A Year With The Puma 92 by Lyndon Combs
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I know this statement is very well known by many outdoorsmen. It is a quote from one of the greatest outdoorsman in American history. His reference to a lever-action Winchester as “His big medicine” is also well known. Teddy Roosevelt influenced many modern hunters. Including me.
When I sat down to type this article, and I was struggling with a way to began about a lever action rifle with a great deal of power, and these words came to mind, they fit so well with this gun and the idea of hunting for me. A hunter must walk silent in the woods, and carrying enough stick to do the job. This is the reason I first started looking at the Puma 92 in .454 Casull. A stick with as much punch as the .454 Casull cartridge is definitely big medicine for just about anything in the wilds of eastern Kentucky. As you can see in the picture the country is nothing but mountains, and I needed a gun that was fast, light, and chambered in a cartridge that would hit with a great deal of authority in close quarters. I think Teddy would approve of the idea behind the Puma 92, but he might not like everything about the Puma 92.
I am going to write this article in several sections, because the little carbine proved itself not only to be an accurate, and deadly little carbine, but it also proved to have some problems. Due to these problems my work with the rifle has started and stopped throughout the process of getting to know the Puma 92, and this is why the article will be broke into separate sections. I regret having to do the article in this fashion, but it is the best way to tell the story.
I need a bigger, but not too big of a stick.
I first started thinking about a gun like this when doing some testing on bolt-action rifles, and working up an article on my last Deer hunt. This is nothing new for me, I often study my trips in to the field to learn from mistakes I might have made, and after my last hunting trip I had to face four truths. The bulk of the bolt actions to me were too much trouble. In the area I hunt the steep inclines and rough brush are hard to traverse with a large scoped bolt gun due to a bad back and leg. A fact for me that I kept coming back to, and that is all too real for me. I have to face the fact after my last hunting season that in the thick brush in the areas I sometimes hunt they scream for more mass.
The third truth I face is the close range many shots will be taken, this is a fact that is nothing new to me, and the population of Bobcat, and other animals (like pot growers, and meth labs) that could cause me harm, I needed more punch.
My last truth, I usually grabbed one of my Lever action rifles when going into the hills of eastern Kentucky this is a fact I always come back to in the end when thinking of a new gun, the fast follow up shot ability of a Lever gun is always a plus over a bolt gun. This is why I own more lever guns than any other type. I own a small lever gun similar to what I had in mind for my next Lever gun a Winchester Trapper in .357 magnum, but I wanted one with a great deal more knock down than the .357 had to offer. These truths boil down to the realization that I needed more punch in a light compact rifle for the chest high brush.
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My stainless version came with a slightly figured hardwood stock. Very nice for the price. If you want a knock-out looking stock you can try to find a .454 Browning Lever Action. Good luck! It will cost as much as four Pumas and who wants to bring a collectors item in the woods? When you consider weight, power, functionality and price there is nothing to compare the M92 to.
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I recently purchased a Puma 925/09. But it looks so good I hesitate to fir a round through it. I am collecting a few extra boxes of 454 Casull to make it SHOUT.
DEC IN NY state recently opened deer season in the southern tier to rifles. I anticipate it will do the job in the brushy country. I have been told that it will also handle the .45. Have you heard anything different?
I bought a used stainless steel legacy model 92 in 454 Casull. the action is smoother than my Winchester model 94AE in 30-30 caliber. The wood has a dull hand rubbbed oil finish and does not reflect the sun like the finish on my Winchester. The loading gate is easier to depress and slide cartridges into the magazine than my Winchester. Unloading the Legacy model 92 has the big safer advantage of a screw top magazine tube that lets you unload without having to chamber a cartridge, the cartidges easily slide out of a large port when opened. This particular rifle has a more refined safety that other model 92 Puma’s I’ve handled. The colored high visability sights are a easy to see and use 3 Dot system. Because this carbine is so light 5 1/2 lbs. empty I believe it’s a gun you would fine easy to carry in your hand all day. The stainless steel will handle the moisture rust issues much better than my Winchester and add to peace of mind in less than ideal conditions.
Ihave 2 Puma 92′s in 454. one scoped and one peep site. Both are excellent. They both shoot the 260 partition from Nosler extremely well as well as the 240 from Hornady.