My first thought turned to a .45-70, but the bulky feel of these guns didn’t fit into my idea of a sleek little carbine any better than a scoped bolt gun. I turned my attention to pistol cartridges. The rifles they are chambered in are usually small and light in weight, not to mention recoil, but did anyone make one with a great deal of punch without costing a fortune.
I found what I thought might be the answer when I came across a web site for Legacy International. They had a gun that might fit my needs of a big stick, in an easy to pack light carbine.
The rifle was the Puma 92, a Winchester 1892 clone chambered in .454 Casull. I had read many things about the cartridge, but had never tried it out. Reading the articles about the .454 Casull revealed it is a very versatile round, and I had made the decision to someday own a gun in that caliber, so this just may be the gun to try the cartridge. I decided to look into the Puma to do some research on the gun. I found articles on several web sites, and they made the gun sound like just the ticket for my needs. The combination of the .454 Casull cartridge, and the John Browning designed 1892 might just be the ticket for the brush busting beast I wanted.
Wow I won a gun!
Yes that’s right I won the gun. You see I had been visiting a forum at the time I was researching this gun, and during this time they decided to give a gun away. The prize was a new Remington Bolt gun. I didn’t really pay much attention to the contest due to the fact I didn’t need another bolt gun, but I did like the forum so I posted every day to add to the community. This evidently was a good thing for me as well as the forum. I won the gun, and the best part was the owner of the forum knowing that I was interested in the Puma 92 offered to give one of the Pumas instead of the Remington. Of course I jumped at it. To get the gun I wanted without me putting out a dime. Hell Yes!!! I took it.
It took about a week or so to get the gun. When I took the gun out of it’s box I was immediately concerned with the lack of packing to protect the rifle in the box. The sights of the gun next caught my eye. They really light up, and my bad eyes could really lock on to the glowing dots. I really like the HI VIZ sights. The ability to load the gun two separate ways is a big feature. If you are not familiar with the gun it can be loaded through a hole in the magazine tube like many 22 rifles, or through the more traditional method of a loading gate in the side of the receiver.
I don’t know how many times I have needed to unload a lever action, and had to sit, and work the lever until the gun was empty. The magazine cap takes care of this problem. Just unscrew the cap, and the rounds will roll out of the magazine. A much safer way to unload the gun than working the lever until the magazine of the gun was empty.
The finish on the metal was really good. A nice deep polished blue, but other aspects of the gun really took away from the sights, and other good work done on the rifle. The fit of the wood was really off, and the finish was dark and ugly. It reminded me of cheap paneling. This was a let down when you look at the work put into the rest of the gun to slap a piece of crap stock on the thing is just wrong. I decided to buy a box of shells at the gun shop, and go bust some caps. The only kinds of ammunition they had in stock were Magtech .250-grain soft points. Beggars can’t be choosers. I bought the ammo, and headed for the range to bust some caps- see how it shot. The area I shoot is only five minutes away from the gun shop I picked the gun up at, but when you have new gun it can seem like your driving across town. I couldn’t wait to see just how much smack this stick can produce.
To be continued.
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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.