Rossi LWC Review: The Cheapest Deer Rifle You Can Buy

The Rossi LWC, which stands for 'lightweight carbine', is cheap and inelegant. But this small single-shot rifle will undoubtedly be an attractive option for deer hunters in big woods who just want a gun that works. Bee Outdoor livingwe have a proud history of testing the latest and greatest hunting rifles, but we also value value. Like you, the casual reader, we have sometimes had to scrape and save and choose where to spend our money on guns and hunting gear, and sometimes a cheap hunting rifle is the right answer.

Budget hunting rifles have held a special place in my heart ever since I saved up to purchase a brand new Remington Model 710 at the age of 15. My purchase was influenced by a few rave reviews in magazines and the $350 price tag. The rifle has some major drawbacks, but I've used it to kill a lot of critters and make even more memories. Just for fun I took it out and killed a caribou with it a few years ago.

The Rossi LWC is the least expensive new centerfire deer rifle we could find, and for the aspiring young whitetail hunter, or someone who just wants an affordable, simple rifle that is surprisingly accurate, this is a great option.

See it

• Action: Break action
• Material: injection molded polymer
• Cartridge: .350 legend (tested), 5.56mm, .300 BLK, .357 Mag., .44 Mag., 8.6 BLK and 6.5 CM
• Capacity: 1 round
• Weight: 5 pounds, 7 ounces (measured)
• Trigger: 3 pounds, 15 ounces (measured)
• Barrel: 16.6 inches, 1:16 twist, rifling 5/8-24
• Finish: black oxide
• Length: 31.75 inches (measured)
• Optical mounting: Picatinny rail
• Price: $304

Main features

• Steel receiver sprayed with polymer
• Safety mechanisms with cross bolts and transfer bars
• Easy removal
• Non-ejecting extractor

View highlights

• The threaded snout makes it a great suppressor host
• Straight wall cartridges may stick to the extractor during loading
• Hammer track extension can be installed on the left or right side
• Ready for optics
• Most accurate .350 Legend single-shot I've tested
• Accuracy average from 100 yards: 1.904 inches (average of 20 five-shot groups with six types of ammunition)

The Rossi LWC: a simple, straightforward single shot

There's no secret behind the Rossi LWC's affordable price tag. It is a simple, break-open single-acting design with injection molded polymer furniture and black oxide coated steel components. Like many similar rifle and shotgun designs, the fore-end is removable and the barrel can be removed from the receiver. The receiver itself is steel, but overmolded in polymer to match the fore-end and stock. The only negative thing I noticed upon inspection was a sloppy weld that secured the fore-end bolt to the barrel.

The controls on the Rossi LWC are similar to those of similar break-actions. It has a polymer-coated release lever that opens the action, and a hammer that is pulled back to cock the gun. The Rossi has a safety switch with cross bolts, but also works with a transfer bar mechanism. Like those on newer revolvers, the transfer bar allows the hammer to be fully lowered and rest against the receiver without hitting the firing pin. The 3 pound, 14 ounce trigger isn't bad and has only a minimal amount of creep.

The LWC has a mechanical extractor that lifts the unfired cartridge or fired case slightly out of the chamber when the action is opened, but does not use a spring-driven ejector. You must remove the used boxes by hand. The 16.5-inch barrel, especially without a bolt-action or semi-auto receiver behind it, makes for a short, convenient package, even when paired with a suppressor.

Optic and suppressor

Despite the bargain basement price, I'm pleased to see that Rossi mounted a piece of Picatinny rail to the receiver and screwed in the muzzle of the LWC. This makes the rifle plug and play for both optics and suppressors. For a budget deer rifle package, I would pair the .350 Legend model I tested with something like a Vortex Crossfire II with the straight wall BDC reticle. For someone who hunts in the woods, an affordable red dot like the Vortex Sparq would work very well and adequately handle the mild recoil of the .350 Legend.

The appeal of this little single-shot increases exponentially if you can equip it with a suppressor. Considering that virtually any suppressor – especially when combined with the transfer tax – will cost significantly more than this rifle, it may not be realistic if you're really pinching pennies. However, this gun is a ton of fun to shoot when suppressed. If you already have a suitable suppressor, this is a great platform for it. The Rossi LWC is available in other popular super/subsonic calibers such as .300 Blackout and 8.6 Blackout.

Read Next: Best Rifle Scopes Under $500

Rossi LWC in .350 Legend: Accuracy

We take our accuracy testing seriously Outdoor living. We want to give you the best information and the most reasonable expectations for any rifle you might purchase. I tested the Rossi LWC with six different types of .350 Legend ammunition and recorded a total of 20 5-shot groups at 100 yards. Like many of the other .350 Legend rifles I tested, the Rossi LWC shot some ammunition very well, and others poorly. The worst groups were seen with Winchester Deer Season XP (3.5 inches) and Federal 180-grain Power-Shok (4.2 inches). The best-performing ammunition was Barnes 170-grain TSX, with an average of 1.3-inch five-shot groups (six groups total), and Federal 160-grain Fusion, with an average of 1.5-inch 5-shot groups (four groups ).

Average of all group sizes with five shots: 1.904 inches (20 groups)

Barnes 170-grain TSX 20-shot group aggregate: 1.98 inches

Because the .350 Legend is essentially a sub-150 yard deer cartridge, using 20-shot group data to determine the rifle's cone of dispersion is not as important as it is with rifles intended for longer range hunting. Still, it was incredible to see the Rossi print a sub-two-inch aggregate with Barnes ammo. Any shotgun that can do that is perfectly adequate, and a shotgun smaller than 1.5 inches is a great shooter. Even considering only five-shot group data, the Rossi LWC is more accurate than both of the other single-shot .350 Legend rifles I tested: the Traditions Outfitter and Henry Single Shot, which averaged 2.30 and 2.33, respectively inches were. five-shot groups.

The Rossi LWC lines up quite well with other, more expensive options in the budget-priced rifle category that we also tested in .308 – not just the single-shot .350 Legends. Those tests showed that the Rossi averaged better groups than the Mossberg Patriot Predator (average 2.178 inches) and the Winchester XPR (average 2.234 inches). It virtually tied the Savage Axis (average 1.902 inches) and was displaced by the Ruger American, which averaged 1.720 inches groups.

In short, this affordable .350 Legend is sufficiently accurate to take with you into the woods.

Minimum investment, maximum pleasure

Besides solid accuracy for a bargain price, there's also something to be said for having a gun that we're not afraid to build ourselves. First, sometimes it's nice to have a gun that I don't have to worry about. Second, if we are not emotionally invested in keeping a gun pristine, we have the freedom to answer some of our what-if questions and even make some changes. Add a cheek piece or attach a piece of ARCA to the front piece, who cares? You won't damage the Mona Lisa.

The single-shot rifle is a great kid's platform, and the short barrel makes this rifle handy and maneuverable in a hunting hatch. For smaller children, it can be difficult to find a centerfire rifle that suits them. Do you have one of these Rossi's? Just chop the stock finely, add some expanding foam and stick a butpad on it.

Disadvantages of the Rossi LWC

There's no free lunch, and you can't expect to get a $300 shotgun without some potential drawbacks or limitations. First, the polymer furniture is a bit loud and cumbersome. I'm also not sure how I feel about the durability of the action release lever. Instead of a toggle lever, this is more of a button that may get stuck. The black oxide finish on the steel of this rifle will likely corrode easily and you will need to maintain it properly or simply embrace the patina.

On traditional muzzleloading rifles and many modern hammer-fired rifles, you can silently cock the hammer by holding the trigger, pulling the hammer back, then releasing the trigger and slowly releasing the hammer spur. There is no way to tension the Rossi LWC without this feature click of the sear fascinating. If hunting in a stance, I would cock and then engage the crossbolt safety.

The only major function-related issue I had was that the straight-walled .350 Legend necks would stick to the extractor when trying to chamber a round. It takes too much manipulation and effort to chamber the rounds quickly.

Final thoughts on the Rossi LWC

While we celebrate the finest rifles with the sleekest features and precise performance, we recognize that simple tools can often get the job done just as well. Sure, some hunters coddle their pristine high-end walnut Remington or Winchester in the woods and call it the ultimate deer rifle. But when I look at the Rossi LWC, I think of the redneck (I use this term as a compliment) deer hunter who will probably stick a piece of foam noodle on the stock as a cheek piece, put a cheap scope on the Picatinny trail, call it a day with a suppressor, rattle-can-camo the whole thing, and kill every deer to walk within 100 yards of the stand for the next 10 years. That's what I would do anyway.