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Cheap, silly guns will always be my favorite firearms genre. Sure, sometimes they donât work all that well, and other times they arenât all that useful. When they work, they tend to be a fun way to turn money into noise. One of the latest to cross my path was the $200 Rossi Brawler. Taurus owns Rossi, and Taurus is the master of the .410 handgun. The new Rossi Brawler is just that, a .45 colt/.410 handgun. Rossi took their single-shot rifle design and shrunk it into a pistol-sized platform.
Inside the Rossi Brawler
This big single-shot pistol sports a 9-inch barrel, primarily a 6-inch barrel with a 3-inch chamber. The Brawler can chamber 3-inch .410 loads, 2.5-inch .410 loads and of course .45 Colt. The presence of rifling in the barrel and lack of a stock makes this a pistol, and while it can fire shotshells, itâs not subject to the NFA.
Despite its affordable price tag, the Rossi Brawler boasts some unexpected features that piqued my interest. The most notable surprise was the inclusion of an ejector, a feature not commonly found in firearms of this price range.
As soon as I hit the barrel release and pop the barrel open, the shell flies over my shoulder. Be careful where youâre pointing at the rear of the gun as you might catch a shell to the face.
The rubberized grip is massive and nicely designed. The weapon features a cross-bolt safety device that locks the hammer. Up top, the gun has a long rail that allows you to mount an optic and have enough room for other goodies, like a sidesaddle or light. Maybe a laser just because itâs fun. At the rear portion of the rail sits a rear sight. Itâs hidden in most pictures, and I was surprised to find it.
Whatâs the Point?
Right off the bat, this is a weird, cheap little gun whose purpose can be as simple as itâs fun to shoot. Owning a gun just because it is weird is reason enough. This is America. (Not valid in all states of America.) However, you can certainly find a practical purpose for the Brawler. My first thought was itâd make a good yard gun.
I live in a rural area where Iâm the invader amongst a kingdom of venomous snakes, feral hogs and other creatures that see my colonization as an insult to their freedom. The Brawler chambers both .45 Colt and .410, making it versatile for various dangerous critters. A good .45 Colt will deter hogs, coyotes and larger beasts, while a blast of .410 BB will dismantle snakes when needed.
The same features that make it a good yard gun will make it a niche hunting weapon. It can potentially dispatch small to medium game with the right load choice. Although, Iâd stick to small game hunting. Rabbits and squirrels will shudder in fear!
There is an argument that the Brawler should be made a survival firearm. Itâs small and light but has a versatile load option. Itâs cheap and can be tossed in a pack and forgotten about. Let me wrap some part of it in paracord and find a place to mount a fishing rod, and we will be off to the races.
The Brawler At the Range
None of the above matters unless the gun works, so letâs check that. The most important question to answer is how does the gun pattern and how is the accuracy of a .45 Colt. I loaded up some Remington buckshot, Federal No.5 Game shot and BB shot from ATI.
I patterned each round and found their patterns lacking. A problem these rifled .410 have is the rifling playing with the pattern, which creates what shotgunners call the donut of death. The patterns string out in a circle, but leave your point of aim clear of impact. The buckshot was patterned wide enough to be absolutely useless. The birdshot loads delivered that donut of death we see with the Taurus Judge guns.
I swapped to the Federal .410 handgun buckshot loads, the Hornady Critical Defense and the Winchester PDX .410. These three are made for rifled barrels and performed a whole heckuva lot better.
The Critical Defense Load was the tightest pattern but only offered three projectiles. The Federal .410 handgun was a winner with four 000 pellets that produced a tight and useable pattern. The PDX disks landed where I wanted them, but the BB shot backing them went everywhere. I wish Winchester made a BB-free version of this load.
With .45 Colt, the accuracy was so-so. At 25 yards, the group was the size of my hand. I could probably clean that group up with a red dot, but I used the gun as it came. The accuracy certainly isnât fantastic, but itâs useable and what can be expected for this type of design.
Ride the Lightning
A lightweight gun with a 3-inch .410 round has a bit of recoil. The rubberized grip does a fantastic job of absorbing recoil and keeping pain out of the equation. We get a gun that jumps a bit and roars a lot, but we arenât exactly going for fast follow-up shots. Rossi blessed the gun with good ergonomics. Everything is reachable and easy to engage, and the ejection is a nice touch.
The Brawlerâs downside is the need for expensive ammo if you ever want it to be effective at anything. You need handgun-specific .410 loads to get any kind of respectable or useable pattern. Federal makes a few, and so does Hornady and Winchester. Thatâs a big downside, in my opinion. Even with its issues, I had fun with the Brawler, and at this price point, it seems like a great option for some 3D-print experiments.
Brawler Specifications
Barrel Length – 9 in.
Overall Length – 14 in.
Weight – 36.8 oz.
Height – 5.9 oz.
Caliber – .45 Colt/.410
MSRP – $258
Where To Buy
Ratings (Out of Five Stars)
Accuracy – 2.5 out of 5
The fact I have to use specialized .410 loads to achieve any kind of accuracy is a big downside to me. If most commercially available ammo doesnât work well with the gun, then I canât give it a high rating based on specialty ammo. But specialty ammo did get the job done just fine.
Ergonomics – 4 out of 5
The grip is solid, and the controls are placed for easy access. The gun feels somewhat unbalanced and front-heavy, and the recoil can feel quite stiff.
Reliability – 5 out of 5
The gun always went bang. I fired 100 rounds of .410 and 50 rounds of .45 Colt. Itâs not a torture test, but it took plenty of time through a single shot.
Overall – 3.5 out of 5
The Brawler is a fun gun. Itâs neat, odd and interesting. Itâs surprisingly well planned out and well made, but the accuracy department pulls down the gun’s score.
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How to make a hog really mad…
Ya know for a similar price you can get a real shotgun that’s epically reliable. Like my Maverick88. Not my $ so have at itđ
Great point! My 12 gauge Maverick 88, 20″, 7+1 was $199. You could also get a perfectly acceptable general purpose handgun like a Taurus G3C for about the same price as this. For most purposes, I’d rather have 12+1 rounds of 9mm,.or 7+1 of 12.gauge, instead of 1 of .410 or 45LC.
I’d keep one in the car in case i am driving around and see a pigeon i want to take a pot shot at
It is unfortunate that Rossi cannot offer it with a smooth barrel* for shot shells only. That would be quite handy, especially for up-close venomous snake encounters.
* I believe that Rossi would have to sell that firearm as an NFA (National Firearms Act) firearm with attendant NFA paperwork and tax stamp if it had a smooth bore.
Well when I get mine I’m reaming the rifling out except for the last two inches. That should work a little better on shot spread. And it’s still a rifled barrel.
There is one way around that, and it is a rather pricey ($500+) double barreled black powder shotgun called the Diablo/Desperado (pistol really?) by American Gun Craft with barrels ranging from around 6 to 12 inches. Technically, being black powder, it is not classified as a firearm under federal law (and not a firearm even under California law until it is fully loaded). The issue is that they are much slower to reload even with prepackaged paper rounds, since they need to be compressed and a primer added afterward. (A faster alternative is 50 grain powder pellet and a sabotted slug.) On the other hand, 2 barrels of 12 gauge loaded however you want is probably enough to deter most carjackers.
Anyone have any idea how accurately this Rossi Brawler would shoot simple .410 slugs?
Certainly less accurately than it shoots .45 colt.
The owners manual says slugs are a No No. but I have seen YouTubes where people are shooting slugs, and canât really find any solid reason they wouldnât work. I havenât tried slugs mostly because Iâm not ready to damage the gun and why shoot slugs when you can shoot 45 LC? I know I can find 45 colt easier and cheaper than 410 slugs
Any word on the availability of a double barrel model?
Oh hell yes, I’m broke but I’m getting on of these. I been wanting something like this.
Just what I need when I go kayak camping.
Uhh, cancel that, after re reading the article the accuracy just ain’t there.
And reaming out the rifling would still give donuts.
Dang that NFA short barreled shotgunm law anyway.
Shockwave in 20 might fit your bill. I have one in 12, it was unwieldy AF until I put a laser on it, now it’s perfect for the jon boat, cab, RV, and den. Laser puts it where it needs to be. Sooner or later I’ll get around to getting one in 20, the 12 still is pretty tame with mini shells.
Correct me if i am mistaken but for the last few hundred years we seem to agree that sights are needed to achieve any type of accuracy. The Brawler was fired without sights.
Would these be closer to black powder 45lc load specs or Ruger Blackhawk for what pressure it could handle?
I’m guessing the BP loads.
I’ve had the lock up fail on an H&R using stout handloaded 20gauge.
That barrel and chamber looks pretty thin and with a weight of 37 ounces it would have to be.
“A lightweight gun with a 3-inch .410 round has a bit of recoil. ”
Answer, mini-shells…
It’d be neat if someone in the aftermarket made a dedicated, 45LC only barrel for these or if Taurus offered it that way. Heck 44 mag as well would be fun.
As it is it seems like it tries to hard to be everything in a mediocre way instead of something well.
Why not just get a shockwave in 20ga?
Cant shute .45 and
price
Or 410? Didnât know that existed.
I think Thompson Center got it right with .300 blackout chambering in the pistol.
Cool gun and price though.
If the gun actually had sights- who knows? It may shoot well. I imagine my Pythons would be no more accurate if I removed the sights and tried to fire them.
It is designed for use with a red dot sight.
In light of the easy availability of used Taurus Judge revolvers at a fair price I cannot conceive of a worst waste of money. The Judge has sights, the same caliber.(s) It may have some value as a trainer. It is your money of course but dont depend on this for any type of defense snakes included.
Well âBrotherâ, a few years back I bought Rossi 410 Tuffy for an inexpensive hang beside the door anti-snake tool after the women folk had a close call with a huge cottonmouth in the flowerbed, thinking, surely thereâs no way Taurus/Rossi could possibly screw up a single shot 410. Right? Wrong! Whoever was working quality control the day that gun left the factory in Brazil must have been snoozing or hung-over, because the breech bore was so undersized/out of tolerance that 2 1/2â fired hulls would not eject and had to be pounded out using a dowel rod, then I got to have an enlightening conversation with a Braztech/Taurus/Rossi CS rep (her name was something like Shakneequah) and the 3-4 month warranty repair ordeal commenced. Never again.
it has iron sights
Speaking as a for real gun guy who actually collects Bond derringers, I applaude you willingness to review quirky guns!
Michael B
Given the cheesy model names Taurus/Rossi manages to come up with (latest example âRoscoeâ) perhaps an appropriate model name for this cheap @$$ed – not very practical single shot 45 Colt Brazilian pistol shouldâve been the â9 INCH JOHNSONâ, to appeal to level of firearms sophistication likely buyers attracted to this sort of pretty much useless handgun, with the clever/catchy ad phrase âOnly 1 Shot So Make It Count When You Blow Your Loadâ.
Evidently we are brothers. LOL
Well said
@ Ted … you made me laugh with a mouthful full of coffee. Now the dog ain’t happy because she needs a bath… and the wife ain’t happy either … Sigh ……
I want to take it to match my LPVO scope. That must be cool. https://www.cvlife.com/products/cvlife-1-6×24-lpvo-scope-with-cantilever-mount
Rifle scope or dot sight, which one is more suitable for AR15 to hunt turkeys?
I know when it is at the low magnification, the scope is similar to the dot sight.
However, I still don’t know how to choose it.
https://www.cvlife.com/blogs/news/red-dot-sights-vs-rifle-scope-what-s-the-best-for-ar-16
I read this artcle someone recommend me. But I was still confused.
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