R92 Saddle Ring and Replacement Parts

[Ranch Dog]

With the initial acquisition of my R92 Scouts in both 44 Mag and 45 Colt, I was not too wild about the fact they were Saddle Ring Carbines (SRC). Like so many other things with my journey through Rossi Land, I figured out much about these attachments and the fact that they had very little to do with the actual saddle and more to do with keeping your rifle handy while you where on the horse and insuring you had a rifle in your hand if you suddenly, especially unexpectedly, found yourself off the horse!

Along with the Junior Doughty's Saddle Ring sling, I found the ring quite useful throughout the hunting season. As far as whitetails went, I hunted with the R92 exclusively. When carrying my 480, I vowed to go the distance and install an appropriate loop and ring this year. Now with the 454 Casull added, I feel the same need to turn it into a SRC as well.

I am not interesting in installing a brass stud as used on some models of the Marlin and Winchester 94 or sling swivel attachments on the rifle, I want to keep it all 92 and if I cannot, I will do without.

My R92 chambered in 45 Colt has seen a lot of use chasing deer and hogs. Toward the end of the deer season, I noticed that the loop had pulled slightly away from the receiver or at least if I looked at it closely I could see the reduced diameter of the wire stock that passes through the receiver. Honestly, it may have been this way early on as during the initial tear down of the rifle, I did not spend any attention on this attachment as I was too busy keep track of the moving parts and hoping to get them all back together. Here is the area described above referenced the arrow head.

saddlering02.jpg

Before pulling things back apart, I contacted Rossi to see if I could order the parts. They told me that anything to do with the SR had to be shipped back to Brazil. Of course, that wasn't going to work so I set off in search of the appropriate parts.

I ran across VTI Replica Gun Parts on the web and spent some time studying what they had available. At one time they supported the Armi San Marco 1892 but that manufacturer is no longer in production. Every google search brought me back to the components that VTI offers for the 1866 and 1873. From the drawings, they looked correct, so I ordered them to see what they look like first hand as the three parts are not very expensive.

saddlering01.jpg

The parts are extremely close. The Ring is a little heavier but the Loop is near identical, save for the attachment mentioned chose to use which is described next. Here is a detail of the three parts.

saddlering04.jpg

The attachment is pure Rossi and I understand why they require the rifle to be send back for SRC work. Rather than simply attach the Loop with the Hook Nut, they flatten the end of the Loop to secure the device to the receiver. From inside the receiver it looks like it has either been pressed on or flattened with a file. Kind of weird, all for the cost of a nut.

saddlering03.jpg

Spring time is pretty busy around here and I'm looking at this work on breaks from ranch chores. Before working on the 454 or 480, I'm going to figure out how best to remove the loop from this rifle. The loop is definitely not welded to the receiver, I just need to figure out what to use to remove the head formed on the end of the wire stock. I want to take exact measurements for hole placement from this receiver before the other rifles end up on the drill press.

[akuser47]

Yea that is a thinker Not much room to grind out the ring. May have to slowy file it out that or use cutters and cut the outside retention ring and then tap it out of the receiver. I await your findings with this project.

[k80clay]

I'd leave it. It's not going anywhere, and why take the chance of boogering it up. Otherwise, I'd just cut the loop off, file down to the reduced profile and punch through to inside of receiver.

[pricedo]

My Amadeo Rossi M92s didn't have saddle rings so that's not at issue.
I use the very soft & comfortable on the shoulder & very quiet neoprene rubber Quake "Claw" slings.
I don't need a redundant piece of metal to rattle & spook game.

My Chiappa Mare's Leg has a saddle ring & I'm thinking of getting one of the Junior Doughty's Saddle Ring slings as an alternative to the rather stiff, bulky leather holster to carry it around.

http://www.castbullet.com/srsling.htm

Update: Just ordered one of the Junior Doughty's Saddle Ring slings for my Chiappa Mare's Leg (44 Mag).
How can you go wrong for $24?

[Ranch Dog]

My Chiappa Mare's Leg has a saddle ring & I'm thinking of getting one of the Junior Doughty's Saddle Ring slings as an alternative to the rather stiff, bulky leather holster to carry it around.

http://www.castbullet.com/srsling.htm

Update: Just ordered one of the Junior Doughty's Saddle Ring slings for my Chiappa Mare's Leg (44 Mag).
How can you go wrong for $24?

I think it would be an outstanding solution to carrying the Ranch Hand/Mare's Leg...

[pricedo]

My Chiappa Mare's Leg has a saddle ring & I'm thinking of getting one of the Junior Doughty's Saddle Ring slings as an alternative to the rather stiff, bulky leather holster to carry it around.

http://www.castbullet.com/srsling.htm

Update: Just ordered one of the Junior Doughty's Saddle Ring slings for my Chiappa Mare's Leg (44 Mag).
How can you go wrong for $24?

I think it would be an outstanding solution to carrying the Ranch Hand/Mare's Leg...

Ain't no way Hose that scope (Bushnell Trophy 2-6x33mm pistol scope......a fantastic scope !) is going into a leather holster.
With the Doughty rig I can carry the ML scope-on.
The Uncle Mike's flip lens covers will keep out dirt & moisture.
I was originally planning to remove the saddle ring .........thank goodness I didn't.

[Ranch Dog]

Finally was able to get back to my R92 45 Colt, this is the rifle who's saddle ring looked like it was unseated from the receiver. I'm not sure how long it had been that way, just one of those things that you start to notice. With the aftermarket replacement parts in hand, I set to removing the original. By removing the loading gate cover screw from the opposite side of the receiver, I was able to place a punch against the forward portion of the loop and knock it out of the receiver. The ends of the loop are simply flattened during manufacture. With the forward portion of the loop free, I bent it outward from the receiver, locked it in a vice, and pulled the rear portion free. Nothing too it.

From there, things became interesting in that the replacement loop material (wire) is slightly larger in diameter. I didn't see that as much of a problem as that is what drill bits are for. I countersunk the holes slowly to an appropriate depth and assembled the loop/ring.

SR_01.jpg

My main worry about this replacement, spacing between the threaded portion & nut of the loop against the hammer, was a reality. The hammer was binding. Not to worry, I filed the threaded end of the loop even with the stock end and pulled out my trusty JB Weld!

SR_02.jpg

Don't know really how to test the attachment of the loop other than by field experience. I think it will hold up to anything that the factory setup would, not really worried about it. In that it now fits flush with the receiver, it looks a heck of a lot better than the original did.

What surprised me was how soft the receiver is, just expected it to be tougher. As you can see I made a pattern of the appropriate location of the holes and plan to saddle ring both my 454 Casull and 480 Ruger. I will do it exactly as I did it here, just JB Weld the loop into place and call it a day.

[Ranch Dog]

I've been pondering the saddle ring installation on my 454 Casull and 480 Ruger way too long so I decided to sit down and "knock" it out at least on the Casull. Months ago, I purchased two rings from an bear-in-texas on ebay. I liked the loops of this set a lot better than the VTI parts as it is a simple staple, not threaded, with positive stops on each end of the staple.



My Casull rifle is apart as the lever is at Mule Man Gun Works to enlarge the lever so it was just a matter of laying the pattern that I had made from one of my SRCs over the receiver, anchoring the pattern in place at the Lever & Bolt and Hammer screw holes. The ring was an OD of 11/16" so I started a pilot hole of 7/64 and then used completed each hole with the appropriate drill. My pattern was true, the holes lined up both with the interior of the receiver (just above the bolt race) and the loop. The loop was a very tight fit because of the "spring" so it took several good hits from a mallet against a wood block to seat the loop. This was such a tight metal to metal fit, I cannot picture the loop coming loose under any circumstance.



The length of the loop ends was almost perfect with just a little metal exposed. It did prevent the lower tang from seating in the receiver. Just a little bit of filing with a flat file completed the job.





This isn't about wanting a "Saddle Ring Carbine" per say, it is about wanting to saddle ring sling the rifle while hunting. It is about toting a 7.14# rifle (empty of ammo) in the field on extended hikes. As a comparison, my Rio Grande 45-70 weighs 7.18#!

Last year I would like to have taken the Casull nilgai hunting but with a minimum hunt distance of 6 miles a day, there is no way to carry an unslung rifle but that is a mute point now. I'm waiting for a small D750B Decelerator pad to come back in stock at MidwayUSA and once the lever is returned, the rifle will be ready to rumble! On the the 480 Ruger.

[akuser47]

Great work rd thanks for the how to.