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Travis Pike
As a man with a passion for the eclectic, guns like the Rossi Brawler pull me in like a tractor beam on the Death Star. Who doesn’t think a massive, single-shot rifle-caliber pistol will be a ton of fun?
The Rossi Brawler comes in in .45 Colt/.410, 5.56, and .300 Blackout. Which is worth your money? To me, it’s the .300 Blackout version. When you get a barrel that short, the .300 Blackout models start to make a lot of sense.
The Rossi Brawler is essentially a Rossi LWC/Tuffy rifle with the barrel trimmed and the stock replaced with a pistol grip. It’s remarkably simple and resembles a budget version of the old Thompson Center pistols. With an MSRP below $400 and a common price point around $300, the Brawler is an easy platform to step into.
Why .300 Blackout?
There are two main reasons to pick the .300 Blackout version of the Rossi rather than the 5.56 or .45/.410 variants. First, AAC originally designed the .300 Blackout to be fired from a short barrel. It reaches its peak velocity within a 9-inch barrel, making it perfectly suited for the Brawler.
Second, it’s easy to find both supersonic and subsonic variants of .300 Blackout. Subsonic rounds suppress extremely well, giving you a versatile, viable round for a variety of tasks. Thanks to the threaded barrel, I added a Spectre 9 with ease.
Yes, the Spectre 9 is a 9mm can, but it’s rated for .300 Blackout supersonics at a semi-auto rate of fire. Since the Rossi Brawler is a single-shot firearm, using it is not a problem.
Would I get better suppression from a dedicated .30 cal can? I sure would, but the Spectre 9 is so lightweight that it doesn’t throw the Brawler off balance. Without a stock, things can get “tipsy,” and the Spectre 9 prevents that.
The Twist Rate
I think Rossi made a mistake with the barrel twist rate. They went with a 1:8 twist, which is fine for lighter, supersonic loads. However, a faster twist rate would help stabilize the subsonic bullets most commonly used with a suppressor.
A 1:7 twist would be better, allowing for superior stabilization of subs while still working well with supers. A 1:5 twist would make this fantastic for subsonic use, though the supers might suffer. As it stands, a 1:8 twist makes those long, heavy subsonics a little less stable and less accurate than the supersonic loads.
Breaking Down the Brawler
The Brawler is a hammer-fired, single-action gun that breech loads. The gun comes with an optic rail, a soft rubber grip, and an uber-short forend. A simple crossbolt safety sits behind the hammer.
While the .45/.410 Brawler featured an ejector, this model features an extractor only. With the .300 Blackout version, I can easily remove the casing and pocket it for reloading. The gun lacks any form of iron sights, but that isn’t an issue for me.
This platform benefits most from a red dot or long-eye-relief optic. Speaking of which, I went with a Hi-Lux Long Eye Relief 2-7X scope. It’s designed for scout rifles, but it works well with the Brawler. I had to adjust the eye relief based on the magnification setting, but overall it was easy to use and allowed me to stretch the Brawler’s legs a bit.
This thing is short, but it sure as hell ain’t lightweight. At 3.03 pounds naked, the Brawler is a heavyweight in the pistol division. Add a scout scope, and you’re looking at close to five pounds, if not more. The Brawler is a beast, but hopefully, this beast tames recoil.
Throwing Lead
I expected a hefty dose of recoil from a single-shot rifle-caliber pistol. Happily, I was wrong. That beefy design absolutely eats up the recoil. It’s quite pleasant to shoot in terms of kick, though without a suppressor, it is quite loud with a fair bit of muzzle flash.
The Spectre 9 solves that problem with ease, creating a pleasant shooting experience overall. You can shoot two-handed, revolver-style, but I found it easier to grab the gun’s minimal forend with my off-hand to help balance the weight.
With a two-handed revolver grip, I shot more accurately, but using the forend grip spared my wrists from tiring too quickly. Shooting off-hand is fine, but a gun like this is best used with some form of rest.
Scoring Hits
At 25 yards, I shot a 0.7-inch group with the gun rested on a Zeiss tripod. For a handgun, that’s darn accurate. The trigger is surprisingly light and crisp, weighing in at around 4 pounds. It certainly didn’t detract from my accuracy.
At 50 yards from a rested position, I was capable of shooting 1 to 1.2-inch groups with Barnes Precision Match OTM .300 Blackout. This supersonic load was snappy; while the can tamed most of the noise, the supersonic crack meant I still needed ear protection.
The Ammunition Depot Veteran Brand 150-grain FMJs made up most of my range fodder and consistently produced tight groups measuring around an inch and some change.
Honestly, I was a little disappointed that the expensive match-grade OTM didn’t outperform the cheaper FMJs, but this isn’t exactly a match gun, and 50 yards isn’t match range.
I used cheap Winchester subsonic rounds and saw my groups expand to 1.5 inches at 50 yards, which is likely due to both the budget ammo and the barrel’s twist rate. That’s still plenty accurate for deer, hogs, and coyotes.
Brawling With the Brawler
The simple nature of a single-shot, breech-loading gun usually removes failure points. You expect a reliable gun, and you get it for the most part. It goes bang every time the hammer drops. In 200 rounds, I experienced no failures per se.
That doesn’t sound like a lot of ammo, but it takes a long time to get through 200 rounds with a single-shot pistol.
However, I did run into two odd issues regarding the barrel release. First, the trigger occasionally got locked to the rear and would not fall. No matter how much pressure I applied, the trigger would not fire the gun.
I couldn’t open the breech, either. At a loss, I pressed down then up on the barrel release. Pressing up fixed the issue, and I was able to drop the hammer and open the breech. This occurred a few times.
Another issue is that if you want to shoot this gun, you have to slam that breech closed. You can’t just close it gently. If you do, you won’t be able to cock the hammer. When this happens, you have to re-open the breech and slam it with serious force to get the hammer to cock.
To be clear, I have two other Brawlers in different calibers, and neither of those guns has this problem.
Suppressing the Brawler
How well it suppresses depends entirely on the ammo. With subsonics, it’s absolutely delightful. It’s quiet, and you really start to understand how loud steel dings when you can barely hear the gunshot.
With supersonics, that crack is the ever-present ghost going “boo.” It’s loud enough to still require hearing protection, but the suppressor still knocks out a lot of the concussion. Additionally, the can helps tame muzzle rise, recoil, and flash. Since it’s a single shot, there isn’t much gas blowback to worry about.
Final Thoughts
The Brawler could be an effective hunting pistol for medium game. It could slay deer, hogs, coyotes, and more. Pistol hunting is a challenge I’ve yet to undertake, but the Rossi Brawler with a suppressor would be quite the woods companion.
Although, before I head out, I need to make sure the gun will cock and the trigger will pull consistently.
Outside of hunting, it’s just a plain fun gun. It’s remarkably large, packs a punch, and is a blast to shoot suppressed. My plan is to SBR the gun, add a folding stock, and create the ultimate brush gun. Even as a pistol, it’s a total blast—and I mean that literally
Travis Pike
The post Shooting the Suppressed Rossi Brawler in .300 Blackout appeared first on SilencerCo.
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