Rossi LWC

Single-shot Carbine in .300 Blackout a simple, Lightweight and Handy Hunting or Truck Gun.

In the gun world today, there is no doubt that if you want a firearm with some new bell or whistle on it, you can find it. No offense to anyone on the shooter or manufacturer side, but it seems we sometimes do add-ons and any sort of goodie to attach on a gun to get the “cool” factor. Now don’t get me wrong here, I like guns, and I like cool guns. But to paraphrase a line from a certain dinosaur movie we’ve all seen: Just because we can do it doesn’t mean we should do it. In general, I think most shooters and hunters out there want things to be simple. In the real world of a soggy duck blind or cold, dark deer stand, the less buttons and levers we have to deal with to make a gun ready to go “bang,” the better. (Even worse in the fog of war or dealing with a toothy critter like a bear with a bad attitude.)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
To keep it real here, when I first opened the box for the Rossi LWC (Lightweight Carbine), I probably did a frown. The
model sent to me is the newer one with a folding stock. My chief reservation was about attaining a good cheek weld on the stock and “settling in” on the gun when mounting it to shoot. These fears were soon dispelled when I brought it to bear on a target. (I was also reminded by others several times over the testing period that the folding stock is a very handy feature for stuffing the gun in a pack and storing it in a vehicle.)

As we continued to test and hunt with the LWC (this one he advantages of the folding stock became obvious. The 16.5-inch barrel along with the folding stock make for a very handy combination. For the hunter, this rifle is a great gun for a blind or other situation where you may be restricted in terms of space. For the deep-woods deer or bear hunter who does a lot of walking, you would fold the stock, stuff it in your pack and go. If you are hunting farm country and are in and out of the vehicle, the LWC with the folding stock may be the essence of what we would call a “truck gun.”

LWC AT A GLANCE
With the Rossi LWC folding stock model, what you see is what you get, and I am saying that is good. There are no frills here, not that real hunters and shooters need or want any. The LWC is a simple break-action single-shot (a great safety feature for young
hunters and everyone else) short-barreled rifle. The receiver is steel over molded with polymer. The forend and stock, as well as the trigger guard, are polymer. The barrel is alloy steel coated with black oxide.

The trigger pull on the gun I received measured 3 pounds, 15 ounces – not light, but I would not want a light trigger on a kid-friendly, safety-conscious gun. The safety on the LWC is a cross bolt design and also has a transfer bar mechanism, which allows the hammer to be lowered without contacting the firing pin. This gun has an extractor for spent rounds, not an ejector, but this proved to be no problem. The release button to open the gun is located beside the hammer, which has a hammer spur for cocking the gun.

The Rossi LWC also comes supplied with a Picatinny rail for mounting scopes and optics. On this particular rifle we mounted a Burris Fullfield 2.5-10x42mm (burrisoptics.com). This scope is somewhat short and compact, a good match for the LWC. I can also see the LWC being a very good candidate for one of the red dot optics like the Burris FastFire 4. For short-range (100 yards and less), thick-woods deer and bear hunting, the LWC with a red dot optic would be a deadly combination. The LWC is of course threaded for a suppressor, and we mounted the Dead Air RXD30Ti (deadairsilencers.com) and got good results. The Dead Air silencer performed as flawlessly as I have experienced on other rifles; it is lightweight, easy to install and remove and has great sound reduction. Because of the short barrel, the LWC was still handy and maneuverable with the suppressor.

ON THE RANGE/IN THE WOODS
The LWC is a very easy and fun gun to shoot. The simple break-action makes for stress-free handling of the firearm– just open the action and you have no worries of accidental discharge. I had heard from others of the surprising accuracy of this gun and they were not fibbing. I shot Federal Power-Shok 150-grain softpoint loads, Remington UMC 150-grain rounds and Fiocchi loads with a 125-grain SST polymer-tipped bullet. The gun seemed to like the Fiocchi load the best and we got hole-touching accuracy at 50 yards and sometimes less than 1.5-inch groups at 100

I was able to incorporate the Rossi LWC into a couple of youth day deer hunts in my area. These hunts are sponsored by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and local volunteers and are geared toward young hunters who would likely not
have an opportunity to go hunting were it not for such an event. The young hunters get a full day of hunter education training and marksmanship practice from the DNR officers and trained volunteers who put on the hunt.

Everyone who got a chance to use the Rossi LWC seemed impressed with it, on the bench and in the field. This was for all the reasons we have noted here: the gun’s light weight (just a shade under 5¼ pounds), which is essential for young and smaller-stature shooters; the shorter length’s handiness; and the overall ruggedness of the LWC. Two antlerless deer were taken with the LWC .300 Blackout, and both dropped immediately at the shot.

BACK TO BASICS
America needs a basic, low-cost deer rifle and I think the Rossi LWC is it. While the folding stock model has an MSRP of $413.99, if you shop around you will see it for a lot less. I believe it may be the ultimate throw-it-in-thetruck-and-go-huntin’ rifle for whatever you are after: deer, bear, hogs, coyotes or whatever it may be. Rossi saw fit to listen to hunters – make it plain and simple – and that is just what we got. 

Editor’s note: For more information, visit rossiusa.com. Larry Case has been a devoted outdoorsman since he was a child. He will admit to an addiction to turkey hunting (spring and fall), but refuses any treatment. He enjoys the company of gobblers and cur dogs that are loud and people who speak the truth softly. Case served 36 years as a game warden in West Virginia and retired with the rank of district captain. You can check out his podcast and other stories at gunsandcornbread.com.