds. They had a horror themed marketing campaign for them:
They redid the above video with cgi varmints for hunters.
It’s not in production anymore but you’ll find it at gun shows albeit at inflated prices. Hornedy Z-max ammo is just their self defense or hunting ammo so it’s good if you can find a good deal. But Zombie blaster blanks are just a waste of money and too dangerous to be used as blanks.
Zombies are dying off (pun intended) in the prepping and gun industry but zombie targets are still popular at ranges.
Since we’re talking about it here’s the opening of Dawn of the Dead – the movie that started it all. Not safe for work because of blood and violence but one of the greatest opening scenes in a horror movie of all time:
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Author Rob Taylor
