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The very first thing that comes to my mind is that it looks like it would have some good utility as a "survival gun" alternative to something like an AR7 or the Savage Model 42. By "survival gun," I mean the kind of gun you would consider for keeping in the back of your Cessna WITH a couple of boxes of shells in each chambering for "just in case." The AR7 takes 8 round mags, and it floats, but it only shoots the one caliber—.22 LR. If you were on foot, it would be easier to carry the AR7 plus a LOT of ammo than either of the other two guns; but that doesn't mean it is a better choice. The Rossi doesn't have the capacity of an AR7, but the it has the advantage of caliber in the rifled barrel, and the ability to fire shot shells, and in .45 LC, it probably has a greater effective range. The Savage can shoot either .22 LR or .410 bore, but only in single shot, break-open mode. OTH, it will never jam, being the mechanically most simple of the three.

The problem for me is (your mileage may vary), I really can't see the Rossi as anything else than as a survival gun........except for its novelty. For home defense, a tactical style shotgun with 5+1 rounds of 12 gauge 00 buck packs more wollap in the shotshell department PLUS an additional round (funny....I initially typed "addictional," and shooting mine for the first time last Saturday was quite intoxicating), and an AR15 has more wollap in the rifle department AND more capacity AND better accuracy (although at self-defense, inside the home distances, that accuracy advantage is probably moot).

In a zombie apocalypse, firepower and range will mean a lot, and it gives up a lot of both to an AR15, not to mention that the .45 LC is approaching being an obsolete caliber. By "obsolete," I don't mean that is not any good; but lets just be honest and just say that, even in normal circumstances (when BHO ain't the prez), .45 LC is not one of the more popular calibers stocked on the store shelves. So what are you going to do when your personal supply runs out? Unless you're handloading and have a ton of supplies stocked up, that gun is eventually going to run out of bullets for good. As a hunting round, the .410 bore would damage less meat than a 12 gauge, but it would limit you in size of game and effective range. And in either case, I think a .22 rimfire carbine or pistol, or a semiauto rifle in .223/5.56 is a better zombie-killer.

I've looked at this gun, and its predecessors/variants over the years, and thought to myself that it would be kind of neat to have one, but obviously I haven't put a very high priority on it since I've bought other long guns in the interim—focusing on the hunting and tactical niches instead. I would be really interested to know how it shoots, and what your impressions are about it after a range trip. If Rossi offered it in a take-down format, I think that it would become the perfect survival gun.