Has anyone seen one of the Rossi lever guns in .454 Casull yet? Was wondering about the quality.

If you are refering to the Legacy .454 lever gun, I own one. Very nice rifle for the price. I've had good results with mine, but I've read that other owners have had problems with the forearm wood splitting.

Thats the one. How much are they going for?

I bought mine about 9 months ago for $350, list price is about $100 more. I already owned three .454 revolvers, so it was a bit of a surprise to feel the recoil in a rifle. They come with a passable recoil pad, but with my hotter loads, it's much like shooting a 45/70. Nice part is it holds 10 rounds and can be loading via the tube (like the old Remington .22's), or through the loading gate. I bought mine as a plinker, and it works well for that, but would also be a good brush gun for close work.

The fit and finish on mine is excellent. Mine is blued and reminds me of the finish on the older Winchester levers....very shiney!

Thanks for the info 454PB.

How do the ballistics of the .454 compare to the 45-70?

My best effort .454 loads push a 320 gr. cast GC bullet to 2000 fps. With the Puma, bullet weight is limited by seating depth, so it's hard to use much over 320 to 330 gr. bullets.

I've used heavier, longer bullets, but they have to be manually fed.