Rossi R95 Triple Black

Shoot like ‘The Duke’
Rossi rifle brings out the Hollywood in Ben Unten

There was a time when every cocky seemed to have a 30-30 knocking around the back of his ute. Open sights and blunt-nosed projectiles, their biggest plus was that no matter what you did to them, more or less anything you aimed at was knocked over. Fast-forward 30 years to the subsequent obsession with faster, flatter calibres where the only thing better than more velocity was . . . even more velocity.

More recently the 30-30 seems to have been making something of a comeback so, when Australian Shooter offered me the chance to review a modern take on a ubiquitous classic in the Rossi R95 courtesy of local distributor Outdoor Sporting Agencies, I couldn’t wait and chose the synthetic-black combination with a very compact barrel. There’s no mistaking this for an old blunderbuss.

Manufactured in Brazil, measuring 894mm from recoil pad to muzzle and weighing 3.1kg bare, I was surprised at how comfortably the rifle shouldered. Sporting a lever action with a paracord wrap to protect your knuckles, the tubular magazine holds five rounds and one in the spout. The action must be closed to load, while the safety is a slide-bolt system which allows the action to be cycled to empty the magazine, yet prevents the hammer from reaching the firing pin.

Length of pull measures 350mm and while the trigger was on the heavy side at 3.3kg, it broke cleanly. The stubby barrel with black oxide finish measures 420mm, features a 1:12 twist and is topped with a generous 235mm Picatinny-type rail for a variety of optical and accessory options. The synthetic rear stock and fore-end felt solid with no hollow ‘tock-tock’ sounds when you tap it. It features a 70mm drop at the recoil pad which perfectly aligned my eye with the open sights, has one swivel-mount stud in the stock and another fixed to the steel fore-end band, which helps keep the barrel and tube mag together.

The stock also features a slightly unusual but subtle ‘spider-web’ type textured finish. To be honest, it almost looks like it was used to clear cobwebs out the attic and was then pitched in with the ‘normal’ stocks for finishing, though I quite liked it and the additional grip it provided.

In the field

A hunting partner and I took the R95 with us chasing pigs. Now my experience when it comes to shouldering a traditional carbine in 30-30 calibre is “you certainly know you’ve shot one!” I’ve always found the recoil reasonably noticeable, however you can’t compare the traditional timber stock with brass butt-plate to the modern textured finish, synthetic stock on the Rossi with its 20mm soft-rubber recoil pad. When coupled with 150-grain FSP (Flat Soft Point) projectiles, my hunting buddy and I were surprised at how pleasant it was to shoot.

Loading the action took a little familiarisation but was soon comfortable. The action cycled easily and no misfeeds were experienced during testing or hunting (cycling it cocks the hammer and empty shells are firmly ejected). The Rossi features an oversized hand loop which helps prevent the cocking hand from receiving a belt during firing, as well as allowing for easy cycling of the action while wearing gloves (*see footnote).

A target was set up at 50m off an improvised rest. The peep-type sight and brass front bead made for easy target acquisition and with 30mm groups (2MOA) at that distance, we opted not to fit a scope but to use the rifle as-is. For those unfamiliar, I feel peep-type sights are one of the easier open-sight designs to quickly become accustomed to but are also one of the hardest things on the planet to photograph! The small aperture, measuring 2.8mm on my digital callipers, located in a steel ring allows for a good field of view and the front bead facilitates fast bullet placement.

We rode off on bikes seeking pigs and after spotting only some older diggings, came across a group of goats at about 75m. We’d fitted the Rossi with a Z-sling prior to heading out so un-slinging and mounting the gun was done in a matter of seconds. The rifle blasted and there was a nice young nanny on the ground. Jamie cycled the action without removing the gun from his shoulder and could easily have accounted for several other goats if he’d wanted, though we only needed meat from one animal so that’s all we took.

Summary

This is a fun rifle. The modern lever-action functions well and accuracy is good depending on skill and experience of the user. The open sights offer ‘knockabout rifle’ reliability, though the addition of a red-dot or low to moderately powered scope wouldn’t be out of place. The 30-30 offers excellent knockdown power at moderate ranges and I’d be more than happy to go wandering through the thick stuff after game with one of these over the shoulder. Rossi has combined modern methods with a classic action and calibre, so no wonder it’s making a comeback.

In addition to the R95 Triple Black reviewed here, the Rossi R95 is available in several other configurations including The Classic with walnut stock and 20” black oxide barrel, the Trapper with walnut stock and 16.5” black oxide barrel and Laminated stock with 20” black oxide barrel. The Rossi R95 Triple Black is top of the range and retails for around $1790 while the Laminate version comes in at around $1590, with the Trapper and Classic both about $1390 (all at time of writing).

* Footnote: As a youngster just getting into firearms, I remember watching old-time Western movies with dad and being impressed by John Wayne’s lever-action stage rifle which had an over-sized loop, apparently due to the actor’s large frame and hands. But whether it’s gloves or ‘The Duke’ it’s cool either way.

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