Circuit Judge SCJ44

Back in the early part of the year, my curiosity got the best of me and I purchased a Rossi CJ4510 Circuit Judge. It ended up not working out for me as I was looking at it as a 45 Colt rifle, with no interest in it being a .410 scatter gun. Through my shooting, I felt that Rossi had compromised the success of the firearm by trying to accommodate both chamberings especially the short rifle cartridge side of the combo. The SCJ44 was released a couple of weeks ago designed specifically and only for the 44 Mag. Despite the CJ4510 not working out for me, I bought the SCJ44. This is not a rifle/shotgun combo with all the issues that pairing creatures. The biggest point is that it has a cylinder of appropriate length for the respective cartridge.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Fire...s/scj44_01.jpg

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• The rife has an overall length of 34.5"!
• The scope base is very interesting and improved from that of my first rifle. The base is secured to the frame with three screws. All of this was tight and not glued down.
• The weight of the rifle with the Bushnell Banner 15-4.5X32 is 7#.
• The barrel is of a larger diameter than that of my CJ4510. I'm not sure if I will be able to locate my old data to make the actual comparison.
• The barrel has a .4205" bore and .4305" groove, perfect for my TLC432 series of bullets. Those bullets on loaded cartridges provide a perfect cylinder fit.

This past Wednesday, I took the SCJ44 Circuit Judge from first shot to first kill yesterday! This was the cleanest Braztech yet. Just enough packing grease to keep the moisture out and the rifle was cleaned up and ready to go in minutes. In that I'm a scope shooter, the sights came off. As with the CJ4510, the front sight holes where drilled completely through the barrel. I kind of understood that on the with the 4510 as the muzzle is very thin in that it is sleeved for the choke tube. Not so with the 44. The barrel is very thick at the muzzle on this model and there is really no need to disfigure the bore/groove. At least the they were drilled clean, a cotton patch jagged through does not hang up on them. The only precaution here would be in the selection of filler or replacement front sight screws, especially in light of how hard it is to get replacement hardware from Rossi.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Fire...ight_holes.jpg

I did remove the scope base from the frame. It is held in place with three screws into the strap of the revolver frame. The forward portion of the base is mated to "block" through a dovetail. The block is only a tight fitting spacer and is not attached to the barrel as I thought earlier. I'm not sure what it is cast from either. Didn't want to mess with it too much as I didn't want to damage it. The three base screws where properly secured by Rossi with Loc-Tite without any attempt to glue the base down. It was clean as a whistle under the base.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Fire...scope_base.jpg

Having done quite a bit of load work with the 44 Mag over the years, I just went straight to Lil' Gun and my 300-grain bullet, the TLC43-300-RF. I did use QuickLoad to recommend the max load for the specifics of the SCJ44 which was 20.2-grains. I shot a 5-shot increment at a 5% reduction and one at a 2.5% reduction and then max load. Please with the load, I used ten more shots to sight the rifle in at 100-yards and verify the zero. Only 15 shots in all.

At the 2nd shot, I was struck in the face my several objects right below my shooting glasses. I thought, here we go again! Ends up the hammer spur failed. Before you think it, it was not over-tightened. I only apply force through the short end of the allen wrench. There was something wrong with the cast. I found two of the now three pieces on my bench.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Fire...er_spur_01.jpg

I had bought a hammer spur intended for the Rossi Single Shot Rifles to try on my Rio Grande. It didn't work in that application but it did work on the Circuit Judge. It has a bit more beef to it. I suspect that the part that failed simply had a problem in the casting.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Fire...er_spur_02.jpg

Here is the first five bullets at 100-yards. Shots 16 through 20. Not bad and it will only improve as the barrel gets a bit of friction through it.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Fire...s/scj44_03.jpg

There was less blast on me, my face and support arm, but it was still there. In the twenty-five shots I did see the start of light scorching exactly where it appeared with the CJ4510. The next two photos are shots after the soot was clean off the forearm.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Fire.../scorch_01.jpg

To try to remove this would require that the finish be worked into. I think the rifle will just end up with a character mark on both sides.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Fire...s/scj44_05.jpg

I still long for a CJ chambered in 45 Colt with an appropriate length cylinder. The 45 Colt/410 bore shotgun is an appropriate mix for the Judge where distances are measured in feet but nothing but a compromise in a rifle when shot beyond 25-yards. There is just too much in the "works", the smooth-bore create by the double length of the cylinder, the forcing cone, and the smooth-bore of the choke tube. Pretty much an internal ballistics nightmare which effects the ultimate performance of the bullet. On the other hand, I do not find any issue with the SCJ44. It is a unique rifle that provides six quick shots with rifle accuracy. This rifle will become my tractor/truck gun here on the ranch. I pine for CJs, with the appropriate cylinder lengths, chambered in 357 Mag, 41 Mag, and 45 Colt.

Oh! Shot 26 was through a nice feral hog boar at 70 yards!

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Fire...s/scj44_04.jpg

Well done! A very good review.

Just looked at one today and I think I am sold. Short, light and Handy--I think I like it.

These little buggers keep me intrigued as well.

One does wonder if, should the .44 version of the SCJ do well, they might not offer it in .45 Colt and possibly even other rounds (.41 Mag, .357 Mag?) in the future. Far less retooling required to offer the same frame with a .45 Colt cylinder and barrel than was needed to shorten the frame for the cartridge length cylinder.